Sol 6.1

  1. Abu al-Tayyib, listen—may I hear of no calamity

    befalling you, and may you ever be a protector against Time—

  2. to my complaint: for, because of what has overshadowed me

    of separation, I fear I may die unawares.

  3. For, by God, I would not choose wealth after you are gone;

    and nearness to you is sweeter to me than wealth, even in poverty.

  4. And let it suffice that dismissal is more welcome

    to me than the two posts in Egypt, since it lets me draw nearer.

  5. If I am distraught with fear of parting,

    while your house, son of Musa, is a finger-span from me,

  6. how, then, do you think I would fare if you departed

    for a barren land whose landmarks lie deserted?

  7. I dwell there alone, lamenting its dwelling-place,

    and grieve for our earnest and radiant days.

  8. Shall I be patient? No, by God, I have no fortitude

    to find solace, nor patience to forgo your face's beauty.

  9. Thus, to me, these are alike: my willing departure from you,

    while you remain, and my passage to my grave.

Sol 6.1