Sol 5.6

  1. Stand by the old abodes at Iḍam,

    weep for her journey by night, and touch its traces reverently.

  2. Ask the ruins about

    the landmarks of her who dwelt at al-ʿAlam:

  3. a graceful maiden, fairer than any who has walked—

    in all I have seen—upon two feet;

  4. dark-lipped, her saliva the gathered nectar of

    pure honey, her fingertips red ʿanam berries;

  5. a sun whose celestial spheres are nothing

    but camel-litters and tents.

  6. Had my soul sent her a kiss,

    no other kisses would ever have covered her;

  7. you would have deemed that, for me, a success

    opposed by no regret.

  8. Whenever the heat of my longing kindled

    within my breast and fiercely blazed,

  9. nothing quenched it but sipping

    her sweet, cool saliva.

  10. Indeed, I concealed my love for her,

    but it disclosed itself and would not stay concealed.

  11. Night upon dawn, resting upon

    a supple bough and a mounded dune.

  12. She turned away—yet the visiting phantom freely granted me

    union with her in my bed,

  13. while that caravan slept,

    save one among them who did not sleep,

  14. their hands all busy

    among bedrolls and camel nose-reins.

  15. Night had already turned away; within it

    grayness and decrepit age ran riot.

  16. Then I kissed from her a smiling mouth

    like a string of ordered pearls.

  17. I swear by her smile—and have I

    any lot left after that?

  18. I shall strive in pursuit of glory,

    if the One, the sovereign Judge, wills it for me.

  19. Excellent indeed is the man

    who rides into deadly perils and storms them.

  20. A trait within my soul refuses

    to stoop low among lofty aims.

  21. Not every fire is the fire of Moses

    when it flickers with blazing flame;

  22. certainly not—nor is every land,

    though you marvel at it, an Iram.

  23. How fitting is lofty honor

    for Himyar, above all other nations!

  24. A king who rose above the highest heavens

    of glory and generosity;

  25. the kings raised his eminence to the heights—

    kings of Arabs and non-Arabs alike.

  26. The water of life is in his cheeks;

    he ranges through the waters of noble qualities.

  27. The purest of earth’s kings in character,

    the most faithful of them to covenants;

  28. an Euphrates-sea when he gives,

    a lion of the lair when he takes vengeance.

  29. His neighbor dwells in safety and

    in honor beside him, within a sanctuary.

  30. A lord who became chief among his kin

    before he had reached manhood.

  31. O refuge of the distressed, should

    fortune bolt wildly or turn tyrannical!

  32. These are stanzas: the Creator of souls

    has favored you with the gift of composing them;

  33. here they are for you, like striped robes with

    embroidered hems and distinctive markings.

  34. Their wording encompasses meanings—

    maxims to be added to other maxims.

Sol 5.6