Sol 6.1

  1. O time of youth, greetings to you! Will you return,

    As once were our bond and our familiar haunts?

  2. Nights when they did not condemn love and my youthful passion,

    And days when secluded maidens did not flee from me.

  3. And when, at midmorning and in the afternoons, there came to us

    The fruit of pleasure's trees, while the shade was cool,

  4. In a dwelling and gardens, frolicking among us,

    Cherished gazelles of equal age, wearing saffron-dyed gowns.

  5. They swayed bān-tree branches; beneath them quivered

    Rounded buttocks, above which rose budding breasts.

  6. And they walked amid brocade and jewels, full-bosomed,

    Like ostriches, with handmaids hurrying around them.

  7. And I had in her dwelling places a congenial place,

    Untroubled enjoyment, and an affectionate companion.

  8. Oh, the beauty and sweetness of youth's days,

    When love was awake within them, and life well-guided!

  9. And we were like two branches of a bān tree in a thicket,

    Towering high, both branches well-watered and swaying.

  10. Youth, swimming in love's depths, pampered,

    Had desire for pleasures as his caller and guide.

  11. Then, when the intoxication of his passion cleared,

    And seats among amusements grew too narrow for him,

  12. Dignity's sober wisdom came to his aid; he was driven away

    From youth's folly by a warder of gray hair.

  13. And he became occupied with setting right what had gone by

    During a time when his affairs had been corrupt.

  14. Yet among the things that stir his longing,

    Despite the bond's age, is returning remembrance.

  15. Lovers' hearts melt with longing,

    While harsh, rocklike hearts remain.

  16. My two friends, how sweet love is as a solace

    For youthful lovers, were it not for parting that sunders!

  17. And what a scene we had on the day of parting,

    When secrets within were revealed, and knots untied!

  18. The morning we parted, none among them all was

    Anything but quarry for love's arrow, or a hunter.

  19. And one filled with sorrow, pouring forth a tear,

    Drawn out by a blazing flame of longing's anguish.

  20. And a secret farewell, furtively escaping the watch

    That vigilant eyes keep upon him.

  21. Ah, did she keep her pledge, when she felt for us—

    The fair one, though far away—what I feel?

  22. If distance has brought her forgetfulness,

    Then my passion is steadfast and increasing.

  23. And if sleep is sweet to her through the full-length night,

    Then I remain awake through the whole night.

  24. Watching the stars gives my eyes their occupation,

    When beds slumber with the carefree within.

  25. And enough that the tormented man bears his sorrow alone!

    And is there anyone to help a noble man with what he endures?

  26. I reckon for myself its like, as for its companion,

    But how shall I find a devoted friend, and where a helper?

  27. And I seek to conciliate my companion, as though I were

    Fighting the one from whom I seek companionship.

  28. And I often complain of time, as though it were

    Scheming against people of wisdom and noble deeds.

  29. When will hopes drink their fill at a goal's watering place,

    When miserliness has barred the water sources from them?

  30. We seek the generosity of kings, though they have passed away,

    And hope for wealth through poetry, while poetry has no market.

  31. When the deeds of those I see displease me,

    I weep for the lords whom I have lost.

  32. The people of verse have died out, and there have ceased,

    Through humiliation, the efforts to approach kings.

  33. But for Abu Abd al-Ilah, there would fall idle

    Gatherings of kindness, and assemblies would lie deserted.

  34. I have praised Muhammad for his pursuit of noble deeds,

    And I indeed praise the age in which he has lived.

  35. Ibn Muʿammar has made the world flourish for us,

    As he builds up the ʿAtīkī house.

  36. A lord has spared us the calamities of need,

    Through whom a neighbor gains honor and a petitioner succeeds.

  37. His broad, accessible precinct has always remained

    Fertile in its heights; no scout has faulted his pasture.

  38. They called him to attain every virtue:

    Qualities planted in him, and habitual ways.

  39. He has honor newly won through generosity and valor,

    And glory inherited from proud, mighty men.

  40. People resemble one another in merit and share in it,

    Yet Abu Abd al-Ilah is truly without equal.

  41. How can one rival a man whose family is the Azd,

    With Nabhān as forefather and al-Muʿammar as father?

  42. And from Muḍar the Red his maternal kinship is noble;

    Its glory rises for him in the house of ʿAdnān.

  43. They are his allies, the lords of the house of Khindif;

    From them he has a fortress, a sword, and a supporting arm.

  44. Noble chiefs of the Prophet's family, whose faces

    Heal the blinded, and ward off afflictions.

  45. In both houses of Maʿadd and Yaʿrub he has,

    Upon the loftiest nobility, summits and foundations.

  46. Joy to you, Abu Abd al-Ilah, in your high honors!

    And no rival has approached you in them.

  47. Enough for you that the earth is filled with your gifts,

    And enough that people know you are noble.

  48. And in every heart is love inspired by you,

    And in every horizon, a witness to your goodness.

  49. Your cloud pours abundant rain when they fail:

    Cloudbanks of rainless lightning, and thunderclouds.

  50. None can reach your noble heights,

    And none can deny your generous gifts.

  51. And you have surpassed kings in merit as a deputy,

    Since many of them envy you.

  52. They see in you the excellence they recognize,

    Yet all of them hold back from that excellence.

  53. Do you not know that generosity is lordship,

    And that everything but praise passes away?

  54. Can two opposites be equal—one eager for praise,

    And another indifferent to winning virtue?

  55. And you, Abu Abd al-Ilah, Muhammad,

    We have found praiseworthy, with benefits in your keeping.

  56. So our hopes sought refuge in you, and came

    To you the well-wrought, enduring rhymes.

  57. Brides of equal age, early-arriving, whose dowries

    Pass away, while they endure forever.

  58. They are garments for the honor of kings,

    And necklaces for the necks of meanings.

  59. If men are taken away from them, then they

    Come then to you, mature brides wandering from them.

  60. May you live throughout all time, Ibn Muʿammar,

    To you high honors are drawn, and the festival returns.

  61. Your gifts reach the loyal friend with gladness,

    And may you endure, and the stubborn envier be your ransom.

Sol 6.1