Sol 6.1

  1. مَتى بَلَغَت مُذ قَطُّ أَرضٌ إِلى سَما

    وَمَن ذا الَّذي الحوتِ لِلحوتِ قَد سَما

    When has earth ever reached the sky?

    And what fish has ever risen to the Fish?

  2. أَتَعبَثُ يَاِبنَ اللُؤمِ بِالبَحرِ زاخِراً

    وَبِاللَيثِ فَرّاساً وَبِالطَودِ أَيهَما

    Do you trifle, son of vileness, with the surging sea,

    and the lion, a deadly hunter, and the inaccessible mountain,

  3. وَبِالجَيشِ جَرّاراً وَبِالمَوتِ جارِياً

    وَبِالرُمحِ مَهزوزاً وَبِالسَيفِ مِخذَما

    and the vast army, and onrushing death,

    and the brandished spear, and the keen, cleaving sword?

  4. وَتَأمُلُ مِنّي رَجعَةً بَعدَ هَذِهِ

    وَهَيهاتَ مَن يَثني الرَواجِعَ بَعدَما

    And you hope I will relent after this?

    Far from it! Who can turn back the returning blows afterward?

  5. وَلي فَتكَةٌ تُطفي الوَهيجَ مُضَرَّما

    وَلي عَزمَةٌ تَلقى الوَشيجَ مُصَمِّما

    And I have a deadly stroke that quenches a blazing flame,

    and a resolve that meets the massed spears unflinching.

  6. فَمُغرِقُ ماءِ أَينَما سارَ دَمَّرَ

    وَمِصعَقُ نارٍ أَينَما حَظَّ حَطَّما

    A drowning flood of water: wherever it goes, it destroys;

    and a blasting fire: wherever fortune favors it, it shatters.

  7. سَحابٌ بِهِ تُروى الظِما وَبِنارِهِ

    يَموتُ الظِما مِنها وَمَن حَمَلَ الظِما

    A cloud through which the thirsty drink their fill; and by its fire

    the thirsty perish, and whoever bears the dark spears.

  8. أَحَقُّ سَحابٍ بِاِتِّقاءِ وَخيفَةٍ

    سَحابٌ إِذا ما شاءَ أَدمى وَدَيَّما

    The cloud most deserving of caution and fear

    is one that, whenever it wishes, draws blood and rains steadily.

  9. عَلَيَّ وَلا تَعجَل دَواؤُكَ فَاِنتَظِر

    بَقِيَّةَ حِلمٍ شارَفَت أَن تَصَرَّما

    Your cure falls to me—do not hurry; await

    the remnant of forbearance, now on the verge of ending.

  10. وَعِندي وَلا بَغيٌ لِرَأسِكَ دِرَّةٌ

    إِذا أَوقَعَت في رَأسِ نَذلٍ تَرَنَّما

    And I have, without injustice, a lash for your head:

    when it strikes a scoundrel's head, he sings.

  11. لَها شَبَقٌ في رَأسِ كُلِّ مُؤَنَّثِ

    فَلا كَفَّ حَتّى يُخضَبَ الكَفُّ بِالدِما

    It lusts after the head of every effeminate man;

    so there is no stopping until the palm is dyed with blood.

  12. وَكَم عارَضَت عُمرَ الرِقاعَةِ فَاِنقَضَت

    إِذا ما هِيَ اِنقَضَّت عَلى الرَأسِ قَشعَما

    How often it has challenged impudence's life and ended it,

    when it swoops upon the head like an aged vulture.

  13. وَنَضنَضَ في كَفِّ المُديرِ لِسانُها

    فَما قالَ أَو كانَ القَذالُ لَهُ فَما

    Its tongue flicked in the wielder's hand;

    it said nothing unless the nape became its mouth.

  14. نَصَبتَ لَها رَأساً بِمَدرَجَةِ الأَسى

    فَمَدَّت يَداً مِنها بِسُفتَجَةِ العَمى

    You set up a head for it on the path of grief,

    so it stretched out its own hand with a bill of exchange for blindness.

  15. رَعَت حِقباً أَبقارَها في حِمى الكَلا

    وَمِن بَعدِ ما ماتَت رَعَت ذَلِكَ الحِمى

    For ages it pastured its cows in the sanctuary of grass,

    and after it died, it grazed that same sanctuary.

  16. إِذا بَتَلَت يَوماً نَغانِغَ أَحمَقٍ

    أَرَتنا بِها ما بِالشِفاهِ مِنَ اللَمى

    When one day it severs a fool's throat-folds,

    it shows us there the dusky tint found on lips.

  17. تَعَمَّم لَها إِنَّ العِمامَةُ جُنَّةُ

    وَهَل يَنقَع المَصفوعَ أَن يَتَعَمَّما

    Put on a turban against it: the turban is a shield.

    But does wearing a turban help the man being slapped?

  18. وَلِلحُمقِ يا فِرعَونُ فيها مَآرِبٌ

    إِذا ما طَفى فِرعَونُهُ وَتَعَظَّما

    And folly has uses for it, O Pharaoh,

    when its Pharaoh floats up and swells with pride.

  19. إِذا كانَ مَزحاً كانَ تَغميزَ مُشفِقٍ

    وَإِن كانَ جِدّاً كانَ يَحدِرُ بَلغَما

    If it is in jest, it is a caring person's massage;

    but if in earnest, it drives the phlegm down.

  20. وَما عَدِمَت في كابِحِ الصَقيعِ حِكمَةً

    وَتَركيبُهُ في الأَصلِ قَد كانَ مُحكَما

    And it has lacked no wisdom in curbing the fool,

    and its construction was sound from the beginning.

  21. هِيَ الخَمرُ في وَصفِ اِبنِ حَبورِ خَمرَهُ

    بِبَيتٍ رَوَيناهُ قَديماً مُقَدِّما

    It is wine, as Ibn Habur described his wine

    in a verse we quoted long ago, by way of preface:

  22. أَراحَت مِنَ الهَمِّ الدَخيلِ وَأَعدَت الذَلي

    لَ وَسَنَّت لِلبَخيلِ التَكَرُّما

    It eased intrusive grief and emboldened the lowly,

    and taught the miser generosity.

  23. وَما هِيَ إِلّا الخَمرُ إِنَّ صَريعَها

    إِذا نَعنَعَت بِالشُكرِ عِطفَيهِ تَمتَما

    It is nothing but wine; indeed, its victim,

    when it shakes his flanks with gratitude, stammers.

  24. إِذا قَطَعَت يَوماً قَفاهُ وَقُطِّعَت

    رَأَيتَ القَفا أَعلى مَحَلّا وَأَكرَما

    If one day it cuts his nape and is itself cut to pieces,

    you will find the nape higher in station and more honored.

  25. نُجَدِّدُها في كُلِّ صَقيعٍ مُجَدِّدٍ

    وَمِثلُكَ لا نَرمي إِلَيهِ المُرَمَّما

    We renew it for every fool who starts afresh,

    and to one like you we do not fling a patched-up one.

  26. نُداوي بِخَمرِ الصَفعِ مِنها خُمارَها

    فَإِن ذَمَّ جُرحاً فَهوَ يَحمَدُ مَرهَما

    We cure its hangover with its own wine of slaps;

    for if he condemns a wound, he praises a balm.

  27. فَلا تَكشِفَن رَأساً إِلَيها مُشَجَّجا

    وَلا تَنصِبَن خَدّا إِلَيها مُلَطَّما

    So do not bare a gashed head before it,

    nor present it with a cheek already slapped.

  28. وَلا تُظهِرَن رَفعَ السِلاحِ فَمَن لَهُ

    وَلا تَرجُوَن نَفعَ الصِياحِ فَقَلَّما

    Nor make a show of raising arms—for who is equal to that?

    Nor hope that shouting will help: it rarely does.

  29. فَإِن تَنتَهِك حِلمي وَيَبلُغَ حَدَّهُ

    سَلَكتُ وَراءَ الحِلمِ أَن أَحَلَّما

    For if you violate my forbearance and it reaches its limit,

    I go beyond forbearance to teach you forbearance.

  30. وَقَد يَملَأُ القَطرُ الإِناءَ وَقَد أَتى

    بِقَطرِكَ أَن يَملِأَ الإِناءَ فَيُقعما

    Drops may fill a vessel; and the time has come

    for your drops to fill the vessel and bring ruin.

  31. أَغَرُّكَ بِحري يَومَ لَجَّجت مُقحَماً

    فَرَدَّكَ ضَحضاحي تُلَجلِجُ مَفحَما

    Did my sea beguile you when you were thrust into its depths,

    and my shallows sent you back stammering, struck dumb?

  32. وَلَو لَم يَكُن حِلمي لِبَحرِكَ جُنَّةً

    لِأَرسَلتُها مِمّا بَرى القَولُ أَسهُما

    Had my forbearance not been a shield for your sea,

    I would have sent it forth as arrows whittled by speech.

  33. وَلَكِنَّكَ القِرنُ الَّذي لَو صَرَعتُهُ

    لَكانَ قُصارى الحَمدِ أَن أَتَذَمَّما

    But you are the rival whom, if I felled,

    the utmost praise I could gain would be to feel ashamed.

  34. وَبَعدُ صَفعِ المُضِرَّ اِنتِفاعُهُ

    وَما اِعوَجَّ قَوسٌ قَطُّ إِلّا تَقَوَّما

    And further: slapping the harmful man is to his benefit;

    and no bow ever grew crooked without being set right.