Sol 5.6

  1. O my companion, what good is blaming one possessed by passion,

    in love with a lissome beloved, graceful and slender-waisted?

  2. Do not blame me: my heart has become tormented

    by love of him, even if he sets himself to turn me away.

  3. How could I forget him, when the longer my abandonment,

    my estrangement, and my anguish, the more my passion grows?

  4. How strange—a soul enamored by its very nature;

    without him, dwelling in my grave has become sweet to me.

  5. Though I have crossed a sea of passion

    whose shore no adventurer ever dared approach,

  6. by my life, however long the separation, I have never said:

    “O beauties, you have banished the sincerity of my love.”

  7. So leave me be, for I am content

    with his injustice, his coldness, and his transgression.

  8. Beguile him with the promise of union—perhaps one day he will grant it

    to a proud man whom long separation has humbled—

  9. and heal my heart within me with a cup

    sipped from the nectar of mouth and cheek.

  10. Let him drink it in praise of the most exalted vizier,

    who in his age has won both gratitude and praise.

  11. O vizier of the age, praising you is my duty;

    to neglect it is impermissible in any age.

  12. In al-ʿAzīz’s realm in Egypt, you are

    abundant in resolve, possessed of sound judgment and rectitude.

  13. You surpassed Maʿn and Ḥātim in generosity,

    and in war Ibn Maʿdī yielded to you.

  14. The proofs have arisen in support of your judgment

    in every affair, without possibility of rebuttal.

  15. For this you are worthy of the highest honors,

    for you receive every subject with favor.

  16. To Egypt you have brought abundance

    that increases there steadily with every passing day.

  17. Through your governance, the treasuries have come

    to pride themselves on safeguarding the finest coin.

  18. So remain in prosperity and exalted rank,

    and in a station rising beneath an auspicious star.

  19. Accept from me an exquisite creation of thought

    that hopes you will draw it near after long distance.

  20. May God increase you in splendor and favor

    as long as the neck of praise is adorned with a necklace.

Sol 5.6