Sol 6.1

  1. رَعى اللَه مَغنىً بِالعَذيبِ وَمَعهَداً

    غَنِمْنا بِهِ الأَوطار مَثنىً وَموحدا

    May God preserve a dwelling at al-Udhayb, and a familiar haunt,

    where we gained our desires, in pairs and singly.

  2. مَراتعُ آرامٍ وَرَدنا بِها المُنى

    عَلى حين لَم يَطرقْ لَنا الدَّهرُ مَورِدا

    Gazelles' pastures, where we drank our fill of desire,

    when Time had not yet muddied a watering-place for us.

  3. نُغازلُ مِن غُزلانِها كُل آنسٍ

    وَنهصر مِن أَغصانِها كُلّ أَملَدَا

    We wooed every gentle one among its gazelles,

    and bent every supple bough among its branches.

  4. وَنَرشُفُ لِلأَفواهِ جاماً مُمسَّكاً

    وَنَلثمُ لِلجاماتِ ثَغراً منضَّدا

    We sipped the mouths' musk-scented goblet,

    and kissed the goblets' mouth, its teeth neatly arrayed.

  5. أُويْقاتُ أَعطافِ الشَبيبةِ غَضةٌ

    عَلى نَسَمات اللَّهوِ مالَت تَأَوّدا

    Brief hours when youth's boughs were tender,

    swaying and bending in the breezes of pleasure.

  6. وَقَد غَفَلَتْ عَنا الخطوبَ بِلَيلِها

    وَقَدماً عَهِدنا حادثَ الدَّهرِ أَرودا

    And misfortunes had forgotten us in their night,

    and long ago we knew Time's onslaught to be gentler.

  7. أَأَحبابنا هَل أَورق الرَّندُ بِعدَنا

    وَهَل أَفرَشَتْكُم رَوضة البان مقعَدا

    O our loved ones, has the laurel leafed since we left?

    And has the bān grove laid out a seat for you?

  8. وَهَل مَرَّ لِلمُشتاقِ ذكرٌ بحيِّكُم

    فَما زالَ ذكرُ الحَيِّ عِندي مردّدا

    And has mention of the yearning one passed through your quarter?

    For the memory of the quarter still echoes within me.

  9. لِيهنئكمُ إِن طاعَكُم بَعدَنا الكَرى

    فَمُذ بَينكُم لَم نوطئ الجَنبَ مَرقَدا

    May sleep be sweet to you, if it heeds you since we left;

    for since your departure we have not laid our side on a bed.

  10. وَلا زارَنا الصَّبرُ الجَميلُ فَلَيتَكُم

    أَمامَ النَّوى شاطرتمونا التَّجلُّدا

    Nor has gracious patience visited us; if only you

    had shared our fortitude in the face of parting.

  11. أَطَعتُ بِكم داعي التَّهتُّكِ ذاهِباً

    بِنَفسي وَخالَفتُ العَذولَ المفنِّدا

    For you I obeyed the call of reckless passion, throwing away

    my life, and defied the fault-finding reprover.

  12. وَإِنِّي لَأَهوى مِنكُم الظَّرفَ وَالوَفا

    وَلَم أَهوَ أَعطافاً وَخَدّاً مورّدا

    And truly I love your refinement and fidelity,

    not bodily curves or a rose-tinted cheek.

  13. وَبي جيرةٌ ما بي مِنَ الوَجدِ عِندَهُم

    وَإِن بتُّ أُحيي بِالسُّرى لَيلَ أَنقَدا

    And neighbors dwell within me; with them lies all my longing,

    though I keep a hedgehog's night alive with nocturnal journeys.

  14. وَربعٌ هُوَ الدُّنيا لَديَّ وَقَلَّما

    تَرى الشَّملَ في دُنياك إِلّا مبدَّدا

    And a dwelling that is all the world to me; yet seldom

    do you find your circle in your world anything but scattered.

  15. تقطَّعَ حَبلُ الوَصلِ مِنَّا وَمِنهُمُ

    سِوى شَجنِ الذِّكرى أَقام وَأَقعَدا

    The cord of union between us and them has snapped,

    save memory's ache, which makes us rise and sit.

  16. وَما يُعدم الإِنسانُ في الأَرضِ صحبةً

    وَلَكِنَّ بَعضَ الصَّحبِ أَدنى إِلى العِدَى

    A person is never deprived of companionship on earth,

    but some companions are closer to enemies.

  17. فَما أَكثرَ الأُلّافَ في كُلِ بَلدةٍ

    وَأَكثَرُ قَول الزُورِ مِمَّن تَودَّدا

    How numerous are intimates in every town,

    and most false words come from those who profess affection.

  18. وَفي الحُبِّ ما قَد كانَ رائِده المُنى

    فَما الحُبُّ إِلا ما أَتاكَ مُجَرّدا

    And some love has had desire for its guide;

    for love is only what comes to you unalloyed.

  19. وَفي النَّاسِ مَن تَدعو سَجاياهُ لِلهَوى

    فَيَغدو عَلَيها كُلّ قَلبٍ مُقَيَّدا

    Among people are those whose traits invite love,

    so every heart becomes captive to those traits.

  20. تَبارَك مَن بَثَّ الشَمائلَ في الوَرى

    فَمَيَّزَهُم بَعدَ التَّساوي وَأَفرَدا

    Blessed is He who spread noble traits among humankind,

    distinguishing them, once equal, and setting them apart.

  21. وَخَصَّ بِأَسناها النَّسيبَ فَلَم يَزَلْ

    إِذا ذكَرَتْ أَهلَ المَناقِبِ أَوحَدا

    And He favored Nasib with their loftiest; he has remained

    peerless whenever people of virtue are named.

  22. كَريم تَبَدَّى مِن كِرامِ مَناصِبٍ

    لِذاكَ تَسمَّى بِالنَسيبِ فَما اِعتَدى

    A noble man who emerged from noble origins,

    hence he is called Nasib, 'well-born,' without overstatement.

  23. جَميلُ الثَّنا يَستَغرقُ المَدحَ وَصفهُ

    كَما اِستَغرَقَ الأَلفاظَ أَحرفَ أَبجَدا

    Of fair renown, his description exhausts all praise,

    as the alphabet's letters encompass all words.

  24. تَناولَ إِرثَ المَجدِ قَبلَ رَضاعِهِ

    وَصاحب تُربِ المَجدِ طفلاً وَأَمرَدا

    He took up glory's inheritance before he was suckled,

    and kept company with glory's dust, as a child and a beardless youth.

  25. وَجَدَّ عَلى إِثر الَّذينَ تَقَّدموا

    بِهمةِ طلاّعِ الثَّنيَّاتِ أَصيدا

    And he strove in the footsteps of those who went before,

    with a mountain-pass climber's resolve, his head held high.

  26. فَداسَ طَريقَ المُكرَماتِ ممهَّداً

    وَداسَ إِلى العَليا عِقاباً وَأَنجَدا

    So he trod the path of noble deeds, made smooth,

    and trod steep passes and uplands toward eminence.

  27. كَذَلِكَ مَن رامَ المَعالي فَإِنَّهُ

    يَشقُّ إَلَيها في ذُرى الخَطْبِ مصعدا

    Such is one who seeks exalted things: he

    cleaves his way toward them, climbing hardship's peaks.

  28. أَحدُّ رِجالِ العِقد ذِهناً وَنَظرةً

    وَأَصَدَقُهُم في الأَمرِ رَأَياً وَمَشهَدا

    The keenest of the circle's men in intellect and insight,

    and the truest of them in judgment and observation of affairs.

  29. وَأَبعَدُهُم جَرياً إِلى كُلِ غايَةٍ

    وَأَطوَلُهُم في كُلِّ مَكرُمةٍ يَدا

    And the farthest-reaching of them in the race toward every goal,

    and the one whose hand reaches farthest in every noble deed.

  30. كَفاهُ سُيوفَ الهندِ في كُلِّ غَمرةٍ

    لَهُ سَيفُ آراءٍ يَفلُّ المُهَنَّدا

    In every peril he needs no swords of India:

    he has a sword of counsels that blunts the Indian blade.

  31. وَهمةُ نَدبٍ خشَّنَ الدَّهرُ حَدَّها

    وَقَد غادَرَتْ نابَ الحَوادثِ أَدرَدا

    And a gallant man's resolve, whose edge Time has toughened,

    and it has left calamities' fang toothless.

  32. نَقِيُّ ثِيابِ العَرضِ طابَ ثَناؤُهُ

    كَما طابَ أَخلاقاً وَنَفساً وَمحتِدا

    His honor's garments are spotless; his renown is sweet,

    as he is pure in character, soul, and lineage.

  33. رَصانة خُلقٍ كَالجِبالِ تَوَقَرَتْ

    فَلو خالَطَتْ بَحراً لَما جاشَ مُزبِدا

    A steadfastness of character, settled firm as mountains,

    which, if mingled with a sea, would keep it from surging in foam.

  34. وَعِفةُ نَفسٍ لَو ثَوتْ قَلبَ عاشقٍ

    لَما باتَ مَجهوداً يُعاني التَّسَهُّدا

    And a chastity of soul that, if it dwelt in a lover's heart,

    he would not pass the night exhausted, suffering sleeplessness.

  35. إِذا اِجتَمَعَتْ أَهلُ المَعاني فَإِنَّما

    لَهُ الرُّتبةُ الأُولى لَدى كُلِّ مُنتَدى

    When people of intellect assemble, indeed,

    his is the first rank in every gathering.

  36. فَلا بِدعَ إِن وافتْهُ مِن فَيضِ نَعمةٍ

    أَقَرَّتْهُ في أَهلِ المَراتبِ سَيِّدا

    So it is no wonder if an overflowing favor has reached him,

    establishing him as a lord among men of rank.

  37. حَباهُ بِها عَبدُ الحَميدِ تَفَضُّلاً

    فَكانَ كَرَوضِ الحُزنِ باكَره النَّدى

    Abd al-Hamid bestowed it on him graciously,

    so he was like an upland meadow visited at dawn by dew.

  38. حَياءً أَتاهُ ناطِقاً بِمَكانِهِ

    فَلو كانَ مِمَّن يُنشدُ المَدحَ أَنشَدا

    It came to him modestly, speaking of his standing;

    had it been among those who sing praise, it would have sung.

  39. وَمثلُ نَسيبٍ أَهلُ كلِّ مَزِيَّةٍ

    يَزيد بِها فَخَراً وَيَعتَزُّ سُؤدُدا

    And one like Nasib is worthy of every distinction,

    growing in pride through it, and exulting in noble rank.

  40. هُوَ العَلَمُ العالي بِلُبنانَ وَالَّذي

    يُشار إِلَيهِ بِالبَنان إِذا بَدا

    He is the lofty banner in Lebanon, the one

    to whom fingers point whenever he appears.

  41. مِن الجُنبلاطيين مِن شُمِّ مَعشرٍ

    بَنوا شرفاتِ المَجدِ بِالبَأسِ وَالنَّدى

    Of the Jumblatts, of a proud and lofty clan,

    who built glory's battlements through valor and generosity.

  42. لَهُم حَسَبُ المَجدِ القَديمِ وَفَوقَهُ

    لَهُم حَسبٌ في كُلِّ يَومٍ تَجَدَّدا

    Theirs is the honor of ancient glory, and beyond it

    theirs is an honor renewed with every day.

  43. فَما مِنهُمُ إِلّا أَغَرُّ مُسَوَّدٌ

    أَتى وارِثاً مِنهُم أَغَرَّ مُسَوَّدا

    None of them is other than an illustrious, acknowledged chief,

    who comes as heir to another illustrious chief among them.

  44. دَعائمُ بَيتٍ شَيَّدَ العزُّ رُكنَهُ

    فحَجَّتْهُ أَخيافُ المَطالبِ سُجَّدا

    Pillars of a house whose cornerstone honor raised,

    so diverse petitions made pilgrimage to it in prostration.

  45. تَؤمِّمُه وَفدُ القَوافي قَوافِلاً

    فَتَهدى لِمَغناهُ وَإِن كُنَّ شُرَّدا

    A delegation of rhymes heads toward it in caravans,

    and they are guided to his dwelling, though they be wandering strays.

  46. وَدُونكَها مِن آلِ عيسى خَريدةً

    تُطاوِلُ بِالابداعِ معجزَ أَحمَدا

    And take this maiden poem from the followers of Jesus,

    vying in artistry with Ahmad's miracle.

  47. لَقَد سفرت وَاللَيل أَرخى سدولَه

    فَلَم تُبدِ إِلّاها الدُّجنَّةِ فَرقدا

    She unveiled herself while night let down its curtains,

    and the darkness revealed no Farqad star but her.

  48. إِذا اِنطَلَقَت لَم تَأو بَعد اِنطِلاقِها

    جِداراً مَعلَّى أَو طِرافاً مُمَدَّدا

    Once she sets forth, she takes no shelter after departing

    behind a lofty wall or beneath a spread-out leather tent.

  49. وَحَسبيَ مِنكَ الودَّ فَضلاً وَمَفخَراً

    مَدى الدَّهرِ وَأَسلَمْ فَهْوَ أَكرَمَ مُجتدى

    And your affection is enough for me, as favor and a source of pride,

    for all time; stay well, for it is the noblest boon to seek.