Sol 6.1

  1. أبيض مجردة أم عيون

    تسل وأجفانهن الجفون

    Are these drawn white blades, or eyes

    unsheathed, with eyelids for their scabbards?

  2. عجبت بها قضباً باتره

    تصول بها المقل الفاتره

    I marveled at them as cleaving swords,

    with which languid eyes attack,

  3. فتغدو لأرواحنا واتره

    ظباء فتكن بأسد العرين

    and so deal death to our souls:

    gazelles that slew the lions of the lair,

  4. وغائرة خرجت من كمين

    إذا ما هززن رماح القدود

    and a raider who emerged from ambush.

    When they brandish the spears of their figures,

  5. حمين النفوس لذيذ الورود

    حياض اللمى ورياض الخدود

    they deny souls the sweetness of approaching

    the pools of dark lips and the gardens of cheeks.

  6. فلا تطمعنك تلك الغصون

    فإن كثيب نقاها مصون

    So let not those boughs raise your hopes,

    for the mound of their sand is guarded.

  7. وفيهن فتانة لم تزل

    أوامر مقلتها تمتثل

    And among them is an enchantress; ever

    the commands of her eye are obeyed.

  8. ومن أجل سلطانها في المقل

    تقول لها أعين الناظرين

    And because of her sway over eyes,

    the eyes of those who gaze say to her,

  9. إذا ما رنت ما الذي تأمرين

    منعمة ردفها مخصب

    whenever she gazes, "What do you command?"

    A pampered beauty, her hips fertile,

  10. وما اهتز من خصرها مجدب

    مقسمة كلها يعجب

    and the swaying part of her waist barren,

    well-proportioned, every part of her delights:

  11. فجسم جرى فيه ماء معين

    وقلب غدا صخرة لا تلين

    a body through which running water courses,

    and a heart turned to a rock that never softens.

  12. أما وعلى الصالح الأوحد

    ردى المعتدي وندى المجتدي

    Indeed, by the eminence of al-Salih, the peerless—

    death to the aggressor and bounty to the petitioner,

  13. وجعد العقوبة سبط اليد

    ومن نصر العترة الطاهرين

    stern in punishment, open-handed,

    and he who championed the pure kindred,

  14. ونعم النصير لهم والمعين

    لقد شرفت مصر والقاهرة

    and an excellent defender and helper to them—

    Egypt and Cairo have indeed been ennobled

  15. بأيام دولته القاهرة

    وأصبح للدولة الطاهرة

    by the days of his all-conquering rule.

    And for the pure dynasty there has come,

  16. بعزم ابن رزيك فتح مبين

    وعزم ابنه ناصر الناصرين

    through Ibn Ruzzik's resolve, a clear victory,

    and through the resolve of his son, champion of champions.

  17. إذا ما بدا الملك الناصر

    بدت شيم مالها حاصر

    Whenever King al-Nasir appears,

    virtues appear that none can number;

  18. يطول بها الأمل القاصر

    كريم السجية طلق الجبين

    through them, limited hope stretches far.

    He is noble in disposition, cheerful of brow;

  19. يرى الله كلتا يديه اليمين

    فتى شأو همته لا ينال

    God sees both his hands as right hands.

    A youth whose ambition's reach cannot be attained—

  20. فماذا عسى في علاه يقال

    وقد حاز أنهى صفات الكمال

    so what might be said of his eminence?

    And he has attained the utmost attributes of perfection,

  21. وخوله الله دنيا ودين

    وأضحى له كل خلق يدين

    and God has granted him this world and faith,

    and all creation now submits to him.

  22. فلا زال ظل أبيه مديد

    مدى الدهر في دولة لا تبيد

    So may his father's shade remain far-reaching

    for all time, in a dynasty that never perishes;

  23. وبلغ في نفسه ما يريد

    وأخوته السادة الأكرمين

    and may he attain what he desires for himself,

    and for his brothers, the most noble lords,

  24. وفي عمهم فارس المسلمين

    and for their uncle, the knight of the Muslims.