Sol 5.6

  1. Come to convivial delight—come alive!

    And hasten to wine from the two palms of a full moon;

  2. and sip its intoxicating fire,

    meteor-like in its blaze, fragrant as its scent unfurls.

  3. Do you not see the night bewildered,

    gone astray for fear of exposure?

  4. The ascendant among the bright stars is sinking,

    and the Eagle beats its wing;

  5. the ambergris of darkness is fragrant,

    its perfume kindled by morning’s fire.

  6. The Pleiades’ flock has dipped low

    as dawn’s vanguard lights the way for day.

  7. The earth breathes perfume,

    and clouds pour down upon the flowered hills.

  8. This is the season of spring;

    its radiance has filled the horizon.

  9. Exquisite song has trilled

    from its birds upon the boughs.

  10. And at the hour of slumber, it whispered

    to the sleepers—its perfume.

  11. The garden is bright of face,

    and the daisies, pure gold, are rimmed with pearls.

  12. The rose, like a maiden, greeted

    the companions from behind the veil of its green robes.

  13. The blossoms’ mouths opened in smiles,

    at the dew disclosing pure, unmixed wine.

  14. The little flowers’ gaze gazes

    toward the chamomile’s smile.

  15. The boughs’ supple waist is fresh,

    bent by the hands of the winds.

  16. So pass the wine around to me

    in great cups; show no reserve in love or wine.

  17. Far be that from me, my two reproachers!

    No repentance—the right course is my drunkenness throughout life.

  18. Rise and bring her—the secret of her proud allure.

    Her figure is bough-like in its suppleness;

  19. dawn dwells in the radiance of her face,

    and the garden in the rose of her cheek.

  20. The sun yearns to meet her,

    and the full moon is enamored of her love.

  21. O you who blame me, calling this love folly,

    no apology—the down along her cheek itself supplies the excuse.

  22. You have indeed done a monstrous thing

    in reproaching a grief-stricken, love-enslaved ʿUdhrī lover.

  23. Here are my tears, streaming down;

    passion has exhausted my patience.

  24. So the heart, distraught with love, takes flight

    between separation and abandonment.

  25. O my heart, why are you bewildered?

    You yearn for one you do not know.

  26. Melt away, that we may learn who assailed me

    with the blade-edges of his eyelids’ deep blackness—melt, that we may know:

  27. those endowed with radiant qualities,

    and wondrous incisors, each a lustrous star.

Sol 5.6