Sol 6.1

  1. إِلَيهَا فَلا انجَرَّت ذُيُولُ ظِلالِهَا

    وَلا أَشِبَت مِنهَا المَعَاطِفَ أَغصَانُ

    To her—may the skirts of her shadows never trail,

    Nor may boughs entwine her curving flanks.

  2. فَإِن حَكَمُوا أَنَّ القُدُودَ ذَوَابِلٌ

    فَشَاهِدُهُم أَنَّ النَّوَاظِرَ خُرصَانُ

    For if they judge the figures to be slender lances,

    Then their evidence is that the eyes are spearheads.

  3. وَإِن أَجمَعُوا أَنَّ الخُدُودَ أَزَاهِرٌ

    فَحُجَّتُهُم أَنَّ المَعَاطِفَ أَفنَانُ

    And if they agree that the cheeks are blossoms,

    Then their proof is that the curving flanks are boughs.

  4. خَلِيلَيَّ عُوجَا وَانظُرَا وَتَبَيَّنَا

    وَلا تَكسَلا لَن يَبلُغَ المَجدَ كَسلانُ

    My two friends, turn aside, look, and discern;

    And do not be lazy: no sluggard will attain glory.

  5. أُهَدِّي الَّذِي تُهدِي الرِّيَاحُ سَلامهُم

    فَإِنِّي أَرَى لِلرِّيحِ عَرفاً لَهُ شَانُ

    I offer what the winds bring: their greetings;

    For I sense in the wind a remarkable fragrance.

  6. لَعَلَّهُمُ قَد أَودَعُوهَا شَذَاهُمُ

    لِيَرتَاعَ مُشتَاقٌ وَيَهتَزَّ هَيمَانُ

    Perhaps they have entrusted it with their fragrance,

    To startle a yearning lover and stir one mad with love.

  7. وَإِلا فَقُولا أَنتُمَا قَولَ مُنصِفٍ

    أَطَبعُ نَسِيمِ الرِّيحِ رَوحٌ وَرَيحَانُ

    Otherwise, you two, speak as one who is fair:

    Is the wind's breath by nature solace and sweet basil?

  8. أَقُولُ لِقَلبِي حِينَ أشعر غَدرَهُم

    ثَكِلتَ أَتَرضَى أَن تَخُونَ كَمَا خَانُوا

    I say to my heart when I sense their treachery:

    May you be bereaved! Would you consent to betray as they betrayed?

  9. وَلا غَروَ أَنِّي كُنتُ لِلعَهدِ حَافِظاً

    وَكُلُّهُمُ عِندَ الشَّدَائِدِ خَوَّانُ

    And no wonder that I have kept the covenant,

    While all of them are inveterate traitors in adversity.

  10. فَعَن حِكمَةٍ مَا يَخزِنُ النَّارَ مَالِكٌ

    وَيَخزِنُ دَارَ الخُلدِ وَالفَوزِ رِضوَانُ

    For some wise purpose, Malik guards the Fire,

    And Ridwan guards the abode of immortality and triumph.

  11. وَلا كَابنِ مَرجِ الكُحلِ عِلقُ مَضَنَّةٍ

    تُشَدُّ عَلَيهَا لِلشَّدَائِدِ أَيمَانُ

    Nor is there a cherished treasure like Ibn Marj al-Kuhl,

    Which right hands clasp fast against adversity.

  12. وَمَا رَاعَنِي مِن وُدِّهِ غَيرَ أَنَّهُ

    يُغَيِّرُهُ قَومٌ كَدَهرِيَ أَلوَانُ

    And nothing in his affection dismayed me, save that

    People, many-hued as my fate, sway him.

  13. أَقُولُ لَهُ لَمَّا أصَاخَ لِقَولِهِم

    أَمِن نَفَحَاتِ الرِّيحِ يَهتَزُّ ثَهلانُ

    I say to him, when he listens to their words:

    Does Thahlan tremble at gusts of wind?