Sol 6.1

  1. Unjust enough would he be in judgment, never fair,

    if he listened to reproach concerning his beloveds,

  2. or began to harbor forgetfulness in his mind

    of swaying figures that put spear-shafts to shame.

  3. Indeed, how can he sober from passion or recover from love,

    one who spends the night absorbed in the dark-eyed beloved?

  4. For love is nothing but sleepless eyelids

    streaming tears, and a heart kindled by sorrow's fires.

  5. Nor is passion anything but longing we endure

    for the sanctuary—oh, may God give it a first draught!

  6. Damascus's sanctuary—may it be watered without harm

    by the clouds' downpour, and may its earth drink again,

  7. until all its reaches remain smiling,

    and blossoms laugh joyfully within their calyces.

  8. And may it favor a dwelling on the western side,

    where I wore unclouded youth in its first bloom:

  9. love's abode and pleasure's haunts, where there are

    oryx-eyed beauties whose rising makes heaven's full moon set.

  10. Those are the abodes—not eastern Kazimah,

    nor al-Aqiq, nor the ravine of al-Ghuwayr, nor

  11. the homes of every oryx-eyed beauty. How often I say to her,

    while patience wastes within my body, as my body has wasted:

  12. 'By the magic in your eyes, grant union to a lovesick man

    who loves life—but not if you turn away.'

  13. God knows that, after parting from her,

    I left behind youth's prime, pleasure, and flirtation.

  14. But for my pursuit of glory, I would no more leave her

    than a wine-besotted man would leave a cup of wine.

  15. Nor would I have chosen the land of Rum as my home,

    nor taken youth as a substitute for her,

  16. nor mounted noble-bred horses that hurled

    me through deserts, crossing plain and mountain:

  17. each a noble steed whose speed outstrips a glance,

    and a swimmer like a wolf of the sands when it lopes.

  18. When it emerges from the depths of the mirage, it appears

    a full moon, now shod with the horizon's crescent.

  19. Whenever I venture with it through trackless regions,

    in whose reaches you hear the clamor of the jinn,

  20. it traverses them like wild winds blowing in a storm,

    and turns back before night's dye has faded.

  21. This—and how many a watering place with sweet sources

    I have reached before the dusky sandgrouse drank,

  22. while night laid its breast upon the wastelands,

    like a monk wrapped in his haircloth.

  23. And the star lies cast across the horizons; you would think it

    bewildered, like a night traveler, unable to find a path.

  24. I urged it toward brimful water, with blue-gray doves upon it,

    so it shied away in alarm, with a recoil of loathing,

  25. and sped on like a brilliant star laid bare

    by a cloud that cleared away after pouring rain,

  26. until it brought him to the land of Rum, seeking

    a luxuriant meadow, cold water, and pasture.

  27. It said, 'Good tidings! The meadow of bounty!' I said to it,

    'The meadow of Ibn Bustan, our lord?' It answered, 'Yes.'

  28. He is the generous one whose gifts have traveled far,

    inviting all seekers of bounty to their blessings.

  29. And a sea—if the abundance of his bounty overflowed one day

    upon all creatures, there would still be more to spare.

  30. And the full moon—the world has shone with his rising,

    under a fair ascendant perfected by good fortune.

  31. And Time—a fortress of safety from its calamities;

    so seek refuge at his thresholds whenever disaster descends.

  32. You will find him a mountain of learning; if weighed against him,

    Salma's heights would prove light beside his weight.

  33. The world's enticements do not dazzle him,

    nor is he seen rejoicing in anything but giving it away.

  34. He is of lords who inherited eminence and shared

    glory's noble deeds, taking lordship and exalted rank from them.

  35. Radiant, open of countenance, adorned by a character

    like a meadow in bloom, dark-green, flourishing, and dewy.

  36. He has eloquent speech: were his fluency to challenge Quss,

    Quss would never stand amid Ukaz speaking extempore.

  37. And thought that never journeys through an obscure matter's night

    without bringing clarity to human understanding.

  38. And a sweet disposition that, if it mingled generously with

    the harsh temper of Time, would soften it and set it right.

  39. When I came to his spacious sanctuary, he lodged me

    there, honoring me with hospitality beneath his shade.

  40. And he stretched toward me a white hand, full of bounty,

    that knows no delay, hardship, or stinginess.

  41. So all mankind began to envy me for

    wishes through which I attained the hope I sought from my days.

  42. And praise be to God: this rain begins

    with a drop, but in the end you find it pouring down.

  43. Here, take her: a beauty from among thought's daughters,

    Syrian in origin, whenever any questioner asks,

  44. a stranger in the lands of Rum, with no

    worthy match but you—so send her dowry swiftly.

  45. For whoever delays payment is no noble man, as has been said,

    O you who, even if you gave away the world, would still be stingy!

  46. May you ever enjoy the two blessings of festivity and bounty,

    as you wish—and your sons, the noble, virtuous lords—

  47. as long as a sorrowful man in Rum watches Syria's lightning,

    yearning for a homeland he has never once forgotten.

Sol 6.1