Sol 6

  1. سِوَايَ بِتَحْنَانِ الأَغَارِيدِ يَطْرَبُ

    وَغَيْرِيَ بِاللَّذَّاتِ يَلْهُو وَيُعْجَبُ

    Someone other than I delights in the tender songs.

    And someone else plays among pleasures and marvels at them.

  2. وَما أَنَا مِمَّنْ تَأْسِرُ الْخَمْرُ لُبَّهُ

    وَيَمْلِكُ سَمْعَيْهِ الْيَرَاعُ الْمُثَقَّبُ

    I am not one whose mind wine can capture,

    Or whose ears the pierced reed can command.

  3. وَلَكِنْ أَخُو هَمٍّ إِذا ما تَرَجَّحَتْ

    بِهِ سَوْرَةٌ نحَوْ َالْعُلاَ رَاحَ يَدْأَبُ

    Rather, I am a man of purpose: when an ardent impulse

    Stirs him toward the heights, he sets to work.

  4. نَفَى النَّوْمَ عَنْ عَيْنَيْه نَفْسٌ أَبِيَّةٌ

    لَها بينَ أَطْرافِ الأَسِنَّة مَطْلَبُ

    A proud soul has driven sleep from his eyes;

    It seeks its goal among the points of spears.

  5. بَعِيدُ مَناطِ الْهَمِّ فَالغَرْبُ مَشْرِقٌ

    إِذَا مَا رَمَى عَيْنَيْهِ والشَّرْقُ مَغْرِبُ

    His ambition reaches far: west becomes east

    When he casts his gaze, and east becomes west.

  6. لَهُ غُدُواتٌ يَتْبَعُ الْوَحْشُ ظِلَّها

    وَتَغْدُو عَلى آثارِها الطَّيْرُ تَنْعَبُ

    His early outings leave shadows that wild beasts follow,

    And birds go cawing along their tracks.

  7. هَمَامَةُ نَفْسٍ أَصْغَرَتْ كُلَّ مَأْرَبٍ

    فَكَلَّفَتِ الأَيَّامَ ما لَيْسَ يُوهَبُ

    His resolute soul has made every ordinary aim seem small,

    And demanded from the days what they cannot grant.

  8. وَمَنْ تَكُنِ العَلْياءُ هِمَّةَ نَفْسِهِ

    فَكُلُّ الَّذِي يَلْقَاهُ فيها مُحَبَّبُ

    Whoever sets the heights as his soul’s ambition

    Finds everything he meets along the way welcome.

  9. إِذا أَنا لَم أُعْطِ الْمَكارِمَ حَقَّها

    فَلا عَزَّنِي خالٌ وَلا ضَمَّنِي أَبُ

    If I fail to give noble deeds their due,

    May no maternal uncle honor me, nor father embrace me.

  10. وَلا حَمَلَتْ دِرْعِي كُمَيْتٌ طِمِرَّةٌ

    وَلا دارَ في كَفِّي سِنانٌ مُذَرَّبُ

    May no powerful chestnut mare carry my armor,

    And no sharpened spearpoint turn in my hand.

  11. خُلِقْتُ عَيُوفاً لا أَرَى لابْنِ حُرَّةٍ

    لَدَيَّ يَداً أُغْضِي لَها حِينَ يَغْضَبُ

    I was made fastidious; I acknowledge no favor from a freeborn man

    That would make me lower my eyes when he grows angry.

  12. فَلَسْتُ لأَمْرٍ لَمْ يَكُنْ مُتَوَقّعَاً

    وَلَسْتُ عَلى شَيءٍ مَضَى أَتَعَتَّبُ

    I do not fret over an event that was unforeseeable,

    Nor reproach myself for what has passed.

  13. أَسِيرُ عَلَى نَهْجٍ يَرَى النَّاسُ غَيْرَهُ

    لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ في ما يُحاوِلُ مَذْهَبُ

    I follow a path that others do not choose;

    Each person has a way of pursuing what he seeks.

  14. وَإِنِّي إِذا ما الشَكُّ أَظْلَمَ لَيْلُهُ

    وَأَمْسَتْ بِهِ الأَحْلامُ حَيْرَى تَشَعَّبُ

    When doubt darkens its night for me

    And thoughts grow confused and scatter within it,

  15. صَدَعْتُ حِفافَيْ طُرَّتَيْهِ بِكَوكَبٍ

    مِنَ الرَّأْي لا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ الْمُغيَّبُ

    I split its two dark edges with a star

    Of judgment, to which nothing hidden remains obscure.

  16. وَبَحْرٍ مِنَ الْهَيجَاءِ خُضْتُ عُبابَهُ

    وَلا عاصِمٌ إِلَّا الصَّفِيحُ المُشَطَّبُ

    And I have plunged into the depths of a sea of battle,

    With no protection but the streaked blade.

  17. تَظَلُّ بِهِ حُمْرُ المَنَايا وَسُودُها

    حَواسِرَ في أَلْوَانِهَا تَتَقَلَّبُ

    There, red deaths and black deaths remain,

    Bare and shifting through their many colors.

  18. تَوَسَّطْتُهُ وَالْخَيْلُ بِالْخَيْلِ تَلْتَقِي

    وَبِيضُ الظُّبَا في الْهَامِ تَبْدُو وَتَغْرُبُ

    I stood in its midst as horse met horse,

    And bright blades flashed in and out among heads.

  19. فَما زِلْتُ حتَّى بَيَّنَ الْكَرُّ مَوْقِفِي

    لَدَى ساعَةٍ فيها الْعُقُولُ تَغَيَّبُ

    I stayed until the charge made my bearing clear

    At an hour when minds lost their bearings.

  20. لَدُنْ غُدْوَةٍ حَتَّى أَتَى الليلُ وَالْتَقَى

    عَلَى غَيْهَبٍ مِنْ ساطِعِ النَّقْعِ غَيْهَبُ

    From early morning until night arrived and darkness met

    The darkness of a thick, rising cloud of dust.

  21. كَذَلِكَ دَأْبِي في الْمِراسِ وَإِنَّنِي

    لأَمْرَحُ في غَيِّ التَّصابِي وأَلْعَبُ

    Such is my habit in combat, and yet I

    Also revel and play in the folly of youthful dalliance.

  22. وفِتْيَان لَهْوٍ قَدْ دَعَوْتُ ولِلْكَرَى

    خِباءٌ بِأَهْدَابِ الْجُفُونِ مُطَنَّبُ

    I invited companions of pleasure while sleep

    Had pitched its tent upon the fringes of their eyelids,

  23. إِلَى مَرْبَعٍ يَجْرِي النَّسِيمُ خِلالَهُ

    بِنَشْرِ الْخُزَامَى والنَّدَى يَتَصَبَّبُ

    To a meadow through which the breeze runs,

    Bearing the scent of lavender as dew drips down.

  24. فَلَمْ يَمْضِ أَنْ جاءُوا مُلَبِّينَ دَعْوَتِي

    سِراعاً كَما وَافَى عَلَى الْماءِ رَبْرَبُ

    They soon came in answer to my invitation,

    Swift as a herd arriving at water.

  25. بِخَيْلٍ كَآرَامِ الصَّرِيمِ وَرَاءَها

    ضَوارِي سَلُوقٍ عاطِلٌ وَمُلَبَّبُ

    They came with horses like the gazelles of the stony waste, and behind them

    Fierce Saluki hounds, some uncollared and some harnessed.

  26. مِنَ اللاءِ لا يَأْكُلْنَ زاداً سِوَى الَّذِي

    يُضَرِّسْنَهُ وَالصَّيْدُ أَشْهَى وَأَعْذَبُ

    Those hounds eat no provisions except what

    They seize in their teeth; game is sweeter and more delicious.

  27. تَرَى كُلَّ مُحْمَرِّ الْحَمالِيقِ فاغِرٍ

    إِلَى الْوَحْشِ لا يَأْلُو وَلا يَتَنَصَّبُ

    You see each one, its eyes reddened and mouth agape,

    Straining toward the wild game, sparing no effort and never tiring.

  28. يَكَادُ يَفُوتُ الْبَرقَ شَدَّاً إِذَا انْبَرَتْ

    لَهُ بِنْتُ ماءٍ أَوْ تَعَرَّضَ ثَعْلَبُ

    It nearly outruns lightning when it bolts

    After a waterfowl or when a fox appears.

  29. فَمِلْنا إِلَى وادٍ كَأَنَّ تِلاعَهُ

    مِنَ الْعَصْبِ مَوْشِيُّ الْحَبائِكِ مُذْهَبُ

    We turned toward a valley whose slopes seemed

    Like gilded, intricately woven striped cloth.

  30. تُرَاحُ بِهِ الآمَالُ بَعْدَ كَلالِها

    وَيَصْبُو إِلَيْهِ ذُو الْحِجَا وَهْوَ أَشْيَبُ

    There, hopes find rest after their weariness,

    And even a gray-haired person of good sense longs for it.

  31. فَبَيْنَا نَرُودُ الأَرْضَ بِالْعَيْنِ إِذْ رَأَى

    رَبِيئَتُنَا سِرْباً فَقَالَ أَلا ارْكَبُوا

    As we searched the land with our eyes,

    Our lookout spotted a herd and cried, “Come, mount!”

  32. فَقُمْنَا إِلَى خَيْلٍ كَأَنَّ مُتُونَها

    مِنَ الضُّمْرِ خُوطُ الضَّيْمَرَانِ الْمُشَذَّبُ

    We rose to horses whose backs,

    Lean as they were, resembled trimmed basil stalks.

  33. فَلَمَّا انْتَهَيْنا حَيْثُ أَخْبَرَ أُطْلِقَتْ

    بُزَاةٌ وَجَالَتْ في المَقَاوِدِ أَكْلُبُ

    When we reached the place he had described,

    Falcons were released, and hounds strained at their leads.

  34. فَما كَانَ إِلَّا لَفْتَةُ ُالْجِيدِ أَنْ غَلَتْ

    قُدُورٌ وَفارَ اللَّحْمُ وَانْفَضَّ مَأْرَبُ

    In scarcely the turn of a neck,

    Pots were boiling, meat was bubbling, and the hunt was done.

  35. وَقُلْنَا لِساقِينَا أَدِرْها فَإِنَّما

    قُصَارَى بَنِي الأَيّامِ أَنْ يَتَشَعَّبُوا

    We said to our cupbearer, “Pass it round, for

    The end of all mortals is to part.”

  36. فَقامَ إِلَى رَاقُودِ خَمْرٍ كَأَنَّهُ

    إِذَا اسْتَقْبَلَتْهُ الْعَيْنُ أَسْوَدُ مُغْضَبُ

    He went to a cask of wine that looked,

    When the eye faced it, like an angry black man.

  37. يَمُجُّ سُلافاً في إناءٍ كَأَنَّهُ

    إِذَا ما اسْتَقَلَّتْهُ الأَنَامِلُ كَوْكَبُ

    It poured fine wine into a vessel that seemed,

    When fingertips lifted it, a star.

  38. فَلَمْ نَأْلُ أَنْ دَارَتْ بِنَا الأَرْضُ دَوْرَةً

    وَحَتَّى رَأَيْنَا الأُفْقَ يَنْأَى وَيَقْرُبُ

    Before long, the earth had spun around us,

    And we saw the horizon recede and draw near.

  39. إِلَى أَنْ تَوَلَّى الْيَومُ إِلَّا أَقَلَّهُ

    وَقَدْ كادَتِ الشَّمْسُ الْمُنِيرَةُ تَغْرُبُ

    At last nearly all the day had passed,

    And the bright sun was close to setting.

  40. فَرُحْنَا نَجُرُّ الذَّيْلَ تِيهاً لِمنزلٍ

    بِهِ لأَخِ اللَّذَّاتِ واللَّهْو مَلْعَبُ

    We went off, trailing our hems proudly, toward a house

    Where lovers of pleasure and play had room to frolic:

  41. مَسارِحُ سِكِّيرٍ وَمَرْبِضُ فاتِكٍ

    وَمُخْدَعُ أَكْوابٍ بِهِ الخَمْرُ تُسْكَبُ

    A haunt for a drinker, a resting place for a daring man,

    And a chamber of cups where wine was poured.

  42. فَلَمَّا رآنا صاحبُ الدّارِ أَشْرَقَتْ

    أَسارِيرُهُ زَهْواً وَجاءَ يُرَحِّبُ

    When the master of the house saw us, brightness spread

    Across his face with delight, and he came to welcome us.

  43. وقَالَ انْزِلُوا يا بَارَكَ اللهُ فيكُمُ

    فَعِنْدِي لَكُمْ ما تَشْتَهُونَ وَأَطْيَبُ

    He said, “Dismount! May God bless you;

    I have what you desire, and better besides.”

  44. وَرَاحَ إِلَى دَنٍّ تَكَامَلَ سِنُّهُ

    وَشَيَّبَ فَوْدَيْهِ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ أَحْقُبُ

    He went to a wine jar that had reached a great age;

    Long years had grayed the hair at its temples.

  45. فَما زالَ حتَّى اسْتَلَّ مِنْهُ سَبِيكَةً

    مِنَ الخمرِ تَطْفُو في الإِنَاءِ وتَرْسُبُ

    He kept at it until he drew from it an ingot

    Of wine that rose and settled in the vessel.

  46. يَحُومُ علَيهَا الطَّيْرُ مِنْ كُلِّ جانِبٍ

    وَيَسْرِي عَلَيْهَا الطّارِقُ الْمُتَأَوِّبُ

    Birds circled above it from every side,

    And the returning night visitor traveled over it.

  47. فَيا حُسْنَ ذاكَ اليومِ لَوْ كانَ باقياً

    ويا طِيبَ هَذا الليلِ لَوْ دامَ طَيِّبُ

    How lovely that day was, if only it could have stayed;

    And how sweet this night, if only its sweetness could last.

  48. يَوَدُّ الْفَتَى ما لا يَكُونُ طَمَاعَةً

    وَلَمْ يَدْرِ أَنَّ الدَّهْرَ بِالنَّاسِ قُلَّبُ

    A young man greedily wishes for what cannot be,

    Unaware that time continually changes people’s fortunes.

  49. وَلَوْ عَلِمَ الإنْسَانُ ما فِيهِ نَفْعُهُ

    لأَبْصَرَ ما يَأْتِي وَمَا يَتَجَنَّبُ

    If a person knew what truly served him,

    He would see what to pursue and what to avoid.

  50. وَلَكِنَّها الأَقْدَارُ تَجْرِي بِحُكْمِها

    عَلَيْنَا وَأَمْرُ الْغَيْبِ سِرٌّ مُحَجَّبُ

    But destinies run their course by their own decree

    Over us, and the matter of the unseen is a veiled secret.

  51. نَظُنُّ بِأَنَّا قادِرُونَ وَأَنَّنا

    نُقادُ كَمَا قِيدَ الْجَنِيبُ وَنُصْحَبُ

    We think that we have power, though we

    Are led along like a tethered spare mount.

  52. فَرَحْمَةُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ عَلَى امْرِئٍ

    أَصَابَ هُداهُ أَو دَرَى كَيْفَ يَذْهَبُ

    So may the mercy of the Lord of the worlds rest on one

    Who finds His guidance or knows which way to go.