Sol 5.6

  1. Who will excuse me from a care I persist in fighting,

    alone, with nothing but a resolve whose blades are drawn?

  2. What can my arm’s striking hope to achieve

    without a helper, while the foe’s battalions charge headlong?

  3. The radiant stars seem like spearpoints,

    flashing in a night through which its squadrons gallop.

  4. The darkness of night seems the stain of one who betrayed

    a covenant of love with a companion at his side.

  5. The stars along the horizon seem the virtues of a nobleman,

    a princely youth whose merits shine.

  6. The Pleiades seem the hand of a bright-faced giver,

    extending a palm to guests, its showers pouring forth.

  7. Suhail seems a heart that throbs and burns—

    a lover’s breast, where passion kindles its flames.

  8. The faint star Suha seems to have chosen obscurity, knowing

    that one renowned in fame has troubles without end.

  9. Proudly the star al-‘Ayyuq has raised its nose aloft,

    but its radiance waned when it turned arrogantly aside.

  10. I see the Pole Star, free among the constellations, standing firm

    upon a principle by which its rank rises ever higher.

  11. I have grown enamored of this night, watching over its star,

    observing it, while the star itself suffers being watched.

  12. Were it not my concern to attain its distant reach,

    I would not spend the night tracing its course and keeping it company.

  13. They say to me, “How long will you ride into peril, boldly advancing

    upon a venture whose consequences leave you unsafe?”

  14. I answer them, “How often does death overtake one resting

    in ease, while a rider may escape death?

  15. Whoever plunges into its depths lives with honor;

    that is the man whose drinks become pure and sweet.

  16. Whatever a coward’s soul suggests is false;

    it whispers when every path before him has been barred.

  17. A young man bears adversity away from me—and, by God, he is my strength—

    one whose shoulders pay no heed to calamities.

  18. No part of me has ever bowed before a host,

    though when it descends upon a mountain, the mountain’s flanks bow low.

  19. A free man is nothing but pure gold:

    only in the fierce heat of flame are his impurities refined away.

  20. From the days I have gained judgment and wisdom,

    and from time’s calamities come the things one desires.

  21. If firmly grounded counsels captivate you, follow

    the guidance of a gray-haired man seasoned by experience.

  22. Did the lightning-glint of my gray hair amid the darkness alarm you?

    Why, then, did the black depths of my youth not alarm you?

  23. You have climbed to the zenith of splendor, and these—

    under my command, O sun of beauty—are its stars.

  24. I have grown accustomed to my gray hair; dye is a deception,

    and loyalty to my familiar companion requires that I not deceive it.

  25. Should I lie to my own soul, when it knows full well

    my state? What business have white hair and one who dyes it?

  26. Fortune has many phases: while its glad tidings delight us,

    they turn again, and its mourners don black.

  27. The path of high achievement is clear, though

    awe-inspiring; its rider has not attained victory.

  28. We took the road leading to deep-rooted glory,

    and after great struggle its hardships yielded to us.

  29. With the sword of truth we struck whoever rejected its judgment;

    that is a sword whose striking edges never grow blunt.

  30. I see truth as stronger than everything; it only

    becomes weak when its champion weakens.

  31. The sword’s task is to cleave the target while keen;

    it is not to blame if the swordsman’s stroke falls short.

  32. To honor, O people of Iraq—to the heights,

    to glory, where its meteors and piercing stars appear!

  33. When unity supports the truth, the aspirations

    of whoever seeks it look forward to success.

  34. An enemy who opposes a strong-willed people submits to them,

    as does every rival who strives against them.

  35. Principles and eloquent tongues offer no guarantee

    to a dependent man whose aims cannot stand on their own.

  36. We demand fidelity to covenants, yet they are merely

    writing upon water, toyed with by the hand that writes it.

  37. Among young men I love one splendid and noble,

    chaste and high-souled, whose natural traits are pure.

  38. If the chief concern of those who amass wealth is their gain,

    then lofty deeds are his concern and his earnings.

  39. In sincere devotion he puts his people’s welfare

    before himself, knowing that this is his duty.

  40. For his beloved homeland he gives freely,

    the choicest treasures his gifts have granted him.

Sol 5.6