Sol 6.1

  1. تَباعَدَت عَن أَلفي فَيا حَر أَشجاني

    وَأَفرَدَت عَن صَحبي فَيا طُول أَحزَاني

    I have grown far from my beloved—oh, the burning of my sorrows!

    And I am left alone, away from my companions—oh, how long my grief!

  2. الفت البُكا وَالحُزن بَعدَ فِراقِهِ

    فَلو مَرَّ بي ذكر السُرور لَأَبكاني

    I grew accustomed to weeping and sorrow after parting from him;

    were the thought of happiness to pass through me, it would make me weep.

  3. يَعزُّ عَلى قَلبي فِراقَكَ سَيدي

    فَإِنَّكَ روحي وَاِرتِياحي وَرَيحاني

    Parting from you is grievous to my heart, my master,

    for you are my soul, my solace, and my fragrant basil.

  4. يَعزُّ عَلى نَفسي فِراق حَياتِها

    فَإِنَّ فِراق الأَلف وَالمَوت سَيّان

    It grieves my soul to part from its life,

    for separation from one's beloved and death are alike.

  5. عَجبت وَقَد فارَقتهُ كَيفَ لَم أَمُت

    لِما بي مِن الأَشواق بِأَجفان سَهران

    I marvel that, having parted from him, I have not died

    from the longings within me, with a sleepless man's eyelids.

  6. يَرى عَجَباً نَوم المُحبين في الهَوى

    كَأَنَّ لَم يَمُرَّ الغَمض مِنهُ بِأَجفان

    He considers lovers' sleep amid passion a marvel,

    as though slumber had never touched his eyelids.

  7. أَبي جِفنَهُ التَهويم حَتّى كَأَنَّهُ

    لِقاء لَئيم أَو عَطية مَنّان

    His eyelid refused even a doze, as though it were

    meeting a wretch, or receiving a gift from one who flaunts his favors.

  8. وَدارَت كُؤوس العَتب بَيني وَبَينَهُ

    فَقُلت أَلا تَرثى لِمَيت هَجران

    The cups of reproach passed between him and me,

    and I said: Will you not pity one slain by estrangement?

  9. عَلام بِلا ذَنب تَعاقب محسناً

    عَفا اللَهُ يا مَولايَ مِنا عَن الجاني

    Why punish someone who has done good, without a fault?

    May God pardon whichever of us has sinned, my lord.

  10. مَضنى عُنفوان العُمر في القُرب وَالنَوى

    فَلا القُرب أَبراني وَلا البُعدُ أَسلاني

    I am wasted in life's prime, in nearness and separation;

    nearness has not healed me, nor has distance consoled me.

  11. تَضاعَفَ أَشجاني إِذا الصُبحُ لاحَ لي

    وَتَشتَدُ آلامي إِذا اللَيل أَضواني

    My sorrows multiply when dawn appears to me,

    and my pains intensify when night enfolds me.

  12. بَراني الضَنى حَتّى خَفيتُ عَن الرَدى

    وَعَني وَما أَبلى شَبابي الجَديدان

    Wasting sickness wore me down until I was hidden from death

    and from myself; it was not day and night that wore out my youth.

  13. وَغِبتُ عَن الأَبصار حَتّى كَأَنَّني

    تَردد رَأي حال في وَهم حَيران

    I vanished from sight until I seemed

    a wavering thought passing through a bewildered mind.

  14. فَاَنهَلَني كاس اِعتِذار عَن الجَفا

    فَدَبَت دَبيب الروح في بَيت جُثماني

    Then he gave me a cup of apology for his coldness,

    and it crept like the soul through the dwelling of my body.

  15. تَنصل عَن ذَنب الصُدود بِمَنطق

    أَلَذَ وَأَشهى مِن سلاف وَأَلحان

    He disavowed the sin of turning away with speech

    more delicious and desirable than choice wine and melodies.

  16. وَساقط دُرّاً مِن بُرود مُعَطر

    بِهِ الشَهد وَالراح الرَحيق مَشوبان

    He showered pearls from a cool, perfumed mouth,

    where honey and pure wine were mingled.

  17. وَأَصغَت إِلى ذاكَ الصِبا فَتَعَثَرَت

    بِأَذيالِها سُكراً تَعَثَر غَيران

    The east wind listened to that and stumbled

    drunkenly over its skirts, like a jealous lover.

  18. وَعانَقَت مِنهُ لَين العَطف مثل ما

    تَعانق في مَرّ النَسائم خوطان

    I embraced his supple side, just as

    two tender boughs embrace as breezes pass.

  19. وَأَبصَرتهُ عطلاً مُفضض جيدهُ

    فَحليتهُ مِن دَمع عَيني بِعقيان

    I saw him unadorned, his neck silver-bright,

    so I adorned him with pure gold from my eyes' tears.

  20. وَظَلَّ يُناجيني بِأَجفان ساحر

    حري بتنبيه الصَبابة وَسنان

    He kept whispering to me with a sorcerer's eyelids,

    drowsy, yet fit to awaken ardent longing.

  21. إِذا شاءَ سَلَّ الروح مني بِوَحيِها

    فَأَقضى وَلا أَدري وَإِن شاءَ أَحياني

    If he wished, he drew my soul from me with their silent signals,

    and I died unaware; if he wished, he revived me.

  22. وَباتَ الهَوى وَالشَوق يَغري بِلَثمِهِ

    وَحكم التُقى وَالصَون عَن ذاكَ يَنهاني

    Love and longing spent the night urging me to kiss him,

    while the decree of piety and chastity forbade me.

  23. وَلَم يَزَل الواشون في الحُب يَأَثموا

    ضَلالاً وَيَرموني بِزور وَبُهتان

    The tale-bearers never ceased to sin against love,

    in error, assailing me with falsehood and slander,

  24. إِلى أَن أَشاعوا أَنَّني قَد سَلَوتُهُ

    وَأَبعَد مِن إِشراكِهِ فيَّ سُلواني

    until they spread word that I had forgotten him.

    Yet my forgetting him is more remote than his sharing me with another.

  25. فَلَو لَم أَخَف شَرع الهَوى حينَ أَغرَقوا

    لَأَغرَقتَهُم مِن فَيض دَمعي بِطوفان

    Had I not feared love's law when they went too far,

    I would have drowned them in a deluge from my overflowing tears.

  26. أَرقت لِبَرق باتَ يَشئم تارَةً

    وَيَعرَق أُخرى لِأكليل وَلا واني

    I lay sleepless for lightning that flashed now toward Syria,

    now toward Iraq, neither weary nor flagging.

  27. تَضيءُ دَمعاً لا يَغيض همولَهُ

    وَالبَسَني مِنهُ رِداءً فَواراني

    It lit up tears whose streaming never abates,

    and clothed me in a mantle of them, concealing me.

  28. فَلَو كَشَفوا ذاكَ الرِداء لأَبصَروا

    صَفير رِياح في عِظام فَتى فاني

    Had they lifted that mantle, they would have seen

    the whistling of winds in the bones of a perishing youth.

  29. وَريحٌ سَرَت مِن جلق جادَ أَرضَها

    وَعَهد تَلاقَينا بِها كُلُّ هَتّان

    A breeze came from Jilliq—may its land be watered,

    and the time we met there, by every downpour.

  30. وَلا بَرحت مَأوى كِرام أَعزة

    وَمُنَزه نَدمان وَمَسرَح غُزلان

    May it never cease to shelter noble, mighty men,

    a pleasure-ground for boon companions and a pasture for gazelles.

  31. يَخيل لي شَوقي إِلى وَرد مائِها

    إِذا هاجَ إِن النيل نَغبة عَطشان

    My longing for a draught of its water makes me imagine,

    when it surges, that the Nile is but a thirsty man's sip.

  32. أَتَت مِن رِياض النير بينَ عَليلةً

    ذَكيةَ أَنفاس بِلَيلة أَردان

    It came, gently ailing, from the gardens of al-Nayrabayn,

    fragrant of breath, its sleeves damp with dew.

  33. نَبئني عَن أَهل وَديَ أَنَهُم

    أَضاعوا عُهودي بَينَ عُذر وَنِسيان

    Tell me of my loved ones—how they

    have neglected my pledges, between excuses and forgetting.

  34. بِروحيَ أَفدي أَهل ودي وَإِن نَسوا

    عُهودي وَجافوني وَلَستُ بِخوّان

    With my soul I ransom those I love, even if they forget

    my pledges and shun me; I am no betrayer.

  35. فَبِاللَهِ يا ريح الشَئام تَحملي

    رِسالَة مُشتاق إِلى القُرب هَيمان

    By God, O wind of Syria, carry

    a message from one crazed with longing for nearness.

  36. وَحَيي وُجوهاً مِن كِرام مَعاشِري

    وَأَهلي وَأَخواني وَصَحبي وَأَخداني

    Greet the faces of my noble associates,

    my family, my brothers, my companions, and my intimates.

  37. فَإِن سَأَلوا عَني فَقُولي تَرَكتُهُ

    يَذوب سِقاماً بَينَ شَوق وَأَشجان

    If they ask about me, say: “I left him

    melting away in sickness, amid longing and sorrows.

  38. يَهيمُ غَراماً كُلَّما لاحَ بارِقٌ

    وَيَبكي إِذا أَصغى إِلى سَجع مرنان

    He wanders mad with passion whenever lightning flashes,

    and weeps when he hears a resonant cooing.

  39. وَيَهَتَزُّ مِن ذِكرى نَتيجة دَهرِهِ

    مَتى انس التِذكار هَزَةَ نُشوان

    He trembles at the memory of the fruit of his lifetime,

    whenever remembrance comforts him, with a drunkard's tremor.”

  40. نَعَم أَنا مُشتاق إِلى ماءِ جلق

    وَلَكن إِلى بَحر النَدى جَدَّ ظَمآن

    Yes, I long for the water of Jilliq,

    but for the sea of generosity I am truly thirsty:

  41. أَمام العُلوم الغامِضات عَن الوَرى

    فَأَقوالُهُ أَقوى وَأَقوَم بُرهان

    the leader in sciences hidden from mankind,

    whose words are the strongest and soundest proof.

  42. يَحلُ خَفي المُشكِلات بَداهة

    مَتى شاءَ مِن غَير اِنهِماك وَإِمعان

    He solves hidden difficulties at first thought,

    whenever he wishes, without absorption or deep scrutiny.

  43. لَقَد جَدَّ في أَخذ العُلوم فَنالَها

    وَلَكنهُ قَد خَصَ مِنها برباني

    He strove to acquire the sciences and attained them,

    but was specially endowed with divine knowledge among them.

  44. فَمِن ظاهر تَرويهِ عَنهُ أَفاضل

    وَمِن باطن تَختارُهُ أَهل عرفان

    Outward knowledge, which eminent men transmit from him,

    and inward knowledge chosen by people of spiritual insight.

  45. تَملكهُ حُب المَعارف وَالنَدى

    فَمُلكُهُ رقَّ الوَرى لا لِسُلطان

    Love of learning and generosity has possessed him;

    his kingdom is mankind's bondage, not a sultan's rule.

  46. وَكَم باتَ سَهراناً لِمَجد يَجدهُ

    وَكَم باتَ لا بَكرى اِرتِقاباً لضيفان

    How many nights he has stayed awake for glory he attains,

    and how many nights he has forgone sleep awaiting guests.

  47. وَما زالَ يَقفو دائِماً مَجد قَومِهِ

    يتمم ما قَد شَيَدوا لا لِنُقصان

    He has always followed his people's glory,

    perfecting what they built—not because it was lacking.

  48. فَلَيسَ يُباري في العُلوم وَلا النَدى

    وَكَيفَ يُباري زَخرة بَحر عمان

    He is unrivaled in learning and generosity;

    how could one rival the surge of the Sea of Oman?

  49. وَلما أَطاعَتهُ المَعاني أَطاعَهُ

    أَبيُّ القَوافي الغُرّ طاعة مذعان

    When meanings obeyed him, there obeyed him too

    the proud, radiant rhymes, with a submissive one's obedience.

  50. فَأَودَع أَرواح المَعاني بِلُطفِهِ

    جَسوم لِآل فَهي أَرواح أَبدان

    Through his subtle art he lodged the spirits of meanings

    in bodies of pearls—spirits within bodies.

  51. وَأَبدَع شعراً إِن تَأَمَلت واحِداً

    وَإِن كانَ مِنهُ كُلُ بَيت بِديوان

    He fashioned wondrous poetry: contemplate a single piece,

    though every verse of it is worth a whole collection:

  52. مَعاني اِبن هاني في قَريض الوَليد في

    بَلاغة قس في فَصاحة حسان

    the meanings of Ibn Hani in the verse of al-Walid, in

    the eloquence of Quss, in the fluency of Hassan,

  53. وَوَجديٌ قَيس العامِري إِذا اِشتَكى

    تَجنَب لَيلى في يَراعة سحبان

    and my passion—Qays al-Amiri's when he laments

    Layla's avoidance—in the reed pen of Sahban.

  54. وَما ذاكَ تَمثيل بِهُم غَير أَنَّهُ

    تَشبَه قامات الحِسان بِأَغصان

    This is no likening him to them, save that

    the figures of beautiful women are likened to branches,

  55. كَما شَبَهوا وَرد الخُدود إِذا بَدا

    بِهِ أَثَر التَقبيل يَوماً بِسوسان

    just as they liken the roses of cheeks, when

    a trace of kissing appears upon them one day, to lilies.

  56. أَمَولايَ يا إِنسان عَين زَمانِهِ

    وَمَن شَكَ في هَذا فَلَيسَ بِإِنسان

    O my lord, pupil of the eye of his age,

    whoever doubts this is no human being.

  57. لَقَد جَلَّ ما أُوتيتهُ مِن فَضائل

    فَضاقَ بِتِعدادي لَها طَوق إِمكاني

    So great are the virtues you have been given

    that my capacity to enumerate them falls short.

  58. سُررت بِها أَهل المَودة وَالوَلا

    وَلَكنها أَودَت بِحاسدك الشاني

    With them you have gladdened those of affection and loyalty,

    but they have destroyed your hateful envier.

  59. أَرَدتُ اِنتِصاراً لِلقَريض وَلِلعُلى

    وَشُكر صَنيع لا يُجازى بِكفران

    I sought a triumph for poetry and eminence,

    and to thank a kindness not to be repaid with ingratitude.

  60. فَأَجهَدت في أَوصاف قَدرك طاقَتي

    وَحاوَلت لَمس النيرين فَأَعياني

    So I exhausted my strength describing your worth,

    and tried to touch the two luminaries, but it defeated me.

  61. وَلَم أَلقَ بُدّاً مِن إِداءِ فَريضة

    فَدونَكَ يا مَولايَ قُبة عَجلان

    I found no escape from discharging an obligation:

    so take, my lord, a hurried man's pavilion.

  62. تَفَضل بِصَفح عَن قُصور مَدائِحي

    فَوصفك لا يُنهيهِ مثلي بتبيان

    Graciously pardon the shortcomings of my praises;

    one like me cannot fully set forth your qualities.

  63. أَأَبعثُ ريحان القَريض لِرَوضِهِ

    وَأَبدَل هاتيك الجمان بِمُرجان

    Shall I send poetry's basil to its own garden,

    and exchange those pearls for coral?

  64. وَأَينَ مِن الشَمس المُنيرة في الضُحى

    وَمِن بَدر آفاق العُلا نَجم كيوان

    Where, beside the sun shining at forenoon,

    and the full moon of eminence's horizons, is the star Kaywan?

  65. عَلى أَن شغل القَلب منى بِهمِهِ

    إِلى خِطة التَقصير في المَدح الجاني

    Yet my heart's preoccupation with its cares

    is the culprit that led me to fall short in praise.

  66. وَكَيفَ أَجيد الشعر وَاللُب عاذب

    وَقَلبِيَ وَالهَم الدَخيل نجيّان

    How could I excel in poetry when my mind is absent,

    and my heart and intrusive sorrow are confidants?

  67. فَأَنتَ إِبن بَيت لَم يَزالوا يُقابلوا

    إِساءَة مَن يَجني بِصَفَح وَإِحسان

    You are the son of a house whose people have always met

    the wrongs of wrongdoers with pardon and kindness.

  68. أَقول وَحَقٌّ ما أَقول مُخاطِباً

    مَواليَّ للاجلال وَالصدقُ مِن شاني

    I say—and what I say is true—addressing

    my lords in reverence, for truthfulness is my way:

  69. أَعشاق أَبكار المَكارم وَالعُلا

    عَلى حين لا عان بِهنَّ وَلا واني

    O lovers of the maiden forms of nobility and eminence,

    when none attends them, neither diligent nor slack.

  70. لَأَنتُم بدور للعُلوم وَالمَندى

    إِذا غابَ بَدرٌ لاحَ بَدرٌ بِها ثاني

    You are indeed full moons of learning and generosity;

    when one full moon sets, a second rises there.

  71. بَقيتُم لِعَصر أَنتُمُ فَجر لَيلِهِ

    وَفَخر بَنيهِ مِن صُدور وَأَعيان

    May you endure for an age whose night's dawn you are,

    and whose sons—leaders and notables—take pride in you.

  72. إِلى اللَه أَشكو جَور دَهر مُعاند

    وَقَعت أَسيراً في يَدَيهِ فَجافاني

    To God I complain of hostile time's oppression;

    I fell captive into its hands, and it treated me harshly.

  73. وَبَعد عَن الخلان أَوهى تَجلدي

    وَإِن كُنت مِن ذِكرى عُهودِهم داني

    Distance from dear friends has weakened my endurance,

    though I remain close to the memory of their pledges.

  74. مَتى كلم القَلب المُشوق أَدكارَهُم

    تَساوى لَدى الجُلاس سَري وَأَعلاني

    Whenever remembering them wounds my yearning heart,

    my private and public states become alike before my companions.

  75. فَيا قَلب صَبراً لِليالي وَإِن تَشَأ

    فَذُب كَمداً ما بَينَ خَفق وَنيران

    O heart, be patient with the nights; or, if you wish,

    melt in grief between throbbing and flames.

  76. عَسى الدَهر يَرثي لي فَيَجمَع شَملَنا

    وَيُنجز وَعدي بَعدَ مطل وَلبّان

    Perhaps time will pity me and reunite us,

    and fulfill its promise to me after delay and procrastination.