ذَكَرَ البَلاطَ وَكُلَّ ساكِنِ قَريَةٍ
بَعدَ الهُدوءِ تَهيجُهُ أَوطانُه
He remembered al-Balāṭ—as every dweller in a town
once stillness falls, is stirred by memories of home.
ثُمَّ اِلتَقَينا بِالمُحَصَّبِ غُدوَةً
وَالقَلبُ يَخلُجُهُ لَها أَشطانُه
Then we met at al-Muḥaṣṣab early one morning,
while the heart’s cords tugged it toward her.
قالَت لِأَترابٍ لَها شِبهُ الدُمى
قَد غابَ عَن عُمَرَ الغَداةَ بَيانُه
She said to companions her own age, lovely as statues,
“This morning, ʿUmar’s eloquence has deserted him.
ما لي أَراهُ لا يُسَدِّدِ حُجَّةً
حَتّى يُسَدِّدَها لَهُ أَعوانُه
Why do I see him unable to frame an argument
until his helpers frame it for him?”
مِثلُ الَّذي أَبصَرتُ يَومَ لَقيتُها
عَيَّ الخَطيبُ بِهِ وَكُلُّ لِسانُه
Such was what I witnessed on the day I met her:
the eloquent speaker was struck dumb by it, his whole tongue failing.
أَسعَرتَ نَفسَكَ حُبَّ هِندٍ فَالهَوى
حَتّى تَلَبَّسَ فَوقَهُ أَكفانُه
You set your soul ablaze with love for Hind; passion burned on,
until its shrouds came wrapping over it.
هِندٌ وَهِندٌ لا تَزالُ بَخيلَةً
وَالقَلبُ يُسعِرُهُ لَها أَشجانُه
Hind—Hind—never ceases to withhold her favors,
while the heart’s sorrows set it ablaze for her.
Sol 5.6