Sol 5.6

  1. And fava beans, lovely when shelled,

    in the garden of Masʿūd, the illustrious, the most fortunate—

  2. their soil musk, their harvest honey, tender and dewy,

    with foliage that kohls the inflamed eye,

  3. and leaves that heal the burning of the grief-stricken,

    and a spot that cools the heat of thirst,

  4. lush with the rain of the most bountiful al-Simāk;

    like a necklace, save that it has not been strung,

  5. or gems in the palms of bashful maidens,

    or pearl’s little daughters, ranged in order,

  6. within folded shells of emerald,

    laid upon frothing cotton:

  7. pearls capped with antimony,

    plump-bellied like the newborn crescent,

  8. smiling open upon moist, dewy turquoise,

    all borne on a form like a supple beauty’s—

  9. picked that very day, not kept for tomorrow,

    nor passed from hand to hand;

  10. sweeter than dozing in an hour of sleeplessness,

    or a dear friend’s keeping of a tryst,

  11. or safety entering a terror-stricken heart.

    I sought it early, before the birds had sung,

  12. while the sun, like a blade, had not yet been drawn,

    amid a company of al-Muʾayyad’s sons,

  13. each a highborn, open-handed, majestic lord,

    groomed for kingship, hindered by no incapacity,

  14. girded and robed in every glory,

    until we reached it—a delightful destination,

  15. guided to it by the sweetness of its fragrance.

    How richly it spared us the need to carry provisions

  16. of what slaves’ hands had cooked for you!

    Then we called for a graceful gazelle,

  17. and he came, born of a tawny doe never driven away,

    bearing wine like his rose-flushed cheeks,

  18. urged round by the beauty of Maʿbad’s song.

    What a delightful morning for one venturing forth!

  19. There I found the outcome wholesome for life and limb,

    in the shade of an everlasting life of ease,

  20. to spite the noses of enemies and the envious.

Sol 5.6