Sol 6.1

  1. ومَن عَلِقَتْ بالصّالِحِ المَلْكِ كفُّهُ

    فَليس له دُونَ العُلاَ والغِنَى شَرْطُ

    And anyone whose hand holds fast to King al-Salih

    has no terms short of eminence and wealth.

  2. ومِن دُونِهِ إن رابَ خطبٌ ذَوابلٌ

    وبيضٌ وجردٌ لا القَتادَةُ والخُرْطُ

    Before him, should peril threaten, stand slender spears,

    and bright swords and sleek steeds—not a thorn-tree to strip.

  3. أثارَتْ جُدودِي مذ عَلِقتُ بحبلِه

    وكان لها في خطب عَشوائِها خَبْطُ

    My fortunes stirred once I clung to his rope,

    though in hardship they had blundered like a blind she-camel.

  4. له نائِلٌ يَسرِي إلى كلِّ آملٍ

    إذا جيرةٌ سيموا النَّوالَ فلم يُنطُوا

    His bounty travels by night to every hopeful seeker,

    when neighbors, asked for bounty, give none.

  5. على كلِّ وجهٍ نَضرةٌ من نوالِهِ

    وفي كلَّ جيدٍ من صنائِعِهِ قُرْطُ

    On every face is a glow from his bounty,

    and on every neck, an earring from his favors.

  6. وكم أملٍ جعْدٍ أتَى اليأسُ دونَه

    تَلقَّاهُ من إنعامِه نائلٌ سَبْطُ

    And many a tightly curled hope, with despair barring its way,

    has been met by freely flowing bounty from his generosity.

  7. وكنتُ أُرَجِّي منه ما دونَه الغِنَى

    إذا ما غَدا في كفِّه الرّفْعُ والحطُّ

    And I hoped from him for more than wealth,

    when the power to raise and lower came into his hand.

  8. فلمّا ورَى زندُ المعالي بِكفِّهِ

    وقال نَداهُ للوفُودِ ألَا حُطّوا

    Then, when the fire-stick of glory sparked in his hand,

    and his bounty told the delegations, 'Come, alight!'

  9. نأَتْ بِي اللّيالِي عنه لكنَّ جُودَهُ

    أتَانِي ولم يَحجِزْهُ نأْيٌ ولا شَطُّ

    The nights carried me far from him, but his generosity

    came to me, held back by neither distance nor remoteness.

  10. كذا الغيثُ يَسرِي طالِباً كلَّ طالِبٍ

    فكلُّ لهُ من فيضِ وابلهِ قِسطُ

    So too rain travels by night, seeking every seeker,

    and each has a share of its overflowing downpour.

  11. وإنعامُه كالشمس يَغشَى ضِياؤُها

    لمن زَاغَ أو حاذَاهُ من أُفْقِها خَطُّ

    His beneficence is like the sun, whose light envelops

    whoever turns aside or lies in line with a ray from its horizon.

  12. فأنزَرُ حَظِّي من مواهبهِ الغِنَى

    وأيسرُ تخويلي العشيرةُ والرَّهطُ

    Thus wealth is my smallest share of his gifts,

    and his easiest endowment to me is a clan and kinsmen.

  13. حبَانِي نُفُوساً لا نَفِيساً من اللُّهَى

    ونوَّلني ما لم يُنِلْ مَلِكٌ قَطُّ

    He bestowed souls on me, not mere treasures from lavish gifts,

    and gave me what no king had ever given.

  14. وما النَّاسُ إلاّ آلُ رزِّيكَ إنَّهُمُ

    هُم الذَّادةُ الشُبَّانُ والسّادةُ الشَّمطُ

    None are truly men but the house of Ruzzik; indeed, they

    are the young defenders and the gray-haired lords.

  15. بنُو الحربِ في يومِ الوغَى وبنو النَّدَى

    إذا ما بلادُ الناسِ جرَّدها القَحطُ

    Sons of war on the day of battle, and sons of bounty

    when drought strips the lands of men bare.

  16. إذا ما احْتبَوْا فالراسياتُ رجاجةً

    وإن ركِبوا فالأُسْدُ هِيجَتْ لها نَحط

    When they sit with knees clasped, even firm-rooted mountains tremble;

    and if they ride, they are lions, roused and snorting.

  17. لهم جبلٌ لا زعزعَ الخطبُ ركنَه

    به تُؤْمَنُ الأحداثُ والمِيتَةُ العَبْطُ

    They have a mountain—may calamity never shake its foundation—

    through which one is safe from disasters and untimely death.

  18. أقرَّ الورَى أن ليس كُفئاً لمُلكِه

    سواهُ فقد زال التّنافُسُ والغَبْطُ

    Humankind has acknowledged that none is fit for his kingship

    but he; rivalry and envy have therefore ceased.

  19. فلا زالتِ الأقدارُ تجرِي بأمرِهِ

    وفي يدِه حَلُّ الممالكِ والرَّبْطُ

    May the fates forever move at his command,

    and may the unbinding and binding of kingdoms rest in his hand.