Sol 6.1

  1. سَلِ الجِزْعَ أينَ المنزلُ المتنازحُ

    وهل سَكَنٌ غادٍ من الدّار رائحُ

    Ask the valley bend where the far-off dwelling lies,

    and whether a beloved dweller leaves the house at dawn or returns at dusk.

  2. وَقَد كنتُ قَبل البينِ أَكتتمُ الهوى

    فباح به دمعٌ من العين سافحُ

    And before parting, I had kept my love concealed,

    but pouring tears from my eye revealed it.

  3. يَجود وَإِنْ أَزرى وأنَّبَ ناصحٌ

    ويهمِي وإنْ أغرى وألّبَ كاشحُ

    It flows freely, though an adviser belittles and rebukes,

    and pours down, though a spiteful foe incites and rallies hostility.

  4. ألا إنّ يوماً نلتُ فيه مُنى الهوى

    برغم العدى يومٌ لَعَمْركَ صالحُ

    Indeed, a day when I attained love's desires

    despite my enemies is, by your life, a good day.

  5. ولمّا تلاقينا بشِعْبِ مُغَمِّسٍ

    على شَرَفٍ فيه الوكورُ الجوارحُ

    And when we met in the ravine of Mughammis,

    on a height where birds of prey were nesting,

  6. خَلَطنا نُفوساً بالنفوسِ صبابةً

    وَضاق اِعتناقٌ بيننا وتصافحُ

    in longing we mingled soul with soul,

    and embraces and handclasps proved too little for us.

  7. وليلةَ أضْللنا الطّريقَ إليكُمُ

    فَلم يهدِ إلّا العنبرُ المتفاوحُ

    And on the night we lost the way to you,

    nothing guided us but fragrant, wafting ambergris,

  8. وَإلّا سَقيطُ الدرّ زعزع سِلكَهُ

    غُصونٌ تثنّيها الرّياحُ النّوافحُ

    and falling pearls, whose string was shaken

    by boughs that the wafting winds bend.

  9. فإِنْ لم يُشَافِهنا بكمْ أبطَحُ الحِمى

    فلا سُقيتْ ماءَ السّحاب الأباطحُ

    If the sanctuary's gravelly valley does not speak to us of you,

    may the gravelly valleys never be watered by the clouds.

  10. وإنْ لم تكنْ تلك المسارحُ مُلتقىً

    لأهل الهوى فلا عَمِرْن المسارحُ

    And if those pastures are no meeting place

    for lovers, may the pastures never be peopled.

  11. يضَنّونَ بالجدوى عليَّ وإنّني

    لأمنحهُم مِن خيرِ ما أنا مانحُ

    They begrudge me their favors, though I

    grant them the best of what I have to give.

  12. وَمن قبلُ شَاقَتنِي وَنَحنُ عَلى مِنى

    حمائمُ من فرعِ الأراكِ صوادحُ

    And earlier, while we were at Mina, I was stirred by

    doves singing from a branch of the arak tree.

  13. ينُحْنَ ولم يُضمِرْنَ شجواً وإنّما

    شَجىً وَاِشتِياقاً ما تنوحُ النّوائحُ

    They lamented, though they harbored no grief; yet

    mourners lament only from grief and longing.

  14. فللهِ يَومُ الحُزْنِ حين تطلّعت

    لنا من نواحيهِ العيونُ الملائحُ

    God, what a day of sorrow, when

    lovely eyes peered out at us from its quarters!

  15. شَبَبْن الهوى فينا وهنّ سوالِمٌ

    وغادرننا مَرْضى وهنّ صحائِحُ

    They kindled love within us, themselves unharmed,

    and left us sick, while they remained healthy.

  16. أمِنْ بعد أنْ دُسْتُ الثّريَّا بأَخمصي

    وطأطأ عنِّي الأبلخُ المتطامحُ

    Is it after I trod the Pleiades with my foot's hollow,

    and the haughty, aspiring man lowered his head before me,

  17. تَرومين أَنْ أَغنى بِدارِ دناءَةٍ

    ولِي عن مقامِ الأدنياءِ منادِحُ

    that you seek to have me dwell in an abode of baseness,

    though I have ample refuge from the abode of the lowly?

  18. وَقد عَلمتْ أحباءُ فِهْرِ بن مالكٍ

    بأنِّيَ عن تلك العَضائِهِ نازحُ

    The friends of Fihr ibn Malik have known

    that I stand far from such slanders,

  19. وأنَّيَ لا أدنو من الرّيبةِ الّتي

    تسامحُ فيها نفسُه من تسامحُ

    and that I do not draw near the dubious conduct

    in which an indulgent man's soul gives him leave,

  20. وأنِّيَ لا أرضى بتعريضِ معشرٍ

    يُذعذِعُ عِرْضِي قولُهُ وهو مازِحُ

    and that I will not accept the insinuations of a company

    whose joking speech scatters my honor to the winds.

  21. يَحُزّ فلا يدرِي لمن هو جارحٌ

    ويقدح لا يدرِي بما هو قادحُ

    It cuts, not knowing whom it wounds,

    and strikes sparks, not knowing what it strikes them with.

  22. وما غرّنِي من مومضٍ فيَّ مِدْحَةً

    وَما غَرّت الأقوامَ إلّا المَدائحُ

    Nor did anyone flashing praise of me deceive me;

    and only praises have deceived peoples.

  23. وَلَولا فَخارُ الملكِ ما كنتُ ثاوياً

    وَرَحلي عَلى ظهرِ المطيّةِ بارحُ

    Were it not for the king's glory, I would not stay,

    and my saddle would depart on my mount's back;

  24. وَلا طالعاً إِلّا مخارمَ لم يكنْ

    ليطلعها إلّا الشّجاعُ المُشايحُ

    nor would I climb any but passes that none

    save the brave and resolute could ascend.

  25. وقلْقَلَها رُكبانُها نحو بابِه

    كما طاح من أعلامِ ثَهْلانَ طائحُ

    The riders jolted their mounts toward his gate,

    like something plummeting from Thahlan's peaks.

  26. إِذا ما بَلغناه فَقل لمطيِّنا

    حرامٌ على أخفافكُنَّ الصّحاصِحُ

    When we reach him, say to our mounts:

    The open plains are forbidden to your padded feet.

  27. أنِخْنَ بمنْ لا نبتغِي بَدَلاً بهِ

    فما ضرّ شيئاً أنّكنَّ طَلائحُ

    Kneel beside him for whom we seek no substitute;

    it matters not at all that you are worn out.

  28. بحيثُ الجفانُ الغُرُّ تُفْهَقُ للقِرى

    ملاءً وميزانُ العطيّةِ راجحُ

    Where gleaming bowls are filled to overflowing for guests,

    brimming full, and the scale of bounty hangs heavy.

  29. إِلى ملكٍ لا يأْلَفُ الهَزْلَ جدُّهُ

    ولا تُضمرُ الفحشاءَ منه الجوانحُ

    To a king whose earnestness knows no jest,

    and whose breast harbors no wickedness.

  30. وَقورٌ وأحلامُ الأنامِ طوائشٌ

    وَيبدِي اِبتِساماً والوجوه كوالحُ

    Dignified while mankind's minds run wild,

    he shows a smile while faces scowl.

  31. سَقى اللَّه أيّاماً لَنا في ظِلالِهِ

    فَهُنّ لأظلامِ الزّمانِ مصابحُ

    May God water the days we spent in his shade,

    for they are lamps against time's darkness;

  32. ليالِيَ تنهَلُّ الأَمانيُّ حُفَّلاً

    عَلينا كَما اِنهلّتْ غيومٌ طوافحُ

    nights when wishes poured down in abundance

    upon us, as overflowing clouds pour down.

  33. وَلَمّا تَناهبنا الثّناءَ بفضلِهِ

    وجاشتْ بما تولِي يداهُ القرائحُ

    And when we vied to praise his generosity,

    and poetic inspiration surged at what his hands bestowed,

  34. ثناءً كنشرِ المندلِيِّ تعبّقتْ

    بهِ في اِبتِلاجِ الصّبحِ هوجٌ بوارحُ

    with praise like Mandali aloeswood's scent, which perfumed

    fierce, hot winds as dawn broke,

  35. تَقاصر عن علياءِ مَجدك قائلٌ

    وَقصّر عن إتيانِ حقّك مادحُ

    the speaker fell short of your glory's heights,

    and the praiser failed to give you your due.

  36. وَمَن كَتم النُّعْمى عن النّاس راجياً

    تناسِيَها نمّتْ عليه المنائحُ

    Whoever hides a favor from people, hoping

    it will be forgotten, is betrayed by the gifts themselves.

  37. وَقد عَلِموا لَمّا عرا الملكَ داؤهُ

    وَلا مَنهجٌ يَشفِي من الدّاءِ واضحُ

    They knew, when sickness afflicted the realm,

    and no clear path to recovery from the sickness lay open,

  38. بِأنّك عَن ساحاتِه الدّاءَ طاردٌ

    وَأَنّك عَن أكتادِه الثِّقْلَ طارحُ

    that you would drive sickness from its courts

    and cast the burden from its shoulders.

  39. وَما شَعروا حتّى صَبَحْتَ دِيارَهُمْ

    بِمَلمومَةٍ فيها القنا والصّفائحُ

    They knew nothing until you came upon their dwellings at dawn

    with a massed host bearing lances and sword blades,

  40. وَجُردٍ تَهاوى كالقِداحِ أجالَهَا

    على عَجَلٍ يبغِي الغِلابَ مُرابحُ

    and sleek steeds swooping like gaming arrows shaken

    in haste by a gambler seeking victory.

  41. فَما رمْتَ حتّى الطّيرُ تعترِقُ الطُّلى

    وَحتّى جَبينُ التُّربِ بالدّمِ راشحُ

    You did not leave until birds picked the necks clean,

    and the earth's brow was beading with blood.

  42. وكَم لكَ من يومٍ له أَنت حاقرٌ

    وَفي مثلِهِ نُجْحٌ لو اِنّك ناجحُ

    How many a day is yours that you yourself deem slight,

    and its like holds success, if you would succeed.

  43. أتيتَ بِهِ عَفواً مراراً ولم يَطُرْ

    سِواك بهِ في عمرهِ وهوَ كادحُ

    You achieved it effortlessly, time and again, while

    no other, though toiling, has soared to it in his lifetime.

  44. وَما أَنا إلّا من مَدَدْتَ بِضَبْعِهِ

    إلى حيثُ لا ترنو العيونُ الطّوامحُ

    I am only one whom you raised by the upper arm

    to where aspiring eyes cannot gaze.

  45. أَروحُ وأَغدو كلّ يومٍ وليلةٍ

    وظَهْرِيَ من أعباءِ سَيْبِكَ دالحُ

    I go at dusk and at dawn, each day and night,

    my back bowed under the burdens of your bounty.

  46. أَأنساك تُدنيني إلى الجانِبِ الّذي

    نصيبيَ فيهِ من عطائك رابحُ

    Could I forget you, who draw me close to the side

    where my share of your giving brings me gain,

  47. وَتوسِعُ لي في مَشهدِ القومِ موضعاً

    تضيق بهِ مِنهمْ صدورٌ فسائحُ

    and make room for me in the people's assembly,

    at which their spacious hearts grow tight?

  48. فَما أَنا إلّا في رِياضك راتعٌ

    وَلا أَنا إِلّا مِن زنادكَ قادحُ

    I do nothing but graze in your gardens,

    and strike sparks only from your firesticks.

  49. هَنيئاً بِيَومِ المِهْرَجانِ فإنّهُ

    وَكلَّ زَمانٍ نَحوَ فَخرك طامحُ

    Joy to you on the day of Mihrijan, for it

    and every age aspire toward your glory.

  50. تَعِزُّ بكَ الأيّامُ وهيَ ذَليلةٌ

    وَتَسخو اللّيالي منك وهْيَ شحائحُ

    Through you the days grow mighty, though they are lowly,

    and the nights grow generous through you, though they are miserly.

  51. فَهذا أَوانٌ مِيسمُ اليُمْنِ بَيِّنٌ

    عَليهِ وعُنوانُ السعادةِ لائحُ

    This is a season with good fortune's mark plain

    upon it, and happiness's emblem shining.

  52. وَلا زِلتَ تَستقرِي الزّمانَ وأهلَهُ

    لَكَ الخلدُ فيهِ وَالمَدى المتطاوحُ

    May you never cease surveying time and its people;

    yours be immortality within it and a far-reaching span.