Sol 5.6

  1. My greetings to you both, though the journey to visit you is far—

    and a longing with a long train, without end.

  2. A greeting like a necklace of pearls on a budding maiden’s neck,

    stirred by her coy grace, while her necklace weighs her down.

  3. A greeting like dew upon the cheeks of anemones,

    and like a breeze that journeyed at morning, making the myrtle sway.

  4. A greeting whose fragrance mirrors virtues of yours—

    what, then, are musk, camphor, perfume, and aloeswood?

  5. Peace upon you both; may God illumine the place

    where you have alighted, since pride and glory alighted there.

  6. You have gone far, yet in the darkness of my gazing eyes

    you dwell—so for me there is neither nearness nor distance.

  7. O my masters, do not sever the bond of devotion;

    though the journey to visit you is far, I am your servant.

  8. If lovers have but a single covenant,

    then at every moment I have a covenant born of love for you.

  9. Whenever the east wind blows toward your dwellings,

    my soul travels with it, for you are its destination.

  10. And whenever lightning travels toward you from our lands,

    that blaze has journeyed from the fire of my heart.

  11. You were pure, so glory and virtue became manifest to humankind;

    but for you, virtue and glory would not be known.

  12. It is as though all humankind, O House of Joseph, were a spreading tree,

    and you its opening blossoms and its roses.

  13. It is as though the quarters of the universe had become censers:

    your character is their fire, and your character their aloeswood.

  14. In your speech is verse that soars, and sweetness

    declaring that you are pearls and your words are honey.

  15. And in your precedence lies a meaning proving that you are

    racehorses whose course has no bound.

  16. The world has recounted tales of your noble eminence;

    its pages are gratitude, and its pens are praise.

  17. Those tales grew renowned throughout the world, since you are

    swords of majesty, with hearts for their sheaths.

  18. If a rheumy eye is blind to your merit,

    there is no harm: inflamed eyes deny even the sun.

  19. Now forgive me for the interruption of my letters;

    you are in my heart, whether you go at evening or at morning.

  20. This is not from neglect by a yearning soul,

    but from concerns too many to count.

  21. May you ever remain a light shining for every beholder,

    though the vicious dog—or the ape—may bark at it.

  22. And may your lives remain forever safeguarded,

    with both drink and watering-place sweet to you in their serenity,

  23. throughout all time, so long as a greeting travels to you,

    and a longing with a long train, without end.

Sol 5.6