Sol 6.1

  1. جَعلَ القَطيعَةَ سُلَّماً لِعتابِهِ

    متجرِّمٌ جانٍ على أحبابهِ

    He made estrangement a ladder to his reproaches—

    a fault-finder who wrongs his loved ones.

  2. ما زالَ يُضمِرُ غَدرَهُ مُتعَلّلاً

    بوُشاته مُتَسَتِّراً بكُذّابهِ

    He never ceased harboring his treachery, making excuses

    through his slanderers, hiding behind his liars,

  3. حتّى تَحدَّثَ ناظِراهُ فَحَلَّلا

    ما كانَ أَوثقَ مِن عُرَى أَعتابهِ

    until his two eyes spoke and loosened

    the firmest bonds of his thresholds.

  4. وَاللَّهِ لَوْلا ما يَقومُ بِنَصرِهِ

    مِن نارِ وَجنَتهِ وَماءِ شَبابِهِ

    By God, were it not for what rises in his defense

    from his cheek's fire and his youth's water,

  5. لأَبَحْتُ ما حَظَرَ الهَوى مِن هَجرِهِ

    لِيَصحّ أو حرَّمْتُ حِلَّ رِضابهِ

    I would permit the forsaking of him that love forbade,

    so he might mend, or declare his lawful lip-nectar forbidden.

  6. وَلَكانَ مِن دينِ المُروءَةِ تَركهُ

    فالصَّبْر أعْذَبُ مِن أَليمِ عَذابِهِ

    And leaving him would follow the code of honor,

    for patience is sweeter than his painful torment.

  7. حَتَّامَ أُقْبِلُ وهو ثانٍ عِطْفَهُ

    وَالحُبُّ يَحمِلُني عَلى اِسْتِجذابِهِ

    How long shall I approach while he turns his side away,

    and love compels me to draw him close?

  8. وَأَقولُ غَرطنّ غَيَّ وُشاتِهِ

    رشداً فأرجو أن يفيق لِما بهِ

    And I say: [perhaps he mistook] his slanderers' error

    for right guidance; so I hope he comes to his senses about what ails him.

  9. وَإِذا تَغيّرهُ لِمَعنىً باطِنٍ

    لا خَوفَ عاتِبِهِ ولا مغتابِهِ

    Yet behold, his change comes from a hidden motive,

    not fear of one reproaching him or slandering him.

  10. يا ظالِماً أَعطى مَواثِقَ عَهدِهِ

    بِوفائِهِ وَالعُذرُ مِلءُ ثِيابِهِ

    O wrongdoer, who gave binding pledges of his covenant,

    vowing faithfulness while excuses fill his garments!

  11. زيَّنْتَ لي وجْهَ الغرور بموعدٍ

    كذِبٍ فوا ظَمَأي لِلَمْعِ سرابِهِ

    You adorned deception's face for me with a promise

    that was false—alas for my thirst for its mirage's gleam!

  12. ونبذْتَني نَبْذَ الحَصَاة مُضَيِّعاً

    ودّاً بَخِلت بِهِ على خُطّابِهِ

    And you cast me aside like a pebble, squandering

    an affection I withheld from its suitors.

  13. ما كان وصْلُك غيرَ هَجْعَةِ ساهرٍ

    غَضِّ الجفونِ فريّع في أَهيابِهِ

    Union with you was only a sleepless man's brief slumber,

    with tender eyelids, then startled amid his fears.

  14. آهاً لِهَذا القَلبِ كَيفَ خدعْتَهُ

    مُتَصنِّعاً فَسَكَنْتَ سِرَّ جَوابِهِ

    Alas for this heart—how you deceived it!

    Putting on an act, you dwelt in the secret of its reply.

  15. وَلِناظِرٍ كَتَبَتْ إِلَيك جُفونُهُ

    خَبَراً فَما أَحسنْتَ ردّ حجابِهِ

    And for an eye whose eyelids wrote to you

    a message; you did not return its veil graciously.

  16. هَذا هَواكَ محكَّماً ما ضرَّهُ

    ما قَطع الحُسَّادُ مِن أَسبابِهِ

    This love for you reigns supreme; it was not harmed

    by the bonds the envious severed.

  17. وَمَكانُكَ المَأهولُ مُحكٌم لم يَحْلُلْ به

    أَحدٌ سِواكَ ولا أَقامَ بِبابِهِ

    And your inhabited abode is secure; none has dwelt within it

    but you, nor has anyone stayed at its gate.

  18. وأنا الّذي جَرَّبْتُهُ فوجدتُهُ

    ماءً تَقَرُّ النَّفْسُ باِستِعذابِهِ

    And I am the one who tested it and found it

    water in whose sweetness the soul finds peace.

  19. فَإِنِ اِستَقمتَ فأنتَ أَنت وَإِنْ تَزُغْ

    فالْبَغْيُ مَصْرَعُهُ على أربابِهِ

    So if you stay upright, you are yourself; and if you stray,

    then wrongdoing brings downfall upon its own perpetrators.