1. عَسى وَطَنٌ يَدنو بِهِم وَلَعَلَّما

    وَأَن تُعتِبَ الأَيّامُ فيهِم فَرُبَّما

    Perhaps a homeland will bring them near—perhaps;

    and may the days make amends for them—perhaps.

  2. لَهُم مَنزِلٌ قَد كانَ بِالبيضِ كَالمَها

    فَصيحُ المَغاني ثُمَّ أَصبَحَ أَعجَما

    They have a dwelling that once, with fair women like oryx,

    was eloquent in its haunts, then became mute.

  3. وَرَدَّ عُيونَ الناظِرينَ مُهانَةً

    وَقَد كانَ مِمّا يَرجِعُ الطَرفُ مُكرَما

    It sent back the onlookers' eyes humiliated,

    though once the gaze returned from it honored.

  4. تَبَدَّلَ غاشيهِ بِريمٍ مُسَلِّمٍ

    تَرَدّى رِداءَ الحُسنِ طَيفاً مُسَلِّما

    Its visitor traded a greeting gazelle,

    robed in beauty, for a phantom that greets;

  5. وَمِن وَشيِ خَدٍّ لَم يُنَمنَم فِرِندُهُ

    مَعالِمَ يُذكِرنَ الكِتابَ المُنَمنَما

    and, for a cheek's tracery whose sheen was never painted,

    traces recalling an ornamented book;

  6. وَبِالحُليِّ إِن قامَت تَرَنَّمَ فَوقَها

    حَماماً إِذا لاقى حَماماً تَرَنَّما

    and, for jewels that sang upon her when she rose,

    doves that coo when they encounter doves;

  7. وَبِالخَدلَةِ الساقِ المُخَدَّمَةِ الشَوى

    قَلائِصَ يَتبَعنَ العَبَنّى المُخَدَّما

    and, for the woman with plump calves and ankleted limbs,

    young she-camels following a massive, white-ringed bull camel;

  8. سَوارٍ إِذا قاتَلنَ مُمتَنِعَ الفَلا

    جَعَلنَ الشِعارَينِ الجَديلَ وَشَدقَما

    night travelers who, when battling the desert's defiance,

    make Jadil and Shadqam their two watchwords.

  9. إِلى حائِطِ الثَغرِ الَّذي يورِدُ القَنا

    مِنَ الثُغرَةِ الرَيّا القَليبَ المُهَدَّما

    Toward the frontier's guardian, who brings spears to drink

    through the fleshy throat's hollow, at the shattered well.

  10. بِسابِغِ مَعروفِ الأَميرِ مُحَمَّدٍ

    حَدا هَجَماتِ المالِ مَن كانَ مُصرِما

    Through the ample bounty of the emir Muhammad,

    one once destitute drove great herds of livestock with song.

  11. وَحَطَّ النَدى في الصامِتِيّينَ رَحلَهُ

    وَكانَ زَماناً في عَدِيِّ بنِ أَخزَما

    Generosity set down its saddle among the Samitiyyin,

    having dwelt a while with Adi ibn Akhzam.

  12. يَرى العَلقَمَ المَأدومَ بِالعِزِّ أَريَةً

    يَمانِيَةً وَالأَريَ بِالضَيمِ عَلقَما

    He deems colocynth seasoned with honor to be honey

    from Yemen, and honey with humiliation to be colocynth.

  13. إِذا فَرَشوهُ النَصفَ ماتَت شَذاتُهُ

    وَإِن رَتَعوا في ظُلمِهِ كانَ أَظلَما

    When they spread fairness before him, his fierceness dies;

    but if they revel in wronging him, he is more unjust still.

  14. لَقَد أَصبَحَ الثَغرانِ في الدينِ بَعدَما

    رَأَوا سَرعانَ الذُلِّ فَذّاً وَتَوءَما

    Indeed, the two frontiers now stand within the faith, after

    seeing humiliation's vanguard come singly and in pairs.

  15. وَكُنتَ لِناشيهِم أَباً وَلِكَهلِهِم

    أَخاً وَلِذي التَقويسِ وَالكَبرَةِ اِبنَما

    You were a father to their young, and to their mature men

    a brother, and a son to those bowed with age.

  16. وَمَن كانَ بِالبيضِ الكَواعِبِ مُغرَماً

    فَمازِلتَ بِالبيضِ القَواضِبِ مُغرَما

    While some are enamored of fair, full-breasted maidens,

    you have always been enamored of bright, cleaving swords.

  17. وَمَن تَيَّمَت سُمرُ الحِسانِ وَأُدمُها

    فَمازِلتَ بِالسُمرِ العَوالي مُتَيَّما

    While dusky and dark-skinned beauties enthrall some,

    you have always been enthralled by tall brown spears.

  18. جَدَعتَ لَهُم أَنفَ الضَلالِ بِوَقعَةٍ

    تَخَرَّمتَ في غَمّائِها مَن تَخَرَّما

    For them you cut off misguidance's nose in a battle

    in whose murk you cut down those who perished.

  19. لَئِن كانَ أَمسى في عَقَرقُسَ أَجدَعا

    لَمِن قَبلُ ما أَمسى بِمَيمَذَ أَخرَما

    Though at Aqarqus it ended noseless,

    before that, at Maymadh, it had been slit-nosed.

  20. ثَلِمتَهُم بِالمَشرَفِيِّ وَقَلَّما

    تَثَلَّمَ عِزُّ القَومِ إِلّا تَهَدَّما

    You breached them with a Mashrafi blade, and seldom

    is a people's might breached without collapsing.

  21. قَطَعتَ بَنانَ الكُفرِ مِنهُم بِمَيمَذٍ

    وَأَتبَعتَها بِالرومِ كَفّاً وَمِعصَما

    At Maymadh you severed unbelief's fingertips among them,

    then followed them up, among the Romans, with a hand and wrist.

  22. وَكَم جَبَلٍ بِالبَذِّ مِنهُم هَدَدتَهُ

    وَغاوٍ غَوى حَلَّمتَهُ لَو تَحَلَّما

    How many a mountain among them at al-Badhdh you shattered,

    and a wayward fool you taught sense—if only he could learn!

  23. وَمُقتَبَلٍ حَلَّت سُيوفُكَ رَأسَهُ

    ثَغاماً وَلَولا وَقعُها كانَ عِظلِما

    And many a youth whose head your swords adorned

    with white thagham; without their stroke it would have been dark indigo.

  24. فَلَمّا أَبَت أَحكامَهُ الشَيبَةُ اِغتَدى

    قَناكَ لَمّا قَد ضَيَّعَ الشَيبُ مُحكَما

    When gray hair refused to set him right, there arose

    your spears, arbiters of what gray hair had neglected.

  25. إِذا كُنتَ لِلأَلوى الأَصَمِّ مُقَوِّماً

    فَأَورِد وَريدَيهِ الأَصَمَّ المُقَوَّما

    If you would straighten the stubborn, deaf man,

    send the solid, straightened shaft to drink at his two jugulars.

  26. وَلَمّا اِلتَقى البِشرانِ أَنقَعَ بِشرُنا

    لِبِشرِهِم حَوضاً مِنَ الصَبرِ مُفعَما

    When the two Bishrs met, our Bishr prepared

    for their Bishr a basin brimming with bitter aloe.

  27. وَساعَدَهُ تَحتَ البَياتِ فَوارِسٌ

    تَخالُهُمُ في فَحمَةِ اللَيلِ أَنجُما

    Horsemen aided him under the night assault,

    whom you would take for stars in the coal-black night.

  28. وَقَد نَثَرَتهُم رَوعَةٌ ثُمَّ أَحدَقوا

    بِهِ مِثلَما أَلَّفتَ عِقداً مُنَظَّما

    Terror had scattered them, then they gathered

    about him, like a necklace you have strung in order.

  29. بِسافِرِ حُرِّ الوَجهِ لَو رامَ سَوءَةً

    لَكانَ بِجِلبابِ الدُجى مُتَلَثِّما

    Around a man of noble, unveiled face—had he sought disgrace,

    he would have veiled himself in darkness's cloak.

  30. مَثَلتَ لَهُ تَحتَ الظَلامِ بِصورَةٍ

    عَلى البُعدِ أَقنَتهُ الحَياءَ فَصَمَّما

    You appeared to him beneath the darkness as an image

    that, from afar, instilled shame in him; so he pressed on.

  31. كَيوسُفَ لَمّا أَن رَأى أَمرَ رَبِّهِ

    وَقَد هَمَّ أَن يَعرَورِيَ الذَنبَ أَحجَما

    Like Joseph, when he saw his Lord's command,

    though he had thought to ride sin bareback, he drew back.

  32. وَقَد قالَ إِمّا أَن أُغادَرَ بَعدَها

    عَظيماً وَإِمّا أَن أُغادَرَ أَعظُما

    He had declared: "Either, after this, I shall be left

    a great man, or I shall be left as bones."

  33. وَنِعمَ الصَريخُ المُستَجاشُ مُحَمَّدٌ

    إِذا حَنَّ نَوءٌ لِلمَنايا وَأَرزَما

    How fine a rescuer, called upon for troops, is Muhammad,

    when a death-bearing storm moans and rumbles.

  34. أَشاحَ بِفِتيانِ الصَباحِ فَأَكرَهوا

    صُدورَ القَنا الخَطِّيِّ حَتّى تَحَطَّما

    He charged with the warriors of dawn, and they drove

    the points of Khatti spears hard until they shattered.

  35. هُوَ اِفتَرَعَ الفَتحَ الَّذي سارَ مُعرِقاً

    وَأَنجَدَ في عُلوِ البِلادِ وَأَتهَما

    He first opened the conquest that traveled into Iraq,

    and rose to Najd, the land's high country, and descended to Tihamah.

  36. لَهُ وَقعَةٌ كانَت سَدىً فَأَنَرتَها

    بِأُخرى وَخَيرُ النَصرِ ما كانَ مُلحَما

    His battle was warp, and you wove it

    with another; the best victory is woven with weft.

  37. هُما طَرَفا الدَهرِ الَّذي كانَ عَهدُنا

    بِأَوَّلِهِ غُفلاً فَقَد صارَ مُعلَما

    They are the two ends of the age, which we knew

    unmarked at its beginning; now it bears a mark.

  38. لَقَد أَذكَرانا بَأسَ عَمرٍو وَمُسهَرٍ

    وَما كانَ مِن إِسفِندِياذَ وَرُستَما

    They recalled to us the valor of Amr and Mus-har,

    and the deeds of Isfandiyadh and Rustam.

  39. رَأى الرومُ صُبحاً أَنَّها هِيَ إِذ رَأَوا

    غَداةَ اِلتَقى الزَحفانِ أَنَّهُما هُما

    At dawn the Romans saw it for what it was, when they saw,

    on the morning the two armies met, that those two were indeed

  40. هِزبَرا غَريفٍ شَدَّ مِن أَبهَرَيهِما

    وَمَتنَيهِما قُربُ المُزَعفَرِ مِنهُما

    two lions of a thicket, strengthened in their great arteries

    and their backs by the saffron-hued one's nearness.

  41. فَأُعطيتَ يَوماً لَو تَمَنَّيتَ مِثلَهُ

    لَأَعجَزَ رَيعانَ المُنى وَالتَوَهُّما

    You were granted a day whose like, had you wished for it,

    would have outstripped wishes in full flower and imagination.

  42. لَحِقتَهُما في ساعَةٍ لَو تَأَخَّرَت

    لَقَد زَجَرَ الإِسلامُ طائِرَ أَشأَما

    You reached the two in an hour when, had you been late,

    Islam would surely have augured from a most ill-omened bird.

  43. فَلَو صَحَّ قَولُ الجَعفَرِيَّةِ في الَّذي

    تَنُصُّ مِنَ الإِلهامِ خِلناكَ مُلهَما

    Were the Ja'fariyya's claim true about what

    it affirms of inspiration, we would deem you inspired.

  44. فَإِن يَكُ نَصرانِيّاً النَهرُ آلِسٌ

    فَقَد وَجَدوا وادي عَقَرقُسَ مُسلِما

    So if the river Alis is Christian,

    they have found the valley of Aqarqus Muslim.

  45. بِهِ سُبِتوا في السَبتِ بِالبيضِ وَالقَنا

    سُباتاً ثَوَوا مِنهُ إِلى الحَشرِ نُوَّما

    There, on Saturday, bright swords and spears put them to sleep,

    a slumber in which they lie asleep until the Resurrection.

  46. فَلَو لَم يُقَصِّر بِالعَروبَةِ لَم يَزَل

    لَنا عُمُرَ الأَيّامِ عيداً وَمَوسِما

    If it did not detract from Friday, it would remain

    our feast and festival for as long as days endure.

  47. وَما ذَكَرَ الدَهرُ العَبوسُ بِأَنَّهُ

    لَهُ اِبنٌ كَيَومِ السَبتِ إِلّا تَبَسَّما

    Frowning Time never recalls that

    it has a son like Saturday without smiling.

  48. وَلَم يَبقَ في أَرضِ البَقَلّارَ طائِرٌ

    وَلا سَبعٌ إِلّا وَقَد باتَ مولِما

    Not a bird remained in the land of al-Baqallar,

    nor a wild beast, without hosting a feast that night.

  49. وَلا رَفَعوا في ذَلِكَ اليَومِ إِثلِباً

    وَلا حَجَراً إِلّا وَرَأَوا تَحتَهُ دَما

    They lifted no clod on that day,

    nor any stone, without seeing blood beneath it.

  50. رُموا بِاِبنِ حَربٍ سَلَّ فيهِم سُيوفَهُ

    فَكانَت لَنا عُرساً وَلِلشِركِ مَأتَما

    They were struck by a son of war who drew his swords against them;

    the swords were a wedding feast for us, a funeral for polytheism.

  51. أَفَظُّ بَني حَوّاءَ قَلباً عَلَيهِمُ

    وَلَم يَقسُ مِنهُ القَلبُ إِلّا لِيُرحَما

    The harshest-hearted of Eve's sons toward them,

    his heart hardened only so that mercy might be shown.

  52. إِذا أَجرَموا قَنّا القَنا مِن دِمائِهِم

    وَإِن لَم يَجِد جُرماً عَلَيهِم تَجَرَّما

    When they offend, he reddens the spears with their blood;

    and if he finds no offense to their charge, he invents one.

  53. هُوَ اللَيثُ لَيثُ الغابِ بَأساً وَنَجدَةً

    وَإِن كانَ أَحيا مِنهُ وَجهاً وَأَكرَما

    He is the lion, the woodland lion, in might and courage,

    though more modest of face than it, and more generous.

  54. أَشَدُّ اِزدِلافاً بَينَ دِرعَينِ مُقبِلاً

    وَأَحسَنُ وَجهاً بَينَ بُردَينِ مُحرِما

    Fiercest in his approach, charging between two coats of mail,

    and fairest of face, in pilgrim consecration between two cloaks.

  55. جَديرٌ إِذا ما الخَطبُ طالَ فَلَم تُنَل

    ذُؤابَتُهُ أَن يَجعَلَ السَيفَ سُلَّما

    He is fit, when trouble towers and none can reach

    its crest, to make the sword a ladder.

  56. كَريمٌ إِذا زُرناهُ لَم يَقتَصِر بِنا

    عَلى الكَرَمِ المَولودِ أَو يَتَكَرَّما

    Generous: when we visit him, he does not confine us

    to inborn generosity, but strives for still more.

  57. تَجَشَّمَ حَملَ الفادِحاتِ وَقَلَّما

    أُقيمَت صُدورُ المَجدِ إِلّا تَجَشُّما

    He undertook to carry crushing burdens, and seldom

    are glory's breasts raised except through arduous effort.

  58. وَكُنتُ أَخا الإِعدامِ لَسنا لِعِلَّةٍ

    فَكَم بِكَ بَعدَ العُدمِ أَغنَيتُ مُعدِما

    I was poverty's brother—we were no half-brothers;

    how many a pauper, through you, I enriched after my own poverty!

  59. وَإِذ أَنا مَمنونٌ عَلَيَّ وَمُنعَمٌ

    فَأَصبَحتُ مِن خَضراءِ نُعماكَ مُنعِما

    And I, once the recipient of favors and blessings,

    have become, through your verdant bounty, a benefactor.

  60. وَمَن خَدَمَ الأَقوامَ يَرجو نَوالَهُم

    فَإِنّي لَم أَخدِمكَ إِلّا لِأُخدَما

    While others serve people hoping for their gifts,

    I served you only so that I myself might be served.