Sol 6.1

  1. أَغُصنَ النَقا لَولا القَوامُ المُهَفهَفُ

    لَما كانَ يَهواكَ المُعَنّى المُعَنَّفُ

    O branch of the sand dune, were it not for your slender form,

    the tormented, rebuked lover would not love you.

  2. وَيا ظَبيُ لَولا أَنَّ فيكَ مَحاسِناً

    حَكَينَ الَّذي أَهوى لَما كُنتَ توصَفُ

    And O gazelle, were there not in you beauties

    that mirror the one I love, you would not be praised.

  3. كَلِفتُ بِغُصنٍ وَهوَ غُصنٌ مُمَنطَقٌ

    وَهِمتُ بِظَبيٍ وَهوَ ظَبيٌ مُشَنَّفُ

    I fell in love with a branch—a branch wearing a girdle;

    and I was love-struck by a gazelle—a gazelle wearing earrings.

  4. وَمِمّا دَهاني أَنَّهُ مِن حَيائِهِ

    أَقولُ كَليلٌ طَرفُهُ وَهوَ مُرهَفُ

    Among what afflicts me is that, because of his modesty,

    I call his gaze dull, though it is razor-sharp.

  5. وَذَلِكَ أَيضاً مِثلُ بُستانِ خَدِّهِ

    بِهِ الوَردُ يُسمى مُضعَفاً وَهوَ مُضعِفُ

    And that is also like the garden of his cheek:

    there the rose is called doubled, though it makes one weak.

  6. فَيا ظَبيُ هَلّا كانَ فيكَ التِفاتَةٌ

    وَيا غُصنُ هَلّا كانَ فيكَ تَعَطُّفُ

    So, O gazelle, why not cast a kindly glance?

    And O branch, why not bend in tenderness?

  7. وَيا حَرَمَ الحُسنِ الَّذي هُوَ آمِنٌ

    وَأَلبابُنا مِن حَولِهِ تُتَخَطَّفُ

    And O sanctuary of beauty, which is secure,

    while our minds are snatched away around it!

  8. عَسى عَطفَةً لِلوَصلِ يا واوَ صُدغِهِ

    عَلَيَّ فَإِنّي أَعرِفُ الواوَ تَعطِفُ

    May there be a tender turn for union, O wāw-shaped temple curl,

    toward me—for I know that wāw joins.

  9. أَأَحبابِنا أَمّا غَرامِيَ بَعدُكُم

    فَقَد زادَ عَمّا تَعرِفونَ وَأَعرِفُ

    O our beloveds, as for my passion since your departure,

    it has grown beyond what you know and I know.

  10. أَطَلتُم عَذابي في الهَوى فَتَعَطَّفوا

    عَلى كَلِفٍ في حُبِّكُم يَتَكَلَّفُ

    You have prolonged my torment in love; show tenderness

    to a lovesick man who struggles in loving you.

  11. وَوَاللَهِ مافارَقتُكُم عَن مَلامَةٍ

    وَجُهدي لَكُم أَنّي أَقولُ وَأَحلِفُ

    And by God, I did not leave you out of reproach;

    and all I can do for you is say this and swear it.

  12. وَلَكِن دَعاني لِلعَلاءِ بنِ جَلدَكٍ

    تَشَوُّقُ قَلبٍ قادَني وَتَشَوُّفُ

    But what called me to al-ʿAlāʾ ibn Jaldak

    was a heart's longing that led me, and yearning,

  13. إِلى سَيِّدٍ أَخلاقُهُ وَصِفاتُهُ

    تُؤَدِّبُ مَن يُثني عَلَيهِ وَتُطرِفُ

    to a lord whose character and qualities

    instruct and delight whoever praises him:

  14. أَرَقُّ مِنَ الماءِ الزُلالِ شَمائِلاً

    وَأَصفى مِنَ الخَمرِ السُلافِ وَأَلطَفُ

    gentler in disposition than clear, sweet water,

    and purer than the choicest wine, and more delicate.

  15. مَناقِبُ شَتّى لَو تَكونُ لِحاجِبٍ

    لَما ذَكَرَت يَوماً لَهُ القَوسَ خِندِفُ

    Manifold virtues—had they belonged to Ḥājib,

    Khindif would never have spoken of his bow.

  16. غَدا مِن مَداها حاتِمٌ وَهوَ حاتِمٌ

    وَأَصبَحَ عَنها أَحنَفٌ وَهوَ أَحنَفُ

    Their reach made him an ill-omened crow, though he was Ḥātim;

    and they left him crooked-footed, though he was Aḥnaf.

  17. أَتَتكَ القَوافي وَهيَ تُحسَبُ رَوضَةً

    لِما ضُمِّنَتهُ وَهوَ قَولٌ مُزَخرَفُ

    The rhymes have come to you, thought to be a garden

    for what they contain—ornamented speech.

  18. وَلَو قَصَدَت بِالذَمِّ شانيكَ لَاِغتَدى

    وَحاشاكَ مِنهُ قَلبُهُ يَتَنَظَّفُ

    And if they aimed censure at your hater, he would awaken

    —may you be kept far from him—with his heart cleansing itself,

  19. وَقُلِّدَ عاراً وَهوَ دُرٌّ مُنَظَّمٌ

    وَأُلبِسَ حُزناً وَهوَ بُردٌ مُفَوَّفُ

    and be necklaced with shame, though the verse is strung pearls,

    and be clothed in sorrow, though it is a striped mantle,

  20. وَيُصلى جَحيماً وَهيَ في الحُسنِ جَنَّةٌ

    وَيُسقى دِهاقاً وَهيَ صَهباءُ قَرقَفُ

    and be burned in hell, though in beauty the rhymes are a paradise,

    and be given brimming draughts, though they are tawny, shiver-inducing wine.