Sol 6.1

  1. أطوفُ الأرضَ في شَرْقٍ وغَرْبِ

    وقلبي نازلٌ بدِيارِ صَحْبي

    I roam the earth, in east and west,

    While my heart dwells in my companions' homes.

  2. فلي قلبٌ هُناكَ بغيرِ جِسمٍ

    ولي جِسمٌ هُناكَ بغيرِ قلبِ

    So I have a heart there without a body,

    And I have a body there without a heart.

  3. أحِنُّ إلى الدِّيارِ وساكِنيها

    على بُعْدٍ وإن بَخُلَتْ بِقُربِ

    I yearn for the dwellings and their inhabitants,

    From afar, though they begrudge me nearness.

  4. فيَصدُقُ مَن يقولُ هُناكَ دائي

    ويَصدُقُ من يقولُ هُناكَ طِبِّي

    So whoever says my ailment lies there speaks truly,

    And whoever says my cure lies there speaks truly.

  5. وفي تِلكَ الخُدُورِ مَهاةُ إنسٍ

    مُمنَّعةٌ بحُجْبٍ بَعدَ حُجْبِ

    And in those secluded chambers is an oryx in human form,

    Guarded behind veil after veil.

  6. تَصيدُ ولا تُصادُ إذا غَزَونا

    فلا تُسبَى لذلكَ وَهْيَ تَسْبي

    She hunts, but is not hunted when we raid;

    Thus she is not taken captive, though she takes captives.

  7. فتاةٌ وَجههُا من آلِ بَدرٍ

    ولكن عينُها من آلِ حَربِ

    A maiden whose face is of the house of Badr (the full moon),

    But whose eye is of the house of Harb (war).

  8. تُصيبُ سِهامُها من غيرِ رَشقٍ

    ويقَطعُ سَيفُها من غيرِ ضَربِ

    Her arrows hit their mark without being loosed,

    And her sword cuts without a stroke.

  9. أرَتْني من خِلالِ السّجْفِ طَرْفاً

    قرأتُ عليهِ إنَّ اللهَ حسْبي

    She showed me an eye through the curtain,

    Over it I recited, 'Indeed, God suffices me.'

  10. ووَجهاً لو ظَفِرتُ بوَجنتَيهِ

    كَتبتُ عليهِما سُبحانَ ربي

    And a face—had I gained access to its cheeks,

    I would have written upon them, 'Glory be to my Lord.'

  11. جَفَتْني حِينَ قُلتُ الشِّعرَ فيها

    وقالتْ قد جَلَبتَ عليكَ عَتْبي

    She shunned me when I composed verse about her,

    And said, 'You have brought my reproach upon yourself.'

  12. تَعُدُّ عليَّ نظمَ الشِّعرَ ذَنباً

    نَعَمْ لِسِوَى الأميرِ الشِّعرُ ذَنْبي

    She counts composing poetry against me as a sin.

    Yes—poetry for anyone but the emir is my sin.

  13. مَنَحتُ أبا مُحمَّدَ كُلَّ شعري

    فكانَ لِمَنْ سِواهُ مالَ سَلْبِ

    I gave Abu Muhammad all my poetry,

    So for anyone but him it became plundered property.

  14. ومَن كأبي مُحمَّدَ يلتقيهِ

    بوجهٍ مبشرٍ وفؤادِ صبِّ

    And who, like Abu Muhammad, meets him

    With a beaming face and a lover's heart?

  15. ومن كآبي محمَّدَ أهل مدحٍ

    ينزَّهُ صدقُهُ عن شينِ كِذبِ

    And who, like Abu Muhammad, deserves praise

    Whose truth is unsullied by the taint of falsehood?

  16. ومن كأبي مُحمَّدَ أهلُ مَدحٍ

    يُنزَّهُ صِدقُهُ عن شَينِ كِذْبِ

    And who, like Abu Muhammad, deserves praise

    Whose truth is unsullied by the taint of falsehood?

  17. طَلَبتُ العفَو عن جَهْلي لأنِّي

    طَلبتُ نظيرَهُ والجَهْلُ دأبي

    I sought pardon for my ignorance, because I

    Sought his equal—and ignorance is my habit.

  18. فأدَّبني بسَعيٍ ضاعَ هَدْراً

    كريمٌ كُلَّما أدعو يُلبّي

    So I was schooled through a quest that came to nothing

    By a generous man who answers whenever I call.

  19. بَعيدُ الصِيتِ يَعبَقُ من ثناهُ

    أريجُ المِسكِ في عُجْمٍ وعُرْبِ

    His fame reaches far; from praise of him wafts

    The fragrance of musk among non-Arabs and Arabs.

  20. تُقِرُّ لهُ العِدَى بالفَضلِ رَغماً

    فتَحمِلُ منهُ غَصباً فوقَ غَصبِ

    His foes acknowledge his excellence against their will,

    So they endure compulsion upon compulsion from him.

  21. إذا حاضَرَتهُ يُرضيكَ حَتَّى

    تَرى عَجَباً بهِ من غيرِ عُجْبِ

    If you converse with him, he pleases you until

    You behold in him a marvel without conceit.

  22. وإنْ فارَقتهُ يدعوكَ شَوقٌ

    إليهِ قائداً بِزمامِ جَذْبِ

    And if you leave him, longing calls you

    To him, leading you by attraction's rein.

  23. نلومُ السُّقمَ إذ يأتي إليهِ

    وهل ظامٍ يُلامُ بورْدِ عَذْبِ

    We blame illness when it comes to him,

    And can the thirsty be blamed for seeking sweet water?

  24. ونَطمَعُ في السَّلامةِ من أذاهُ

    فقد وافَى على قَدَمِ المُحِبِّ

    And we hope for safety from its harm,

    For it has come with a lover's tread.

  25. شَفاكَ اللهُ من كَرْبٍ تَراهُ

    كما يشفَي بلُطفِكَ كلَّ كَرْبِ

    May God heal you of the distress you face,

    As He heals every distress through your kindness.

  26. فإنَّكَ في بِلادِ الشَّرْقِ رُوحٌ

    وإن تكُ نازلاً منها بِغَرْبِ

    For you are the soul of the lands of the East,

    Even if you dwell in their west.