Sol 6.1

  1. أَحَيثُ تَلوحُ المُنى تَأفُلُ

    كَفى عِظَةً أَيُّها المَنزِلُ

    Is it where hopes gleam that they set?

    You are lesson enough, O house!

  2. حَكَيتَ الحَياةَ وَحالاتِها

    فَهَلّا تَخَطَّيتَ ما تَنقُلُ

    You have mirrored life and its changing states;

    Why, then, did you not rise above what you portray?

  3. أَمِن جُنحِ لَيلٍ إِلى فَجرِهِ

    حِمىً يَزدَهي وَحِمىً يَعطُلُ

    Can it be that, from a night's darkness to its dawn,

    One abode is adorned and another stripped bare?

  4. وَذَلِكَ يوحِشُ مِن رَبَّةٍ

    وَذَلِكَ مِن رَبَّةٍ يَأهَلُ

    And one lies desolate, bereft of a mistress,

    And one is made a home by a mistress.

  5. أَجابَ النَعيُّ لَدَيكَ البَشيرَ

    وَذاقَ بِكَأسَيهِما المَحفِلُ

    In your midst, the death-herald answered the bearer of good news,

    And the gathering drank from both their cups.

  6. وَأَطرَقَ بَينَهُما والِدٌ

    أَخو تَرحَةٍ لَيلُهُ أَليَلُ

    And a father bowed his head between the two,

    A man of sorrow, his night pitch-dark.

  7. يَفيءُ إِلى العَقلِ في أَمرِهِ

    وَلَكِنَّهُ القَلبُ لا يَعقِلُ

    He turns back to reason in his plight,

    But the heart—it does not reason.

  8. تَهاوَت عَنِ الوَردِ أَغصانُهُ

    وَطارَ عَنِ البَيضَةِ البُلبُلُ

    The rose's branches tumbled away,

    And the nightingale flew away from the egg.

  9. وَراحَت حَياةٌ وَجاءَت حَياة

    وَأَظهَرَ قُدرَتَهُ المُبدِلُ

    And a life departed, and a life came,

    And the Changer revealed His power.

  10. وَما غَيرُ مَن قَد أَتى مُدبِرٌ

    وَلا غَيرُ مَن قَد مَضى مُقبِلُ

    And none departs but one who has come,

    And none approaches but one who has gone.

  11. كَأَنّي بِسامي هَلوُعِ الفُؤادِ

    إِذا أَسمَعَت هَمسَةٌ يَعجَلُ

    I seem to see Sami, distraught at heart,

    Hurrying whenever a whisper sounds.

  12. يَرى قَدَراً يَأمُلُ اللُطفَ فيهِ

    وَعادي الرَدى دونَ ما يَأمُلُ

    He sees a fate in which he hopes for kindness,

    But death's assault bars the way to his hope.

  13. يُضيءُ لِضيفانِهِ بِشرُهُ

    وَبَينَ الضُلوعِ الغَضى المُشعَلُ

    His cheerful face shines for his guests,

    Yet between his ribs burns kindled ghada wood.

  14. وَيُقريهُمُ الأُنسَ في مَنزِلٍ

    وَيَجمَعُهُ وَالأَسى مَنزِلُ

    And he offers them good cheer in a home,

    While a home unites him with sorrow.

  15. فَمِن غادَةٍ في مَجالي الزِفافِ

    إِلى غادَةٍ داؤُها مُعضِلُ

    So, from a young woman amid wedding splendors,

    To a young woman whose illness is intractable.

  16. وَذي في نَفاسَتِها تَنطَوي

    وَذي في نَفائِسِها تَرفُلُ

    And this one lies withdrawn in childbed,

    And that one sweeps along in her finery.

  17. تَقَسَّمَ بَينَهُما قَلبُهُ

    وَخانَتهُ عَيناهُ وَالأَرجُلُ

    His heart was divided between the two,

    And his eyes and feet betrayed him.

  18. فَيا نَكَدَ الحُرِّ هَل تَنقَضي

    وَيا فَرَحَ الحُرِّ هَل تَكمُلُ

    So, O grief of the noble, will you ever end?

    And O joy of the noble, will you ever be complete?

  19. وَيا صَبرَ سامي بَلَغتَ المَدى

    وَيا قَلبَهُ السَهلَ كَم تَحمِلُ

    And O Sami's patience, you have reached the limit,

    And O gentle heart of his, how much you bear!

  20. لَقَد زُدتَ مِن رِقَّةٍ كَالصِراطِ

    وَدونَ صَلابَتِكَ الجَندَلُ

    Indeed, you were made more delicate, like the Sirat,

    Yet stone falls short of your firmness.

  21. يَمُرُّ عَلَيكَ خَليطُ الخُطوبِ

    وَيَجتازُكَ الخِفُّ وَالمُثقَلُ

    A mingled host of calamities passes over you,

    And the lightly laden and the heavily burdened cross you.

  22. وَيا رَجُلَ الحِلمِ خُذ بِالرِضى

    فَذَلِكَ مِن مُتَّقٍ أَجمَلُ

    And O man of forbearance, hold fast to acceptance,

    For that better becomes a God-fearing man.

  23. أَتَحسَبُ شَهِدا إِناءَ الزَمانِ

    وَطينَتُهُ الصابُ وَالحَنظَلُ

    Do you think Time's vessel holds honey,

    Though its clay is bitter sap and colocynth?

  24. وَما كانَ مِن مُرِّهِ يَعتَلي

    وَما كانَ مِن حُلوِهِ يَسفُلُ

    And whatever bitterness it holds rises,

    While whatever sweetness it holds sinks.

  25. وَأَنتَ الَّذي شَرِبَ المُترَعاتِ

    فَأَيُّ البَواقي بِهِ تَحفِلُ

    And you are the one who drank the brimming cups,

    So which of the remnants do you care about?

  26. أَفي ذا الجَلالِ وَفي ذا الوَقارِ

    تُخيفُكَ ضَرّاءُ أَو تُذهِلُ

    With this majesty and this dignity,

    Can adversity frighten you or bewilder you?

  27. أَلَم تَكُنِ المُلكَ في عِزِّهِ

    وَباعُكَ مِن باعِهِ أَطوَلُ

    Were you not kingship in all its glory,

    With your reach extending farther than its own?

  28. وَقَولُكَ مِن فَوقِ قَولِ الرِجالِ

    وَفِعلُكَ مِن فِعلِهِم أَنبَلُ

    And your word stands above the words of men,

    And your deeds are nobler than theirs.

  29. سَتَعرِفُ دُنياكَ مَن ساوَمَت

    وَأَن وَقارَكَ لا يُبذَلُ

    Your world shall learn with whom it has bargained,

    And that your dignity is not for sale.

  30. كَأَنَّكَ شَمشونُ هَذي الحَياةِ

    وَكُلُّ حَوادِثِها هَيَكلُ

    You are like the Samson of this life,

    And all its calamities are a temple.