Sol 6.1

  1. أَرِقتُ وَصاحِبايَ بِبَعلَبكِّ

    وَأَرَّقَني الهُمومُ مَع التَشَكّي

    I lay sleepless, my two companions at Baalbek,

    And cares and lamenting kept me awake.

  2. وَهَيَّجَ شَوقَ مَحزونٍ عَميدٍ

    خَيالٌ مِن أُمَيمَةَ هاجَ ضِحكي

    And the longing of a grieving, love-stricken man was stirred

    By a vision of Umaymah that roused my laughter.

  3. نَعِمتُ بِها وَقُلتُ عِمي ظَلاماً

    وَإِن أَصبَحِتِ أَو أَزمَعِتِ تَركي

    I delighted in her and said, "A pleasant night to you,

    Even if morning finds you, or you resolve to leave me."

  4. تُنازِعُني مِنَ المَكتومِ سِرّاً

    وَتَعلَمُ نَفسُها أَن لَستُ أَحكي

    She exchanges a hidden secret with me,

    And she herself knows that I do not divulge it.

  5. إِذا اِبتَسَمَت بَدا لَكَ أُقحُوانٌ

    أَصابَ نَدى الدُجُنَّةِ بَعدَ رَكِّ

    When she smiles, a daisy appears before you,

    Touched by the dark night's dew after light rain.

  6. مِنَ الخَفِراتِ خِلتُ رِضابَ فيها

    سُلافَةَ قَرقَفٍ شيبَت بِمِسكِ

    One of the bashful maidens—I thought her mouth's moisture

    The purest strong wine, mingled with musk.

  7. فَقُلتُ لَها بِعُمرِكِ نَوِّلينا

    رَجاءَ النيلِ بَعدَ المطلِ مِنكِ

    So I said to her, "By your life, grant us

    Hope of winning you, after your delays.

  8. أَدمِيَةَ بيعَةٍ كُسِيَت جَمالاً

    لَوَيتِ نعم ذَري اللَيّانَ عَنكِ

    O church image, clothed in beauty,

    You have withheld your 'yes'; put your stalling aside."

  9. وَكَم مِن دونِها مِن خَرقِ تيهٍ

    وَمِن رَملٍ وَمِن جَبَلٍ وَدُكِّ

    And how many a wide, trackless waste lay between me and her,

    And sands, and mountains, and flat-topped hills!

  10. غَشيتُ لَها رُسوماً دارِساتٍ

    بِأَسفَلِ لَعلَعٍ مِن دونِ أُركِ

    For her sake I visited effaced traces of dwellings,

    In lower Laʿlaʿ, on this side of Urk.

  11. تُغَيِّرُها الرِياحُ وَكُلُّ غَيثٍ

    لَهُ حُبُكٌ رَواءٌ بَعدَ حُبكِ

    The winds alter them, and every rainstorm

    With water-laden bands following band on band.

  12. كَأَنَّ بِحَجرَتَيهِ دِفافَ شَربٍ

    وَغِيلاً ضُرِّمَت بِسُيوفِ عَكِّ

    As though on its two flanks were drinkers' tambourines,

    And thickets set ablaze by the swords of ʿAkk.

  13. كَأَنَّ سَحابَهُ وَالبَرقُ فيهِ

    يَهُكُّ بِهِنَّ هَكّاً بَعدَ هَكِّ

    As though its cloud, with lightning within it,

    Were pounding them, blow after blow.

  14. يُفَرِّغُ وَهُوَ مُنهَمِرٌ قَطوفٌ

    عَلى الأَطلالِ سَفكاً بَعدَ سَفكِ

    It empties itself, streaming down, slow-moving,

    Upon the ruins, outpouring after outpouring.

  15. فَلَمّا غَمَّها بِالماءِ أَجلى

    بِإِقلاعٍ بَطيءٍ غَيرِ وَشكِ

    Then, when it had engulfed them in water, it cleared,

    Ceasing slowly, not in haste.

  16. بِها العونُ الأَوابِدُ تَرتَعيها

    وَعِينٌ كَالكَواكِبِ غَيرُ شَكِّ

    There, mature wild cows graze upon the land,

    And wide-eyed ones, like stars, beyond doubt.

  17. وَبَيضٌ قَد تَصَيَّحَ عَن رِئالٍ

    رُؤوسَها نُتِفَت بِعِلكِ

    And eggs have split open to reveal ostrich chicks,

    Their heads plucked bare with gum.

  18. تُراطِنُ وَهيَ عُجمٌ أُمَّهاتٍ

    وَكُلَّ خَفَيدَدٍ يَبري لِصُكِّ

    They chatter, though speechless, to their mothers,

    And every swift male ostrich advancing to strike.

  19. تَقولُ أَفي سَوالِفِها اِنعِقادٌ

    إِذا عَطَفَت سَوالِفَها بِحَكِّ

    You would say, "Are their necks tied in knots?"

    When they bend their necks to scratch.

  20. وَقَفتُ بِها وَدَمعُ العَينِ يَجري

    تَحادُرَ لُؤلُؤٍ مِن وَهيِ سِلكِ

    I stood there while tears streamed from my eyes,

    Like pearls tumbling from a broken thread.

  21. وَمَن يَسَلِ الرُسومَ فَلا تَجِبهُ

    يَحِنَّ كَما حَنَنتُ بِها وَيَبكِ

    Whoever questions the ruins and receives no answer

    Will yearn as I yearned there, and weep.

  22. وَلَستُ أَبِينُ إِلّا رَسمَ نُؤيٍ

    وَأَورَقَ كَالحَمامَةِ بَينَ رُمكِ

    And I discern only the trace of a tent-trench,

    And gray ashes, like a dove, among dark hearthstones.

  23. وَبيدٍ قَد قَطَعتُ بِذاتِ لَوثٍ

    ذَمولٍ كَالضُؤاضِئَةِ المِصَكَ

    And many a desert I have crossed on a sturdy she-camel,

    A steady pacer, like a massive, hard-striking beast,

  24. عُذافِرَةٍ كَأَنَّ بِذِفرتيها

    كُحَيلاً قانِئاً وَمُذابَ لُكِّ

    Powerfully built, as though at her ear-roots were

    Deep-red tar and melted lac.

  25. وَتَخلِطُ ما أَصابَت مِن قَتادٍ

    وَمِن عَلقى وَمِن سَلَمٍ بِلَبكِ

    And she mixes whatever she finds of thornbush,

    Of ʿalqā and salam acacia, in a tangled mixture,

  26. عَلى عَودٍ تُعُبِّدِ قَبلَ عادٍ

    كَأَنَّ مُتونَهُ تَسبيجُ شِركِ

    On an ancient road, trodden smooth before ʿĀd,

    As though its stretches were interlaced sandal-straps.

  27. يُرى عَن طولِ مَلبَسِهِ جَديداً

    وَيَخلُقُ إِن عَفا كَالمُرمَئِكِّ

    It looks new after long use,

    And wears out if effaced, like a dark, matted mass (uncertain).