1. O people, help me with the remembered beloved,

    And a phantom that visited me before daybreak.

  2. The moon of night traveled in a sleeveless gown,

    Appearing before me—welcome to the moon!

  3. O son of Musa, do not blame me for love,

    And give me wine mixed with cool, limpid water.

  4. A glance bound my soul to Salma;

    Sometimes a look brings you doom.

  5. Experience some of that for my sake, or do not reproach me;

    Longing has taken my heart up and down.

  6. And one whose heart is free from love's sickness

    Would excuse me if he felt the love I feel.

  7. Tell whoever is jealous of us in love:

    Look into what we conceal, then be jealous.

  8. And a friend who scolds, though I pay him no heed,

    Milked my love for her today, and it flowed.

  9. Welcome! By God, I do not conceal it:

    My love is public, not kept secret.

  10. I have not visited Salma, nor has she called on us,

    Except in dreams of her: put your eye to sleep, and you will be visited.

  11. Then she said: I am in an upper chamber;

    The watcher stays awake, and you are well known;

  12. He pays heed only to those he knows,

    And I see that people leave their mark on you.

  13. So force your soul to bear what it dislikes;

    The sweetness of life is surrounded by bitterness.

  14. And when a matter twists from its proper course,

    Accept what you are given of it, and settle.

  15. Indeed, I suffered from that woman's cruelty—

    A marvel of the age—and from the cup of intoxication.

  16. Then that ended, its days praiseworthy,

    And I stripped amusement from myself, and it fell away.

  17. Indeed, I said to a visitor who came to me,

    After he had turned away for a while and deserted me:

  18. Time has bestowed old age upon my youth;

    Such is time, with its sweetness and evil.

  19. O you who disparage your days,

    Many a day of yours was renowned and radiant.

  20. He patched up life, so rejoice in wealth—

    Uqba, who shelters you from wretched living.

  21. And a prince, to whom the leaders of men

    Are servants, his commands carried out among them.

  22. I visited him one day, and he seated me close,

    And favored me with full moons and radiant beauties.

  23. And to a young man of refined taste I said:

    Adorn a generous man with verse, then rest.

  24. It does not please al-Habash that you praise him,

    For fear of generosity; al-Habash is no noble man.

  25. He desires praise but does nothing to earn it;

    So he has lessons to learn from this and that.

  26. And Ajrad came forward, threatening me,

    Like one who rouses a lion at night, unaware.

  27. He longs for me; yet if I meet him,

    He fears my advance upon him and crumples.

  28. Like a virgin who longs for intercourse,

    Yet fears it and will not risk danger.

  29. From Banu Nihya; a father forbade him—

    Crooked-sworded, bitter aloe upon a wound.

  30. He wears out blame upon his shoulders,

    And praise on him looks like a blemish.

  31. He held me back from him, when I had faced him—

    Radiant Uqba, the crusher of stone.

  32. So I demurred before one who asked leave,

    Radiant on the pulpit, in ample robes,

  33. From fear, or longing for his affection:

    If he wishes, he can sweeten and embitter.

  34. A king who is gentle when you treat him gently,

    And harsh when you deal harshly with him.

  35. A director of war and a key to generosity,

    He holds benefit for some peoples, and harm.

  36. A scourge to a rebel and a healer of strife,

    That unveiled itself as war and appeared ablaze.

  37. His followers ward off death through him,

    When the wind dries up and eyes stare wide.

  38. A lion who lulls the fires of battle to sleep;

    When terror shakes him, he stands firm.

  39. And a young man of Qahtan in its thick,

    Sound in judgment, generous as a refuge.

  40. He brings care to water and does not let it languish;

    Resolute in approaching water, praised in departing.

  41. And a generous man, lavish when he sets out at dawn;

    The wind flags, yet evening finds him unflagging.

  42. If his bounty flowed through a stone

    With a parched surface, the stone would be drenched.

  43. How many blessings he has bestowed on Wa'il,

    And Banu Afsa, and the tribe of Mudar!

  44. So win a share of his affection to carry away;

    He whom Ibn Salm loves is honored and aided.

  45. Uqba, you are the man through whom none suffers—

    Neither an absent one among us nor one nearby and present.

  46. You came to us dying, and revived generosity;

    So praise is yours for a dead thing brought to life.

  47. Do not fear my betrayal, even if you send me away—

    A fate arising among the decrees of fate.

  48. I am one who gives you the utmost of his soul,

    And, if you grant him good, he is grateful.

  49. He sees your like as nothing but a rain cloud,

    Arriving early with rain on a fortunate day.

  50. Each day, I hold a further favor of yours,

    And a white hand with bounty stored within.

  51. It is time for us to be watered by the rain,

    Or to see its trace in our valley.

  52. Indeed, we had been struck by neglect,

    That devoured our joint bones and the bases of our necks.

  53. We were only like a dead land,

    With nothing in it for a pasture-scout to hope for.

  54. So we lived again through you when you were appointed over us,

    Just as the earth comes to life through rain.

Sol 6.1