Sol 6.1

  1. إلفَ الخَيالِ أراكَ إلفاً شَاسِعا

    وَصَلَ الهُجوعَ وزارَ ركباً هاجِعا

    O beloved of dreams, I see you as a distant beloved,

    Who kept company with slumber and visited a sleeping caravan.

  2. أهلاً بمُبتَسِمٍ تَغَيَّبَ آفلاً

    بَدرِ التَّمامِ وقد تجلَّى طَالِعا

    Welcome to a smiling one who vanished as he set,

    The moon at its fullness, now revealed as it rises.

  3. لَتَلَذُّ لي بينَ العَقيقِ مَضاجِعي

    ما دامَ طيفُكَ لي يَهُزُّ مَضاجِعا

    Sweet indeed to me are my resting places amid al-ʿAqiq,

    So long as your phantom rocks my resting places.

  4. أَبَتِ الرَّكائِبُ أن تَعُنَّ وقد دَعَتْ

    قلباً تأبَّى ثم أَصحَبَ طائِعا

    The riding camels refused to turn aside, though they had called

    A heart that resisted, then yielded willingly,

  5. بأوانسٍ تَدَعُ الدُّموعَ أوانِساً

    ورَواتِعٍ تَدَعُ القلوبَ رواتعا

    With companionable maidens who leave tears as companions,

    And freely grazing ones who leave hearts grazing.

  6. لم تَنْكَشِفْ عنها البَراقعُ لوعةً

    إلا وأَلبسَها الحياءُ بَراقِعا

    Never were face-veils lifted from her in yearning

    Without modesty clothing her in veils.

  7. كَتمَتْ سُجوفُ الرَّقْمِ ذائعَ حُسْنِها

    وأَعَدْنَ مكتومَ الصَّبابَةِ ذائِعا

    Embroidered curtains hid her renowned beauty,

    And made concealed longing widely known.

  8. فسَفَرْنَ عن شِيَمِ الوَدادِ بَواذِلاً

    مِنْ وَصْلِنا ما كُنَّ قبلُ مَوانِعا

    So they unveiled the ways of affection, granting

    Of union with us what they had formerly withheld.

  9. لو رُمْنَ تَضييعَ العُهودِ ونقضَها

    لَحَفَظْنَ دُرّاً في المحاجرِ ضائِعا

    Had they sought to neglect the pledges and break them,

    They would have saved the pearls wasted in the eye sockets.

  10. يغتالُنا البَيْنُ المُفَرِّقُ شملَنا

    وتُبيحُنا الأحلامُ شَملاً جامِعا

    Separation slays us, sundering our union;

    And dreams grant us a union that brings us together.

  11. خَلَعَ السُّرورُ بِعَرصَتَيْكَ عِذارَه

    ما اقتادَ فيك جوى الصَّبابةِ خالِعا

    May joy cast off its bridle in your two courtyards,

    As long as love's anguish leads an unbridled lover through you.

  12. وسَقَتْ دموعُ الغَيْثِ رَبعَكَ ما سَقَتْ

    منَّا لذِكْراكَ الدموعُ مَدامِعا

    And may rain's tears water your dwelling as long as

    Our tears water our eyes in remembrance of you.

  13. غَدَتِ الوفودُ بِنَظْمِ حَمْدٍ شائعٍ

    لمّا رَأَتْ كَرَماً وفَضْلاً شائِعا

    The delegations went forth with verses of widespread praise,

    When they saw generosity and widespread bounty.

  14. وثَنى الرَّجاءُ إلى ابنِ فَهْدٍ عِطْفَه

    فغدا على رَبْعِ المكارمِ رابِعا

    And hope turned its flank toward Ibn Fahd,

    And settled in the abode of noble deeds.

  15. مَلِكٌ يَمُدُّ إلى العُفاةِ أنامِلاً

    كادَتْ تَكونُ من السَّماحِ يَنابِعا

    A king who extends fingers toward petitioners,

    That, through generosity, almost become springs.

  16. أوفَى فأشرقَ بينَ نَشْرٍ ساطعٍ

    قمرٌ يُعيدُ اللَّيلَ فَجْراً ساطِعا

    There rose and shone amid a wafting fragrance

    A moon that turns the night into a radiant dawn.

  17. متتابعُ المعروفِ يَنبُعُ في النَّدى

    والبأسِ أدواءٌ له وتَبايعا

    Unceasing in kindness, he wells forth in generosity

    And valor—ailments for him, and the two traded [text unclear].

  18. فإذا رآكَ البِشْرُ بَرْقاً لامِعاً

    منه أراكَ الجُودُ غَيْثاً هَامِعا

    Then, when cheerfulness sees you as a gleaming flash

    From him, generosity shows you rain pouring down.

  19. تَنْتابُهُ نُوَبُ الخُطوبِ فتَنْثَني

    عنه وهل تَثني الخطوبُ مَتالِعا

    The onsets of calamity assail him, then recoil

    From him—can calamities bend Mataliʿ?

  20. حِلْمٌ يرُدُّ البأسَ فيه كأَنَّه

    غِمْدٌ حَوى عَضبَ المَهَزَّةِ قَاطِعا

    Forbearance restrains the might within him, as though it were

    A sheath holding a cutting blade, keen when brandished.

  21. لمّا استَعَنْتُ على الزَّمانِ بجُودِه

    أعطى المُنى قَسْراً وكان مُمانِعا

    When I sought his generosity's aid against Time,

    It granted my wishes under compulsion, though it had resisted.

  22. كم مَعْرَكٍ عَرَكَ القَنا أبطالُه

    فسقاهُمُ في النَّقْعِ سُمّاً ناقِعا

    On many a battlefield its champions grappled with spears,

    Then he made them drink deadly poison amid the dust.

  23. هَبَّتْ رِياحُكَ في ذُراهُ سَمائِماً

    وغَدَتْ سماؤُكَ تَستَهِلُّ فَجائِعا

    Your winds blew as scorching blasts over its heights,

    And your sky began pouring down calamities.

  24. فتَرَكْتَ من حَرِّ الحديدِ مَصائِفاً

    فيه ومن فَيْضِ الدِّماءِ مَراتِعا

    So, from the heat of iron, you left summer quarters

    There, and pastures from the flood of blood.

  25. وغَدَوْتَ من حُبِّ الوَقائعِ باسِطاً

    يُمناكَ تُوقِعُ في التَّليدِ وَقائِعا

    And, for love of battles, you stretched out

    Your right hand, launching assaults on ancestral wealth.

  26. شغَلَتْكَ عن حُسْنِ السَّماعِ مَدائِحٌ

    حَسُنَتْ فما تَنفَكُّ تُطْرِبُ سامِعا

    Praises have kept you from the beauty of music,

    So fine that they never cease to delight a listener.

  27. طلَعَتْ عليك أبا الفوارسِ أنجُمٌ

    منهُنَّ يُخْجِلْنَ النُّجومَ طَوالِعا

    Stars have risen upon you, Abu al-Fawaris,

    From among them, putting rising stars to shame.

  28. زُهْرٌ إذا صَافَحْنَ سَمْعَ مُعاندٍ

    خَفَضَ الكلامَ وغَضَّ طَرْفاً خاشِعا

    Radiant ones: when they shake hands with an adversary's ear,

    He lowers his voice and casts down his gaze in humility.

  29. جَاءَتْكَ مثلَ بدائعِ الوَشْيِ الذي

    ما زالَ في صَنعاءَ يُتْعِبُ صَانِعا

    They came to you like wondrous embroidery that

    Has always taxed a craftsman in Sana'a,

  30. أو كالرَّبيعِ يُريكَ أخضَرَ يانِعاً

    ومورِّداً شَرِقاً وأصفرَ فاقِعا

    Or like spring, showing you a flourishing green,

    And radiant rose-red, and brilliant yellow.