Sol 6.1

  1. And high-humped she-camels delight the guests' eyes,

    And lie heavy in their kneeling places at dawn,

  2. Ravenous for evening feed, massive-bodied,

    When the crosswind alternates with the north wind.

  3. Their weaned calves are like curly-haired Abyssinians,

    Seeming like gathered throngs upon their resting grounds,

  4. For a dark-coated one whose mother is a black she-camel among them,

    As though he wore blankets made of hide.

  5. I lay sleepless and did not sleep through a long night,

    Watching to see whether the two Eagle stars had moved on.

  6. So bouts of worry kept me awake,

    Weighing upon me, though my affairs depended on no one.

  7. And the guest-fare I offered worries when they assailed me

    Was firm resolve, for which I desired no substitute.

  8. So I weighed the routes for half a year,

    And a year thereafter, until it had run its course.

  9. Then the one concerned for my affairs said to me,

    With sincere counsel in his words, privately—and he said:

  10. Turn to the sons of Umayyah and seek their protection,

    And take from them cords of safety against what you fear.

  11. For the sons of Umayyah, among Quraysh,

    Have built tall pillars for their houses.

  12. So I set my young she-camel out toward Saʿid,

    When the antelope took its midday rest beneath the arta shrub.

  13. She strides across the rugged lava field by night,

    And wears through sandals in its narrow passes.

  14. I swore by those who came to Hira's two slopes,

    And those who reached Ilal on their pilgrimage.

Sol 6.1