عَيَّرَتني نائِلَ السُلطانِ اَطلُبُهُ
يا ضَلَّ رَأيُكَ بَينَ الخُرقِ وَالنَزَقِ
You reproached me for seeking the sovereign’s bounty—
You taunted me for seeking the sultan's bounty.
ah, how your judgment strays between folly and rashness!
Ah, your judgment has strayed between folly and rashness!
لَولا اِمتِنانٌ مِنَ السُلطانِ تَجهَلُهُ
أَصبَحتُ بِالسَودِ في مَقعَوعِسِ خَلَقِ
Were it not for a favor from the sovereign that you know nothing of,
Were it not for a favor from the sultan, unknown to you,
I would now be in al-Sawād with some stooped, decrepit man,
I would have ended up at al-Sawd in a squat, worn-out shelter,
رَثَّ الرِدا بَينَ أَهدامٍ مُرَقَّعَةٍ
يَبيتُ فيها بِلَيلِ الجائِعِ الفَرِقِ
his cloak threadbare amid patched tatters,
threadbare of cloak, amid patched rags,
spending the night in them, hungry and afraid.
passing in them the night of a hungry, frightened man.
لا شَيءَ أَثبَتُ بِالإِنسانِ مَعرِفَةً
مِنَ الَّتي حَزَمَت جَنبَيهِ بِالخِرقِ
No one knows a man more surely
None has surer knowledge of a man
than the woman who has wrapped his sides in rags.
than she who bound his two sides with rags.
فَأَينَ دارُكَ مِنها وَهيَ مُؤمِنَةً
بِاللَهِ مَعروفَةُ الإِسلامِ وَالشَفَقِ
How can your household compare with hers, when she believes
So how does your house compare with hers? She is a believer
in God and is renowned for Islam and compassion?
in God, known for Islam and compassion.
وَأَينَ رِزقُكَ إِلّا مِن يَدَي مَرَّةٍ
ما بَتَّ مِن مالِها إِلّا عَلى سَرَقِ
And whence comes your sustenance, if not from a woman’s hands?
And where do you get your sustenance but from Marra's hands?
Never have you lived on her wealth except by theft.
You have never passed a night living on her wealth except by theft.
تَبيتُ وَالهِرَّ مَمدوداً عُيونُكُما
إلّا تَطَعُّمِها مُخضَرَّةَ الحَدَقِ
You and the cat spend the night, both your eyes stretched wide,
You and the cat spend the night with your eyes outstretched,
until the two of you feed on some green-eyed creature.
fixed only on her eating, your pupils green.
ما بَينَ رِزقَيكُما إِن قاسَ ذو فِطَنٍ
فَرقٌ سَوى أَنَّهُ يَأتيكَ في طَبَقِ
Between your two livelihoods—should a discerning man compare them—
Between your two portions of sustenance, if a discerning man compares, there is no
there is no difference, save that yours comes to you on a plate.
difference, except that yours comes to you on a plate.
شارَكَهُ في صَيدِهِ لِلفَأرِ تَأكُلُهُ
كَما تُشارِكُهُ في الوَجهِ وَالخُلُقِ
Share with him in hunting the mouse that you eat,
Join him in his hunt for mice, and eat them,
just as you share with him in face and character.
just as you resemble him in face and character.
Sol 6.1