Sol 6.1

  1. لمثلِ معاليك تعنُو الرِّقابْ

    ومن جودك الغَمْرِ يحيا السحابُ

    To eminence such as yours, necks bow.

    And from your overflowing bounty the clouds draw life.

  2. ومن نشوةِ الكَرَمِ المُقْتَنى

    لديك يُجَدَّدُ عهدُ الشبابْ

    And from the rapture of the generosity treasured

    with you, the season of youth is renewed.

  3. وما ضَرَّ جارَكَ لوْ أَنَّهُ

    يَحُدُّ له الدهرُ ظُفْراً ونابْ

    And what could harm your protégé, even if

    Time sharpens claw and fang against him?

  4. يَفِيءُ إِلى رَعْن طَوْدٍ أشمَّ

    منيعٍ له من سَحابٍ سِحابْ

    He takes refuge at the spur of a towering mountain,

    impregnable, with a trailing robe of clouds.

  5. أرى الدهرَ طوعَ يدَيْ ماجدٍ

    رحيبِ الفِناءِ مَرِيعِ الجَنَابْ

    I see Time obedient to the hands of a noble man,

    with spacious courtyard and fertile grounds.

  6. يعلّمُهُ طَرَباتِ الكِرام

    إِلى مستميحيهِ عِرْقٌ لُبابْ

    He is taught the delight of generous men

    in his petitioners by pure ancestral stock.

  7. تلينُ له نَبْعَتا دهْرِه

    بصدمةِ رأيٍ يروضُ الصِّعابْ

    The two bow-staves of his time grow pliant for him,

    under the impact of a judgment that tames the unruly.

  8. إِذا جادَ لم يعترِضْهُ المَلال

    وطبَّقَ سَيبُ يديهِ الشِّعابْ

    When he gives, no weariness interrupts him,

    and the bounty of his hands floods the ravines.

  9. يروعُكَ يوميهِ من أصغريه

    بفضل الرِقابِ وفصلِ الخِطابْ

    He awes you on both his days through his heart and tongue,

    by rising above all necks and by decisive speech.

  10. غرائمُ أورعَ ضافِي الإزا

    ر في دوحةِ المجدِ عالي النِّصَابْ

    Binding obligations of a most scrupulous man, his waistwrap ample,

    high of lineage in glory's spreading tree.

  11. غرائمُ تفدِي شِهابَ الضُّحَى

    بها وتُروِّي صُدورَ الكِعَابْ

    Obligations—you ransom the morning sun

    with them, and slake the breasts of spears.

  12. به يُشرِقُ المُلْكُ يومَ الفَخار

    ويحتدمُ الحرب يومَ الضِرابْ

    Through him kingship shines on the day of glory,

    and war blazes on the day of blows.

  13. يُضيءُ شِهاباه في الغَيْهبي

    ن غيهبِ ليلٍ وخَطْبٍ أصابْ

    His two meteors shine within the two darknesses:

    the gloom of night and a calamity that has struck.

  14. رزينُ حَصاةِ النُّهَى ثابت

    إِذا ظَنَّ أو قال يوماً أصابْ

    His reason's core is weighty; he is steadfast;

    whenever he surmises or speaks, he hits the mark.

  15. هو المُلكُ سيفاً صقيلَ الغِرار

    وأنتَ الفِرِنْدُ له والذُّبابْ

    Kingship is a sword with burnished edges,

    and you are its watered pattern and its point.

  16. تريعُ إليه بهادي الجموح

    وبُهْرَته وهو صِفْرُ الوِطابْ

    To it you turn back the restive steed's neck

    and breast, though its milk-skins are empty.

  17. أرى عِرْقَ نُعماكَ صديانَ عندي

    وقد كان قِدْماً ثريَّ التُرابْ

    I see the root of your bounty thirsty here with me,

    though long ago its soil was moist.

  18. وبعضُ أياديكَ عندي الحياة

    إِذا أنعُمُ القومِ عندي سَرابْ

    And among your favors to me is life itself,

    while other men's favors are, to me, a mirage.

  19. فصُنْ لي معاشي باجراءِ رسمي

    وصُنْ ماءَ وجهيَ ذُلَّ الطِّلابْ

    So preserve my livelihood by continuing my stipend,

    and guard my face's honor against the shame of begging.

  20. ومُنَّ بتوفيرِه مُنعماً

    تَحُزْ بفعالكَ حسنَ الثَّوابْ

    And graciously grant it in full;

    you will earn through your deeds a goodly reward.