Sol 6.1

  1. لا تَعرِضَنَّ لِضيّقِ المُقَلِ

    فَتَبيتَ مِن أَمنٍ عَلى وَجَلِ

    Never expose yourself to the narrow-eyed,

    Lest, once secure, you spend the night in fear.

  2. وَاترُك ظِباءَ التُركِ سانِحَةً

    لا تَعتَرِض لِحَبائِلِ الأَجَلِ

    And let the gazelles of the Turks pass to the right;

    Do not venture into death's snares.

  3. فَمَتى يفيقُ وَقيذُ نافِذَةٍ

    مَشحوذَةٍ بِالسِحرِ وَالكحَلِ

    For when will one recover who is stunned by a piercing glance,

    Sharpened with magic and kohl?

  4. لا يُوَقِّعَنَّكَ عَذبُ ريقَتِها

    أَنا مَن سُقيتُ السُمَّ في العَسَلِ

    Let not the sweetness of her saliva ensnare you;

    I am one who was made to drink poison in honey,

  5. مِن كُلِّ مائِسَةٍ مُنَعَّمَةٍ

    غَرثى الأَياطِلِ فَعمَةِ الكَفَلِ

    From every swaying, pampered woman,

    Slender in the flanks, full in the rump.

  6. خَطَرَت بِمِثلِ الرُمحِ مُعتَدِلٍ

    وَرَنَت بِمِثلِ الصارِمِ الصَقِلِ

    She swayed with a figure like a straight spear,

    And gazed with a glance like a keen, polished sword.

  7. وَتَنَفَّسَت عَن عَنبَرٍ عَبقٍ

    وَتَبَسَّمَت عَن واضِحٍ رَتِلِ

    And breathed out fragrant ambergris,

    And smiled to reveal bright, evenly spaced teeth.

  8. خَودٌ تَعَثَّرُ كُلَّما رَقَصَت

    مِن شعرِها بِمُسَلسَلٍ رَجِلِ

    A tender maiden who stumbles whenever she dances,

    Over the cascading, wavy chain of her hair.

  9. بَيضاءُ تَنظُرُ مِن مُضَيَّقَةٍ

    سَوداءَ تَهزَأُ مِن بَني ثُعَلِ

    Fair-skinned, she gazes through a narrow

    Black eye, mocking the sons of Thuʿal.

  10. وَبَلِيَّتي مِن ضيقِ مُقلَتِها

    إِن خيفَ فَتكُ الأَعيُنِ النُجُلِ

    And my affliction comes from the narrowness of her eye,

    If the deadly power of wide eyes is feared.

  11. تَسعى بِصافيةٍ مُعَتَّقَةٍ

    تَبدو لَنا في الكَأسِ كَالشُعَلِ

    She moves about bearing clear, aged wine,

    Which appears to us in the cup like flames.

  12. هَجَرَت بَلوذانا مُهاجِرَةً

    وَتَنَصَّلَت مِن غلظَةِ الجَبَلِ

    It left Baludhan, an emigrant,

    And freed itself from the mountain's coarseness.

  13. وَتَعتَّقَت في آبِلٍ حُقُباً

    لَم تُمتَهَن مَزجاً وَلَم تُذَلِ

    And aged in Abil for ages,

    Never degraded by dilution, never debased.

  14. وَدَنَت كَأَنَّ شُعاعَها قَبسٌ

    بادٍ وَإِن جَلَّت عَنِ المَثَلِ

    And it drew near, its radiance like a flame

    Plain to see, though it surpasses comparison.

  15. في رَوضَةٍ عُنِيَ الرَبيعُ بِها

    فَأَبانَ صنعَةَ عِلَّةِ العِلَلِ

    In a garden tended by spring,

    Which revealed the handiwork of the Cause of Causes.

  16. وَكَأَنَّ آذاراً تَنَوَّقَ في

    ما حاكَ مِن حُلَلٍ لَها وَحُلي

    And as though March had taken exquisite care with

    The robes and ornaments it wove for her.

  17. وَكَأَنَّما فَرَشَت بِساحَتِها

    فُرُشَ الزُمُرُّدِ راحَةُ النَفَلِ

    And as though across her grounds had been spread,

    By clover's palm, carpets of emerald.

  18. وَكَأَنَّ كَفَّ الجَوِّ مِن طَرَبٍ

    نَثَرَت عَلَيها أَنجُمَ الحَمَلِ

    And as though the sky's hand, in rapture,

    Had scattered the stars of Aries upon her.

  19. شَقَّ الشَقيقُ بِها مَلابِسَهُ

    حُزناً عَلى ديباجَةِ الأُصُلِ

    The anemone tore its clothes within her,

    In grief over the brocade of evening.

  20. فَكَأَنَّهُ قَلبٌ تَصَدَّعَ عَن

    سَودائِهِ فَبَدَت مِنَ الخَلَلِ

    As though it were a heart split open to reveal

    Its black core, showing through the cracks.

  21. خَطبَ الهَزارُ عَلى مَنابِرِها

    فَاعجَب لِأَعجَمَ مُفصِحٍ غَزَلِ

    The nightingale preached from her pulpits;

    So marvel at a wordless creature, eloquent and amorous!

  22. وَدَعَت حَمائمُها مُرَجّعَةً

    فَوَقَفتُ في شُغلٍ بِلا شُغُلِ

    And her doves called with trilling voices,

    So I stood engrossed, though wholly idle.

  23. فَكَأَنَّ في أَغصانِها سَحَراً

    ثاني الثَقيلِ وَمُطلَقَ الرَمَلِ

    As though within her branches at dawn were

    The second Thaqil rhythm and unrestricted Ramal.

  24. وَكَأَنَّما أَغصانُها طَرِبَت

    فَتَأَوَّدَت كَالشارِبِ الثَمِلِ

    And as though her branches were enraptured,

    And swayed like an intoxicated drinker.

  25. جَرَّ النَسيمُ بِها مَطارِفَهُ

    فَتَنَفَّسَت عَن عَنبَرٍ شَمِلِ

    The breeze trailed its bordered cloaks through her,

    So she breathed out all-pervading ambergris.

  26. هَمَّ الأَقاحُ بِلَثمِ نَرجسِها

    فَثَنى لَهُ ليتاً وَلَم يَطُلِ

    The daisies sought to kiss her narcissus,

    So it bent its neck toward it, but did not reach.

  27. وَتَنَظَّمَ المَنثورُ وَافتضحَ النَ

    مامُ وَاِنقَبَضَت يَدُ الطَفَلِ

    The scattered stock flowers formed ranks, and the tale-bearing

    Nammam was exposed, and twilight's hand closed.

  28. وَأَسالَ باناسٌ ذَوائِبَهُ

    فَتَجَعَّدَت في ضَيِّقِ السُبُلِ

    And Banas let its tresses flow,

    So they curled within narrow channels.

  29. أَنّى اِتَّجَهتَ لَقيتَ مُنبَجِساً

    مُتَدَفِّقاً في يانِعٍ خَضِلِ

    Wherever you turn, you find a gushing spring,

    Streaming amid lush, moist growth.

  30. فَكَأَنَّها اِستَسقَت فَباكرها

    كَفُّ العَزيزِ بِمسبلٍ هَطِلِ

    As though she had asked for rain, and was greeted at dawn

    By al-Aziz's hand, with rain pouring down.

  31. مَلِكٌ زَهَت أَيّامُ دَولَتِهِ ال

    غَرّاءِ وَاِفتَخَرَت عَلى الدُوَلِ

    A king whose days of rule flourished,

    His reign radiant, its days boasting above other reigns.

  32. يَغشى الوَغى وَالحَربُ قَد كَشَرَت

    لِلمَوتِ عَن أَنيابِها العُصُلِ

    He enters the fray while war has bared

    Its crooked fangs for death.

  33. وَالشَمسُ كَالعَذراءِ كاسِفَةٌ

    مَحجوبَةٌ بِالنَقعِ في كِلَلِ

    And the sun, like a maiden, is dimmed,

    Veiled by battle-dust within curtained canopies.

  34. مَلِكٌ صَوارِمُهُ رَسائِلُهُ

    إِنَّ الصَوارِمَ أَبلَغُ الرُسلِ

    A king whose keen swords are his letters;

    Indeed, keen swords are the most eloquent messengers.

  35. مَلِكٌ قَصَرتُ عَلى مَدائِحِهِ

    شِعري وَعِندَ نَوالِهِ أَمَلي

    A king to whose praises I have confined

    My poetry; my hope rests with his bounty.

  36. لا أَبتَغي مِن غَيرِهِ نِعَماً

    كَم عُفتُ مِن بِرٍّ تَعَرَّضَ لي

    I seek no favors from anyone else;

    How many favors offered me have I spurned!

  37. عَثَّرتَ خَلفَكَ كُلَّ ذي كَرَمٍ

    يَجري وَراكَ وَأَنتَ في مَهَلِ

    You have made every generous man stumble behind you,

    Running after you while you move at ease.

  38. وَمَتى يَنالُ عُلاكَ مُجتَهِدٌ

    هَيهاتَ أَينَ التُربُ مِن زُحَلِ

    And when could one striving attain your heights?

    Far from it! What is dust compared with Saturn?

  39. سَفَهاً بِحلمي إِن تَرَكتُ أَتِـ

    ـيَّ السَيلِ وَاِستَغنَيتُ بِالوَشَلِ

    How foolish my judgment, if I forsook the rushing

    Flood and contented myself with a trickle!