Sol 5.6

  1. At what door but yours shall I knock?

    And in whose generosity but yours shall I place my hope?

  2. To whom shall I turn, O my refuge and safeguard?

    In whom shall I seek shelter, or from whom shall I expect aid?

  3. I humbled myself before one unworthy of honor,

    Against my will, while my heart was breaking.

  4. I wrote to him under duress, and his reply proved

    Sweeter than honey—or deadlier than poison.

  5. I returned as al-Kusāʿī returned, remorseful

    For the offense—if only remorse could avail.

  6. By God, were it not for hardship and need,

    I would never in this world submit to anyone but you.

  7. No good is there in sustenance anyone but you bestows,

    Even if it were wider than the whole expanse of earth.

  8. I glory in myself, admiring myself wherever I may be:

    A soul whose only ambition is to hope in you.

  9. My aspiration pleases me whenever I behold it,

    Enamored of winning lofty honors through your favors.

  10. Hope in you reveals that a man possesses lofty resolve,

    And a soul aspiring to the highest pinnacle of glory.

  11. By God, may none but you ever possess my reins

    Among all mankind, so long as the bow can still be drawn.

  12. Perhaps, O Abu al-Abbas—may my life ransom you—

    No star of my fortune is rising in your sky.

  13. O Abu Ahmad, is there some noble act of kindness

    By which the disarray of a shattered heart may be mended?

  14. O Abu Hasan, open for me an entrance into honor,

    For the road to honor with you is broad.

  15. Take my hand, for fate has brought my standing low;

    If you neglect me, I shall surely be lost.

  16. Mine is an ancient migration among the earliest,

    And a pure affection untouched by affectation.

  17. If fortunes were proportioned to the measure of our love

    And its abundance for you, when shares were apportioned,

  18. A man would raise his gaze toward the stars,

    As once I raised my gaze toward the stars.

  19. O you who have loosed passion’s reins, proceed gently;

    For in my eyes you are resolute, not one to lose his way.

  20. By God, I have wearied neither of loving nor praising

    Him. Take heart: many a harm will yet prove beneficial.

  21. Your wound is bribed with salves from his generosity,

    And your breach—if you widen it—he will patch.

  22. At times circumstances close in upon me, and I turn back;

    Then I recall the outcome of your goodness, and room opens wide.

  23. Though aid’s sudden charge has been slow to reach me,

    The sudden charge of hopes comes swiftly.

  24. Hopes of high glory from you bring me glad tidings;

    In any bounty but yours, hopes deceive.

  25. How many a petitioner whose renown lay dead have you revived,

    So he departed with the banners of distinction raised.

  26. Yet not every Moses is one to whom God speaks,

    Nor is every servant a vessel fit for honor.

  27. The servant’s duty is to call upon and petition his Lord,

    For prayer and humble entreaty may benefit the servant.

  28. I pledged my right hand and sought refuge from all mankind

    In your bond, O you whose bond is never severed.

  29. May you remain for us—enriching, endowing, and hoped in,

    Held in awe, giving to whom you will and withholding.

Sol 5.6