Sol 6.1

  1. Dew in the chrysanthemum—or saliva?

    And dew in the anemone—or a mirage?

  2. So the one is a mouth, the other a cup:

    in the one, the sheen of teeth; in the other, wine.

  3. And green groves, like the bodies of graceful maidens,

    have been adorned, and speech amid them has grown tender.

  4. In them, the anemone shows you the blackness of lashes,

    and the redness of a cheek aflame.

  5. And ash-gray doves on every bough,

    when they speak, their melody is faultless.

  6. In the shade they have lovely buttons,

    and collars, and garments of silver.

  7. As though the river were a Mashrafi sword,

    quivering in its polisher's palm.

  8. At times the sun's right hand unsheathes it,

    and at times the shadows are its sheath.

  9. A sword is faulted when its two edges

    bear nicks; yet the river is not faulted for them.

  10. So if you say, 'The serpent slithered away in fear,'

    and mean its speckles, the bubbles bear you out.

  11. And the branches have a murmur echoing

    lovers whose mutual reproaches have grown tender.

  12. They swayed while the doves sang to them,

    like wine-drinkers who drank and grew merry.

Sol 6.1