1. Come, my reproacher: the ban tree has borne fruit.

    And look at fruits that leave the mind bewildered.

  2. Do you not see a ban shoot in a dune of fine sand,

    slender-waisted, swaying, and full of sap?

  3. For his locks are grape-clusters, and his cheek

    the apples of Lebanon; his two breasts are pomegranates.

  4. These fruits never cease to be ripe,

    so cease reproaching me: the one I love is a garden.

  5. Toward his dusky lips the soul's yearning is stirred,

    as though his breaths were solace and sweet basil.

  6. I glorify God in admiration of his form

    when he gazes, his glance seeming drowsy.

  7. I wept while near him, for fear of parting from him,

    knowing that estrangement would follow union.

  8. As though he were a houri, with glad tidings for me

    of mercy and favor from him, brought by Ridwan.

  9. And al-Ashraf, the king, the generous sovereign, has

    noble deeds and beneficence that fill the world.

  10. His bounty is hoped for, and his outbursts are not feared,

    except when horsemen clash in battle.

  11. There he hunts down heroes with commanding power,

    as though he were a falcon and the heroes bustards.

  12. May the enemies' faces be disfigured, O Shah of Armenia, for the

    Franks and the Georgians all fear you.

  13. How long shall I thirst while this sea lies before me,

    from which channels overflow through every region?

  14. A sea whose precious jewels overflow upon those seeking bounty,

    yet against aggressors it is a deluge.

  15. Your affairs have been managed for you, O sons of Shadhi,

    by a king whose enemies submit in humiliation.

  16. He clothes the swords in the bodies of those who betray him,

    and their heads are crowns for the spears of al-Khatt.

  17. He raids, and the deaths on his spearheads become

    eagles grown into vultures over the eagles.

  18. He has accustomed the birds to habits they trust

    on the day of battle: he feeds lavishly and thrusts fiercely.

  19. Sound in judgment, self-sufficient alone,

    with no need of men, bold-hearted and watchful.

  20. Through al-Ashraf Islam stood tall, and exalted was

    faith, while crosses sank in humiliation.

  21. Whenever he unsheathes his sword in battle, he severs

    limbs, and bodies part from souls.

  22. Possessed of resolve that cleaves solid rock, and forbearance

    that neither Radwa nor Thahlan can equal in weight.

  23. Blessed of face, auspicious in his nature,

    as though his face were good fortune and faith.

  24. When my time hurled me into its calamities,

    I cried, 'You are not time; you are crippling affliction!'

  25. So my palm is empty of my comfort, and I

    regret drinking with the boon companions.

  26. How many a companion casts stones at me, unashamed!

    For the friend is like vinegar, and brothers are traitors.

  27. People have laid claim to poetry, yet they have no

    proof, ever, for what they have claimed about it.

  28. They made themselves chess-viziers, and we became pawns, yet they remained

    pawns, while I am a vizier in the place of honor.

  29. I shall surely seek a king whose eloquence has baffled

    Quss, and which Sahban never attained before.

  30. Giver of thousands and piercer of thousands in

    battle, when the fires of war are lit.

  31. So that I return, my enviers saying, 'Indeed,

    Fityan has grown rich in bounty and wealth.'

  32. O king, be safe, live on, rise high, and endure,

    as long as riders head for pilgrimage to the House of God.

  33. And may you live as long as Noah lived, and attain the extent of

    the dominion Solomon attained of old.

Sol 6.1