Sol 6.1

  1. He loved her, while she concealed her love for him out of propriety.

    He thought she knew nothing of his confidences, and sobbed.

  2. He lamented to her the torments of love, yet she would not

    answer him, so he spent the night dejected.

  3. Until, when he feared he would die of sorrow and burning grief,

    he sent her a letter in which he had written:

  4. “Beloved of my heart, what is this coldness, when

    my anguished weeping has made Turks and Arabs weep?

  5. If you remain cruel in your estrangement,

    the earth, O Mayy, will be stained with my blood.”

  6. She read his letter, her breast burning, unable

    to find a way to him and reveal her sorrow.

  7. And after falling asleep, she sprang up and lit the

    lamp, herself filled with the flames of her yearning.

  8. She artfully composed a reply that would leave in

    her enamored lover's heart neither fear nor doubt:

  9. “My heart is filled with love for you, matching your love for me;

    so do not frighten me with reproaches that have increased my distress.

  10. For if you remain mistrustful and suspicious,

    you will embitter my life—indeed, bring me to ruin.”

  11. She entrusted it to the night's courier, feeling safe,

    knowing neither her usual caution nor fear.

  12. She awoke, unaware of what she had done;

    had she known, she would have chosen flight out of fear.

  13. He read the letter, and his resolve grew stronger,

    rejoicing, his body swaying with delight.

  14. He thought she had revealed the secret and confessed

    while awake, so he went on sending letters.

  15. She did not answer him, and fury almost killed him;

    he spent the night torn between passion and illness.

  16. The beauty's father visited him—he was his

    physician—and grasped the illness's secret, then grew distraught.

  17. He had read his daughter's two verses, which lay

    before her lovesick admirer; then he returned.

  18. He reported the matter to her mother, deeming it grave;

    she appealed to his sympathy, and he concealed his fury and anger.

  19. They showed her the two verses, and she gave a start,

    saying, “That is nothing but an astonishing occurrence!

  20. The handwriting is mine, yet I do not know, by the honor of you both,

    when I wrote them, nor do I know when they went away.”

  21. They asked, “Do you love him?” Blushing, she answered,

    “Yes, though this had remained hidden from you both.”

  22. So they married her to the one she loved, and the two were united;

    blessed with a life of ease, they lived as companions.

Sol 6.1