«سَأَلْتُهَا حِينَ زَارَتْ»
I asked her when she came to visit.
The speaker frames the new poem as an encounter: the beloved arrives, and he asks her to uncover her face and share pleasant news. The phrase «بُرْقُعِهَا الْقَانِي» refers to her deep-red veil.
The earlier verse portrayed tears and tightly pressed lips. This reply uses a different action—unveiling and speaking—which creates new opportunities for imaginative comparison.
Opening interactive controls...
The Ḥulwān Maqāmah: Doubt, Proof and a Contest of Poetry
«سَأَلْتُهَا حِينَ زَارَتْ»
I asked her when she came to visit.
The speaker frames the new poem as an encounter: the beloved arrives, and he asks her to uncover her face and share pleasant news. The phrase «بُرْقُعِهَا الْقَانِي» refers to her deep-red veil.
The earlier verse portrayed tears and tightly pressed lips. This reply uses a different action—unveiling and speaking—which creates new opportunities for imaginative comparison.