Sol 6.1

  1. How did you come by night to visit those burdened with sorrow?

    And I was, as I remember, slow of step and much bewildered.

  2. Or how did you pass the guards, with sentries around them,

    And a fortified enclosure, its door creaking at its fastenings?

  3. Ah, what a beloved—you encountered pain!

    And I used to ease his mind whenever he visited.

  4. After last night there was nothing but longing,

    And a torrent of tears, the eye pouring out secrets.

  5. And sometimes I see him in a state that delights me,

    As though I beheld a dinar in the morning light.

  6. And a cherished dark-eyed one with luxuriant hair,

    Adorned with a short necklace fashioned from a wing of pearls,

  7. Has warmed himself at his fire awhile and rekindles it,

    When its glow fades, with Indian aloeswood and laurel.

  8. And a flowering, well-watered meadow with a pale glow,

    Nourishes wild creatures that have borne foals.

  9. And snub-nosed wild cows urge lowing calves along its edges,

    Biting into fruit from lush castor plants.

  10. I led the riders down to it, granting them a trusty companion,

    Broad-ribbed, smooth-cheeked, swift-ranging.

  11. As though his first burst were a morning cloud's downpour,

    When he followed the watcher of the dust, running straight.

  12. A sure pursuer gains on him before the riders,

    With his heel, if he does not bloody the leather lash while galloping.

  13. So I lived, granting my friend whatever delighted him,

    And meeting whoever plotted against me with fang and claw.

  14. Then he took that for dreams I call to mind,

    After bliss—for life passed through changing phases.

  15. Who will carry word to al-Saʿb from a captive who wishes him

    Long life and triumph in all he seeks?

  16. I was gladdened, despite the suffering there had been,

    By the news Qays brings about you.

  17. When one whose loss is grievous arrived [word unclear], shunning

    Foul speech, pure of heart, lavish in slaughtering camels.

  18. And had I perished, I would have left people in alarm,

    After all had been together, and life would have broken into fragments.

  19. So praise be to God, who saved you from ruin,

    And God seeks no helpers for His praise.

  20. And when I found fault with the sturdy she-camel's natural build,

    When the bearer of sorrow feared rejection from you,

  21. You raise her, joyful and exultant,

    At ease, and set her to work, long-maned and bearing males.

  22. You guide mankind and provide for their needs in adversity:

    Justice in religion, and abundance in giving.

  23. Rather, tell me, chiefs of the clan, for you

    Are no novices in kingship and succession.

  24. What do you hope for if your spring perishes,

    After God—and the one who kindled a fire for you?

  25. No indeed! An oath by the cowrie-adorned one: if it befell

    Among you, and the noble one's grave faced its visitors,

  26. On the hill of Jahwash, their herald would call no more

    For a crisis of fate, while urging bands of men onward;

  27. Nor would his tent alight on the high ground of al-Bishr,

    The Romans offering to give him a qintar.

  28. Then you would return with a host that has no equal—

    Pillars of a mighty kingship, its good fortune ruined.

  29. Or a war would gird herself after conceiving,

    Until she embroils you, grey-haired and bearing sons.

  30. When you have lost him, her people cannot rein her in,

    Until he makes you know humiliation and abasement.

  31. As though her foes were among you, and her subduer

    Were from the enemy, steadfast through the days.

  32. And the one who summons you, once your supporting pillar has fallen,

    Or so you claim, while you gather more blood-feuds.

  33. So his kingship did not falter when he feathered your arrow,

    And with his lofty favors he removed disgrace from you.

  34. So each of you, from tomorrow, will cherish his affection,

    And remain secure, with a delightful dwelling.

  35. And the lord's supporter, envied for his companionship,

    And the seeker of his favor accepts his condition by choice.

  36. One whose soul is never touched by madness,

    And one who gives the neighbor supper in recompense for his kindness.

  37. Master of deeds, gathering every singular achievement,

    Sweet of disposition, meeting the surging army.

  38. Never harsh in what his nature brings forth,

    He builds blessings and lasting works for those after him.

  39. Scrupulous in his gains; scantness never checks his giving,

    Like the sea, adding current to current.

  40. The giver of a thousand camels, their purebreds kept penned,

    As though their colors had been overlaid with lime.

  41. And the dark, shaggy-humped ones—a black mass resembles them,

    Of rock that gave way from Shabʿan, massive.

  42. In the meadow they graze and run about its edges,

    Scampering away over the stones of al-Shiʿri.

  43. Not to mention the swift steeds from him in your stables,

    And the poised horses when their hides are bared.

  44. So which of you has not received the kindness of his bounty—

    Abundant grazing herds, and title-deeds in the countryside?

  45. So today, since God has protected you from his downfall,

    And made his enemies more abased and impoverished,

  46. Make amends, then, and thank God for His blessing;

    You will find your God ever-forgiving of wrongdoing.

  47. He will increase your vigor so long as your provider endures,

    And add firmness and a tight twist to the strands of your rope.

  48. When he dies, they will never see his equal,

    In everything they examine, familiar or unfamiliar.

  49. And if we knew mountains where refuge might be sought,

    From our clan, upholders of kingship through lifetimes,

  50. For he has seen no one to match him,

    Harsher in command and mightier than he in inflicting harm.

  51. Whoever seeks a replacement for him has thought ill of God,

    And whoever hopes for the triumph of time's calamities.

Sol 6.1