Sol 5.6

  1. O abodes of delight in the valley of rapture,

    From you a zephyr of longing stirred within me and blew;

  2. Your fragrance told the tidings of reunion,

    Recounting the ardor of my blazing heart.

  3. Then I remembered times gone by,

    And sweet little nights in which we attained our desire,

  4. And a beloved who visited me in secret,

    Veiled in the darkness of his hair, wary of any watcher.

  5. Had the branch seen him, it would have yearned and bent;

    Or had the full moon seen him one day, it would have veiled itself.

  6. A moon through whom my heart shines radiant,

    Yet heedless, he shows no concern for one sorrow-stricken—

  7. Deadly in his glances, honey-sweet and dark-lipped,

    Pearly-mouthed, with gleaming, fresh-bright teeth.

  8. His eye has wrought upon my inmost heart

    More than death-dealing brown spears ever could.

  9. The wine-lover has said of his smiling mouth

    That it is pearls, honey, and wine-bubbles;

  10. And the radiant one has said of his saliva

    That it is a cure for a passionate lover stricken with pain.

  11. A fawn—my passion for him is a wonder—

    Who never slips free of the fetter of conceit.

  12. His glances marked my reason for ruin,

    And shot longing into my heart, so it caught fire.

  13. He stole every heart when he drew near—

    If only, when he robbed, he had incurred restitution!

  14. Upon the pulpit of his cheeks arose

    His Zanj-black mole, preaching eloquently of beauty.

  15. His eyelids set a snare for me,

    And all my portion from him is toil and weariness.

  16. The wine-cup set his cheeks ablaze,

    And I marvel at flame amid such dewy softness.

  17. Beauty traces its lineage to him, just as

    Every glory claims descent from Ibn Nasif.

  18. A magnanimous lord, possessed of favors I imagined

    To be a sea’s overflow, or a cloud that had poured forth.

  19. Lofty honors drew near to him whenever

    Every virtue bent toward him and approached.

  20. His hand rose in generous giving wherever

    Through glory he attained the highest ranks.

  21. A lion: should he appear before his foes one day,

    They accept humiliation and seek safety in flight.

  22. Then the supple spear sways, yearning and exultant,

    In his hands, while wrath is reckoned his.

  23. O may God preserve the abodes where he dwelt,

    Where hopes and aspirations attain their utmost end—

  24. A noble one: not even gentle rain can mimic his downpour,

    Nor can the downpour rival what he has bestowed.

  25. He alighted in the meadow of glory, acquiring

    Every honor and praise that may be acquired.

  26. He appeared on the horizon like a rising full moon,

    And glory rose high in him and took firm root:

  27. A star of the House of Nasif, possessing

    An illustrious kinship within the most splendid lineage.

  28. He attained mastery in glory and rose in rank, just as

    Within his domain the banner of honor stood erect.

  29. O may God guard the passes of the beloved homeland,

    And may God guard you, O garden of letters.

  30. Take it, O lord of lofty virtues and generosity:

    A daughter of thought, one of Arabia’s nurtured daughters.

  31. Glory has endowed her with ardor for you,

    So she came journeying by night to you at a quickened trot,

  32. Bearing praise and singing aloud in laudation—

    O abodes of delight in the valley of rapture!

Sol 5.6