Sol 6.1

  1. A person's joy is coupled with misery,

    and the coming of good fortune leads toward ill fortune.

  2. The full moon's fullness points to waning,

    and the unveiling of the suns' light is proof enough for you.

  3. Life, when intoxicated, is death,

    like fresh grain mingled with weevils.

  4. If the days smile upon you, beware

    the onslaught of calamities from their frowns.

  5. For how often they have befriended a nursling of the throne,

    and destroyed him, leaving him without a companion.

  6. If you ponder Tasm and Ad,

    and Amliq, and Afra of Jadis,

  7. you learn caution from them, for the days are a ghoul,

    more harmful to Kulayb than Basus.

  8. Such are the days: their appearance is lovely,

    like the color of a tender young bride's sheer robes.

  9. But if you keep their company, their secret

    is the secret of a decrepit old crone.

  10. If they swear to bring some good to completion,

    their oath is the very essence of perjury.

  11. So ask one who has truly experienced the days,

    and grown seasoned among predators and prey.

  12. Whatever the days bring, in my eyes

    is already past; truth springs from inner thoughts.

  13. I faced the daughters of my days with a heart

    that stands in place of a vast army.

  14. The gravest trouble has become easy for me:

    a ewe's bleating or a lion's roar alike.

  15. I do not fear the loss of anything,

    nor abandonment by prince or chief.

  16. Nor am I one whom, because of Lamis,

    passion has afflicted, and who has wept over weathered ruins.

  17. Nor am I one whom tangible wealth has enticed:

    mute coin, speaking livestock, or young palms newly planted.

  18. For my hopes in God's riches are my wealth,

    and hope in Him has hidden me and my purse.

  19. Nor is my companionship with the sons of the nights

    a hope for some precious gift from them.

  20. But they hold things of mine that have strayed,

    and these are found among the great and the lowly.

  21. For how often a piece of wisdom strayed, then returned,

    valued upon an unfortunate man's lips.

  22. And if the sons of the days do not recognize my worth,

    the son of Azar went unrecognized among the Magians.

  23. And chickens fail to recognize the noble bird,

    when it is harmed, while they grow mighty amid the ruins.

  24. I kept their company with a soul—what a soul!—

    that refused to accept being shaped by other souls.

  25. Above Kaywan, a hall of assembly was built for me;

    I sat in it, and Kaywan was my companion.

  26. The most honored of people is whoever needs nothing from them;

    the lowliest of people are the worshippers of coins.

  27. And I guard the water of my face above all else,

    so it has not been poured out for deep-seated greed.

  28. When you are self-sufficient among a people,

    you occupy the place of crowns upon their heads.

  29. Whenever you ask your friend for surplus bounty,

    he casts at you the glance of a lion in its lair.

  30. I was created affectionate; yet if I am shunned

    by a friend, I shy away more than a restive horse.

  31. In God are my reliance and my pride,

    when Jadilah takes pride in Sadus.

Sol 6.1