Sol 6.1

  1. A noble letter, radiant and gleaming,

    With the beauty of its meanings and the beauty of its expression.

  2. It came to us from the splendid town of Tozeur,

    With a garden of literature and a chest of knowledge.

  3. Through its eloquent Arabic, it makes you forget the Bedouins of Ya‘rub,

    And trails its robe beyond Sahban’s eloquence.

  4. In it, Ibrahim extolled his namesake,

    For his lofty qualities, though they are not my own.

  5. And every vessel exudes what it contains,

    Just as the sun and moon shed their light for us.

  6. Yet he is distressed at heart, and one like him

    Is a companion of sorrows because the times are corrupt.

  7. Yet the one to whom you complain has no

    Hands to straighten out crooked affairs.

  8. And whoever does not give freely of silver and gold,

    In your time, neither ear will heed him.

  9. So keep to the hue of righteousness; you will succeed; and do not

    Despair, for time has many hues.

Sol 6.1