Sol 5.6

  1. Say to Husam of the Two Realms, the envied one:

    O mine of valor and wellspring of generosity,

  2. who will take the reins of the curved-necked, long-necked steeds

    and free the shackles of the captive bound in fetters,

  3. if calamity comes knocking while you are gone,

    and the thirsty earth sucks up the water of the returning rain

  4. in a parched season, a rainless year?

    We heap blame upon the year, while you are praised.

  5. Who will dismount in every hard, flinty wilderness

    for the caravan, from a powerful she-camel like a boulder,

  6. when their provisions are blood from the slit veins of their mounts—

    giving up his own, withholding nothing he possesses?

  7. Would you care for fair praise, sought like a watering place,

    sweeter than drinking the grape-cluster’s choicest wine?

  8. O giver of the gentle, supple maiden,

    whose heart is numbed by fear of parting;

  9. and of every noble steed, taut as a lance,

    its mane like a firmly knotted banner;

  10. and of a long-backed filly, adornment of the tethering ground,

    a slender mare, like a lofty pavilion polished smooth;

  11. or like a red-shanked ostrich driven from the flock,

    racing past its nest while pursued;

  12. and of ample, full-length coats among David’s armor,

    whose close-woven rivets conceal their protruding heads;

  13. and every blade hidden within its own watered pattern,

    cutting a trench through the crowns of warriors;

  14. and slender spears that seek a well-frequented open watering place

    at the twin jugulars and the flesh beneath the jaw;

  15. and nursing she-camels whose herdsman is strained by their multitude,

    as though the cupping instruments in him were a roasting-spit;

  16. and a purse of pure gold, full and undiminished,

    like a heap of rocks stacked one upon another.

  17. I said to your hateful enemy, abased and hard-pressed:

    “Beware, beware, of every man blessed by fortune

  18. who strives earnestly after sustenance, favored by fortune,

    whose pavilion stands pillared upon generosity,

  19. as though it were the House of God, the sought destination,

    and a pool of glory frequented by petitioners.

  20. The raincloud’s promise runs dry, while he remains trusted in his promise.

    He has free rein, stretched far ahead in the race,

  21. and a clan on battle-day—radiant-faced sovereign lords.

    They have passed away; among the people none of them is now seen:

  22. horsemen whose spear-thrust no barrier could block,

    though a doubled, twisted cord folded back upon itself sought to shield against it.

  23. They strove, while their celebrant never wearied,

    and on the day of proud rivalry their lineage stood sharply defined.

  24. Glory itself would never have been born had they not been born.

    That is God’s gift, unfailing,

  25. for the best of Qays, parent and offspring:

    the most faithful of them to covenant and promise.

  26. Were human beings worshipped, he would be the worshipped one.

    His merits—their reach is bounded by no limit;

  27. every reckoning other than theirs can be numbered.”

Sol 5.6