مَنْ كَانَ يَحْوِي صَيْدَهُ الفَضَاءُ
وَلِلْبُزَاةِ عِنْدَهُ ثَوَاءُ
If one's quarry is held by the open expanse,
and hawks have their lodging with him,
فَإِنَّ صَيْدِي مَا حَوَاهُ المَاءُ
بِأَكْلُبٍ سَاعِدُهَا رِشَاءُ
then my quarry is what the water holds,
caught with hounds whose forearm is a cord.
يَظَلُّ وَالمَاءُ لَهُ غَطَاءُ
كَمَا طَوَتْ هِلاَلَهَا السَّمَاءُ
It remains, with water as its covering,
as the sky has enfolded its crescent.
كَأَنَّهُ مِنَ الحُرُوفِ رَاءُ
أَوْ هُوَ نِصْفُ خَاتَمٍ سَوَاءُ
It resembles the letter rāʾ,
or is exactly half a ring.
يَحْمِلُ سُمَّاً آسْمُهُ غِذَاءُ
تُرْمَى بِهِ القُلُوبُ وَالأَحْشَاءُ
It carries poison whose name is food;
hearts and entrails are struck with it.
وَعَطَبٌ فِيْهِ لَنَا إِحْيَاءُ
أَمْتَعَنَا القَرِيْسُ وَالشِّوَاءٌ
And in it lies death that brings us life.
Jellied fish and roasted fish have delighted us,
وَطَالَ لِلْكَلْبِ بِهِ العَنَاءُ
and long has been the hound's toil over it.
Sol 6.1