Sol 6

  1. Spring came to you before its time,

    Bearing the ornaments of its fragrant gardens.

  2. In every marvel of beauty, one sees

    A likeness to some of your lovely qualities.

  3. In verse or prose, among its offerings,

    Are gentle expression and the charm of concealment.

  4. Its beauty disclosed its artistry, and minds perceived

    In its craft what is not plainly visible.

  5. Rejoice in the wedding wreath, which has revealed

    To the eye every splendid, cherished thing.

  6. Had you wished, it could have been fashioned from rare jewels, yet they would not suffice;

    But you refused, and it was the best refusal.

  7. Is there in the gardener's hand a brighter adornment

    For the maiden than the garden's own adornment?

  8. The sky cleared, departing from its accustomed course,

    Though the season belongs to rain and storms.

  9. Transparent, its lovely purity reveals

    The lovely purity within your heart.

  10. It lavished its sun upon you, as though

    It thought the grandeur of its gift too little for you.

  11. Here come the queens of pearls,

    Smiling to reveal pieces of radiance.

  12. The purity of raindrops shows in their features,

    And colors and lights vie there.

  13. They kept forming within their shells,

    Like lights taking shape in the shade.

  14. For ages they reigned as ladies of their seas,

    Sought from the farthest regions.

  15. Until, when they were carried to you as captives,

    Brought among other ornaments,

  16. They found sweet consolation in your spacious presence

    For their former glory—and what consolation!

  17. They met a beauty that doubles what they possess

    Of luster, preciousness, and splendor,

  18. And dwelt beside noble virtues you have kept

    In the sanctuary of your chastity, away from watchers.

  19. No wonder diamond is the noblest gem

    The earth has hidden among the treasures of heaven.

  20. How many a star has lain sleepless in its mines,

    Glowing like its brother in the dark,

  21. Longing to meet morning, even at the cost of perishing,

    And distressed to remain an evening lamp.

  22. Then you adorned yourself with it, and it rested in delight,

    Its burning now a watery gleam.

  23. Perhaps, hanging alone upon your neck,

    Surpassing its peers in worth,

  24. It was called an orphan for its solitude, and claimed

    A right to your care through every bond of hardship.

  25. And shrewdly, though it is the hardest gem,

    It softened like the tears of the poor.

  26. So with you, its name pleading for it, it gained

    An orphan's lot and won a home.

  27. Nothing grows precious without a reason; there is wisdom

    Behind the high price of diamonds among things.

  28. In strength and brilliance, it mirrors

    Your steadfast fidelity and intelligence.

  29. O source of gold, in whose color

    The sun has a touch of joy and freshness,

  30. O you who bring near the wish so hard to attain,

    Indeed, I might say you grant every hope,

  31. O you who make dear things cheap to every soul,

    Save the souls of the exalted and noble:

  32. If people have made a god of you, be a servant here,

    And bow before this lofty character,

  33. And honor her who met your error with guidance,

    And the darkness of your guile with a generous hand.

  34. A wonder I see—perhaps the strangest sight—

    The world of creatures offering itself in sacrifice,

  35. Keenly sensing the unseen, aware of it,

    Until what is hidden and distant seems present to them.

  36. Those creatures that graze on every tender green shoot,

    Each one soft-footed and smooth,

  37. Who instilled in them, as they gathered their silk,

    The generous giving of their lifetimes,

  38. So that what they die as martyrs to weave

    Might bring you happiness and length of life?

  39. The young women of the fields stirred at dawn,

    Walking gracefully between daylight travel and night travel,

  40. Each with proud breasts and piety,

    Supple in her movements and full of modesty.

  41. The heralds called to them, ‘Come to the harvest!’

    And they hurried to answer the heralds' call.

  42. The cotton stood tall, smiling in its whiteness

    And purity amid the earth's dust.

  43. They parted its sides like a curtain

    And waded through it as though through a sea,

  44. Singing youthful songs

    As love's inspiration and the pleasant air willed.

  45. They sang a fancied description that unveiled

    A slender, adorned bride of poetry:

  46. A wide-eyed houri, the loveliest

    Of all the graceful, wide-eyed houris.

  47. God gave her gifts in abundance, so none

    Who sought help at her door went away empty-handed.

  48. At her command the fields are stripped, and she returns,

    A mother to the unclothed, with provisions and clothing.

  49. She is the one they magnified and described

    With the fairest descriptions and names.

  50. She was an imagined bride, then became real

    In all her qualities and joined the living.

  51. Do you recognize her? I may be within her hearing,

    Reciting poetry as she stands before me.

  52. How wondrous the iron machines in motion,

    Producing bright garments and fine cloth!

  53. Their great size and delicate workmanship amaze;

    How much delicacy lies with their sturdy parts!

  54. Who would have thought Antarah could appear

    To surpass the poets in grace?

  55. Said someone who heard their clamor

    And saw that grim black mass:

  56. A smile appeared upon it when

    It produced this white robe.

  57. Today is a feast, its good fortune shared

    By the wretched and the fortunate alike.

  58. On this day, time could satisfy everyone with a grievance

    And make peace with everyone in pain.

  59. Joy spread and became so complete that scarcely

    A trace of divided desires could be seen.

  60. Everyone, present or absent,

    Praised you and added a prayer.

  61. Daughter of al-Salim, whose father is a great man, raised high

    By sincere resolve and sound judgment:

  62. Pride is the right of one whose mother, in lineage, is the Pleiades,

    And whose father is the brother of Orion.

  63. You come from a family of every virtue

    When honor must be defended, and worthy of every praise.

  64. Though they deal openly in trade, they have long

    Given abundant gifts in private,

  65. Rising above all empty pride

    And avoiding public display in their charity.

  66. May you have the fortune you hope for,

    For you have won the noblest of equals:

  67. A descendant of noble forebears whose lineages have flourished

    On the great tree of high standing.

Sol 6