Sol 6.1

  1. قل للنسيم إذا الصباح أعلَّه

    والبرق أغمده الغمامُ وسَلَّهُ

    Tell the breeze, when morning has made it languid,

    and the lightning, which the cloud sheathes and unsheathes,

  2. يتجابدان الروض شرك عنانه

    هذاك نبّهه وهذا بلّه

    as the two tug at the meadow, sharing its reins:

    that one roused it, and this one moistened it.

  3. عوجا على وطن الصَّبابة والصِّبا

    بتحية تسع المكان وأهله

    Turn aside, both of you, toward the homeland of longing and youth,

    with a greeting embracing the place and its people.

  4. وتحملا عني تحية شيق

    أبقى النزوع إلى اللقاء أقلَّه

    And carry from me the greeting of one who yearns,

    of whom longing for reunion has left but a remnant.

  5. أهوى العقيق وساكنيه وإنما

    أهوى المحل لأجل من قد حلَّه

    I love al-Aqiq and its inhabitants; yet I only

    love the place for the sake of those who have dwelt there.

  6. بين البصيلة والمجاز مناظر

    أودعتها مذ بنت أنسي كلَّه

    Between al-Busayla and al-Majaz lie vistas

    where I left all my joy when I departed.

  7. دمن إذا ما الطرف رام سلوكها

    لم يدنُ منها أو يجدد نعله

    Old haunts: whenever the gaze seeks to traverse them,

    it cannot draw near unless it renews its shoes.

  8. رقّت مواردها فكانت راحة

    وذكت منابتها فكانت نَقلَهُ

    Their watering places grew limpid and became a comfort,

    and their fragrant growth became its sweetmeats.

  9. وتعاقبت أنوارها موصولة

    حتى كأن الصبح قيّد ليله

    Their lights succeeded one another without a break,

    until it seemed dawn had fettered their night.

  10. وبمصرها وهو النهاية بهجة

    خلٌ رأيتُ الناس طرا خله

    And in their city, the very pinnacle of splendor,

    dwells a friend; I found all people to be his friends.

  11. هو كالربيع فلست تعدم دائباً

    حُسنَيهِ إما طلّهُ أو ظله

    He is like spring: you never lack, at any time,

    his two graces—either his dew or his shade.

  12. أثنى عليه بقوله وبفعله

    حفظ الجنان بيانه فأملَّه

    I praise him for his speech and his deeds;

    my heart has stored his eloquence, then dictated it.

  13. وأرى مبرته وأرعى عهده

    لَّ ذكراه وأشكر فضله

    I see his kindness and keep his covenant;

    [Unclear fragment] his memory, and I thank him for his bounty.

  14. يهنا الفضائل أن غذا موصوفها

    دون الأفاضل واغتدت صفة له

    May the virtues rejoice that he [became] their exemplar,

    to the exclusion of other worthies, and that they became his attributes.

  15. والدهر يَطَّرِح الجليلَ وربما

    خرق العوائد نادراً فأجلّه

    Time casts the noble aside, though sometimes

    it breaks its habits in a rare exception and honors him.

  16. لكنه قد ظن أن وليه

    مذ بان عنه اعتاض منه فمله

    But he has supposed that his friend,

    since parting from him, has found another in his place and tired of him.

  17. لا والليالي السالفات وحسنها

    إذ لم أعاين مثلهن ومثله

    No! By the bygone nights and their beauty,

    for I have never beheld their like or his!

  18. ما إن رأت عيناني خلا عبده

    يعتاض منه ولا رأته قبله

    Never have my two eyes seen a friend [after him]

    who could replace him, nor had they seen one before him.

  19. ثق بي فإن العين فيك قريحة

    والجنب نابٍ والفؤاد مولّه

    Trust me: my eye is sore for you,

    my side is restless, and my heart distraught.

  20. أأبا محمدٌ الوفي على النوى

    لأخ رآه أخاً الوفاء وأهله

    O Abu Muhammad, faithful despite separation

    to a brother whom loyalty and its people deem a brother:

  21. شيم الزمان كما علمت تفرق

    وعساه يجمع بعدها ولعله

    time's ways, as you know, bring separation;

    yet perhaps it will reunite us afterward—perhaps it will.

  22. أنبطتها مستعجلاً من خاطر

    يشكو لفقدك صحبه ومحله

    I drew it up in haste from a mind

    that, deprived of you, complains of its companions and abode.

  23. فأتتك يرقص حولها ابن قلاقس

    طرباً ويشرب بالكبير الأبله

    So it came to you, with Ibn Qalaqis dancing around it

    in rapture, drinking from the “Big Fool.”

  24. بكر رأيتك كفأها من دونهم

    والشكل يحسن أن يلاقي شكله

    A virgin—I deemed you, above all others, her fitting match,

    and it is fitting that like should meet like.

  25. فاسلم على ريب الزمان مبلغاً

    أقصى المنى في رفعة وتملّه

    So remain safe despite time's vicissitudes, granted

    your utmost wishes in eminence and enjoyment.