Poems
- أبا الهجر والصرم الأشاحم تصدحIs it of estrangement and severance that the black ravens cry,
- أثني على ابني رسول الله أفضل ماI praise the two sons of God's Messenger with the finest praise
- أجراع لينة والقلاخ فبرقهاThe sandy tracts of Līnah, and al-Qulākh, then its stony sand flats,
- أدماء في وضح يكاد إزارهاA tawny one in a bright expanse—her wrap almost
- إذا تربعت ما بين الشريق فذاWhen you spend spring between al-Shurayq and Dhā
- أعطى عبيدا وعبيد مقنعHe gave ʿUbayd [her], and ʿUbayd is content.
- أعيرتموني أن دعتني أخاهمHave you taunted me for being called their brother
- أفرغ لها من ذي صفيح أوقحاPour out for her from a source with hard stone slabs,
- ألا طرقت سعدى فكيف تأفقتAh, Suʿdā visited by night—but how did she cross the far horizons
- ألا عللاني والمعلل أروحCome, you two, ply me with drink; one so plied is more at ease.
- ألم تعجبا للجاريات البوارحHave you two not marveled at the passing birds of ill omen,
- إلى ابن يزيد الخير باتت مطيتيToward the son of Yazīd the Good, my riding-camel passed the night,
- أمرون ولا دون كل مباركNumerous and prolific, every one of them blessed;
- أنمي فأعقل في ضبيس معقلاI trace my descent, then take refuge in Dabis, a stronghold,
- بأجماد العقيق إلى مراخAt the rocky heights of al-ʿAqīq, as far as Murākh,
- بعانسات هرمات الأزملWith sturdy she-camels, their voices worn with age,
- به من نجاء الغيث بيض أقرهاThere, white oryx—refugees from the rain—have been given rest
- تأبد القاع من ذي العش فالبيدThe plain has grown wild and desolate, from Dhū al-ʿUshsh through al-Bīd—
- تربع أنهي الرنقاء حتىHe spent the spring at the pools of al-Ranqaʾ, until
- ترعا يرعرعه الغلام كأنهThe lad shakes it, full to the brim, as though it were
- ترى العلافي منها موفدا فظعاYou see the ʿIlāfī saddle towering above her, formidable,
- تزور بي القرم الحواري إنهمShe bears me to visit the noble, pure-bred lord; for they are
- حلت به حلة أسماء وانتجعتAsma settled there for a sojourn and sought pasture.
- حن الفؤاد إلى سلمى ولم تصبThe heart yearned for Salma, but you missed the mark.
- خليلي من قيس بن عيلان حلياMy two friends of Qays ibn ʿAylān, halt
- دعتنا لمسرى ليلة رجبيةIt summoned us to a night journey in Rajab,
- دعها أبا وجزة واقعد في الغنمLeave it, Abu Wajzah, and sit among the sheep.
- دلنطى يزل القطر عن صهواتهMassive—the rain slips from his back.
- راحت رواحا قلوصي وهي حامدةMy young she-camel departed in the evening, praising
- طاف الخيال بنا وهنا فأرقناA phantom visited us at a deep hour of night and kept us awake—
- طاف الخيال من ابن شيبة واعترىA phantom from Ibn Shayba passed by and assailed me,
- على قعود قد وني وقد لغبUpon a young riding camel, already flagging and spent,
- غيسانة ذلك من غيسانهاA tender young beauty—that comes of her youthful bloom.
- فلست لإنسي ولكن لملأكFor I belong to no human, but to an angel,
- فما المال إلا سؤر حقك كلهWealth is but the remnant left after all your rightful needs are met;
- فيهم جياد وأخطار مؤبلةAmong them are fine steeds and great herds of camels,
- قام إليها رجل فيه عنفA man with violence in him rose toward her.
- قتلتني بغير ذنب قتولShe who slays has slain me, though I had done no wrong;
- قربن كل صلخدى محنق قطمThey brought forward every sturdy, lean-bellied, rutting camel,
- قلب عقيلة أقوام ذوي حسبPure-bred, a cherished lady of clans of noble lineage,
- كان الكمي مع الرسول كأنهThe armored warrior was with the messenger, as though he were
- كأن الناصعات الغر منهاAs though the gleaming, bright-white ones of hers,
- كأن النقد والعلسي أجنىAs though the nuqād sheep and the ʿAlāsī breed had bent low to graze—
- كأن حريقا ثاقبا في أباءةAs though a piercing blaze within a cane-thicket
- كأنما طرقت ليلى معهدةIt was as though Layla had visited by night a rain-refreshed plot
- كتمت الهوى يوم النوى فترفعتI concealed my love on the day of parting, and from it burst forth
- لجت لأبناء الزبير مآثرFor the sons of al-Zubayr, glorious deeds abound—
- لمن دمنة بالنعف عاف صعيدهاWhose are these camp traces at al-Na‘f, their ground effaced,
- لو سألت عنا غداة قراقرHad you asked about us on the morning of Quraqir,
- لو كان بطنك شبرا قد شبعت وقدHad your belly been a handspan, you would have eaten your fill and
- وآل الزبير بنو حرةAnd al-Zubayr's kin are sons of a freeborn woman,
- والضرب قرطبة بكل مهندAnd there was fierce hewing with every Indian-forged blade;
- وجدت قريشا كلها تبتني العلاI found all of Quraysh building lofty glory,
- وجدت قريشا كلها تبتني العلا وأنتI found all Quraysh building up its glory,
- وجدنا المحض الابيض من قريشWe found the pure, untarnished scion of Quraysh,
- وفي عروة العذري إن مت أسوةIn ʿUrwa al-ʿUdhri, should I die, there is a precedent;
- ولم يكن ملك للقوم ينزلهمAnd the people had no water to draw them to camp,
- ولولا غيره لكشفت عنهAnd were it not for another, I would have exposed him,
- وما أنت أم ما أم عثمان بعدماWhat are you—or what is Umm ʿUthmān—now that
- ونفضت عني نومها فسريتهاAnd I shook off its sleep and journeyed through it by night,
- وهواك مجنوب بأم عويمرAnd your love is led alongside Umm ʿUwaymir;
- يا أيها الرجل الموكل بالصباO man infatuated with youth,
- يا دار أسماء قد أقوت بأنشاجO dwelling of Asma, you have lain deserted at Anshaj.
- يا راكب العنس كمرداة العلمO rider of the sturdy she-camel, like a boulder from a mountain peak,
- يا من على الجود صاغ الله راحتهO you whose palm God fashioned for generosity,
- يعرى هواك إلى أسماء واحتظرتYour love toward Asma is laid bare, while she has fenced herself off
- يكفي قليل كلامه وكثيرهLittle or much, his speech suffices;
- يهدي قلائص خضعا يكنفنهHe leads his young she-camels, necks bowed, clustering close around him—
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