Sol 6

  1. O poet unaware of his own downfall,

    You were hardly the first hopeful man to fail.

  2. If you knew a father whose name could raise you,

    You would not stoop to claiming kinship with Tal‘afar.

  3. The son of a seller of vice strutted above all others

    With a slap-battered nape and foul breath,

  4. And a dullness in poetry that proves he is

    A billy goat, even if aided by al-Buhturi’s gift.

  5. Slapping him tastes sweet to the mouths of fingertips,

    As though the back of his head were made of sugar.

Sol 6