Sol 5.6

  1. Swaying, she rivaled the moringa boughs in their graceful bending.

    A wide-eyed beauty—how many has she slain with her lovely eyes!

  2. In my heart she has dwellings held inviolate,

    apart from every occupant but her—what need have I of a substitute?

  3. Who will bring me a slender beauty who, when she stands, might be mistaken for

    a supple moringa wand upon a mound of sand?

  4. Long-haired, dark-lipped, wondrous—ah, my wonder

    at a gazelle who repels lions with her gaze!

  5. I complained to her of desertion, and she increased it, though I reproached her;

    yet in her eyes the haste to reproach is not just.

  6. If my censor reproaches me for loving her, out of spite,

    and confronts me, my heart will not turn away.

  7. For one who is enamored does not complain of what

    the beloved ever does; whoever complains is free of love.

  8. O Iblis, I see no substitute

    for you, whether you sever my bond or join it.

  9. My heart has no ruin but your beloved,

    and my body no ailment but your beloved.

  10. My thought holds nothing but the memory of what has passed:

    dear little nights amid embraces and kisses.

  11. Patience is nobler for me, that my lovesickness may heal,

    and perhaps the claims love has upon me may be discharged.

  12. Perhaps promises I spent the night awaiting will be fulfilled,

    and word and deed brought into accord.

  13. What harm can time’s vicissitudes do me when they descend?

    None—for in love I seek no means of escape.

  14. Nor can one who spends the night reproaching me harm me,

    for I have not forgotten, nor has longing’s dye faded.

  15. Your love has no dwelling but the heart,

    and glory has none but Ali al-As‘adi—

  16. the noble, intrepid knight—what an excellent young man!

    The astute, awe-inspiring master, the champion lord.

  17. When one day he charges amid the fray, the enemies flee,

    from his deadly assault among them and from terror.

  18. Or when he attacks one day with a supple spear, playing with it—

    how many an armored champion lies felled whenever it inclines!

  19. As for one who toys with spearpoints, if

    he is mentioned before him, he is merely the stuff of a proverb.

  20. And when he sits at the head of his assembly,

    you would say he is the sun alighting in the mansion of Aries.

  21. Around him are stars gleaming upon the horizon,

    while the full moon of their excellence rises high above Simak.

  22. Mighty in valor, yet gentle in his kindness,

    chosen for high honors—As‘ad al-Dawli.

  23. Through him the emirate glories, smiling,

    and struts proudly in him like a drunken man.

  24. The full moon of his glory is conjoined with good fortune,

    and his renown has risen above the seven lofty heavens.

  25. High Glory has adorned herself in him, just as

    gardens flourish beneath a downpour from a rain-laden cloud.

  26. Good fortune sings in the gardens of his courtyard,

    and glory renews in him the effaced traces of deserted camps.

  27. Justice is his ornament, and generosity his nature;

    virtue is his adornment, not jewels upon fine robes.

  28. Glory is his prize; victory, his hallmark;

    a sea of munificence, he gives without delay.

  29. His peerless hand has enfolded all creation in blessings,

    bestowing abundance without reminders or weariness.

  30. To him the nobles point when their lineage is recounted—

    not Ma‘n, nor Hatim among the ancients of old.

  31. For if Hatim saw the bounty pouring from his hand,

    he would say, “I have neither she-camel nor camel in this affair.”

  32. The clouds grew jealous of his hands when they saw

    their showers recoil before them in shame.

  33. In peace you find him forbearing and broad-minded,

    sweet in wit and fond of the tenderness of love poetry;

  34. broad-chested, open-faced, and stately,

    a noble man who holds himself above cowardice and miserliness.

  35. And in combat, a smasher of battle lines,

    a giver of thousands, protector of neighbor and retinue.

  36. Behind him stands a band whose virtues are exalted,

    like lions whose thicket is made of spears.

  37. Each is a noble, glorious man whom you meet as

    a lion amid the dust, driving the host into rout.

  38. O you who ignorantly aspire to equal him,

    put this aside, and do not be deceived by hope.

  39. Sticks are not like the sword—we know what they are;

    nor is the bruising blackness of two eyes like cosmetic kohl.

  40. This is he whose fame High Glory adores,

    as though loftiness had been stamped into his nature from eternity.

  41. This is he whom lions fear and dread,

    and the sword bears witness, as do the slender spears.

  42. This is the son of As‘ad; no peer resembles him,

    the terror of the foe with polished Indian blades.

  43. How many a pillar of the enemy has he toppled when it defied him,

    and for glory raised a stronghold without flaw.

  44. When adversaries overstepped their bounds,

    he came upon them neither fearful nor feeble.

  45. O House of Mur‘ib, may your swords never cease

    to lay abasement upon the necks of your transgressing enemies.

  46. O House of Mur‘ib, may your spears never cease

    to reach after the foe, cutting short their allotted lives.

  47. O House of Mur‘ib, glory is truly yours,

    and glory among you rises high, becoming proverbial.

  48. O sun of good fortune, a sweet spring for all who come to drink—

    a virgin ode, made fortunate by the kisses of your hands.

  49. Live safe and endure; from those hands flows sweetness for all who come to drink,

    and may the stars of your fortune shine at glory’s zenith,

  50. for as long as your servant says, my lord, in praise:

    Swaying, she rivaled the moringa boughs in their graceful bending.

Sol 5.6