Sol 6.1

  1. God be praised for the day at al-Nayrabayn! Its face

    is radiant, and mirth's mouth is cool and white-toothed.

  2. And a branch of the arāk tree seems a pulpit,

    and its nightingale preaches atop the crown.

  3. And thunder sings, and rain gives drink, and the bough—

    of the bān tree dances, and the thickets drink.

  4. And the cupbearer, circling with his cup, seems

    night's full moon, with a star in his palm.

  5. A virgin wine, with which burning thirst is quenched—how wondrous

    to quench burning thirst with a blazing ember!

  6. The clouds' water deflowers her—and what

    a marvel on the cloudy morning, though he is her father!

  7. Red wine—we fought fortune's reversals with her unmixed draught;

    so her glass is stained with the blood of cares.

  8. And raindrops are arrows, and the pool full-length coats of mail,

    closely woven, and lightning is a gilded sword.

Sol 6.1