Sol 6

  1. O rider departing from us atop Sahwan,

    a noble, seasoned mount that crosses the empty waste,

  2. a pale Sharari camel of Wadihan’s line,

    resembling an ostrich from among the tall flocks.

  3. If it catches the scent of the reddish trees, it vanishes into the deep distance,

    pulling away from those riding other mounts.

  4. O eye of Rabdan, you looked out toward Zilan

    and glimpsed lights like flames with kindled wicks.

  5. From the stock of Ayran to the shelter of Shuaylan,

    like the lead camel guiding the train.

  6. Its forequarters are high: neither a scrawny goat nor a heavy beast,

    and its armor bears the marks of such fine qualities.

  7. Flies have not stung it in the ember of summer heat,

    even when the midday heat grows fierce.

  8. Throw the saddle over it, with girth and belly strap,

    and the fringed riding cloth and shades.

  9. A decorated Aqili saddlebag, tightly woven and strapped,

    adorned with shells and tassels.

  10. Hang the finest strap at the front of its saddle,

    and fasten the covering that wards off its sores.

  11. Put gold upon it, and mix dates with clarified butter.

    Among the Turks, no generous one asks after us.

  12. At dawn from Sinab, before the light has appeared,

    rise; the news and letters lie ahead of you.

  13. Urge it past the gate and its guard,

    and head toward Biyawat, land of hardships.

  14. Turn toward Samsun, traveling among the dunes,

    and aim for Suhayl when it appears before you.

  15. Sivas is to the left; pass far from the land of strangers,

    and in Ankara be a guest among its settled people.

  16. Carry my greeting, scented with musk and basil,

    and repeat it to Abu Faris, noble in his ways.

  17. On toward Adana, Kaysum, and Rawan,

    in the land of the Turks, whom he calls barren and miserly.

  18. From there to Shahba, where Arab tribes water their animals,

    people of broad encampments and dwellings.

  19. Through Hama and Homs the mount presses onward, returning and arriving,

    and pass through the open country on your day’s journey.

  20. Before the light appears, O messenger,

    your road runs over those long hills.

  21. To Dayr and the valley, north of Shayhan;

    when you reach the ridge, ask your way.

  22. Go east toward Sali and rise toward Madnishan;

    your destination is Abu Ajjaj, a man of noble character.

  23. A refined free man who delights everyone

    who knows his people’s generosity and deeds.

  24. When people’s food grows scarce and provisions fail,

    even when the lean years stretch on.

  25. Greet him with a carefully composed verse

    and tell him: your answer comes from a poet.

  26. I said: May the mountain’s honor return as it was.

    What honor remains for a people who have lost their women?

  27. Honor belongs to God in every quarter;

    leave aside talk that leads nowhere.

  28. What is allotted to you will come, even if you are far away;

    nothing can stand between you and what the Most High has allotted.

  29. Today those who remained have grown powerful after Nad'an,

    and officeholders in our mountain have become arrogant.

  30. They have inherited the mountain in these troubled times,

    new sheikhs in place of the sheikhs of old.

  31. They grew grand through counting lambs and sheep,

    and strutted like a billy goat.

  32. They sold bravery and honor as one sells a horse,

    and base men rose after those shameful acts.

  33. Those who turned their backs on us, son of Bahsass, are wretches,

    and the pilgrimage has not lifted the heavy burdens.

  34. The official in government holds his head like an office,

    and takes no account of those suffering in hardship.

  35. If relief lies in the quiver of this man or that,

    your grave will be in Rhodes among the great families.

  36. Yet we are in the sight of God, creator of the worlds,

    and the wicked will meet wickedness and corruption.

  37. Some would have every absent person left adrift;

    I have news of the lowly traitors.

  38. Consider God’s will: what brings you to Tuq'an?

    When the ordeal ends, the journeys will change.

  39. My reproach falls on Wahbi, As'ad, and Salman,

    and on some of the sheikhs of those tribes,

  40. and on the new sheikhs, wretched boys

    who do not know how to twist cord and wicks.

  41. If the Worshipped One, creator of the worlds, decrees it,

    we shall surely travel by night on noble mounts.

  42. When we come toward Salkhad and Arman,

    you will see the deeds of men foremost in action.

  43. Do not sink into weakness; leave fear and sorrows,

    and bring me news, if God decrees a way.

  44. Greet your people, heirs to the eagles,

    sheikhs who wet their polished swords.

  45. Men of honorable beards who serve food in bowls,

    with clarified butter flowing over the choicest provisions.

  46. Alas for horsemen who once rode as knights

    and, after noble conduct, have become humiliated

  47. in the lands of rough, miserly, sickly people

    who fail to honor visiting guests.

  48. My heart longs for them, son of Bahsass,

    and when they are mentioned, tears run down my cheek.

  49. Our people have scattered everywhere;

    I grieve for them with a bereaved mother’s grief.

  50. They drove them away while the herds slept, standing ready,

    leaving their young amid the aftermath of calamity.

  51. I vow that if we are reunited after Hauran,

    I shall slaughter eighty she-camels for God’s sake,

  52. and visit the grave of the Chosen One, exalted in rank,

    and rejoice after the burning embers and anguish.

  53. And if we have gone into a sea whose depths cannot be seen,

    how many caravans have gone astray on the road to Mecca!

  54. I end my words with the Companions and Salman,

    the Chosen One, the Followers, and the messengers.

  55. May He reunite those exiled by a ruler’s command;

    may He grant us a good end on the day of terrors.

Sol 6