Sol 5.6

  1. Do you know which lightning-flash you watch,

    and from which sanctuary the breeze has journeyed?

  2. Yes—that flash blazed forth from the land of Najd,

    and this breeze rose, recalling those who pine with love.

  3. It flashed from the radiance of Salma’s smiling teeth,

    and by it the deserts and borderlands shone.

  4. Her fragrance lent it the perfume of musk,

    and here now a breath of it reaches us.

  5. It came from their dwellings weak with love,

    so everyone who breathes it in becomes lovesick.

  6. A people who chose to dwell in the open country

    and seek fresh pasture whenever the clouds pour down.

  7. They are the free, unconquered tribe, submitting

    to no king, for mighty is their valor.

  8. They trail their tall lances in pursuit of glory,

    and race their thoroughbreds, which never falter.

  9. When they turn toward war, they kindle its flames;

    and when they bestow bounty, they are beyond reproach.

  10. Whenever they alight upon a land, they perfume it,

    until its very ruins breathe their fragrance.

  11. And in their camel-litters a moon appeared,

    at whose rising the stars themselves grew dim.

  12. Through his radiance the trackless wastes shone for us,

    and through him our pitch-black night grew bright.

  13. My heart became attached to him merely by hearsay,

    and thus conceived for him a love that felt ancient.

  14. It whispered to him, begging him to grant a glance,

    but he did not turn toward it—for he is a gazelle.

  15. It sought closeness to one remote and far away,

    so reaching what it yearned for proved impossible.

  16. Whoever gives his heart to a skittish gazelle

    must dwell forever in sorrow.

Sol 5.6