Sol 5.6

  1. Many a vessel upon the sea, like a banner,

    has danced above its crashing waves;

  2.     

    ؛

    and swimmers on its shores grew weary

    in summer, then plunged into its cool water.

  3. ،

    The sea was neither troubled by nor aware of either group,

    but gazed through a smiling mouth,

  4. :

    ،

    saying in wonder: “How many boats have ridden

    my back, and how many ants have crawled over my feet!”

  5. ،

    ،

    O sea, my soul has wearied of life lived

    at one unvarying pace; give my weary soul rest.

  6. ،

    I have come to you as a summer visitor, seeking

    in your mineral water a cure for my illness.

  7. ؛     

    ، ،

    As for the beauties on the shore, they glimpsed

    my gray hair; I alone fell for them, but they did not fall for me.

  8. ،

    Whenever I beheld a beauty swimming,

    I called to the days of my youth—but they were deaf.

  9. ،

    The breeze of youth is enough for me; let me fill my lungs with it,

    and do not stir my pain with memories of youth’s days.

  10. .

    !

    I drowned my cares in you—if only they had fallen

    into the belly of some ravenous whale!

  11. If your shore is thronged with both sexes,

    perhaps the sexes have mingled even within the sanctuary.

  12. !

    God forgive me! At home, attire is modest,

    but your attire is the attire of the immodestly clad.

  13.     

    !

    How lovely your tranquil aspect when the winds

    spread for you at evening the palm of peace!

  14. !

    They began inscribing upon the waves images

    that no painter could render with a pen.

  15. ، ؟

    ، ؟

    Is that the froth of your waters, or a cup crowned with foam?

    Is that the murmur of your waves, or a plaintive strain of melody?

  16. ،

    ؟

    Do I walk upon your sand, or upon carpets

    yellow and embroidered by Persian craftsmanship?

  17. : ،

    They said of you, “Its water is bitter brine.” I told them:

    “No—your fresh water flows through every mouth.”

  18. ؟

    Has the sunbeam not transformed your water from

    bitter salt into the fresh water of rain clouds?

  19. ،

    ،

    Were it not for you, no rain-laden cloud would pour, nor would

    a gray dove coo, nor a cup kiss thirsty lips.

  20. No tree traces its lineage except to you as father,

    nor does any flower claim descent or grow except through you.

  21. ؟

    You coursed through the layers of the earth, seeping;

    how, then, did you become crowns upon the peaks?

  22. ؟

    And how did you fly without feathers or wings,

    high through the sky like eagles and vultures?

  23.     

    ،

    The Nile knows, and the Danube, that both arise

    from the bounty of your clouds, or from the Flood of Arim.

  24. ،

    No rain pours into you, nor does any river flow

    toward you, save in acknowledgment of your blessings.

  25. ، !

    How many favors you bestow, binding necks in debt,

    yet never vaunting them—O Hatim of generosity!

  26. ، !

    By my life, you have been the secret of life since life arose

    around the shores—exalted is the Creator of living souls!

  27. ؟

    ؟

    When did you begin upon the dusty earth—and when did it begin?

    Have you reached as far into antiquity as you have into the depths?

  28. ،

    Centuries have passed over you, too many

    for any count to encompass, yet you complain of neither grayness nor decrepitude.

  29. : ،

    ؟

    Tell me, by your Lord: are you middle-aged or ancient,

    or are you still a youth newly come of age?

  30. Your limpid, rippling water nearly deceives us

    about the beasts it holds—beasts that dwell in no thickets.

  31. ،

    ؟

    Does the law of the jungle rule among your denizens, or

    is the right of the weak among them left unviolated?

  32. ؛

    !

    Console yourself: how many fish there are upon the land,

    appearing in the guise of states and nations!

  33. : ،

    !

    They proclaim peace, though their laws have known

    no rule whatsoever but claws and fangs.

  34. O how long you have been an arena for their tyrants,

    until their greed stained your water with blood!

  35. They built a bridge across the waves from corpses,

    so the whales ceased complaining of hunger.

  36. ، ،     

    Indeed, O sea, before today you used to overpower us,

    and lay beyond the bounds of conjecture and imagination,

  37. ؛

    until modern science unveiled you; then no longer

    did dark veils of knowledge continue to surround you.

  38. ،

    People explored you—indeed, mastered you—long ago,

    until you became one of their most obedient servants.

  39. ،

    They were not content with exploring the sea, but sailed

    like jinn through the realm of celestial spheres and nebulae.

  40. ،     

    If you are a giant, O sea, then you and all

    you contain are like a dwarf within God’s dominion.

  41.     

    Whatever I say of you in my verse does not diminish you;

    it is enough that the Merciful singled you out for an oath.

  42. !

    When I listened closely, I imagined the waves within you singing

    in praise of Him who brought all creation forth from nothing.

Sol 5.6