Poems
- أبا شريح فلا تحزنك عشرتناAbu Shurayh, let not our companionship grieve you.
- أبا منذر جازيت بالود سخطةO Abu Mundhir, you repaid affection with displeasure.
- أبدلت المنازل أم عفيناHave the dwellings been changed, or have we been effaced?
- أبصرت عيني عشاء ضوء نارMy eye saw firelight at nightfall.
- أبلغ أبا قابوس إذ جلزTell Abū Qābūs, when he tightened the
- أبلغ أبيا على نأيهTake word to Ubayy, though he is far away:
- أبلغ خليلي عبد هند فلاTell my dear friend 'Abd Hind: may you never
- أتعرف رسم الدار من أم معبدDo you recognize the traces of Umm Maʿbad's dwelling?
- اجتنب أخلاق من لم ترضهShun the ways of anyone you do not approve of;
- أحسبت مجلسنا وحسنDid you think our meeting and the beauty
- إذهبي إن كل دنيا ضلالGo—for all worldly life is delusion,
- أرقت لمكفهر بات فيهA lowering cloud kept me sleepless; all night within it
- أرواح مودع أم بكورIs it an evening farewell, or a departure at dawn
- إسمع حديثا كما يوما تحدثهListen to a tale, so you may relate it one day
- أسند ظني إلى المليك ومنI place my trust in the Sovereign, and whoever
- أصبح القوم قهوةGive the people a morning draught of wine,
- أصعدن في وادي أثيدة بعدماThey climbed through the Wadi of Uthayda, after
- أطحطحه حتى أضل جخيفهI crush him until I make his boasting vanish,
- أغشى ديارا كأنها حللI visit dwellings that seem like robes;
- أقفر الحضر من نضيرة فالمرباعHatra lay deserted of Naḍīrah, and al-Mir—
- أكل امرئ تحسبين امرأDo you deem every man a man,
- ألا أيها المثري المزجىO wealthy man, borne along in ease!
- ألا في الأول الماضي اعتبارBehold, in the one who passed before lies a lesson
- ألا من مبلغ النعمان عنيAh, who will carry word from me to al-Nu‘man?
- ألا يا ربما عزLo—how often he grew overbearing—
- البس جديدك إني لابس خلقيWear your new garment; I am wearing my threadbare one,
- ألم تعلموا للخير والشر مورةDid you not know that good and evil have their ebb and flow,
- إن ابن أمك لم ينظر قفيتهTruly, your mother’s son never showed his back
- إنما لقحتنا باطيةOur milch camel is only a wine jar,
- أنى طرقت ذوي شجن تعودهمHow did you come by night to visit those burdened with sorrow?
- أي قومي إذا عزت الخمرWhich of my people, when wine grew scarce,
- أين أهل الديار من قوم نوحWhere are those of Noah's people who dwelt in the homes,
- أيها الركب المخبونO riders hastening swiftly,
- أيها الشامت المعير بالشيبO you who gloat and taunt me for my gray—
- أيها العائب عند أم زيدO you who find fault in Umm Zayd’s presence,
- أيها القلب تعلل بددنO heart, find solace in merriment;
- بأباريق شبه أعناق طيرWith ewers like the necks of the birds of the—
- بان الشباب فما له مردودYouth has departed, and there is no bringing it back.
- بكر العاذلون في وضح الصبThe reproachers came early in the bright light of
- تأييت منهن المصير فلم أزلI carefully chose among them, and never ceased
- تركوني لدى قصور وأعراضThey left me beside palaces, beside the flanks
- تزود من الشبعان خلفك نظرةTake, as provision, a glance at al-Shab‘an behind you;
- تصبو وأنى التصابيYou yearn like a youth—but how can you play the youth,
- تصيف الحزن فانجابت عقيقتهHe summered in al-Hazn, and his foal-coat fell away.
- تعرف أمس من لميس الطللYou recognize Lamīs's ruined campsite from yesterday,
- تقحم الآني العبيط كماThe unmixed wine drove the unhurried man headlong, just as
- تكذب النفوس لمعتهاIts gleam deceives souls,
- ثلاثة أحوال وشهرا محرماFor three years and one sacred month,
- ثم لم أبخل بما استودعتنيThere I did not withhold what you entrusted to me;
- جاءني من لديه مروان إذ قفيتMarwān came to me from him when I
- جعل القف شمالا وانتحىHe left al-Quff on his left and veered away,
- حتى تعاون مستك له زهرUntil dense growth gathered, bearing a bloom
- حمرة خلط صفرة في بياضA red hue mingled with yellow amid white,
- حنتي حانيات الدهر حتىTime's bending afflictions have bowed me, until
- خف القطين وأخلفوا أربيThe people broke camp and left my desire unfulfilled.
- دعا صرد يوما على عود شوحطOne day a shrike called from a branch of a shauhat tree.
- دمية شافها رجال نصارىA figurine adorned by Christian men
- ذريني إن أمرك لن يطاعاLeave me be: your bidding shall not be obeyed,
- رب دار بأسفل الجزع من دومةMany a dwelling at the lower valley-bend in Daw—
- رب مأمول وراج أملاMany a man looked to with hope, and many a man cherishing hope,
- زنيم تداعاه الرجال زيادةA spurious kinsman whom men claimed as an addition,
- سما صقر فأشعل جانبيهاA falcon rose and set both her flanks ablaze.
- شبابي فأضحى للشباب حفيظةMy youth thus became a cause of resentment toward youth
- طال ذا الليل علينا فاعتكرThis night has grown long upon us, and its darkness has thickened.
- طال ليلي أراقب التنويراMy night has grown long as I watch for dawn's light.
- طاهر الأثواب يحمي عرضهPure-robed, he guards his honor
- طلبت بها شاة الإران غديةEarly one morning, with it I pursued the wild cows of the covert—
- علق الأحشاء من هند علقA passion born of Hind has seized my very entrails;
- فاشتراني واصطفاني نعمةSo he bought me and chose me as a favor.
- فاض مثل العهون من الروضIt overflowed like dyed wool from the mea-
- فإن أمسيت مكتبئا حزيناFor if evening has found me dejected and sad,
- فإن يذكر النعمان سعيي وسعيهمSo if al-Nuʿmān remembers my striving and theirs,
- فبت أعدي كم أسافت وغيرتSo I spent the night counting how many were ruined and changed
- فترى محانيه التي تسق الثرىSo you see its bends, which hold moist earth,
- فزادته بضعفي ما أتاهاSo she gave him twice as much as she had received,
- فصادفنا في الصبح علج مصردAt dawn we came upon a burly fellow, chilled to the bone.
- فلو كان حي في الحياة مخلداIf any living being were made immortal in this life,
- فليت دفعت الهم عني ساعةIf only you had banished sorrow from me for an hour,
- فمتى واغل ينبهم يحبوهSo whenever an uninvited guest comes to them, they bestow gifts upon
- فمن يهدي أخا لذئاب لوSo whoever guides a brother to the wolves of 'if only',
- في كناس ظاهر يسترهIn an exposed lair, sheltered
- قتلوا كسرى بليل محرماThey killed Khosrow at night, while he was sacrosanct;
- قد آن أن تصحو أو تقصرIt is time you sobered—or held yourself back
- قد هراق الماء في أجوافهاHe has poured the water into their hollows,
- قل لأم البنين إن حان موتيTell Umm al-Banīn, if my death should come,
- كالبيض في الروض المنور قدLike eggs in the blossoming meadow—already
- كتفاها كما يشعب قينHer two shoulders are like what a craftsman pieces together—
- كرباع لاحه تعداؤهLike a four-toothed beast, worn lean by its running,
- كفى عبر الأيام للمرء وازعاThe lessons of the days suffice to restrain a man,
- كل صعل كأنما شق فيهEach small-headed one, as though in it
- كم ملوك بار ملكهمHow many kings’ dominions have perished,
- كنا كما كنتم حينا فغيرناFor a time we were as you were; then we were changed
- لا تعتري شربنا اللحاة وقدNo fault-finders intrude upon our drinking company, while
- لا يرقب الجري في المواطنHe does not look to run on the battlefields for
- للشرف العود فأكنافهThe return to the high ground and its environs,
- لم أر كالفتيان في غبن الايامI have seen none like young men, cheated by the
- لم تطلع من خدرها تبتغي خبباShe did not peer out from her secluded chamber seeking mischief,
- لمن الدار تعفت بخيمWhose is the dwelling, effaced at Khiyam?
- لمن الظعن كالبساتين في الصبWhose is the women’s caravan, like gardens at morn—
- لمن ليل بذي جشم طويلWhose night at Dhū Jushum stretches so long?
- لن أذكر النعمان إلا بصالحI shall never speak of al-Nu‘mān except with praise,
- له قصة فشغت حاجبيهHe has a forelock spreading across his brows,
- ليس الشباب عليك الدهر مرتجعاYouth will not be restored to you through the ages,
- ليس شيء على المنون بخالNothing is exempt from death,
- ليس للمرء عصرة من وقاع الدهرA man has no refuge from the blows of Fate—
- متى يهبطا سهبا فليس حمارهWhenever the two descend upon an open plain, his wild ass will not—
- مر على حر الكثيب إلىThey passed by him amid the dune’s scorching heat, heading toward
- مشرف الهادي له غسنHigh-necked, with a luxuriant mane,
- مطالب دنياه بإتعاب نفسهHe who seeks his worldly gain by exhausting himself
- من رأنا فيحدث نفسهWhoever sees us, let him tell himself
- من لقلب دنف أو معتمدWho will help a heart lovesick or grief-stricken,
- من يكن ذا لقح راخياتWhoever owns milch-camels grazing at ease—
- نادمت في الدير بني علقماI shared wine with the sons of Alqama in the monastery.
- ناشدتنا بكتاب الله حرمتناYou adjured us by God's Book, invoking our sacred bond;
- نرقع دنيانا بتمزيق دينناWe patch up our worldly life by tearing our faith apart;
- نزل المشيب بوفده لا مرحباGray hair arrived with its retinue—no welcome!
- نصفه جوزه نصير شواهHis middle is half of him; his limbs are his support,
- هذا ورب مسوفين صبحتهمThis too: many who kept saying “later” I served at dawn
- هنأناهم حتى أعان عليهمWe provided for them until help in sustaining them came from
- هيج الداء في فؤادك حورFair-eyed women stirred the ache in your heart,
- وأرى الموت قد تدلى من الحضرAnd I see death already descending from al-Ḥaḍ—
- وأرى ذا العيش لا تحرزهAnd I see that one who enjoys life is not kept safe
- وأصفر مضبوح نظرت حويرهAnd a yellow, fire-scorched arrow—I watched its turning
- وأطف حديث السوء بالصمت إنهAnd quench malicious talk with silence; for indeed,
- وإني لابن ساداتAnd truly, I am the son of lords—
- وإني لأغنى الناس عن متكلفAnd indeed, of all people, I have the least need of a presumptuous man,
- وبسل أن أرى جارات بيتيAnd it is forbidden for me to see the women neighboring my home
- وتركت العير يدمى نحرهAnd I left the wild ass, blood streaming from its throat,
- وخلال الأضر جم من العيشAnd amid adversity, there is abundant li—
- وعداتي شمت أعجبهمMy enemies gloated—how it pleased them
- وعند الإله ما يكيد عبادهGod is with you, and He does not scheme against His servants.
- وعون يباكرن النظيمة مربعاAnd mature cows visit al-Naẓīmah at dawn for spring grazing.
- وقد دخلت على الحسناء كلتهاAnd I entered upon the beautiful woman, as her curtained canopy,
- وكسرى إذ تقسمه بنوهAnd Khosrow, when his sons divided him among themselves
- ولا تأمنن من مبغض قرب دارهNever feel safe from a hater when you are near his home,
- ولا تفشين سرا إلى غير حرزهAnd never disclose a secret to anyone who cannot keep it safe.
- ولا تك في الإلحاح في إثر فائتAnd do not persist in pursuit of something lost,
- ولشؤم البغي والغشم قدماAnd through the ill fortune of injustice and tyranny, long ago,
- ولقد أغدو بطرف زانهAnd indeed, I ride out at dawn on a steed adorned by
- ولقد ألهو ببكر رسلAnd indeed I dally with a gentle maiden;
- ولقد شربت الخمر أسقى صرفهاAnd indeed I drank wine, served to me unmixed,
- ولقد عديت دوسرةAnd indeed, I was mounted on a sturdy she-camel,
- ولك المال والبلاد وما يملكAnd yours are the wealth, the lands, and whatever is
- وما بدأت خليلا لي أخا ثقةAnd never have I taken the first step against a friend of mine, a trusted brother,
- وما خنت ذا عهد وأبت بعهدهNever did I betray one bound by a pledge; I returned bearing his covenant.
- ومجود قد اسجهر تناويرAnd a rain-watered meadow, radiant with blossoms,
- ومن حذر الأيام ما حز أنفهAnd it was out of wariness of the days that he cut off his nose—
- ومن لا يورع نفسه يتبع الهوىAnd whoever does not restrain himself will follow passion;
- ووطيد مستعل سيبهAnd a steadfast one whose bounty rises high,
- ويأكلن ما أغنى الولي فلم يلتAnd they eat what the later rain has provided in abundance, without stint,
- ويح أم دار حللنا بهاWhat a dwelling we lodged in—
- يا خليلي يسرا التعسيراO my two friends, make hardship easy.
- يا لبينى أوقدي الناراO Lubayna, kindle the fire;
- يخرجن من مستطير النقع داميةThey emerge bloodied from the far-spreading battle dust,
- يشتاق قلبي إلى مليكة لوMy heart longs for Malikah—if only
- يهيجه الصوت الضئيل وقرنهThe faint cry rouses him, and his rival
- يوم قلت عيرهم من عيرناThe day their caravan departed from ours,
No poems found.