man ’awda‘a l-’ajfān * ṣawārima l-hindī
wa-’anbata r-rayḥan * fī ṣafḥati l-khaddī
qaḍā ‘alā l-haymān * bid-dam‘i was-suhdī
’annā wa-lil-kitmān
lil-hā’imi l-mughram * bi-dam‘in namm * ’idhā yasjum * bimā yaktum
mina s-sirrī * fī ‘āṭilin ḥālī * gharīrin sāṭī * ‘alayya bid-du‘jī234
Structure: abababa RRRR STUV cdcdcdc RRRR STUV efefefe RRRR STUV ghghghg RRRR STUV ijijiji RRRR STUV; meter (non-classical): XXSL LL (8 times) SLLL (4 times) XLSL LL SLLLL XXSL LL.
This poem has been chosen partly because of the complex nature of its prosodic structure. Its kharjah is in vernacular Arabic. Dār al-ṭirāz (The House of Embroidery)235 is a work by the Egyptian poet Ibn Sanā’ alMulk (d. 608/1211) in which he discusses the muwashshaḥ genre, especially its formal aspects, and illustrates it by incorporating a number of Andalusian examples, from among which this one is taken, followed by his own compositions. The editor thinks the poet may be Ibn al-Labbānah (d. 507/1113),236 because his poetry shows some parallels in diction and, like in the present poem, a certain Aḥmad is mentioned in his poetry.
with cutting Indian swords
and grows sweet basil on
the surface of his cheeks237
condemns the one who loves him madly
to tears and sleeplessness.
How could he hide it,
the witless lover?
His tears reveal
when they flow
what he hides
in his breast
for a pretty one not in need of ornaments,
inexperienced, yet overpowering
me with his black eyes.
How dear to me, this big-eyed boy,
like a full moon on the fullest night,
revealing pearls
sweet to kiss,
while his radiant cheek
bleeds from mere fancy:238
how can I be excused,
now that a speckled snake has crept
over the brazilwood239
so that it can’t be kissed,
and he has empowered
with his magic,
to kill heroes,
with the Nabataeans,
an army of Negroes.240
I prostrate myself before the fire
like the Man of Mount Sinai.241
He’s like a full moon in the dark
with his body like a reed,
he’s like a rod of crystal
set on a hillock of camphor.242
With the soul of an abandoned one243
I ransom him though he makes me an orphan
In the sealed place
of the teeth of his mouth,
a string
of pearls,
is my wine and my fresh water;
teeth in rows
with fragrant gaps.
Beauty inalienably
is yours, ḥmad,
command is turned over to you,
slender one,
your slave madly in love
with you, enslaved.
Will you rebuke me,
or will you pity me,
stop the wasting away
of a lover
when he ails?
Woe unto me! Imprisoned in
my sea of fears
with far-off shore
I cling to waves.
just like a rising moon,
swaying with the weight of her breasts244
on a laurel branch,
its leaves a mantle
flowering with roses.
At night she sings:
Sweet love, make up your mind!
Come on, attack!
And kiss my mouth
and come and press yourself
against my breast
and raise my anklets
to my earrings.245
My husband is at work!