Sol 6.1

  1. نثرنَ عليه من صدَفِ الخيام

    لآلئَ ينسَللْنَ من النَظامِ

    They scattered upon him, from the shells of tents,

    pearls slipping free of their string.

  2. ورفّعْنَ البراقعَ عن وُجوهٍ

    تَوارى البدرُ منها في الظلامِ

    And they lifted veils from faces

    before which the full moon hid in darkness.

  3. وكنّ أهلةً فأبين إلا

    تبرّجهنّ من صورِ التَمام

    They were crescents, yet would accept nothing

    but displaying their beauty in full-moon forms.

  4. شهرْنَ سلاحهُنّ لغيرِ حربٍ

    وقُلنَ على السلامةِ والسلامِ

    They brandished their weapons without a war,

    and said, “In safety and peace!”

  5. فمنْ لثمٍ يؤيّدُ بارتشافٍ

    ومنْ ضمٍّ يؤكّد بالتِزامِ

    Then kisses were reinforced with sipping,

    and embraces confirmed by clasping.

  6. وثغرٍ ما عدِمْتَ الكأسَ إلا

    أدارَ عليّ مَعسولَ المُدامِ

    And a mouth—whenever you lacked the cup,

    it passed me honey-sweet wine.

  7. فكيف أُلامُ حين أُطيحَ عنه

    على رجلَينِ من ألفِ ولامِ

    How, then, am I blamed when I fall away from it

    upon two legs of alif and lam?

  8. ولي في جَفنِ من أهواهُ طَرْفٌ

    أحدُّ عليّ من طرَفِ الحُسامِ

    In my beloved’s eyelid I have a gaze

    sharper against me than a sword’s point.

  9. يصولُ على الصحيحِ بشفرتَيْهِ

    ويجْحَدُ حين يطلَبُ بالسَقامِ

    It assails the hale with both its blades,

    and denies it when charged with causing sickness.

  10. فتشهدُ بالقراعِ لنا فلولٌ

    بحدٍّ فوق حدّ فيه دامِ

    So nicks bear witness for us to combat

    on an edge above an edge, bloodied within.

  11. وحيّ من كنانةَ قد رمَوْني

    بما حوتِ الكنانةُ من سِهامِ

    And a clan of Kinana has shot me

    with the arrows their quiver held.

  12. إذا انتَضلَوا وما ثَعِلٌ أبوهم

    أتوكَ بكلِ راميةٍ ورامِ

    When they compete in archery—though Thaʿil is not their father—

    they bring you every woman archer and every man.

  13. أقاموا بالثنيّةِ فانثَنيْنا

    ننافسُ في الأراكِ وفي البَشامِ

    They settled at the pass, so we turned aside,

    vying over arak trees and balsam.

  14. وكلٌ بين جانحتَيْهِ قلبٌ

    له خفقَانُ أجنحةِ الحَمامِ

    Each has a heart between his ribs,

    fluttering like pigeons’ wings.

  15. وتحت يدي إذا ضُمّتْ لصَدْري

    كُلومٌ لا يقومُ بها كلامي

    Beneath my hand, when pressed to my breast,

    are wounds my words cannot do justice to.

  16. ذوى عندي لها نُورُ الخُزامى

    ولكن رفّ نوّار الثغام

    For her, the lavender’s radiance withered in me,

    yet thagham’s blossoms fluttered.

  17. فلا تبُحِ العنايةُ دون شيحٍ

    مطيتُه ثلاثونَ الغُلام

    So let care reveal nothing short of wormwood [wording unclear],

    his mount is thirty—the youth [wording unclear].

  18. تقارعُه الهمومُ فيلتَقيها

    بقلبٍ مثلِ حاملِه هُمامِ

    Cares assail him, and he meets them

    with a heart as valiant as its bearer.

  19. أبي طلب المآكلَ وهْو طاوٍ

    وصدّ عن المَشارِبِ وهو طامِ

    He refused to seek food, though hungry,

    and shunned drinking places, though yearning for them.

  20. فما يُمْريهِ رعيُ سوى حميمٍ

    ولا يرويهِ وردُ سِوى حِمامِ

    No grazing nourishes him save scalding water,

    nor does any watering quench him save death.

  21. وها هو فوقَ لُجّ الليلِ طافٍ

    كأنجُمِه ولجُّ الليلِ طامِ

    And behold him floating above the ocean of night,

    like its stars, while night’s ocean surges.

  22. يحاول أن يشُقّ بمِنكبَيْهِ

    الى البدرَيْنِ أرديةَ الظلامِ

    He tries, with both his shoulders, to rend

    darkness’s robes toward the two full moons,

  23. بحيثُ تَرى ملوكَ بني زريعٍ

    أمام الداعيين الى الإمامِ

    where you see the kings of Banu Zurayʿ,

    before the two who summon to the Imam.

  24. يعدّون الكرامَ أباً وجدّاً

    إذا عَقُمَ الزمانُ من الكِرامِ

    They reckon noble men among their fathers and grandfathers,

    when the age is barren of noble men.

  25. ذوو التيجان من أبناءِ هُودٍ

    أو الأسيافُ من أيتامِ يامِ

    Crowned men among the sons of Hud,

    or swords among the orphans of Yam.

  26. حمَوْا وسمَوْا فما حامٍ وسامٍ

    سواهُم من بَني حامٍ وسامِ

    They protected and rose high; none protects or rises

    except them, among the sons of Ham and Shem.

  27. تحلّى باسمِهمْ في المُلْكِ قومٌ

    ولكنْ ما لهُم غيرُ الأسامي

    A people adorned themselves in kingship with their name,

    yet have nothing but the names.

  28. وعدّوها مشاركةً ولكنْ

    مشاركةُ المناسِم للسَنامِ

    They counted it a partnership, but

    the partnership of camel-hooves with the hump.

  29. وفي الوَهَداتِ من سُفْلى شِمامٍ

    وعُدّ محمّداً من كلّ ذامِ

    And in the hollows of lower Shimam,

    and reckon Muhammad among all who censure.

  30. فعدّ أبا السعود بكل سعدٍ

    وعُدّ محمّداً من كلِّ ذامِ

    So reckon Abu al-Suʿud with every good fortune,

    and reckon Muhammad among all who censure.

  31. وحقِّقْ من أبي المنصورِ نصراً

    بواحدةٍ على الجيشِ اللهامِ

    And make certain of victory from Abu al-Mansur,

    with one stroke against the immense host.

  32. فقد نتجَتْ ثلاثُ مُقدّماتٍ

    على الأعداءِ حتمُ الإنهزامِ

    For three premises have yielded

    the inevitability of defeat for the enemies.

  33. فأيُّ حبىً تحلّلُ من قُعودٍ

    وتيجانٍ تعفَرّ من قِيام

    How many seated men have their knee-bands loosened,

    and standing men their crowns cast into dust!

  34. رُواقٌ مدّ في يَمَنٍ فأضْحى

    مُطلاً بالعراقِ وبالشآم

    A canopy spread in Yemen and came to stand

    overlooking Iraq and Syria.

  35. حماهُ ياسرٌ ضرباً وطعْناً

    ومنْ عزِّ الحِمى عزُّ المُحامي

    Yasir defended it with blows and thrusts,

    and the defender’s glory comes from his domain’s glory.

  36. فروّى كلّ سافلةٍ بقلبٍ

    وروّى كلّ عاليةٍ بهامِ

    So he watered every lower part with a heart,

    and every upper part with heads.

  37. وراضَ جوامحَ الأيامِ حتّى

    جرَتْ بيدَيْهِ طيّعةُ اللِجامِ

    He tamed the unruly days until

    they ran in his hands, obedient to the bridle.

  38. وأنشدَ فعلَهُ في كل حيٍّ

    فقد طالَتْ بهم شُعَبُ الخِصامِ

    And he proclaimed his deed in every clan,

    for the branches of discord had stretched far among them.

  39. إذا قالت حَذامِ فصدّقوها

    فإن القولَ ما قالتْ حَذامِ

    If Hadhām speaks, believe her,

    for the word is what Hadhām has said.

  40. لتخفِضَ من صَراصِرِها الكَراكي

    فقدْ سمعَتْ بجُلجُلةِ القَطامي

    Let the cranes lessen their clamorous cries,

    for they have heard the falcon’s resounding call.

  41. وعند عصامٍ الأعذارُ يُتلى

    وليس سوى الأسنّة من عِصامِ

    Before ʿIsam the excuses are recited,

    and nothing serves as a bond but spearheads.

  42. رعاكَ اللهُ من ملكٍ أشمٍّ

    نجاداهُ على كنَفَي شِمامِ

    May God guard you, a lofty king,

    whose two sword-belts rest upon Shimam’s flanks.

  43. ومهدتُ الرجاءَ بحيثُ نفسي

    وقلتُ لها بليلِ الخَطْبِ ذامي

    And I spread out hope where my soul was,

    and told it in calamity’s night: “My censurer!” [wording unclear].

  44. ركبتُ إليه أجنحةَ النِعامى

    على أمثالِ أجنحةِ النَعامِ

    I rode to him on the wings of the south wind,

    upon the like of ostriches’ wings.

  45. وكنتُ إذا دُفِعْتُ الى سواه

    مقيماً لستُ أظفرُ بالمُقامِ

    When I was driven to someone other than him,

    I stayed, yet could gain no standing.

  46. فأصبحُ بالصيام بغيرِ أجرٍ

    وأمْسي في الصيامِ وفي القيامِ

    I passed the morning fasting without reward,

    and the evening fasting and standing.

  47. ففَخْراً يا بني عِمرانَ فخْراً

    على الأملاكِ من سامٍ وحامِ

    So boast, sons of ʿImran—boast!

    over the kings of Shem and Ham.

  48. زمانُكُمُ بكم طلقُ المُحيّا

    أريجُ العَرْفِ مفتوقُ الخِتامِ

    Your age, through you, is bright of countenance,

    fragrant in scent, its seal broken open.

  49. يمرّ العامُ فيه مرورَ يومٍ

    ويمضي اليومُ منه بفضلِ عامِ

    A year passes in it like a day,

    and a day of it passes with a year’s bounty.

  50. سليلُ قرائحٍ عصرتْهُ خمراً

    فدبّ دبيبُها بين العِظامِ

    The offspring of poetic minds that pressed it into wine,

    so its subtle coursing crept between the bones.

  51. فما ينفكّ يرفعُه هناءً

    إليكُم في انتشارٍ وانتظامِ

    He never ceases to offer it as a congratulation

    to you, in prose and verse.

  52. من الخمرِ الحلاِ لشارِبيها

    وفيه شمائلُ الخمرِ الحَرامِ

    It is wine lawful to its drinkers,

    yet it bears the qualities of forbidden wine.

  53. لدى قومٍ لو انّ الطيفَ ضيفٌ

    لما كحَلَ المحاجِرَ بالمَنامِ

    Among a people who, if the dream-phantom were a guest,

    it would never line the eye-sockets with sleep.

  54. كدَدْتُ بهزهم فكري فأنحتْ

    على عضُدي ممارسة الكَهامِ

    I wearied my thought in stirring them, and it bore down

    upon my arm—the handling of blunt blades.

  55. وقد يتوضّحُ الجهمُ المحيّا

    ويهمي الوبلُ من خلَلِ الجَهامِ

    Yet the grim-faced may brighten,

    and heavy rain pour through the gaps of rainless clouds.