Sol 6.1

  1. May returning rain water the days of youth,

    Abundantly; and may a massed cloud bless its sanctuary.

  2. And favor, near its dwelling, a place

    On whose heights I dwelt in a life of ease.

  3. And time clothed it in a fresh mantle,

    Of fine silk, embroidered by the hand of clouds.

  4. And doves warbled upon its hills,

    In a plaintive melody that stirs lament.

  5. And a young oryx of the sands, captivating eyes—

    The eyes of the sandy waste's oryx—with his lovely guise.

  6. He is unveiled, revealing a radiant moon's brilliance,

    And is unveiled to show an alluring waist's dusky hue.

  7. His coquetry is gentle, his countenance bashful;

    He enchants with the beauty of his radiant appearance.

  8. The keen swords of his glances strike,

    And fatally pierce the armored champion's heart.

  9. He held wine within his honey-sweet mouth,

    Whose effect is like the Babylonian's.

  10. It tasted sweet in the tormented lover's mouth, just as

    Aleppo grew sweet through a man of exalted rank:

  11. A leader, peerless in virtues,

    A noble champion, openhanded in noble deeds,

  12. Astute, illustrious, gallant, unbowed,

    Awe-inspiring, valiant, a chieftain, eminent.

  13. His glory, exalted in rank, gazes

    Toward al-Jawza and the distant celestial sphere.

  14. And his character is like garden blossoms, surpassing

    The scent of fragrant musk with its own fragrance.

  15. And his hand, like a cloud, pours generously

    Upon the supplicant in a drenching shower.

  16. He built for the world's children an edifice of glory;

    They found refuge at its mighty pillar.

  17. And raised for greatness the pillars of pride,

    Standing firm in glory like a lofty mountain,

  18. With resolve decisive in command,

    And sound judgment flashing from a sparking firestick.

  19. Oh, by God, how often his two hands have poured

    Upon the seeker of his bounty a drenching rain!

  20. He sat at the head of bounty, an ocean—and who

    Has seen an ocean sit at the head of a gathering?

  21. And imparted of the sciences of reason what

    No other attained through lucid thought.

  22. And revived of religious learning what

    Ignorance had slain in bygone times.

  23. So, O master, whose ranks have risen

    Above Sirius in their radiant eminence,

  24. And O sanctuary of bounty, O pillar of virtue,

    And O moon of boon companions and the gathering,

  25. And O best of men, toward whom have journeyed

    The mounts of resolve from a distant land,

  26. To the heights of your spacious sanctuary they came,

    Congratulating you on your felicitous appointment.

  27. And here before you she has appeared—behold her:

    A bride of adornments, gliding in her jewels.

  28. And the embroiderer of her ample mantle is descended

    From noble stock—al-Talawi,

  29. A man of letters since the days of youthful dalliance,

    Who practices them with masterful understanding.

  30. A stranger in the lands of Rum, he has come

    To suffer the fury of unyielding time.

  31. He yearns for Damascus and its inhabitants,

    With a dove's yearning on the outskirts of Ushayy.

  32. When she mourns a mate, you see him

    Match her with his unstinting tears.

  33. And he has come to your presence, O imam,

    And has not strayed from the straight path.

  34. So will you, O man of lofty rank, one day offer

    A faithful pledge to one who is loyal to you?

  35. May you live on in growing blessing and a life

    Of ease, in whose shade prosperity dwells.

  36. And may the rain-bearing stars never skip a day at your dwelling,

    Drenching it at morning and evening,

  37. Through all the days, so long as, in longing, yearns

    A stranger for his homeland of ease,

  38. And camel-drivers murmur Salma's name,

    And sing in the sanctuary, longing for Mayy.

Sol 6.1