Sol 6.1

  1. لحَظاتٌ من شبيهات الدُّمى

    صرعتني بين ظَلم ولَمى

    Glances from beauties like figurines

    felled me between gleaming teeth and dusky lips.

  2. بعد ما قلتُ تناهت صبوتي

    رجَّعتني مستهاماً مغرما

    After I said my youthful passion had ended,

    they brought me back lovesick and enamored.

  3. لائمي أقصر فإني كُلَّما

    زدتَ لوماً زاد سمعي صمما

    My reproacher, desist! For whenever

    you add blame, my hearing grows deafer.

  4. بأبي من جاءني معتذراً

    وجِلاً ممَا جناه نَدِما

    May my father be the ransom of him who came to me apologizing,

    fearful and remorseful for what he had done.

  5. فرأيتُ البدرَ في طلعتهِ

    ضاحكاً من وَجهِ مُبتسما

    Then I saw the full moon in his countenance,

    laughing, smiling forth from his face.

  6. زائرٌ أسألُ عنه مقلتي

    هل رأته يقظة أو حُلما

    A visitor—I ask my eye about him:

    did it see him waking, or in a dream?

  7. بوشاح ناقضُ الحجلُ فذا

    باح بالسرِّ وهذا كَتما

    The anklet was at odds with the sash: one

    revealed the secret, while the other concealed it.

  8. كيف تَخفي زَورَةُ الصُّبح وقد

    فَتَّحَ الروضَ وجلَّي الظُّلما

    How can dawn's visit stay hidden, when

    it has made the garden bloom and dispelled the darkness?

  9. عجبي من سقمٍ في طرفه

    يورث الجسمَ ويشفي السَقَما

    I marvel at the languor in his gaze,

    which sickens the body yet cures sickness.

  10. قمرٌ يعبدُهُ عاشقُه

    عبد المفتون قبل الصَّنما

    A moon his lover worships—

    the enthralled one worshipped an idol before.

  11. قد أعار الكأس منه وجنةً

    وثنايا ورُضاباً وفما

    He has lent the cup a cheek of his own,

    and front teeth, saliva, and a mouth.

  12. أحبَاباً ما أثار الماءُ في

    جَوِّها أم حَدَقاً أم أنجُما

    Are those bubbles the water has stirred in

    its midst—or eyes, or stars?

  13. جالَ فيها لؤلؤا منتشِرا

    وعلاها لؤلؤا مُنتَظِما

    The water swirled within it as scattered pearls,

    and rose to its surface as pearls strung in order.

  14. كيف أعتَدُّ بلقيا هاجرٍ

    قبل ما حاول وصلي صرما

    How can I prize meeting one who shuns me,

    who broke with me before seeking our union?

  15. لو تجاسرتُ على الفتك به

    لم أعُد أقرع سنّي ندما

    Had I dared to assail him,

    I would no longer gnash my teeth in regret.

  16. أي شيءٍ ضّرني لو أنني

    كنت في الحِلِّ طرقتُ الحرَما

    What harm would it have done me if I,

    though outside its sacred bounds, had entered the sanctuary by night?

  17. أنا عندي من شفا عِلَّتَهُ

    من حبيبٍ مُسعِدٍ ما أثمَا

    To my mind, whoever cures his illness

    with a responsive beloved has committed no sin.

  18. ولقد ذقتُ بكاسات الهوى

    عَسَلاّ طوراً وطورا علقما

    And I have tasted, from the cups of passion,

    honey at times, and bitter colocynth at others.

  19. وجليسٍ قد شنئنا شَخصَهُ

    مذ عرفناهُ مُلِحّآ مُبِرما

    And a companion whose very presence we have loathed

    since we knew him—insistent and tiresome—

  20. ثَقَّلَ الوطأةَ في زورتِهِ

    ثم ما ودّع حتى سَلَّما

    made his visit a heavy burden,

    then scarcely said farewell before greeting us again.

  21. بعضُ مالاقيتُ منه أنَّهُ

    نَفَّرَ الرئمَ الذي رَئِما

    One thing I suffered from him was that

    he frightened off the white gazelle that had grown tame.

  22. ذَلَّ من يأوي إلى مُلتَجَىءٍ

    ليس يؤوي ويروّي من ظَما

    Abased is he who seeks shelter in a refuge

    that neither shelters nor gives drink to the thirsty.

  23. وأعَزٌّ الخَلقِ طُرّا عائِذ

    برئيسِ الرؤساء اعتَصَما

    And most honored of all creation is the seeker of refuge

    who holds fast to the Chief of Chiefs.

  24. نحنُ منه في جَنانٍ وًرَعٍ

    فَلبَسُ العِزِّ ونجني النِّعَما

    We have a place within his pious heart;

    so, wearing honor, we harvest blessings.

  25. قد بلوناهُ على عِلاَّتِهِ

    فبلونا العارِضَ المُنسَجِما

    We have tested him, despite his troubles,

    and found a raincloud pouring down.