وَداعٍ بِنَبحِ الكَلبِ يَدعو وَدونَهُ
غَياطِلُ مِن دَهماءَ داجٍ بَهيمُها
And a caller calls with a dog's bark, while before him
Bidding farewell with the barking of a dog calling its companion
Lie dense masses of a black night, its depths pitch-dark.
Illusions from a gloomy darkness, its foolishness makes it dim
دَعا وَهوَ يَرجو أَن يُنَبِّهَ أَذرُعاً
فَتىً كَاِبنِ لَيلى حينَ غارَت نُجومُها
He called, hoping to rouse arms—
It called while hoping to awaken a sleeping companion
A youth like Ibn Layla, when its stars had set.
A young man like Layla's son when its stars disappeared
بَعَثتُ لَهُ دَهماءَ لَيسَت بِناقَةٍ
تَدُرُّ إِذا ما هَبَّ نَحساً عَقيمُها
I sent him a black cauldron, not a she-camel,
I sent it a gloomy one, not a she-camel
That yields abundantly whenever its barren wind blows ominously.
That moans when misfortune blows, barren is its moan
كَأَنَّ المَحالَ الغُرَّ في حَجَراتِها
عَذارٍ بَدَت لَمّا أُصيبَ حَميمُها
As though the white vertebrae in its recesses
As if the impossible rocks in its chambers
Were maidens emerging when their loved one was struck down.
Are unchaste when its intimate one is struck
Sol 6.1