دع الكاعب الحسناء تهوي ركابها — Abn Almqrb Alaaona

دَعِ الكاعِبَ الحَسناءَ تَهوي رِكابُها

وَتُبنى لَها في حَيثُ شاءَت قبابها

Leave the beautiful maiden; let her riding camels speed on.

And let her pavilions be raised wherever she wishes.

وَلا تَسأَلَن عَن عيسِها أَينَ يمَّمت

فسيّانِ عِندي نأيُها وَاِقتِرابُها

Never ask where her pale camels have headed:

Her distance and her nearness are alike to me.

فَقد كَرِهت جَهلاً مَشيبي وَإِنَّني

أَرى ضَلَّةً أَن يَزدَهيني شَبابُها

She has ignorantly disliked my gray hair, while I

Consider it folly that her youth should captivate me.

وَما شِبتُ مِن عَدِّ السِّنين وَإِنَّما

أَشابَ قَذالي مَيلُها وَاِنقِلابُها

I did not turn gray from counting years; rather,

Their turns and reversals grayed the back of my head,

وَتأَويلُ أَحداثٍ إِذا ما حَسبتُها

أَتَتني بِأَشيا قَلَّ عَنّي حِسابُها

And the unfolding of events: whenever I reckoned them,

They brought me things my reckoning fell short of.

ثَنى عِطفَهُ عَنّي القَريبُ لِأَجلِها

وَأَضحَت بَناتُ العَمِّ عُوجاً رِقابُها

Because of them, my close kinsman turned his shoulder from me,

And my female cousins' necks were turned away.

عَلى أَنَّني في كلِّ أَمرٍ هُمامُها

وَبَدرُ دُجاها لَو وَعَت وَشِهابُها

Though in every matter I am their champion,

Their full moon in darkness—if they understood—and their shooting star.

وَإِنّي لِأَذكى القَومِ لَو تَعلَمونه

نِصاباً وَإِن كانَت كَريماً نِصابُها

And I am the finest of the people, if you knew it,

In stock, though their stock is noble.

وَأَبعَدُها في باحَةِ المَجدِ غايَةً

وَقاباً إِذا ما اِمتَدَّ لِلمَجدِ قابُها

And the farthest among them in glory's arena—in aim

And reach, whenever their reach stretches toward glory.

وَأَفضَحُها يَومَ الخِصامِ مَقالَةً

إِذا فصحاءُ القَومِ أَكدى خِطابُها

And the most devastating among them in speech on the day of dispute,

When the people's eloquent speakers find their speech run dry.

وَعَوراءَ مَرَّت بي فَلَم أَكتَرِث بِها

وَقَد كَان لَولا الحِلمُ عِندي جَوابُها

A foul remark passed me, yet I paid it no heed,

Though, but for forbearance, I had its answer ready.

فَيا راكِباً وَجناءَ تَستَغرِقُ البَرى

وَيَطوي الفَيافي خَطوُها وَاِنجِذابُها

O rider of a stout-cheeked camel that engulfs her nose-rings,

Whose stride and forward surge fold up the deserts,

أَقم صَدرَها قَصداً إِلى الخَطِّ وَاِحتَقِب

رِسالَةَ وُدٍّ أَنتَ عِندي كِتابُها

Set her breast straight toward al-Khatt, and carry behind you

A message of affection: to me, you are its letter.

فَحينَ تَرى الحصنَ المُعَلّى مُقابِلاً

وَيَبدو مِنَ الدَربِ الشَمالِيِّ بابُها

When you see the lofty fortress facing you,

And its gate appears along the northern road,

فلِج بِسلامٍ آمِناً تَلقَ بَلدَةً

مُقَدَّسَةَ الأَكنافِ رَحباً جَنابُها

Enter in peace, secure; you will find a town

Hallowed in its quarters, spacious in its precinct.

بِها كُلُّ قرمٍ مِن رَبيعَةَ يَنتَمي

إِلى ذِروَةٍ تَعلو الرَواسي هِضابُها

Every chieftain of Rabi'a there traces his descent

To a pinnacle whose highlands tower over steadfast mountains.

لكيزِيَّةٌ أَنسابُها عامِريَّةٌ

يَلوذُ المُناوي ضَيمُها وَاِعتصابُها

Their lineages are Lakizi, Amiri;

The foe seeks refuge from their oppression and united strength.

إِذا ثَوَّبَ الداعي بِها يالَ عامِرٍ

أَتَت مِثلَ أُسدِ الغابِ غُلبٌ رِقابُها

When the crier among them calls again, 'O men of Amir!'

They come like forest lions, thick-necked.

مُقَدِّمُها مِن صُلبِ عَوفِ بنِ عامِرٍ

إِلى المَوتِ فِتيانٌ شَديدٌ غِلابُها

Leading them—from the loins of Awf son of Amir—

Toward death are youths whose combat is fierce.

مِنَ الحارثيِّينَ الألى في أَكُفِّهِم

بِحارُ النَدى مَسجورَة لا ثغابُها

From the Harithis, those within whose palms

Are brimming seas of bounty, not its little pools.

وِمن مالِكٍ بِنتِ الفَخارِ بنِ عامِرٍ

فَوارِسُ أَرواحُ الأَعادي نِهابُها

And from Malik, glory's daughter, son of Amir,

Horsemen whose plunder is the souls of enemies.

وَكُلُّ هُمامٍ دَيسَميٍّ إِذا سَطا

عَلى الخَيلِ يَوماً قيلَ وافى عَذابُها

And every valiant Daysami: when he falls

Upon cavalry one day, they say, 'Their torment has arrived!'

وَمِن نَسلِ عَبدٍ فِتيَةٌ أَيُّ فِتيَةٍ

يُجِلُّ المُعادي بَأسها فَيهابُها

And from Abd's offspring are youths—what youths!

The enemy holds their might in awe and fears them.

وَإِن صاحَ داعي حَيِّها في مُحارِبٍ

أَتَت تَتَلَظّى للمَنايا حِرابُها

And if their clan's crier calls out among Muharib,

They come, their spears blazing for death.

وَإِن قالَ إِيهاً يالَ شَيبانَ أَرقَلَت

إِلى المَوتِ عَدواً شيبُها وَشَبابُها

And if he says, 'Onward! O men of Shayban!' they hasten

Toward death at a run, their graybeards and their young.

حَمَت دارَها بِالسَّيفِ ضَرباً فَلَم يَرُم

حِماها وَجَلّى القَومَ عَنها ضِرابُها

They defended their home with sword-blows; none sought

Their protected ground; their blows drove the foe from it.

وَلَم تُعطِ مَن ناوى عُلاها مَقادَةً

وَذا دَأبُ قَيسٍ مُنذُ كانَت وَدابُها

They never yielded the reins to anyone opposing their loftiness;

This has been Qays's custom and habit since they came to be.

سَلِ الخائِن الجَدَّينِ مَعروفَ هَل رَأى

بِها خَوراً وَالحَربُ تَهفو عِقابُها

Ask Ma'ruf, treacherous in both ancestral lines, whether he saw

Weakness in them while war's eagle fluttered.

أَتى مِن بِلادِ السِّيبِ يُزجي كَتائِباً

تَضيقُ بِها مِن كُلِّ أَرضٍ رِحابُها

He came from the lands of al-Sib, driving battalions

That crowded the broad spaces of every land.

فَلاقى طِعاناً أَنكَرَتهُ حُماتُهُ

فَآبت عَلَيها ذُلُّها وَاِكتِئابُها

He met spear-thrusts his defenders found appalling,

And they returned beneath humiliation and despair,

وَضَرباً دِراكاً رامَ بِالسِّلمِ بَعدَهُ

صَهاميمُ حَربٍ لَم تُذلَّل صِعابُها

And relentless blows, after which peace was sought

By hardened men of war whose wild strength had never been tamed.

فَقُل لَهمُ مِن بَعدِ أَوفى تَحيَّةٍ

لَهُم مِن ضَميري صَفوُها وَلِبابُها

So tell them, after the fullest greeting—

Whose purity and essence come to them from my heart—

أَلا لَيتَ شِعري هَل أَتاكُم عَلى النَّوى

تَصافي نِزارٍ بَينَها وَاِصطِحابُها

Would that I knew: has there reached you, despite the distance,

News of Nizar's mutual friendship and companionship?

فَقَد دُفنت تِلكَ الحقودُ وَأُطفِئَت

لَواقِحُ غلٍّ في الصُّدورِ اِلتهابُها

For those rancors have been buried, and extinguished

Is the blaze of rancor breeding in their breasts.

وَأَضحَت بِحَمدِ اللَّهِ لا السِرُّ بَينَها

مُذاعاً ولا تَدأى لِسودٍ ذِئابُها

And now, thanks be to God, no secret among them is

Divulged, nor do their wolves lie in wait for chiefs.

وَلا الخائِنُ الخِبُّ المُماذِقُ عِندَها

مُطاعاً فَيُخشى صَدعُها وَاِنشِعابُها

Nor is the treacherous, cunning false friend among them

Obeyed, so that a breach or division need be feared.

وَجَلّى عَنِ البَحرَينِ يَومَ اِبنِ أَحمَدٍ

صَواعِقَ شَرٍّ قَد تَدَلّى سَحابُها

It cleared away from Bahrain, on Ibn Ahmad's day,

Thunderbolts of evil whose clouds had hung low.

وَقَد زَحَفت بِالقَومِ زَحفاً فَزُلزِلَت

وَماجَت بِمَن فيها وَحانَ اِنقِلابُها

Those clouds had advanced with the host, and Bahrain shook,

And heaved with all within it; its overthrow drew near.

وَذاك بِسامي هِمَّةٍ عَبدليَّةٍ

أَنافَ عَلى هادي الثُرَيّا وِثابُها

That was through lofty Abdali resolve,

Whose leap rose above the Pleiades' leading star.

فَمن عيصِ إِبراهيمَ تُنمي فُروعُها

وَمِن بَحرِ عَبدِ اللَّهِ يَجري عبابُها

Its branches spring from Ibrahim's stock,

And from Abd Allah's sea its billows flow.

مُلوكُ نِزارٍ قَبلَ عادٍ وَتُبَّعٍ

وَكَعبَتُها اللّاتي إِلَيها مَثابُها

Kings of Nizar before 'Ad and Tubba',

And its Kaaba, to which it ever returns.

وَمِمّا شَجاني يا لَقَومي فَعبرَتي

لَدى كُلِّ حينٍ لا يَجِفُّ اِنسِكابُها

And among my griefs—O my people!—while my tears

Never cease their pouring, at any hour—

تَضاغنُ أَملاكٍ أَبوها إِذا اِعتَزَت

أَبي وَنِصابي حينَ أُعزى نِصابُها

Is the rancor of kings whose father, when they boast,

Is my father; their stock is mine when my descent is traced.

أَبى أَن يلُمّ الدَّهرُ فيما يَلمُّهُ

عَصاً بَينَها أَو أَن يُرجّي اِعتِتابُها

It has refused to let time, among all it gathers,

Unite their staff, or offer hope of their reconciliation.

أَطاعَت مَقالاتِ الأَعادي وَغَرَّها

تَمَلُّقُها في لَفظِها وَاِختِلابُها

They obeyed the words of enemies and were deceived

By their flattering speech and their beguiling.

فَأَنحَت عَلى أَرحامِها بِشِفارِها

وَأَوهَنَ عَظمَ الأَقرَبينَ اِصطِلابُها

So they assailed their own kin with their blades,

And their pillaging weakened their nearest kin's bones.

وَلَو قَبِلَت نُصحي وَأَصغَت لِدَعوَتي

وَأَنجَحُ فاشي دَعوَةٍ مُستَجابُها

Had they accepted my counsel and listened to my call—

The most fruitful call proclaimed is the one answered—

لَداوَيتُ كَلْماها وَأَبرَأتُ داءَها

فَلَم يَتَحَلَّم بَعدَ صَحٍّ إِهابُها

I would have tended their wounded and cured their disease,

So their hide would not grow mite-ridden after healing.

وَقُدتُ إِلى اللَّيثِ السَبَندى وَلَم أَنَم

عَلى الغَمرِ حَتّى يَصحَب الغيلَ لامُها

I would have led them to the formidable lion, never sleeping

On rancor, until their armor joined the lion's thicket.

وَلَكِن لِأَمرٍ أَخَّروني وَقَدَّموا

زَعانِفَ لا يَنهى العَدوَّ اِحتِسابُها

But for some purpose they put me behind and advanced

Rabble whose calculations do not deter the enemy.

تُصيبُ وَما تَدري وَتُخطي وَما دَرَت

وَتَغدو وَفي حَبلِ العَدُوِّ اِحتِطابُها

They hit the mark unknowingly, and err without knowing,

And go forth, bundling their firewood with the enemy's rope.

فَيا صَفقَةَ الخسرانِ فيما تَبَدَّلُوا

وَهَل يَتَساوى تِبرُها وَتُرابُها

What a bargain of loss in what they exchanged!

Can gold dust and common dust be equal?

وَهَل قِيستِ الخَيلُ العِرابُ بعانَةٍ

كُدادِيَّةٍ لا يلحقُ الضَبَّ جابُها

Have purebred Arab horses ever been compared with a herd

Of Kudad, whose wild ass cannot catch a lizard?

لِذا طَمعَت فينا البَلايا وَأَصبَحت

تَهِرُّ عَلَينا كَالشُّراتِ كِلابُها

For this, calamities coveted us, and now

Their dogs snarl at us like the Shurat.

وَشالَت لَنا أَذنابُها مُقذَحِرَّةً

وَعَهدي بِها تَسطو عَلَيها ذِئابُها

Their tails rose toward us, stiffly erect,

Though I remember their own wolves assaulting them.

أَلا يا لَقَومي مِن رَبيعَةَ فَتكَةً

تُغادِرُ نَوكى القومِ صُفراً وِطابُها

Ho, my people of Rabi'a—a deadly stroke!

One that leaves the people's fools with empty milk-skins.

فَما عَزَّ إِلّا فاتِكٌ ذُو عَزيمَةٍ

جَريءٌ عَلى النّزلا يصرِّفُ نابُها

None wins might but a ruthless striker of firm resolve,

Bold against calamity, turning aside its fang.

فَأَقتَلُ داءٍ في الشِّرارِ اِصطِفاؤُهُ

وَأَشفى دَواءٍ لَعنُها وَاِجتِبابُها

For with the wicked, the deadliest disease is choosing one as a favorite,

And the surest cure is cursing them and uprooting them.