Sol 6.1

  1. Who will defend me against the reversals of this age?

    It shot at me and struck me down with afflictions.

  2. It settles upon me with its evils,

    Brooding over its rancor, full of spite.

  3. Abundant in calamities, teeming with grave troubles,

    Long-standing in its vendettas, fierce in its grudges.

  4. It begrudges me the pleasures of youth,

    It destroys its bloom with sorrow.

  5. And shakes bare its leafy branches,

    So it withers, though its boughs were once fresh.

  6. And turns beauties' eyes away from it,

    Though once they cast off the halter for its sake.

  7. As though Time were a youth in love,

    Who saw me rivaling him for a beloved.

  8. So he scatters a fellowship, breaking its unity,

    And drives a home far from its homeland.

  9. And assigns one eye to weeping,

    And another is bereaved of slumber.

  10. I reproach my age, but the age, to

    The man of letters' reproach, turns a deaf ear.

  11. So at times I yield when it overpowers me,

    And at times I soften toward it if it grows harsh.

  12. And if it draws a sword of calamities,

    I set patience before me as a shield against them.

  13. And my judgment has not betrayed me, but I

    See its judgment of me as sheer folly.

  14. I shall complain of Time—for it has afflicted me

    With hardship—to al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan.

  15. A generous man—when we seek refuge in him,

    We take shelter behind impregnable shields.

  16. And if the rain holds back, there pour for us

    Clouds from his two palms, streaming abundantly.

  17. A youth who loved glory until indeed

    He became a passionate lover, entranced by it.

  18. A scion of great men who made loftiness a tradition;

    How noble those traditions, and those great men!

  19. They established the kingdom firmly on its foundation,

    And raised its pillars and supports.

  20. And between the fingers of his hand

    Is an eloquent one, telling of what [final word unclear].

  21. Whenever it weeps upon his sheets of paper,

    They smile, revealing every kind of garden bloom.

  22. And dew spreads from its dust,

    And it works upon the earth as rainclouds do.

  23. And it surpassed Iyas in keenness of mind,

    And Quss ibn Sa'idah in eloquence.

  24. It stays in place, while its deeds travel,

    And it abides, while its designs have journeyed forth.

  25. And many a captive is freed by it,

    And many a free person is held captive by it.

  26. And were it not for its opening the way to greatness,

    Cities would not be conquered by swords.

  27. And dark-brown letters dispel calamities,

    Whenever help is sought from the brown pens of inkwells.

  28. To you I have turned the reins of hope,

    O son of Raja', with hopeful trust.

  29. And I have service that testing brings

    To light, and the examiner praises it.

  30. And richly embroidered script that rivals

    The marvels of Yemen's embroidered weave.

  31. And prose phrasing like your kindness—

    Beautiful, never sullied by reminders of favors.

  32. Patient, I persist until others tire of me,

    Quickly; and I counsel sincerely until I am suspected.

  33. Content, though I have an ambition

    To which the stars are bound on a single tether.

  34. And I forget secrets until they become

    To me, the same as what never existed.

  35. And you, if you wish to choose

    A sincere adviser, and select a trusted man,

  36. Will have placed your favor where it belongs,

    And found in me the praiseworthy growth of your favors.

Sol 6.1