Sol 6.1

  1. أشارَتْ غَداةَ البيْنِ منْ خلَلِ السّجْفِ

    بناظِرَتَيْ ريمٍ وسالِفَتَي خِشْفِ

    She gestured on the morning of parting through the curtain's gaps,

    With a white gazelle's two eyes and both sides of a fawn's neck.

  2. وأبْصَرَتِ التّوْديعَ حقّاً فلَمْ تُطِقْ

    غَداتَئِذٍ كتْماً لبَعْضِ الذي تُخْفي

    And seeing that farewell was real, she could not

    That morning conceal even part of what she hid.

  3. أماطَتْ عن الخَدِّ اللّئَامَ فأطْلَعَتْ

    هِلالاً علَى غُصْنٍ وغُصْناً علَى حِقْفِ

    She drew the veil from her cheek, revealing

    A crescent upon a bough, and a bough upon a curving dune.

  4. وقالَتْ لأتْرابٍ لَها قُمْنَ دونَها

    فقائِلةٍ سِحّي وقائِلَةٍ كُفّي

    And she said to her companions, who stood before her—

    One saying, “Let tears flow,” another, “Hold them back”—

  5. أخِلاّيَ هلْ طعْمٌ أمَرُّ منَ النّوَى

    وأفْظَعُ خَطْباً منْ مُفارقَةِ الإلْفِ

    “My friends, is any taste more bitter than separation,

    Or any ordeal more dreadful than parting from one's beloved?”

  6. ولمْ تَكُ إلاّ ساعَةٌ وتسنّمَتْ

    ظُهورَ المَطايا كلُّ فانِيةِ الطّرْفِ

    Scarcely an hour had passed before there climbed

    Onto the riding-beasts' backs every languid-eyed beauty.

  7. ودارَتْ علَى الرّكْبِ الصّوارِمُ والقَنا

    وجُرْدُ المَذاكي منْ أمامٍ ومِنْ خلْفِ

    And swords and spears circled the caravan,

    And sleek, full-grown steeds, before it and behind.

  8. أمالُوا السُّرَى قصْدَ العِراقِ وأزْمَعوا

    على مهْمَهٍ تسْفي بهِ الرّيحُ ما تسْفي

    They turned their night march toward Iraq, resolved

    To cross a trackless waste where the wind scatters what it will.

  9. ودلَّ علَيْهِمْ مَنْ تخلّفَ منْهُمُ

    بمَا أودِعُوا طيبُ النّسيمِ منَ العَرْفِ

    And those of them who stayed behind were guided to them

    By the breeze's sweetness, through the fragrance they had been given.

  10. فَلا عَهْدَ إلاّ بالخَيالِ وبالمُنى

    ولا وصْلَ إلاّ بالرّسائِلِ والصُّحْفِ

    So no meeting remains except in dreams and wishes,

    And no union except through letters and written pages.

  11. بكَيْتُ دَماً حتّى توهّمَ صاحِبي

    بأنّي غَداةَ البيْنِ أرْعَفُ منْ طَرْفي

    I wept blood until my companion imagined

    That, on parting morning, I was nosebleeding through my eyes.

  12. وكمْ رُمْتُ أنْ يُجْدي البُكاءُ فلَمْ يكُنْ

    ليُجْدي ورجّعْتُ الحَنينَ فلَمْ يشْفِ

    How often I hoped weeping would help, yet it did not

    Help; I repeated my yearning cries, but they brought no cure.

  13. أيا قاتَلَ اللهُ الغَوانِي فإنّما

    طِلابُ الرّدى وقْفٌ على ربّةِ الوَقْفِ

    Ah, may God smite the beauties! For

    The pursuit of death is reserved for the bracelet-wearing lady.

  14. تُغادِرُ ذا الجأشَ القَويَّ جُفونُها

    ضَعيفَ انتصارِ وهْيَ بيّنةُ الضّعْفِ

    Her eyelids leave even the stout-hearted man

    Powerless to resist, though they are plainly weak.

  15. إذا ما غرَسْنَ الوعْدَ في روضَةِ الهَوى

    جَنَيْتُ علَى أغْصانِهِ ثمَرَ الخُلْفِ

    Whenever they planted promises in love's garden,

    I gathered from its boughs the fruit of broken faith.

  16. تُرَى منْ أحَلّ الغَدْرَ وهْوَ محرَّمٌ

    وحرّمَ غُصْنَ الأقْحُوانِ على الرّشْفِ

    I wonder who made treachery lawful, though forbidden,

    And forbade sipping from the chrysanthemum's stem.

  17. سأصْرِفُ عنْ قلْبي مُساعَدَةَ الهَوى

    فقدْ كانَ في حوْلَيْنِ منْ ذاكَ ما يكْفي

    I shall turn my heart away from abetting passion;

    For in two years there has been enough of that.

  18. وأذْهَبُ منْ صَبْري الى كلِّ مذْهَب

    وكُلُّ كريمٍ لا يُقيمُ علَى خسْفِ

    And I shall take every road away from patient endurance;

    No noble man abides humiliation.

  19. وأفْزَعُ منْ دهْري الى ظِلّ يُوسُفٍ

    فلِلّهِ منْ رُكْنٍ مَنيع ومِنْ كهْفِ

    And I seek refuge from my time in Yusuf's shade:

    By God, what an impregnable pillar and refuge!

  20. زجَرْتُ القَوافي والمَطايا شَوارِداً

    الى واحِدٍ في الرّوعِ يُغْني عنِ الألْفِ

    I drove my wayward rhymes and riding-beasts

    Toward one who, in peril, takes the place of a thousand.

  21. وَقورٌ إذا الأبْطالُ طاشَتْ حُلومُها

    وأقْدَمُ في الهَيْجاءِ صَفّاً الى صَفِّ

    Composed when the champions' wits reel,

    And boldest in battle, rank against rank.

  22. إذا ذُكِرَ الأمْلاكُ يوْماً فيوسُفٌ

    لِما شِئْتَ منْ جُودٍ وما شِئْتَ منْ عطْفِ

    Whenever kings are named, Yusuf is the one

    For all the bounty you desire, and all the kindness you desire.

  23. هُوَ الدّهْرُ لكِنْ عدْلُهُ وسَماحُهُ

    يرُدُّ صُروفَ الدّهْرِ راغِمَةَ الأنْفِ

    He is Time itself, yet his justice and generosity

    Drive back Time's reversals, their noses in the dust.

  24. هوَ البَدْرُ إلا أنّهُ الدّهْرَ كامِلٌ

    إذا عِيبَ نُورُ البَدْرِ بالنّقْصِ والخَسْفِ

    He is the full moon, except that he is full forever,

    When the moon's light is marred by waning and eclipse.

  25. منَ العرَبِ الشُّمِّ الأنوفِ إذا احْتَبوا

    تبوّأتَ في جارٍ مُجيرٍ وفي حِلْفِ

    He is of the proud-nosed Arabs: when they sit with knees clasped,

    You find shelter with a protecting neighbor and in sworn alliance.

  26. كِرامٌ إذا ما الغيْثُ في الأرْضِ لمْ يكْفِ

    بصَوْبِ حَيا كانَتْ أكُفُّهُمْ تكْفي

    Noble men: when the earth's rainfall does not suffice

    With its life-giving downpour, their palms suffice.

  27. فإنْ حمَلوا أفْنَوْا أو استُصْرِخوا حمَوْا

    وإنْ بذَلُوا أغْنَوا عنِ الدِّيمِ الوَطْفِ

    If they charge, they annihilate; or if called for aid, they defend;

    And if they give, they make abundant, steady rains needless.

  28. وإنْ مُدِحوا اهتَزّوا كَما هبّتِ الصَّبا

    على كُلِّ ممْطورٍ منَ البانِ مُلْتَفِّ

    And if praised, they sway as when the east wind blows

    Over every rain-soaked, thickly clustered moringa tree.

  29. وإنْ سَمِعوا العَوْراءَ فرّوا بأنْفُسٍ

    كِرامِ السّجايا لا تفِرُّ منَ الزّحْفِ

    And if they hear an offensive word, they flee with souls

    Noble in nature, which never flee the advancing host.

  30. لَعَمْري لَئِنْ هاجَتْ عَزائِمَكَ العِدَى

    كما بحثَتْ عنْ حتْفِها ربّةُ الظِّلْفِ

    By my life, if the foes have stirred your resolve,

    As the cloven-hoofed creature dug for its own death,

  31. وغرّتْهُمُ الحرْبُ السِّجالُ وقلّما

    يدُلُّ غُرورُ القوْمِ إلا على الحتْفِ

    And war's changing fortunes have deceived them—rarely

    Does a people's delusion point to anything but death—

  32. فقَدْ آنَ أخْذُ الدّينِ منْهُمْ بِثأرِه

    وما كانَ جفْنُ الدّهْرِ في مثلِها يُعْفِي

    Then the time has come for the faith to exact its vengeance from them;

    And Time's eyelid never overlooks the like of this.

  33. ودونَ مهَبِّ العزْمِ كلُّ مهنَّدٍ

    وخطّيّةٍ سُمْرٍ وفَضْفاضَةٍ زَغْفِ

    Before resolve's rising wind: every Indian blade,

    And dusky Khatt spears and ample, fine-linked coats of mail,

  34. وأُسْدٍ غِضابٍ إنْ تذكّرْنَ يومَها

    عضَضْنَ بأطْرافِ البَنانِ منَ اللّهْفِ

    And angry lions who, when they recall its day,

    Bite their fingertips in anguish.

  35. أمَوْلايَ زارَتْكَ القَوافِي كأنّها

    هدِيٌّ تَهادَتْها القِيانُ الى الزَّفِّ

    O my lord, the rhymes have visited you, as though

    A bride whom singing-girls escort to her wedding.

  36. علَيْها عُقودٌ منْ ثَنائِكَ نُظِّمَتْ

    مُناسِبَةَ التّأليفِ مُحْكَمَةَ الرّصْفِ

    They wear necklaces strung from praise of you,

    Harmoniously composed and firmly set together.

  37. أتاكَ بِها النَّوْروزُ معْتَرِفاً بِما

    لمُلْكِكَ فيهِ منْ نَوالٍ ومِنْ عُرْفِ

    Nowruz has brought them to you, acknowledging

    The bounty and favor your reign bestows upon it.

  38. فهُنّيتَهُ والدّهْرُ طوْعُكَ والمُنى

    تُوافِي بما تهْواهُ ضِعْفاً علَى ضِعْفِ

    May you enjoy it, with Time obedient to you, and wishes

    Bringing what you desire, doubled and redoubled.

  39. تمهّدَتِ الدُنْيا بمُلْكِكَ بعْدَما

    أقامَتْ زَماناً لا تَقَرُّ منَ الرّجْفِ

    The world grew tranquil under your reign, after

    Long remaining restless, unable to still its trembling.

  40. ورُضْتَ صِعابَ الدّهْرِ وهْيَ شَوامِسٌ

    فذلّلْتَها منْ غيرِ جُهْدٍ ولا عُنفِ

    You tamed Time's unruly steeds while they were still shying,

    And subdued them without effort or violence.

  41. وكمْ صَرَفَ التّأميلَ نحوَكَ آمِلٌ

    فصيّرْتَهُ بالعدْلِ ممْتَنِعَ الصَّرْفِ

    And how many a hopeful man has turned his hopes toward you,

    And through justice you made him impossible to turn away.

  42. وكمْ منْ يَدٍ أوْلَيْتَنيها كَريمَةٍ

    يقِلُّ لَها نظْمي ويعْيَى بِها وصْفي

    And how many a generous favor you have bestowed on me,

    For which my verse falls short and my description falters!

  43. فأسْبابُكَ الوُثْقَى وصلْتُ بِها يَدي

    ونِعْمَتُك الكُبْرى ملأتُ بِها كفّي

    So I have fastened my hand to your surest cords,

    And filled my palm with your greatest favor.

  44. فإنْ أنا لمْ أمْحَضْكَ منّي بخالِصٍ

    منَ الوُدِّ صافٍ في قَرارتِه صِرْفِ

    And if I do not offer you, from myself, pure

    Affection, clear to its depths and utterly unmixed,

  45. ولمْ آتِ بحْرَ المَدْحِ فيكَ لِغايةٍ

    تُرى دونَها الأبْصارُ حاسِرةَ الطّرْفِ

    And do not enter the sea of your praise to reach a limit

    Before which eyes fall short, their gaze exhausted,

  46. فَلا صاغَ معْنىً يُسْتَضاءُ لنورِه

    جَناني ولا خطّتْ بَناني في حرْفِ

    Then may no meaning whose radiance lights the way be fashioned

    By my heart, nor may my fingers trace a single letter.