Sol 6

  1. They cut for us through the current of a sea that seemed,

    whenever ships sailed upon it, to rage wildly.

  2. You see its still water as though it were

    a flowing lock of hair stretched across the open earth.

  3. And it flows when the winds meet upon it,

    as a file tilts from al-Nihami’s hand.

  4. But if the winds grow still, you would think its surfaces

    the faces of bright blades when they are drawn.

  5. At one moment you see it as an Indian-made sword;

    at another, you see it as a coat of linked mail.

  6. We rise upon it, its pools blue,

    and imagine we are ascending into the sky.

  7. We circled about a noble man of praiseworthy nature;

    his favor promises the good we hope for.

  8. One who emulates the clouds when they set forth,

    their thunder clapping and singing within them.

Sol 6