Sol 6.1

  1. مَنْ لي باحوى من الآرامِ منتخبِ

    وظلمُه خيتعورٌ سل من عِنَبِ

    Who will bring me a dusky-lipped one, chosen from the white gazelles?

    And his glistening saliva is a mirage drawn from grapes.

  2. ونقطةٌ من عبير فوقَ وجنته

    كأنها رُمِيتْ في لُجَّةِ اللَّهَبِ

    And a speck of perfume rests upon his cheek,

    As though it had been cast into the depths of flame.

  3. وَصُدغه دبّ فوق الورد يلثمه

    وخاف ضربة أجفان على غضب

    And his sidelock crept across the rose, kissing it,

    And feared a blow from angry eyelids.

  4. وقدّه تُخْجِلُ الأغصانَ ميسته

    وردفه قد زرى بالموجِ والكُثُبِ

    And his figure's sway puts the branches to shame,

    And his buttocks have put the waves and dunes to shame.

  5. وفرعهُ جُنْحُ ليلٍ في ضفيرته

    وثغره ضَرَبٌ يَفتْتَرْ عن شَنَبِ

    And his hair, in its braid, is the darkness of night,

    And his mouth is white honey, its smile revealing cool sweetness.

  6. يَزورني والدُّجى جَِمَّ جلاببُه

    والعالمون غفولٌ والرقيبُ غبي

    He visits me while night has cloaks aplenty,

    And people are heedless, and the watcher dull-witted.

  7. أضمُه وجيوشُ الشوقِ تُسعدني

    والعَتْبُ قَرْظه والقلبُ في تعب

    I embrace him, and longing's armies aid me,

    And reproach is his praise, while my heart is weary.

  8. عللتُهُ الصِّرفَ حتى صار يسمحُ لي

    بما يشحُ ويَدُنيني على رَغَب

    I plied him with unmixed wine until he began granting me

    What he withholds, and drawing me close with desire.

  9. طوراً يميل إلى نحوي وارشفه

    وتارة ينثني في اللَّهو واللَّعبِ

    At times he leans toward me, and I sip from him,

    And at other times he turns aside in pleasure and play.

  10. وبات يقضي ديوناً في الهوى وجبت

    وملت أقْبُضُ منه أولَ الطَّلَبِ

    And he spent the night repaying debts that love had made due,

    And I leaned in to collect from him at the first demand.

  11. حتى ترنمَ عصفورٌ بنغمتِه

    والنَّجْمُ بالغربِ يُبدي الرَّقص بالطَرَبِ

    Until a sparrow warbled its melody,

    And the star in the west displayed its joyous dance.

  12. والصبح قَدَّ قميصَ الليلِ من دُبُرٍ

    وأسْهُمُ الشمس ترمي أعينَ الشُهُبِ

    And dawn tore the shirt of night from behind,

    And the sun's arrows shot at the eyes of the bright stars.

  13. وقامَ في مذهبِ التوديعِ مسترعاً

    والدمع يَسْكبُهُ نوعاً من الذَّهَبِ

    And he rose, hastening along the path of farewell,

    And the tears he shed were a kind of gold.

  14. وَدَعتُه فَمَضَى والذُّعر يكتُمُه

    في مَلْبَسِ الخَزِّ في مَلْبَسِ القَصَبِ

    I bade him farewell; he departed, concealing his fear,

    In a robe of silk and wool, in a robe of fine linen.

  15. ثم وجّهْتُ وَجَهَ الحادياتِ إلى

    نجلِ الإمامِ رفيع النَّجرِ والرُّتَبِ

    Then I turned the camel-chanters' faces toward

    The Imam's son, lofty in lineage and rank.

  16. أعني سعيدَ بن سلطانَ الذي فخرت

    به الأعاجمُ من تركٍ ومن عربِ

    I mean Sa'id bin Sultan, in whom take pride

    The foreign peoples, Turks and Arabs alike.

  17. زاكي الطباع تقي النفس ذي كرم

    نواله للورى يغني عن السحب

    Pure in nature, devout in soul, endowed with generosity,

    His bounty frees humankind from need of rainclouds.

  18. شهمٌ له شيمةٌ شَمّاءُ شاهرةٌ

    أعداؤه منهُ في ذُلٍّ وفي نَصَبِ

    A gallant man, with a lofty character plainly shown,

    His foes suffer humiliation and hardship at his hands.

  19. مَلْكٌ يُديِر رَحَى الهيجا بخِنْصَرِهِ

    أفنى الطغاةَ بضربٍ السُمّرِ والقُضُبِ

    A king who turns the millstone of battle with his little finger,

    He annihilated tyrants with blows of tawny spears and swords.

  20. قد حَدثَّتني المعالي إن ذا ملكاً

    أفعالُه شُهِرَت في سالفِ الحِقَبِ

    Glory has indeed told me that this is a king

    Whose deeds became famed in ages past.

  21. فالسيفْ والخيلُ تَرْوي عن مَعارِكه

    وأشْهَرتْ علمَه لي أصدقُ الكُتُبِ

    For the sword and horses recount his battles,

    And the truest books have made his learning known to me.

  22. وأسْألُ اللهَ أن يبقيه في نِعَمٍ

    والخيرُ يجري إليه جريُ مُنْسَرِبِ

    And I ask God to keep him amid blessings,

    And goodness flows toward him like a stream.

  23. أدامه الرَّبُّ في مُلكٍ وفي فَرَحٍ

    يا ليتَ حُسَّاده في باطنِ التُرُبِ

    May the Lord preserve him in kingship and joy,

    Oh, if only his enviers lay deep beneath the earth!