أَتَعلمُ أَيَ بارِقَةٍ تَشيمُ

وَأَيَّ حمى سَرى مِنهُ النَسيمُ

Do you know which lightning flashes,

And which fever has spread its breeze?

أَجَل ذاكَ اِستَطارَ مِن أَرضِ نَجدٍ

وَهَذا هَبَّ يَذكُرُ مَن يَهيمُ

That is why it rose from the land of Najd,

And this one stirs, remembering the perplexed one.

تَأَلَّقَ مِن سَنا ثَغرٍ لِسَلمى

فَنارَ بِهِ المَفاوِزُ وَالتُخومُ

It shone from the mouth of Salma,

So its flashes ignited the horizons and mounds.

وَأَكسَبَهُ شَذا مِسكٍ شَذاها

فَها هُوَ ذا لَنا مِنهُ شَميمُ

And it gained from her a musk whose musk,

And from their abodes came one sick,

وَوافى مِن دِيارِهِمُ عَليلا

فَكُلٌّ مِن تنشقِهِ سَقيمُ

So anyone he breathes upon falls ill.

They are people who preferred residing in the desert,

أُناسٌ آثَروا سُكنى البَوادي

وَمُنتَجعاً إِذا اِنهَلَّ الغُيُومُ

And as shelter when the clouds unloaded.

They are the lively, pure breed, so they never

هُم الحيُّ اللُقاحُ فَلَم يَدينُوا

لِملكٍ إِذ بَلاؤُهُمُ عَظيمُ

Submitted to a king, for their affliction is great.

They drag glories to the sublime,

يَجُرّونَ العَوالي للمَعالي

وَيُجرون المَذاكي لا تخِيمُ

And they drag bounties, no gloom descends.

When they fight a war, they plough it,

إِذا حادوا لحربٍ أَرَّثوها

وَإِن جادوا بِفَضلٍ لَم يُليموا

And when they are generous, they do not stint.

And if they encamp on a land, they perfume it,

وَإِن حلُّوا بِأَرضٍ أَرَّجُوها

فَتعبِقُ من أَريجهِم الرُسُومُ

So that the meadows smell of their dwellings.

And in their vales a moon appeared

وَفي أَحداجِهِم قَمرٌ تَبدّى

فَقَد خَفِيت لِمطلعِهِ النُجومُ

So for its rising the stars hid away.

It illuminated for us from its brilliance the plateaus

أَضاءَت مِن سَناه لَنا الموامي

وَنارَ بِهِ لَنا اللَيلُ البَهيمُ

And for us it lit up the awesome night.

My heart became enraptured from a tale,

تعلَّقَهُ فُؤادي مِن حَديثٍ

فصارَ لَهُ بِهِ وَجدٌ قَديمُ

So for it an old passion remained.

And I confided in it to allow a glance,

وَناجاهُ ليَسمَحَ بالتفاتٍ

فَلَم يلفِت إِليه وَهوَ ريمُ

But it did not glance, and it was averse.

And it wanted to come near to a distant beloved,

وَرامَ القُربَ مِن ناءٍ بَعيدٍ

فَعزَّ لَهُ الوصولُ لما يَرومُ

So reaching her became difficult for what it desired.

And whoever’s heart becomes attached to an averse one,

وَمَن يَعلَق لَهُ قلبٌ بِرِيمٍ

نَفورٍ فَهوَ فَي حزنٍ مُقيمُ

Aloof and scornful, he remains in lasting sorrow.