Sol 6.1

  1. يا بارِقاً صَدَع الدُجى لمعانُهُ

    وَسَرى يهلُّ على الحِمى هتّانُهُ

    O lightning-bearing cloud whose gleam split the darkness,

    And which journeyed by night, its steady rain pouring upon the protected abode,

  2. باللَه إن يمَّمت منزلَنا الَّذي

    بانَت وَما بانَ الهوى سُكّانهُ

    By God, if you head for our dwelling, whose

    Inhabitants departed, though love did not depart,

  3. بلِّغ تحيَّتيَ العَفيفَ أَخا العُلى

    أَصفى الأَخلّاءِ المعظَّم شانُهُ

    Convey my greeting to the chaste man, brother of eminence,

    The purest of friends, whose standing is exalted.

  4. واِشرح له شَوقي إليه وصِف له

    وَجدي الَّذي يَقضي به وجدانُهُ

    And explain to him my longing for him, and describe to him

    My ardor, on which his own feeling passes judgment.

  5. واِحذر عليه أَن تبثَّ جميعَ ما

    قاسيتُه كيلا يَذوبَ جَنانُهُ

    And beware, for his sake, of revealing all that

    I have suffered, lest his heart melt.

  6. وأَجبه عمّا قد حَواه كتابُه

    من عِقد نظمٍ فصِّلت عِقيانُهُ

    And answer him concerning what his letter contained

    Of a necklace of verse, its pure gold finely arrayed.

  7. لا يحسَبَن أَنّي سَلوتُ جنابَه

    هَيهات عزَّ أَخا الأَسى سلوانُهُ

    Let him never think I have ceased longing for his presence;

    Far from it! Solace eludes the brother of sorrow.

  8. لَم أَنس أنساً كان لي بِلقائِه

    طابَت معاهدُه وطاب زمانُهُ

    I have not forgotten the companionship I found in meeting him;

    Sweet were its haunts, and sweet its time,

  9. أَيّامَ روضُ العيش يشرق نَورُه

    وَتميسُ من طربٍ به أَغصانهُ

    In days when life's garden gleamed with blossoms,

    And its branches swayed within it in rapture.

  10. يا أَيُّها الشَهمُ الَّذي أَثنى على

    فتكاته يومَ الطِعان سنانُهُ

    O noble-hearted man, praised for

    His deadly blows on the day of spear-fighting by his spearhead!

  11. أَهديتَ من غررِ المَعاني مُعجزاً

    بهرَ العقولَ بديعُه وبيانُهُ

    You bestowed an inimitable work of the choicest meanings,

    Whose artistry and eloquence dazzled minds.

  12. لِلَّه درُّك ناطقاً يَقضي على

    حُرِّ الكَلام بما يَشاءُ لسانُهُ

    God bless you as a speaker who rules over

    The choicest speech as his tongue desires,

  13. ومحبِّراً وشيَ القَريض إذا اِمتطى

    متنَ البراعَة للبَيانِ بَنانُهُ

    And as an embroiderer of verse's brocade, whenever

    His fingers mount mastery's back for eloquence,

  14. ومبرّزاً إِن رام سَبقاً أَقصَرت

    عن أَن تحاولَ شأوَه أَقرانُهُ

    And as one who excels: if he seeks the lead, unable

    Even to try to match his reach are his peers.

  15. قَسَماً بأَيمان الفتوَّة والوَفا

    وَقَديم عَهدٍ أسِّست أَركانُهُ

    I swear by the oaths of chivalry and fidelity,

    And by an old covenant whose pillars were founded:

  16. إِنَّ الوداد كما عهِدت وإنَّما

    هَذا الزَمانُ تلوَّنت أَلوانُهُ

    Affection is indeed as you knew it; it is only

    This age whose colors have changed.

  17. والعذرُ في تركي دعاءَك مسرعاً

    عذرٌ وحقِّك واضحٌ برهانُهُ

    And my excuse for neglecting to call you promptly

    Is an excuse—by your honor—whose proof is clear.

  18. لكن عَسى قد آن إِبّانُ اللِقا

    والشيء يُقبِلُ إِن أَتى إِبّانُهُ

    Yet perhaps the season for meeting has now arrived;

    And a thing comes when its season arrives.

  19. فيلين من دَهري بذلك ما قسا

    وَيَعودَ بعد إِساءَةٍ إِحسانُهُ

    So may what was harsh in my fortune soften through that,

    And may its kindness return after its ill treatment.