Sol 6.1

  1. And she claims that I have taken a sweetheart

    other than her—this is a fabricated falsehood.

  2. May God curse whoever trades his beloved for another.

    She said, 'Yes—far be it from you, if you have sense.

  3. You will forsake a person, if you forsake me,

    who loves you; consider whom you will take in his place.'

  4. I console myself with promises and hopes from you;

    then why not console my heart with despair of you?

  5. And your promise is pure honey in sweetness,

    but before its fulfillment lie bitter sap and colocynth.

  6. And I direct my gaze toward someone other than you, cautiously,

    for fear of foes, though my gaze inclines more toward you,

  7. so that people may say, 'A man who accused

    Rabi'ah of wrongdoing over Layla is surely lying.'

  8. The slanderers have indeed lied, out of malice against them both,

    and both are innocent and restrained.

  9. If I had sense, I would resolve to forsake you,

    by my own judgment; but I am a man who has no sense.

  10. And how could the heart endure without you? There is no way,

    and my heart's door is locked against forsaking you.

  11. And why—there is no reason—should killing you be forbidden,

    while killing me is lawful for you, O Umm Layla?

  12. Has it emboldened you that I have no patience in seeking you,

    and that I have no one but you to rely on?

  13. And when you perceived the passion within me

    and were certain that I would not turn away from you,

  14. you wronged me like the wicked wolf, who once said

    to a lamb he saw, while the wolf was hungry and without provisions:

  15. 'Are you the one who insulted me though I had done no wrong?'

    He said, 'When was that?' The wolf said, 'Last year.'

  16. He said, 'I was born this year! You only intended treachery.

    Here, then—eat me! May your meal bring you no pleasure!'

  17. Do you weep over my death, though you have killed me

    through love of you—a plain killing that cannot be mistaken?

  18. For you are like one who tirelessly slaughters sparrows,

    while his eyes stream with grief for them.

  19. If it came from tenderness toward them and mercy,

    he would stay the hand that never rests from slaughter.

  20. So do not look at what the eye sheds; look instead

    at the hand—what it does to the sparrows.

  21. Consider me a man who committed a sin unknowingly,

    and did not commit it deliberately—even the forbearing can act rashly.

  22. May God forgive what has passed; I shall not repeat it,

    and here I am, seeking release from your displeasure.

Sol 6.1