Sol 6.1

  1. I am smitten with a dusky maiden, like a tawny lance;

    She sways upon the back of a dust-colored dune.

  2. Her buttocks are heavy, filling her waist-wrap,

    Tugging at a waist as slender as a little finger.

  3. She makes the sober man lovesick with a proud, dignified sway,

    And sways gracefully amid the green foliage of youth.

  4. Whenever she draws off her face-veil, she smiles,

    And her smile brings forth two strands of jewels.

  5. I have been slain; my killer is one who never drew

    A sword but her kohl-dark eye, with its deep black and clear white.

  6. And it is a marvel to see the lion of al-Shara

    Slain in the thicket by a wild-cow calf's glance.

  7. She guards her mouth with the arrows of her two eyes;

    No army seeks that frontier,

  8. Except an army of al-Kamil, led by al-

    Aqsis, traveling by night through the desolate waste.

  9. He braved the midday heats, then took shade beneath a great tree

    That spread its shade over the mightiest, greatest king.

  10. With good fortune he gained the kingdoms of Yemen, which

    Rose to Jupiter, the most auspicious of stars.

  11. And he pressed toward them, riding a resolve

    Beside which Alexander's resolve falls short.

  12. And he came to Salah al-Kamili, bearing glad tidings

    Of victory from a king rejoicing in it.

  13. The omen foretold complete well-being

    For all the worlds—and that is the truest report.

  14. Through al-Kamil, affairs are set in order—of religion and the

    World—in the finest outward appearance and inward character.

  15. And at his side is Ahmad, like the Prophet Muhammad

    In conquering Mecca after the conquest of Khaybar.

  16. From the house of Shadi, he built a lofty kingdom;

    How many a congregational mosque he raises, and how many a pulpit!

  17. He shatters Kisra and pursues Tubba' with

    Humiliation that surrounds him, and subdues Caesar.

  18. Though he is peerless in his age, he nevertheless

    Embodies the worth of the greatest multitude.

  19. May the gleaming mouth of victory ever smile

    At those who defy him, with a torrent of the stout lance's tears.

  20. So to you, O king of kings, a message

    From a poet who, in his weakness, did not discern.

  21. In justice, the Sovereign has favored you over them.

    O selfless giver, may you be inspired to thank the One who favors you.

  22. For if I have hit the mark in this, it is through your happy fortune; and if

    I miss, it is through my ill luck, turning its back.

  23. You have surpassed panegyrics, O son of Sayf al-Din; so

    The master of eloquence has apologized—grant him pardon.

  24. To what can seekers of your bounty liken you in generosity

    And valor? The thinker's thought is bewildered.

  25. You are the one who fills the ear of the devout

    With noble speech, and fills the eye of the beholder.

  26. May you ever be congratulated on manifest victory

    By the Lord of the Ways of Ascent, with abundant bounty,

  27. As long as the bright stars shine, and there appears

    To a traveler the face of radiant morning.

Sol 6.1