وَمَمشوقَةِ القاماتِ بيضٌ نُحورُها
وَخُضرٌ نَواصيها وَصُفرٌ جُسومُها
Slender of stature, their throats are white,
their forelocks green and their bodies gold.
لَها حِقَبٌ لا تَستَطيعُ اِطِّراحَها
وَلَيسَ يَطيقُ سَلبَها مَن يَرومُها
They wear girdles they cannot cast aside,
nor can anyone who seeks them strip them away.
وَهُنَّ رِماحٌ لا تُريقُ دَمَ العِدى
وَلَكِن يُراقُ في القُدورِ صَميمُها
They are spears that spill no enemy blood;
instead, their very kernels are poured into cooking pots.
يَميلُ عَلى أَعرافِها عَذَباتُها
كَحورٍ تَناصى هُندُها وَرَميمُها
Their tassels droop across their crests,
like houris with dark-on-white eyes, as their Hind and Ramim seize each other by the forelock.
تَناهى بِها الإِدراكُ حَتّى كَأَنَّها
يُعَلُّ بِماءِ الزَعفَرانِ أَديمُها
Ripening has reached its utmost in them, until it seems
their skins have been steeped in saffron-water.
تَرى الريحَ يُغريها بِنَجوى خَفِيَّةٍ
إِذا ما جَرى قَصرَ العَشِيِّ نَسيمُها
You see the wind enticing them with a secret whisper
when its breeze wafts at the close of afternoon.
Sol 5.6