Sol 5.6

  1. Indeed, the one who fashioned you

    killed you after a time.

  2. And the one whom you begged for respite

    hastened you on, though you pleaded.

  3. And the one whose aid you sought

    failed you, despite your trust.

  4. Would that the one who breathed

    life into you had sustained you.

  5. Would that the one who cast you into

    a mire had pulled you free.

  6. He has reclaimed what

    he once bestowed upon you.

  7. He has placed you in a grave,

    narrow and confining.

  8. A dwelling filled

    with utter darkness instead of light.

  9. And why did he re—

    —quite you for what he made you bear?

  10. And why, after

    giving you life, did he kill you?

  11. Go, if you can, to your family,

    and mount your camel.

  12. Speak as you used to spe—

    —ak, and send forth another like you.

  13. Just as it was ordained for him,

    every creature with feet has trodden this path.

  14. How long Time labored with you

    until it brought you forth!

  15. You sank into its mire,

    and your feet transgressed all bounds.

  16. He could have saved you, yet

    he did not pull you free.

  17. It is as though the earth

    welcomed your withdrawal.

  18. It had resented

    the weight of you upon its back.

  19. Nothing but a decayed bone—

    nothing of you remains.

  20. In your earthly life, you never

    complained of an angel.

  21. What overpowering command

    distracted you from loving it?

  22. And what impelled you to forget it

    after love had borne you away?

  23. Amid its pleasures, you were

    like a star in its firmament.

  24. You had not prepared

    your paths upon the earth beforehand.

  25. Nor had you yet exhausted

    your delight upon it.

  26. Before you know your en—

    —d, know your beginning.

  27. Mourn what has passed;

    then weep indeed for what awaits you.

  28. What sickness within you

    crept on until it devoured you?

  29. What remedy in your grave

    can cure your paralysis?

  30. Every sword is deadly

    when your vulnerable spot lies exposed.

  31. Count for me every one of your si—

    —ns, and condemn your deeds.

  32. And when you have counted them,

    conceal your shame for my sake.

  33. I cannot commend your lodging

    in the hollow of a grave.

  34. You were a devil, but now

    you are an angel.

  35. Never blame the decrees of fa—

    —te; blame your own error.

  36. You yourself, from within, be—

    —queathed it the worst perdition.

  37. Before you criticize my deeds,

    criticize your own.

  38. Hell is mine,

    and bliss is yours.

  39. I will not listen

    to such disputation from you.

  40. Beyond annihi—

    —lation I see nothing, so ease your fear.

  41. And if punish—

    —ment proves true, then woe to you.

  42. Perhaps God

    will one day forgive your sins.

  43. O my day, you have nearly

    passed away—how swift you are!

  44. Indeed, I love your fore—

    —noon, and I love your dusk.

  45. How lovely is the light—and how

    unlovely is this darkness!

  46. O color that beguiled me,

    how faded you are!

  47. O night that drove me mad,

    how long you are!

  48. O morning that delighted me,

    how beautiful you are!

  49. O phantom that visited me—

    who sent you?

Sol 5.6