Sol 6.1

  1. أَبرق سَرى وَهناً فَهَيج أَشجاني

    أَم الطَير غَنى في الأَراك فَأَشجاني

    Was it lightning that passed deep in the night and stirred my sorrows,

    or a bird that sang among the arak trees and grieved me,

  2. وَطارح بِالوَجد المُبرح أَلفهُ

    وَأَبدى فُنوناً في أَرائِكَ أَفنان

    exchanging songs of agonizing longing with its mate,

    and displaying varied arts on couches of boughs?

  3. أَم الرَوضة الغَناء لاحَت لِناظِري

    أَم الحلة الفَيحاءِ أَم شَعب بوّان

    Or did a luxuriant garden appear before my eyes,

    or spacious al-Hillah, or the valley of Bawwan?

  4. أَم العُرف مِن نَجد وَطيب عِراره

    أَم المسك مِن دارين عُطر أَرداني

    Or was it fragrance from Najd and the scent of its ʿarar blossoms,

    or musk from Darin that perfumed my sleeves?

  5. أَم الرَوض مَمطوراً تُراوحهُ الصِبا

    فَتَأتي بِنَشر الوَرد وَالنِد وَالبان

    Or a rain-soaked meadow, visited in turn by the east wind,

    bringing the scent of roses, aromatic incense, and ben trees?

  6. أَم الدُرّ في عقد فَريد منضد

    يَفصل بِالياقوت مَع شَذر مُرجان

    Or pearls arrayed in a matchless necklace,

    interspersed with rubies and pieces of coral?

  7. أَم الزَهر في أُفق أَم الزَهر الرُبى

    أَم الشعر في طُرس أَم الراح في حان

    Or stars on the horizon, or blossoms on the hills,

    or verse upon a page, or wine in a tavern?

  8. أَم الحُب وافى بَعد بعدٍ وَفرقَةٍ

    وَحَيا بِطيب الوَصل مِنهُ فَأَحياني

    Or did the beloved arrive after absence and separation,

    and greet me with the sweetness of union with him, reviving me,

  9. وَمَنَّ عَلى جسم مِن الروح فارغ

    وَقَلب مِن التَبريح وَالشَوق مَلآن

    and show favor to a body empty of its soul,

    and a heart filled with anguish and longing,

  10. وَاترع مِن خَمر المَراشف أَكؤُسي

    وَشَنف أَسماعي بِنَغمة أَلحان

    and fill my cups to the brim with wine from his lips,

    and jewel my ears with melodious strains?

  11. وَباتَ عَلى غَيظ الرَقيب منادمي

    أَنعم مِنهُ بَينَ روح وَرَيحان

    He stayed the night as my drinking companion, to the watcher's chagrin,

    and I delighted in him amid repose and sweet basil.

  12. يَبيتُ بَقَد يَخجَل الغُصن أَهيف

    رَخيم التَثَني لَين العَطف فَينان

    He spends the night, slender-waisted, with a figure that shames the bough,

    gentle in swaying, supple of side, luxuriantly tressed.

  13. وَيُبسم عَن طَلع وَيَرنو بِنَرجس

    وَيَنفح مِن وَجناتِهِ مِسك خَيلان

    He smiles with palm-blossom teeth and gazes with narcissus eyes,

    and the musk of beauty spots wafts from his cheeks.

  14. وَأَجفانُهُ تَبني عَلي الكَسر دائِماً

    كَما أَعرَبَت بِالفَتح في الليل أَجفاني

    His eyelids are forever fixed in a downward droop,

    while mine proclaim their openness throughout the night.

  15. فَلا وَأَبي لَم أَدرِ وَرد بِخَدِهِ

    بِهيٌّ جَنيٌّ أَم شَقائق نُعمان

    No, by my father, I could not tell: were those roses on his cheek,

    radiant and freshly gathered, or crimson anemones?

  16. وَلَم أَدرِ لِلبَلور يَنسب جيدُهُ

    أَم الياسَمين الغَض أَم زَهر سَوسان

    Nor could I tell whether his neck was akin to crystal,

    or fresh jasmine, or lily blossom.

  17. فَقُل في حَبيب زارَ مِن غَير مَوعد

    وَصَب قَرير العَين بِالوَصل جَذلان

    Think, then, of a beloved who came without an appointment,

    and a lovesick lover, his eyes soothed by union, rejoicing.

  18. كَأَني قَد شاهَدتُ طَلعة غُرة

    لخدن المَعالي أَحمَدٍ نَجل كِيوان

    As though I had beheld the radiant countenance

    of Ahmad, son of Kiwan, companion of high honors:

  19. خَريدة عقد المَجد بَيت قَصيده

    وَعَين أَهالي الفَضل نَخبة أَعيان

    the peerless pearl in glory's necklace, the finest verse of its ode,

    the foremost of the people of merit, the choicest of notables.

  20. مَزاياهُ عِندَ الفَخر قُرة ناظر

    وَحلية أَجياد وَأَقراط آذان

    His merits, when honors are recounted, are a delight to the eye,

    ornaments for necks and earrings for ears.

  21. مِن النَفر الغُرّ الذين مقيلهُم

    بِصَدر نَقيّ أَو بِغابة مَرّان

    He is of those radiant men whose noonday rest

    is in a pure breast, or a forest of pliant spears.

  22. رَقوا رتب العَلياء بِالبَأس وَالنَدى

    فَمِن نار هَيجاء إِلى نار ضَيفان

    They scaled the ranks of greatness through valor and generosity,

    from the fire of battle to the fire kindled for guests.

  23. إِذا خاطَبوا أَعداءَهُم فَرِماحَهُم

    تُخاطبهُم عَنهُم بِالسن خَرصان

    When they address their enemies, their lances

    speak for them with spearheads for tongues.

  24. تَفَضل إِذا أَهدى بَديع قَصيدة

    إِلَيَّ وَأَولاني عَواطف إِحسان

    He showed favor when he offered a wondrous poem

    to me, and bestowed on me affectionate kindness.

  25. فَأَنبَت في رَوض الطُروس أَزاهِراً

    وَأَجرى خِلال الرَوض جَدول عقيان

    He made flowers bloom in the garden of pages,

    and sent a stream of pure gold flowing through that garden.

  26. وَأَخجَل لَما خَطَ اِبن مُقلة

    وَأَرجاء لَما قالَ شاعر أَرجان

    When he wrote, he put Ibn Muqlah to shame,

    and when he composed, left the poet of Arrajan behind.

  27. تَشابه فيها الحُسن مَعنى وَمَنطِقاً

    وَخَطاً وَطُرساً في لَطائف أَتقان

    Beauty was equally present in its meaning and diction,

    in its script and paper, in subtleties of perfect craftsmanship.

  28. وَغازَلَني مِنها عُيون كَأَنَّها

    عُيون المَها في قَول شاعر بَغدان

    Its choicest verses courted me as though they were

    oryx-eyes in the words of the poet of Baghdad.

  29. فَنزَهَت فيها الطَرف حَتّى ظَننتُها

    مَعاني حَبيب في بَلاغة سحبان

    I let my gaze wander through it until I thought it

    Habib's meanings expressed with Sahban's eloquence.

  30. وَراعَ قُلوب الحاسِدين يَراعهُ

    بِما يَقتَضيهِ مِن بَدائع تِبيان

    His reed pen struck terror into envious hearts

    with the marvels of expression it calls forth.

  31. فَلا فَضَ فَوه فَهُوَ مَعدَن دره

    وَلا بَرَّ مِن يَجفوهُ مِن حاسد شاني

    May his mouth never lose its teeth, for it is the mine of his pearls,

    and may no envious hater who shuns him ever prosper.

  32. مَحبَتهُ تَسري خِلال جَوانِحي

    كَمَشي الحميا في مَفاصل نَشوان

    Love for him courses through my breast,

    like strong wine passing through the joints of one intoxicated.

  33. وَلي أَمَلٌ إِن شاءَ رَبي مُحقق

    لَسَوف يُباري النَجم رفعة أَركان

    I have a hope that, if my Lord wills, shall be fulfilled:

    he shall surely rival the stars in the height of his pillars,

  34. وَسَوف يُسامي البَدر قَدراً وَيَمتَطي

    مَراتب عزّ فَوقَ رَضوى وَثَهلان

    and rival the full moon in rank, and ascend

    degrees of glory above Radwa and Thahlan.

  35. فَلا زالَ في أَوج الفَضائل راقياً

    حَليف نَعيم بَينَ سر وَإِعلان

    May he ever ascend the heights of virtue,

    a companion of bliss, in private and in public,

  36. مَدى الدَهر ما فاهَ اليَراع بِمَدحِهِ

    فَكانَ حليّ الدُر في جيد دِيوان

    throughout all time, as long as the reed pen voices his praise,

    and that praise becomes pearl jewelry on the neck of a book of verse.