Sol 6.1

  1. Is there redress for encounters missed,

    or a healer for one who complains of passionate longing?

  2. Or are tears the visible sign of love's burning anguish,

    while the anguish lies hidden within the ribs of the breast?

  3. And standing at the dwellings—whether a spring

    encampment that stirs longing or a summer encampment—

  4. is a paltry substitute for them, now that they have settled

    at al-Liwa. A faded dwelling in Wajra—

  5. the ravaging nights have left in it

    only a tent-trench swept by sand-bearing winds,

  6. and hearthstones over which years have passed without

    the fire's blaze, standing upright like hearthstones.

  7. Is it a moon rising in the darkness of night,

    or a phantom arriving from Su'da,

  8. granting what, whenever she was asked for it,

    she had no share in granting?

  9. Is it for something she resented? Then I shall do my utmost

    to keep clear of her displeasure and turn away,

  10. and confess what I have committed; for how often

    has confession done away with wrongdoing!

  11. People marveled at my seclusion, while in the outlying

    regions the homes of nobles are visited,

  12. and at my staying put instead of roaming, though the earth

    has wide expanses for one like me.

  13. It is not because I have attained the height of wealth,

    but I am a man for whom enough suffices.

  14. The stiff-necked man who turns away from me has seen

    my proud aversion to his courtyard and my withdrawal.

  15. And the fool among men is one who spends the night hoping

    for bounty from one who will not grant fairness.

  16. If you have gained power, I have gained self-respect;

    and mutual independence among men is equality.

  17. Befriend the likes of Ahmad ibn Ali;

    you will acknowledge his superiority to those you befriend.

  18. A magnanimous man: either he agrees with what you

    desire, or he spares you the war of disagreement.

  19. What an initiator of noble deeds, or a deliberator

    between two opinions, or a pebble for hurling!

  20. If treachery makes scribes weigh lightly in the balance,

    the faithful, fully worthy man's scale-pan weighs heavier.

  21. How fine a trustworthy steward of affairs,

    or a capable fulfiller of a trust!

  22. What you see in him, upright in an age of

    treachery, is seen in him in an age of integrity.

  23. High aspiration that scorns base deeds, and a soul

    too noble even to contemplate covetousness.

  24. And eminence among the Ispahbadhs that we wished

    were among the Zayds and the Awfs.

  25. The foremost feathers among them advanced him,

    when the hidden feathers betrayed others.

  26. The clan of Sabur of the Armies, and seekers

    of the exploits of Sabur of the Shoulders.

  27. They lived on, belying the false things

    their foes supposed, by standing firm and then by fencing.

  28. O Abu Abd Allah, may God extend for you

    the edifice of glory as a leather tent is stretched.

  29. Spring will not pass Iskaf by so long as you

    dwell with al-Nahrawan in Iskaf.

  30. It was favored by you both with successive bounty,

    copious in its downpour, and a sweeping torrent.

  31. If we test you, you are one of those peerless

    few who count for more than thousands.

  32. You pursue the utmost goals; not even the wind

    can cover half their distances, from exhaustion.

  33. And opposites unite in what you continually bestow—

    favors upon us, weighty yet light.

  34. They gained the fame of stars, and

    their renown traveled among people as rhymes travel.

Sol 6.1