Sol 5.6

  1. I was told that Fate had brought about a sudden misfortune—

    and so I tasted no sleep until it came fully to light.

  2. I feared lest the calamity conceal within it a knight,

    bold whenever the Mashrafi blades are drawn,

  3. lavishly generous, a mighty striker amid black battle-dust and swirling grit,

    when clouds withhold their rain, or when cavalry turns in flight.

  4. His spearpoint is unerringly guided toward piercing upper chests,

    when brown lances lose their way in the night of battle-dust.

  5. And who can equal Qutb al-Din, a knight of battle,

    steadfast when even the bravest horsemen tire?

  6. I yearn as they yearn for the watering place in the bright forenoon—

    five-day-thirsting she-camels, worn down by night travel and wasted away.

  7. For you I yearn. If reunion is decreed, it will be a blessing—

    one for which lavish thanks fall short, so great is it.

Sol 5.6