Sol 6.1

  1. ليالينا بأحياءِ الغَمِيمِ

    سُقيتِ ذِهابَ مُذهَبةِ الغُيومِ

    O our nights in the encampments of al-Ghamim,

    may showers from gilded clouds water you!

  2. مضتْ بكِ رأفةُ الأيامِ فينا

    وغفلةُ ذلك الزمنِ الحَليمِ

    With you departed the days’ kindness toward us,

    and the heedlessness of that forbearing age,

  3. وغُرَّةُ مُخطَفِ الكَشحينِ يرمي

    فؤادَ مُحبِّه عن طَرْفِ رِيمِ

    and the bright brow of a slender-waisted one who shoots

    at his lover’s heart from a white gazelle’s eye.

  4. وكنَّا منكِ في جَنَّاتِ عيشٍ

    وَفَت حُسناً بجناتِ النَّعيمِ

    Through you we dwelt in gardens of life,

    matching in beauty the gardens of Bliss:

  5. رياضُ محَاسنٍ وسنا شموسٍ

    وظِلُّ دساكرٍ وجَنى كُرومِ

    gardens of beauty and the radiance of suns,

    the shade of manors and the fruit of vineyards,

  6. وأجفانٌ إذا لحظَت جُسوماً

    خَلعنَ سَقامَهن على الجُسومِ

    and eyelids that, when they glanced at bodies,

    cast their languor upon those bodies.

  7. وبينَ ملاعبِ الدَّيْرَيْنِ مَغنىً

    غَنِيتُ به ودارُ أخٍ حَميمِ

    Between the pleasure grounds of the two monasteries lies a dwelling

    where I dwelt, and the house of a dear friend.

  8. يبيتُ البرقُ يُذكِرُني خِياماً

    ضُرِبنَ بها على كَرَمٍ وخِيمِ

    All night the lightning reminds me of tents

    pitched there over dense vines,

  9. ساجيةَ الظِّلالِ مُقرِّطاتٍ

    ظُروفَ الراحِ من زَنجٍ ورُومِ

    serene in shade, setting earrings on

    wine vessels, dark Zanj and fair Rum.

  10. وهل يشتاقُ ظِلَّ الكَرْمِ عافٍ

    ثَنى عِطْفَيه في ظلِّ الكريمِ

    Does a bounty-seeker long for the grapevine’s shade,

    after reclining in the generous man’s shade?

  11. مَحَت رسمَ الكَرى عن مُقْلتَيه

    رَواسمُ لا تَمَلُّ من الرَّسيمِ

    The trace of sleep was wiped from his eyes

    by trotting she-camels, never weary of their trot.

  12. ترومُ وقَد فَرَعنَ بنا فُروعاً

    من الفَيَّاضِ طَيَّبةَ الأُرومِ

    They seek—having climbed aloft with us—branches

    of al-Fayyad, sound in their ancestral roots.

  13. إذا طافَت بعبدِ الله لاقَت

    سِماتِ الحمدِ في الوَجهِ الوَسيمِ

    When they circle round Abd Allah, they find

    the marks of praise in his handsome face.

  14. أَغرُّ تَشُقُّ غُرَّتُه الدَّياجي

    وُضوحَ الصبحِ في الليلِ البَهيمِ

    Radiant-browed, his brightness cleaves the darkness

    with dawn’s clarity in the pitch-black night.

  15. تَقيَّلَ أوَّلَيهِ فجاءَ يجري

    على نَهجِ السماحِ المُستقيمِ

    He emulated his two forebears, then came running

    along generosity’s straight path.

  16. عَطاءٌ قُدَّ من تلك العَطايا

    وحِلمٌ عُدَّ من تلكَ الحُلومِ

    Bounty hewn from those bounties,

    and forbearance counted among those acts of forbearance.

  17. لك القلمُ الذي يُضحي ويُمسي

    به الإقليمُ مَحمِيَّ الحريمِ

    Yours is the pen: at morning and at evening,

    through it, the province’s inviolable bounds are guarded.

  18. هو الصِّلُّ الذي لو عَضَّ صِلاًّ

    لأسلَمه إلى ليلِ السَّليمِ

    It is the asp that, were it to bite an asp,

    would consign it to a snakebitten victim’s night.

  19. دَعا الأطرافَ فاجتمعَت إليه

    كما اجتمَع السُّوامُ إلى المُسيمِ

    It summoned the outlying regions, and they gathered to it,

    as grazing herds gather to their herdsman.

  20. أخو حِكَمٍ إذا بدأتْ وعادَت

    حكَمنَ بعَجز لُقمانِ الحكيمِ

    A bearer of maxims that, first uttered and repeated,

    pronounce Luqman the Wise unequal to them.

  21. ملَكتَ خِطامَها فعلوتَ قَسّاً

    برَونقِها وقيسَ بنَ الخطيمِ

    You hold their reins and have surpassed Quss

    in their brilliance—and Qays ibn al-Khatim.

  22. نُجومٌ لا تَغورُ فَمِنْ دَرارٍ

    يُسارُ بضَوئِهنَّ ومن رُجُومِ

    Stars that never set: some are radiant beacons,

    by whose light one travels, and some are missiles.

  23. كحَلْي الخَودِ مُؤتَلفِ النَّواحي

    ووَشْيِ الرَّوض مُختلِفِ الرُّقُومِ

    Like a maiden’s jewelry, harmonious in its parts,

    and a garden’s brocade, varied in its patterns.

  24. أراك اللهُ ما تهوَى وشِيبَت

    لك النَّعماءُ بالحظِّ الجسيمِ

    May God show you what you desire, and may

    prosperity be mingled for you with abundant good fortune:

  25. غَمامٌ مثلُ جُودِك في انسكابٍ

    وعيدٌ مثلُ وجهِك في قُدومِ

    clouds like your generosity in their downpour,

    and a festival like your face in its arrival,

  26. ودارٌ شُيِّدت بعظيمِ قَدرٍ

    يُهينُ كرائمَ النَّشَبِ العَظيمِ

    and a house built by one of great standing,

    who holds the choicest of vast wealth cheap.

  27. يَطوفُ المادحون بعَقْوَتَيها

    طَوَافَهُمُ بزَمزمَ والحَطيمِ

    The poets of praise circle its two forecourts

    as they circle Zamzam and al-Hatim.

  28. تقاصَرتِ القصورُ لها فأضحَت

    وقد طُلنَ الكواكبَ كالرُّسومِ

    The palaces shrink beside it, and now seem

    mere ruins, though they once overtopped the stars.

  29. فَمِنْ شَرَفٍ على الجوزاءِ تُنبي

    فَوارعُه عن الشرفِ القَديمِ

    There are heights above al-Jawza that proclaim,

    through their soaring summits, ancient nobility;

  30. وَمِنْ غُرَفٍ تُضيءُ الليلَ حُسناً

    فتَحسِبُها النُّجومُ من النُّجومِ

    and chambers that illuminate the night with beauty,

    so that the stars reckon them among the stars.

  31. جَزَيتُك بالذي تُولي ثناءً

    يَسرُّك بين سارٍ أو مُقيمِ

    For what you bestow, I have repaid you with praise

    that delights you among nightfarers or residents.

  32. وما ذمِّي لمحمودِ السَّجايا

    وما حَمدي لذي الخُلقِ الذَّميمِ

    And my censure is not for one of praiseworthy traits,

    nor my praise for one of blameworthy character.

  33. وما زالت رياحُ الشِّعر شَتَّى

    فمن ريَّا الهُبوبِ ومن سَمومِ

    And poetry’s winds have always been diverse:

    some fragrant in their blowing, and some scorching blasts.

  34. تُحيِّي الصاحبَ الطَّلْقَ المُحيَّا

    وتُعلِنُ شَتْمَ ذي الوَجهِ الشَّتِيمِ

    They greet the cheerful-faced companion,

    and proclaim abuse of the ugly-faced man.

  35. منحتُك من مَحاسِنها ربيعاً

    مُقِيمَ الزَّهرِ سيَّارَ النَّسيمِ

    I have granted you, from their beauties, a springtime

    with abiding blossoms and a far-roaming breeze.