Sol 6.1

  1. وَنُبِّئتُ قَوماً بِهِم جِنَّةٌ

    يَقولونَ مَن ذا وَكُنتُ العَلَم

    And I was told of people gripped by madness:

    They say, “Who is this?” though I was the renowned standard.

  2. أَلا أَيُّها السائِلي جاهِداً

    لِيَعرِفَني أَنا أَنفُ الكَرَم

    Listen, you who question me so earnestly

    to know me: I am the forefront of nobility.

  3. نَمَت في الكِرامِ بِني عامِرٍ

    فُروعي وَأَصلي قُرَيشُ العَجَم

    Among the noble Banu Amir have grown

    my branches; and my root is the Quraysh of the Persians.

  4. فَإِنّي لأُغني مَقامَ الفَتى

    وَأُصبي الفَتاةَ فَما تَعتَصِم

    For I can surely fill a young man's place,

    and captivate the maiden, so she does not resist.

  5. وَجارِيَةٍ خُلِقَت وَحدَها

    كَأَنَّ النِساءَ لَدَيها خَدَم

    And a maiden, created without equal,

    as though the women beside her were servants.

  6. دُوارُ العَذارى إِذا زُرنَها

    أَطَفنَ بِحَوراءَ مِثلِ الصَنَم

    The maidens' Duwar—when they visit her,

    they circle a dark-eyed beauty like an idol.

  7. يَظَلنَ يُمَسِّحنَ أَركانَها

    كَما يُمسَحُ الحَجَرُ المُستَلَم

    They keep stroking her sides,

    as the stone saluted by touch is stroked.

  8. وَبَيضاءَ يَضحَكُ ماءُ الشَبا

    بِ في وَجهِها لَكَ إِذ تَبتَسِم

    And a fair woman: the water of youth laughs

    on her face for you when she smiles.

  9. ظَمِئتُ إِلَيها فَلَم تَسقِني

    بِرِيٍّ وَلَم تَشفِني مِن سَقَم

    I thirsted for her, but she gave me no drink

    to quench my thirst, and did not heal me of sickness.

  10. وَقالَت هَويتَ فَمُت راشِداً

    كَما ماتَ عُروةُ غَمّاً بِغَم

    And she said, “You fell in love—then die rightly guided,

    as Urwah died, grief upon grief.”

  11. فَلَمّا رَأَيتُ الهَوى قاتِلي

    وَلَستُ بِجارٍ وَلا بِاِبنِ عَم

    Then, when I saw that passion would kill me,

    and I was neither her neighbor nor her cousin,

  12. دَسَستُ إِلَيها أَبا مِجلَزٍ

    وَأَيَّ فَتىً إِن أَصابَ اِعتَزَم

    I secretly sent Abu Mijlaz to her,

    and what a man: if he hit his mark, he acted resolutely.

  13. فَما زالَ حَتّى أَنابَت لَهُ

    فَراحَ وَحَلَّ لَنا ما حَرُم

    He did not relent until she yielded to him,

    then he went away, and what was forbidden became lawful for us.

  14. أَصَفراءُ لَيسَ الفَتى صَخرةً

    ولَكِنَّهُ نُصبُ هَمٍّ وَغَم

    O yellow one, a young man is no rock,

    but a target for worry and grief.

  15. أَقولُ لَها حينَ قَلَّ الثَراء

    وَضاقَ المُرادُ وَأَودى النَعَم

    I say to her, when wealth dwindles,

    and prospects narrow and the herds perish:

  16. إِذا ما اِفتَقَرتُ فَأَحيي السُرى

    إِلى اِبنِ العَلاءِ طَبيبِ العَدَم

    “Whenever I fall into poverty, revive the night journey

    to Ibn al-Ala, the physician of destitution.”

  17. دَعاني إِلى عُمَرٍ جودُهُ

    وَقَولُ العَشيرَةِ بَحرٌ خِضَم

    His generosity called me to Umar,

    and the clan's words: “He is a vast sea.”

  18. وَلَولا الَّذي زَعَموا لَم أَكُن

    لِأَمدَحَ رَيحانَةً قَبلَ شَمّ

    And but for what they said, I would never

    praise a sprig of sweet basil before smelling it.

  19. أَلا أَيُّها الطالِبُ المُبتَغي

    نُجومَ السَماءِ بِسَعيٍ أَمَم

    Listen, you seeker who pursues

    the stars of the sky with a slight effort:

  20. سَمِعتَ بِمَكرُمَةِ اِبنِ العَلا

    فَأَنشَأتَ تَطلُبُها لَستَ ثَمّ

    You heard of Ibn al-Ala's noble deed,

    so you began seeking it—but you are nowhere near.

  21. إِذا عَرضَ اللَهوُ في صَدرِهِ

    لَها بِالعَطاءِ وَضَربِ البُهَم

    When amusement stirs within his breast,

    he amuses himself with giving and striking down mighty warriors.

  22. يَلَذُّ العَطاءَ وَسَفكَ الدِماءِ

    وَيغدو عَلى نِعَمٍ أَو نِقَم

    He relishes giving and the shedding of blood,

    and goes forth in the morning intent on favors or reprisals.

  23. فَقُل لِلخَليفَةِ إِن جِئتَهُ

    نَصوحاً وَلا خَيرَ في مُتَّهَم

    So tell the caliph, if you come to him,

    as a sincere adviser—there is no good in one under suspicion:

  24. إِذا أَيقَظَتكَ حُروبُ العِدا

    فَنَبِّه لَها عُمَراً ثُمَّ نَم

    “If the enemies' wars wake you,

    rouse Umar for them, then sleep.”

  25. فَتىً لا يَنامُ عَلى ثَأرِهِ

    وَلا يَشرَبُ الماءَ إِلاّ بِدَم

    A young man who does not sleep with his vengeance unfulfilled,

    nor drinks water except with blood.

  26. إِذا ما غَزا بَشَّرَت طَيرُهُ

    بِفَتحٍ وَبَشَّرَنا بِالنِعَم

    Whenever he goes to war, his birds bring glad tidings

    of victory, and he brings us glad tidings of bounties.

  27. إِذا قالَ تَمَّ عَلى قَولِهِ

    وَماتَ العَناءُ بِلا أَو نَعَم

    When he speaks, he follows through on his word,

    and trouble dies with a “No” or “Yes.”

  28. وَبَعضُ الرِجالِ بِمَوعودِهِ

    قَريبٌ وَبِالفِعلِ تَحتَ الرَجَم

    And some men, in what they promise,

    are near, yet in deed lie beneath the grave's stones,

  29. كَجاري السَرابِ تَرى لَمعَهُ

    وَلَستَ بِواجِدِهِ عِندَكَم

    like a flowing mirage: you see its gleam,

    yet you do not find it in your midst.