Sol 6.1

  1. ضحكَ الربيعُ إلى بكا الدِّيمِ

    وغدا يُسَوِّي النبت بالقمَمِ

    Spring laughed in answer to the steady rains' weeping,

    And made the plants level at their crowns:

  2. من بين أخضرَ لابسٍ كُمَماً

    خُضْراً وأزهرَ غير ذي كُمَمِ

    Among them green plants wearing hoods

    Of green, and flowering plants without hoods,

  3. مُتلاحِق الأطرافِ مُتَّسقٍ

    فكأنَّه قد طُمَّ بالجَلمِ

    Their tips meeting, evenly arrayed,

    As though they had been clipped with shears.

  4. مُتبلِّجِ الضَّحواتِ مُشرِقِها

    متأرِّجِ الأسحار والعَتَمِ

    Their mornings are radiant and bright,

    Their predawn hours and evenings fragrant.

  5. تَجِدُ الوحوشُ به كفايتَها

    والطيرُ فيه عتيدةُ الطِّعَمِ

    Wild beasts find their sufficiency there,

    And birds have food ready at hand.

  6. فظباؤهُ تُضْحي بمُنْتَطَحٍ

    وحمامُه تُضْحِي بمختصمِ

    Its gazelles spend the morning butting horns,

    And its doves spend the morning quarreling.

  7. أحذى الأميرُ ربيعَنا خُلُقاً

    يهمي إذا ما البرقُ لم يُشَمِ

    The prince endowed our spring with a disposition

    That pours forth even when no lightning is sighted.

  8. فالقطْرُ ضربةُ لازمٍ قسماً

    والصحوُ فيه تحِلَّةُ القسمِ

    Rainfall is a binding obligation, sworn by oath;

    Clear weather is merely the oath's release.

  9. والروضُ في قِطَعِ الزَّبَرجَدِ والْ

    ياقوتُ تحت لآلِئٍ تُؤمِ

    The meadow wears pieces of emerald and

    Ruby beneath pearls in pairs:

  10. طلٌّ يُرقرقُهُ على ورقٍ

    فكأنّه درٌّ على لِمَمِ

    Dew that it makes shimmer upon leaves,

    As though it were pearls upon tresses.

  11. حشد الربيعُ مع الربيع لهُ

    فغدا يهُزُّ أثائثَ الجُممِ

    Spring joined spring in mustering for him,

    And now it shakes its luxuriant tresses.

  12. والدولةُ الزهراءُ والزمن ال

    مِزهار حسبك شافيَ القَرَمِ

    And the radiant reign, and the

    Blossoming season—enough to cure your craving.

  13. إن الربيعَ لكالشَّباب وإنْ

    نَ الصيفَ يكسعه لكالهرمِ

    Spring is indeed like youth, and

    Summer, following on its heels, is indeed like old age.

  14. أشقائقَ النُّعمانِ بين رُبَى

    نُعمانَ أنتِ محاسنُ النِّعمِ

    O Nu‘man anemones, among the hills

    Of Nu‘man, you are the fairest blessings.

  15. غدتِ الشقائقُ وهْي واصفةٌ

    آلاءَ ذي الجبروتِ والعِظَمِ

    The anemones arose, describing

    The favors of the Lord of might and greatness:

  16. تُرَفٌ لأبصارٍ حلَلْنَ بها

    لِيرَيْنَ كيف عجائبُ الحِكمِ

    Delights for eyes that alight upon them

    To see the marvels of wisdom;

  17. عبرٌ لأفكارٍ بعثن لها

    ليرين كيف عجائب الحكمِ

    Lessons for thoughts sent forth to them

    To see the marvels of wisdom.

  18. شُعَلٌ تزيدك في النهار سنىً

    وتُضيءُ في مُحْلَوْلك الظُّلمِ

    Flames that increase your radiance by day

    And shine in pitch-black darkness.

  19. أعجِبْ بها شُعلاً على فَحَمٍ

    لم تَشْتَعِلْ في ذلك الفحَمِ

    Marvel at them: flames upon charcoal

    That have not kindled in that charcoal!

  20. تلك التي تُهوِي لتلثَمَها

    وتَشمَّها بالأنفِ ذي الشَّممِ

    Those are the flowers you bend down to kiss

    And smell with your high-bridged nose.

  21. وكأنما لُمَعُ السوادِ إلى

    ما احْمَرَّ منها في ضُحَى الرِّهَمِ

    As though the glints of black beside

    Their red, in the morning of gentle showers,

  22. حَدَقُ العواشق وسِّطَتْ مُقَلاً

    نَهَلَتْ وَعَلَّتْ من دُموعِ دَمِ

    Were lovelorn women's pupils set in eyes

    That drank once and again of tears of blood.

  23. هاتيك أو خيلانُ غاليةٍ

    أضحتْ بها الوجنات في ذِممِ

    Those—or beauty spots of rich musk perfume,

    Through which the cheeks are placed in safekeeping.

  24. حذِرَتْ سِهامَ العينِ حُمْرتُها

    فغدتْ من التَّسويدِ في عِصَمِ

    Their redness feared the arrows of the evil eye,

    And found protection in being blackened.

  25. هاتيك أو حُلكٌ مُزَرْفنةٌ

    عُقْرِبْنَ في الصفحاتِ كالحُمَمِ

    Those—or jet-black curls, looped into rings,

    Curled like scorpions on cheeks, like charcoal.

  26. باحتْ بأطرافٍ لها نُقُبٌ

    فبدَتْ وسائرُها بمُكْتَتَمِ

    They revealed their tips through openings

    And appeared, while all the rest lay hidden.

  27. هاتيك أو عَنَمٌ على قُضُبٍ

    بيضٍ يتيهُ بها على العَنَمِ

    Those—or ‘anam berries upon shoots

    Of white, with which they proudly outshine ‘anam itself.

  28. لجأتْ إلى وجنات شاكيةٍ

    ضيفيْن مِنْ ندم ومِنْ سدَمِ

    They sought refuge on the cheeks of a woman lamenting

    Two guests: remorse and sorrow.

  29. لا بَلْ مُقَرَّعةٍ بِمُنْكَرة

    صحَّتْ وقد كانتْ من التُّهَمِ

    No, rather a woman reproached for an outrage

    Proved true, though once mere suspicion.

  30. فحكتْ لجانيها وقاحتَهُ

    بالنَّكْتِ في الوَجَناتِ لا النَّغمِ

    She showed her wrongdoer his shamelessness

    With taps upon her cheeks, not with her voice.

  31. أو إثمدٌ وسَمَ البُكاءَ به

    حمراً مُضَرَّمةً بلا ضَرَمِ

    Or antimony with which weeping marked

    Red cheeks, aflame without a flame.

  32. أجراهُ صدٌّ ثم حيَّرَهُ

    عَطْفٌ نهاه بعدَ مُنسَجَمِ

    Rejection set it flowing; then it was checked by

    Tenderness that stopped it after its streaming.

  33. فأقام بين محاجرٍ سرقَتْ

    حَدَقَ الظِّباء وبين مُلْتَثَمِ

    So it rested between eye-sockets that stole

    The gazelles' pupils and a place of kisses,

  34. مِنْ كُلِّ مُكْمَلة مُجَلَّلةٍ

    بالحُسنِ من قَرْن إلى قَدَمِ

    In every perfect woman, enveloped

    In beauty from crown to foot.

  35. شَجِيَ الإزارُ لها برابيةٍ

    وجرى الوِشاحُ لها على هَضَمِ

    Her waistcloth choked upon a rounded mound,

    And her sash ran over a slender waist.

  36. مُنِيَتْ بخَصْمٍ مثلِها حَكَمٍ

    في كل قلبٍ أيَّما حكمِ

    She was tried by a rival like herself, a ruler

    Of every heart—and what a ruler!

  37. سيّان قيمتُها وقيمتُهُ

    في الحسن عند تفاوتِ القيمِ

    Her worth and his are equal

    In beauty, despite all differences in worth:

  38. ذي مُردة توفيك سُنَّتُهُ

    نورَ الهلالِ وصورةَ الصَّنمِ

    A beardless youth whose face bestows in full

    The crescent's light and an idol's form.

  39. لو مرَّ بالأجداث آونةً

    لجرتْ به الأرواحُ في الرِّممِ

    Were he to pass the tombs a moment,

    Through him spirits would flow into decayed remains.

  40. أو عُرِّضَتْ بُهَمُ الحروب له

    لرحِمْتَ ثمَّ مصارعَ البُهَمِ

    Or were battle's dauntless champions shown to him,

    You would pity the champions' deaths there.

  41. أعجِبْ به يُهدي إلى رجم

    حيَّاً ويبعثُ صاحبَ الرَّجَمِ

    Marvel at him: he sends to a grave

    A living man, and raises its buried occupant.

  42. شُعِفَتْ به فأذاقها طرفاً

    مما تُذيقُ مُحالفَ الكتَمِ

    She was consumed with love for him; he made her taste a little

    Of what she makes one sworn to secrecy taste.

  43. فبكتْ بدمعٍ لا يُجادُ به

    إلا لذي قَدْرٍ من الألمِ

    She wept tears never freely spent

    Save for some great weight of pain,

  44. من مقْلةٍ سقمَتْ فغايتُها

    إعداءُ ما فيها من السَّقمِ

    From an eye grown sick, whose utmost aim

    Is to spread the sickness held within it.

  45. مظلومةٌ ظلّامةٌ أبداً

    مُنيَتْ بِمُتَّهِم بِمُتَّهَمِ

    Forever wronged, forever doing wrong,

    Afflicted with one accusing and accused.

  46. يا للشقائق إنها قِسَمٌ

    تُزْهَى بها الأبصارُ في القِسَمِ

    Ah, the anemones! They are allotted gifts

    In which eyes glory among their allotted shares.

  47. ما كان يُهدي مثلها تُحَفاً

    إلّا تَطَوُّلُ بارئِ النسَمِ

    None could bestow such treasures

    But the grace of the Creator of souls.

  48. وهو الذي أهدى لنا حَسَناً

    ذا الحسنِ والإحسانِ في القُحمِ

    He it was who bestowed Hasan upon us,

    Possessed of beauty and beneficence amid hardships.

  49. ملكٌ تريكَ من السَّدَى يدُهُ

    ما لا يُصَوَّر منه في الوهَمِ

    A sovereign whose hand shows you such bounty

    As imagination cannot picture.

  50. أعطى فأنطقَ كل ذي خَرَسٍ

    ودعا فأسمَعَ كُلَّ ذي صممِ

    He gave, and made every mute person speak;

    He called, and made every deaf person hear.

  51. وأرى البليغَ قُصورَ مَبْلغِه

    فطوى شقاشِقَهُ على وَكَمِ

    He showed the eloquent man his limits,

    Who folded his swelling eloquence into stifled silence.

  52. أعطى كما أعطاهُ خالِقُهُ

    غَرضَ المُنَى ونهاية الهممِ

    He gave—as his Creator gave him—

    The goal of wishes, the utmost of aspirations.

  53. فكأنما ضمنَتْ فضائلُهُ

    خَرَسَ البليغِ ونُطْقَ ذي البَكَمِ

    As though his virtues guaranteed

    The eloquent man's muteness and the mute man's speech.

  54. يا آسفاً إنْ بذَّهُ حَسَنٌ

    سبقَ القضاءُ ومِرَّةُ الوذَمِ

    O man who grieves when Hasan outstrips him:

    Fate and the firm twisting of the thongs came first.

  55. لأبي مُحَمَّدٍ الحميدِ يدٌ

    خُلِقتْ لِسَحّ الوَبْلِ والدِّيمِ

    Praiseworthy Abu Muhammad has a hand

    Created to pour down heavy and steady rains.

  56. لله تلكَ يداً لقد جُعِلَتْ

    وفقاً لما فيه من الشِّيمِ

    God bless that hand! It was indeed made

    To match the noble traits within him.

  57. ولقد تفاوتَ والمُفاخرُهُ

    كتفاوُتِ الوِجدان والعدمِ

    He and his rival in glory stand apart

    As existence stands apart from nothingness.

  58. ما زال سائلُهُ وسائلهُ

    مُتَيمِّمَي نارٍ على علمِ

    His petitioner and his questioner have always

    Sought a fire upon a hilltop:

  59. من نورِ حكمتِهِ بمُضْطَرَمٍ

    وبحورِ نائله بملتَطَمِ

    In the blaze of his wisdom's light,

    And amid the surging seas of his bounty.

  60. قُصِرتْ عليه كتابةٌ بيدٍ

    وبهاجسٍ وكتابةٌ بفمِ

    To him alone belongs writing by hand,

    By inward inspiration, and composition by mouth.

  61. أخَذَ المُعَلَّى فاستبدَّ به

    دونَ القِداحِ وليسَ بالزُّلَمِ

    He took the highest-winning lot and kept it to himself,

    Apart from all the shafts—yet it is no divining arrow.

  62. لكنهُ قلمٌ يسوسُ به

    جِيلْين من عُربٍ ومن عَجَمِ

    It is, instead, a pen with which he governs

    Two peoples: Arabs and non-Arabs.

  63. يَمْرِيه خاطِرُهُ فيُمْطِرُهُ

    ما شاء من نِعَمٍ ومن نِقَمِ

    His thought milks it, and it showers upon him

    Whatever blessings and punishments he wills.

  64. نَمْ يا أخا الحاجاتِ إنَّ له

    كرماً إذا ما نِمْتَ لم يَنَمِ

    Sleep, you who have needs: he possesses

    A generosity that, while you sleep, sleeps not.

  65. تتبسَّمُ الأشعارُ ضاحكةً

    عنه فما تَفْتَرٌّ عن هَتَمِ

    Poems smile in laughter

    About him, showing no broken teeth.

  66. لولا افتنانُ النُّطْقِ في طُرُقٍ

    ما قال مِقْولُهُ سِوى نَعَمِ

    Were speech not varied in its paths,

    His tongue would utter nothing but 'Yes.'

  67. حلَّتْ خلائقُهُ بُمُتَّسعٍ

    فعُفاةُ نائله بمُزْدَحَمِ

    His qualities dwell in spaciousness,

    But petitioners for his bounty are in a throng.

  68. يغدو جدا كفَّيْهِ مقتسَماً

    ليصون عِرضاً غيرَ مقتسَمِ

    The bounty of his hands is shared out

    To guard an honor left undivided.

  69. أغنى فلولا أنه نَفَسي

    لم أَغْشَ عَقْوَتَهُ سِوى لمَمِ

    He has enriched me; were he not my very breath,

    I would visit his courtyard only now and then.

  70. لكنَّه الزادُ الذي اغتفرتْ

    فيه العقولُ فواحشَ النَّهمِ

    But he is the sustenance for which

    Reason forgives the grossest gluttony.

  71. للَّهِ كفُّكَ أيُّ مُلْتَمَسٍ

    للسائلين وأيُّ مُسْتَلمِ

    God bless your hand! What a thing to seek

    For petitioners, and to touch in homage!

  72. ما إن تزالُ الدهرَ فوق يدٍ

    تَمْتاح نائلها وتحتَ فمِ

    It never ceases, throughout time, to be above a hand

    Drawing on its bounty, and beneath a mouth.

  73. قل للخليفةِ فُزْ بخدمته

    فلْتَغْنَينَّ به عن الخدَمِ

    Tell the caliph: secure his service,

    And through him you will need no other servants.

  74. ولينهضنَّ بفتْحِ ذي سُدَدٍ

    ممَّا عناكَ وسدِّ ذي ثُلَمِ

    He will surely rise to open what is blocked

    Among your concerns, and close what is breached,

  75. يُمْناً وحَزْماً غير ذي خللٍ

    وصريحَ نُصْحٍ غير مُتَّهَمِ

    With good fortune and faultless resolve,

    And sincere counsel beyond suspicion.

  76. وكفاكَ يمنُ مُرَشَّحٍ فرجَتْ

    بركاتُهُ في غُمَّةِ الغُمَمِ

    Sufficient is the good fortune of a chosen man whose

    Blessings brought relief in the darkest distress.

  77. من طرّقتْ ديمُ السماءِ له

    نُبذتْ إليه مقالدُ السَّلَمِ

    One for whom heaven's steady rains paved the way—

    To him were cast the keys of peace.

  78. قحطتْ فلما آن مَنْهَضُهُ

    جادتْ بِغَوْثِ الناس والنَّعَمِ

    The sky withheld rain; when the hour came for him to rise,

    It poured relief upon people and livestock.

  79. وكأنما إطلاقُ عُقْدتِه

    أرضى الزمانَ وكان ذا أضمِ

    As though the loosening of his bond

    Pleased Time, which had been full of rancor.

  80. فغدتْ به الدنيا وما ظلمتْ

    مُفْتَرَّةً عن كلِّ مُبْتَسمِ

    Through him the world became—and rightly so—

    Wreathed in every kind of smile.

  81. لله ذاك اليُمْنُ إنَّ له

    في المُلْكِ حرفاً غيرَ مُدَّغَمِ

    God bless that good fortune! It possesses

    An unassimilated letter in sovereignty.

  82. فاسعَدْ بذاك اليُمْنِ واحظَ به

    واضمُمْ عليه الكفَّ من أَمَمِ

    Rejoice in that good fortune and enjoy it,

    And clasp your hand upon it from close at hand.

  83. مِفتاح أبوابِ السماء يفي

    لك بافتتاح الأرضِ والأُمَمِ

    The key to heaven's gates will suffice

    To open for you the earth and its nations.

  84. واعضُدْ بذاك الرأى مَملكةً

    تحتاجُ ظُلَّتُها إلى دِعَمِ

    With that judgment, support a kingdom

    Whose canopy stands in need of props.

  85. فلْتُنْصَرَنَّ على الطُّغاةِ به

    ولْتُكْفَيَنَّ السيفَ بالقلمِ

    Through him you shall surely overcome the tyrants,

    And the pen shall spare you use of the sword.

  86. ومُظفَّرٍ وعظ العدا بِعِداً

    حانوا فأهداهمْ إلى أزمِ

    And a victor who warned foes through other foes,

    Whose hour had come, consigning them to calamities.

  87. نظرتْ إليه عيونُهُمْ فغدتْ

    تلك العيونُ مراتعَ الرَّخمِ

    Their eyes looked at him and became—

    Those very eyes—the feeding grounds of vultures.

  88. هل من وليٍّ غيرُ مُنْتَعِشٍ

    هل من عدوٍّ غيرُ مُصْطلِمِ

    Is there a friend not raised up?

    Is there an enemy not uprooted?

  89. هل من مُوَلٍّ غيرُ مُقْتَبلٍ

    هل من شتيت غيرُ منتظمِ

    Is there one who turns away not welcomed?

    Is there one scattered not gathered in?

  90. لبس الزمانُ به شبيبتَه

    من بعد ما أشفى على الهرمِ

    Through him Time has donned its youth

    After drawing close to old age.

  91. أيرودُ رائدُك الكُفاةَ وفي

    أدْنى ديارِك عَيْمةُ العِيمِ

    Does your scout seek capable men, while in

    Your nearest dwellings stands the choicest of choice camels?

  92. في ابن الوزير كلالُ بادرةٍ

    تُرْضِي النُّهَى ومضاءُ مُعْتَزَمِ

    The vizier's son has a restraint of rash impulse

    That pleases reason, and the sharpness of firm resolve.

  93. أسدٌ إذا أسرى لمُقْتنِصٍ

    أسرى من الخطِّيِّ في أجَمِ

    A lion: when he stalks a hunter by night,

    He moves through thickets of Khatti spears.

  94. فلِمَنْ يُسالِمُهُ سلامَتُهُ

    ولمن يُحاربُ عطْسَةُ اللَّجَمِ

    For those who make peace with him, his protection;

    For those who fight him, the lajam beast's fatal sneeze.

  95. فوليُّهُ وعْلٌ على جبلٍ

    وعدوُّهُ جَزَرٌ على وضمِ

    His friend is an ibex upon a mountain;

    His enemy, butcher's meat upon a chopping board.

  96. مُتَغَنَّم الضَّحكاتِ مُثْمِنُها

    وله لقاءٌ غيرُ مُغْتَنَمِ

    His smiles are coveted, and he values them highly,

    Yet an encounter with him is no prize.

  97. زجرتْ بني وهبٍ عقولُهُمُ

    أنْ يعْرِضوا لمغصَّة اللُّقَمِ

    The good sense of Banu Wahb warned them

    Not to expose themselves to choking morsels;

  98. ودَعَتْهُمُ عوْداً نزاهتُهُمْ

    أن يَعْرِضوا لمصارعِ التُّخَمِ

    Their integrity called them again

    To avoid the deadly perils of surfeit.

  99. شُدَّتْ بهم عُقَدُ الخلافةِ فاش

    تدَّت وحُلَّت عُقْدةُ الكظمِ

    Through them the caliphate's bonds were tightened and grew

    Strong, and the knot of pent-up anguish was undone.

  100. ولتُذْعنننَّ لك الأمورُ به

    حتى تُقادَ إليك بالرُمَمِ

    Through him affairs shall surely yield to you,

    Until they are led to you by worn ropes.