من لقلب دنف أو معتمد — عدي بن زيد

من لِقَلبٍ دَنِفٍ أو مُعتَمَد

قد عَصَى كلَّ نَصيحٍ ومُفَد

Who will help a heart lovesick or grief-stricken,

That has defied every adviser and well-wisher?

لَستُ في سَلمَى ولا جاراتها

سامعاً فيها إلى قَولِ أَحَد

About Salma or her neighbors, I am not

One to heed anyone's words about her.

راعَني منها بَنَانٌ ناعِمٌ

كَسِيُورِ القِدِّ في مثلِ البَرَد

Her soft fingers captivated me,

Like rawhide thongs set in something like hail.

وشَنيبٌ كالأَقاحي شابَهُ

نُضحُ ماءِ الُمزنِ في غَيرِ صَرَد

And a cool, sweet mouth like daisies, mingled with

A sprinkling of rain-cloud water, without chill.

حُرَّةُ الطَّرفِ رَخيمٌ دَلُّها

لَم تُعالج سُوءَ عيشٍ في كَبَد

Noble of gaze, her coyness soft and gentle,

She has never struggled with a wretched life of hardship.

تَسرُقُ الطَّرفَ بعَينَي جُؤذُرٍ

مُستَحيلٍ بينَ رَملٍ وجَلَد

She steals glances with a wild-ox calf's two eyes,

Turning about between sand and hard ground.

هَل سَأَلتَ الحَربَ عن إخوانِها

إذ فُحُولُ النَّاسِ تُغمَى بالزبَّدَ

Have you asked war about her brothers,

When the stallions among men were covered in foam?

وتَنادَوا بِعَوالٍ ذُبَّلٍ

تُزلِقُ الأَضعَفَ عن خَطِّ الأَشَدّ

And they hailed one another with long, seasoned spears,

Driving the weaker from the stronger's line.

عُصُرٌ فَانٍ وهذا عُصُرٌ

ناقصٌ من كلِّ حَيٍّ وعَدَد

An age passes away, and this is an age

That diminishes every tribe and every multitude.

واذا ذَكَّرتُ نَفسي ما خَلا

عادَ في العَينِ كتَسهيدِ الرَّمَد

And when I remind myself of what has passed,

It returns to my eyes like the sleeplessness of inflamed eyes:

من أُناس كنت أرجوُ نَفعَهُم

أَصبحُوا قد خَمَدُوا تحتَ البلَدَ

People from whom I once hoped for help

Now lie extinguished beneath the earth.

وأُراني جاهِداً من بَعدِهم

في عِلاجِ المالِ تأمِيلَ البُعُد

And I see myself toiling after they are gone,

Striving for wealth, hoping for a distant future,

كادِحاً أَحسَبُ أَنِّي مُخلَدٌ

جاهِلُ اليَوم وتَيسيري لِغَد

Laboring, supposing I am immortal,

Unknowing of today, yet preparing ease for tomorrow.

لا أَرى حِصناً يُنَجِّي أَهَلهُ

كلُّ حَيٍّ لفَناءٍ ونَفَد

I see no fortress that saves its inhabitants;

Every living being is destined to perish and come to an end.

فدَعِ الباطِلَ واعمِد لِلتقى

وتُقَى رَبِّكَ رَهنٌ لِلرشَد

So leave falsehood and turn toward piety;

And reverence for your Lord is a pledge of right guidance.

وقُلِ المَعرُوفَ فيمَن قاَلهُ

وأمنَعَن نَفسَكَ مِن قيلِ الفَنَد

And speak well of whoever has spoken well,

And firmly keep yourself from foolish speech.

ومَجُودٍ زَعَلٍ ظِلمانُهُ

كَرِجالِ الَحبشِ تَردي بالعَمَد

And many a rain-soaked tract, its male ostriches lively,

Like Abyssinian men dashing with staves,

قد تَبَطَّنتُ وتَحتي جَسرَةٌ

تَخلِطُ الَمشيَ تُعادي كَالفَرَد

I have traversed its depths, with a sturdy mount beneath me,

Blending a walk with running, like a lone wild bull.

مَصرَخَ الدِّيِك بكَفَّي جُرشُعٍ

سابِغٌ أَسفَلُهُ ضَخمُ الكَتَد

At cockcrow, a broad-chested steed was in my hands,

Its lower frame ample, its withers massive.

هَيَّجَ البَوعَ إذا هَيَّجتَهُ

يَخلِطُ الَمعجَ بتَقرِيبٍ وشَدّ

He lengthens his stride whenever you urge him on,

Mixing swift running with canter and gallop.

فَانَبَرى أَحقَبُ يَتلُو أَربَعاً

لاَحِقُ الأَيطَلِ في قاعٍ جَلَد

Then a white-bellied wild ass emerged, following four females,

Lean-flanked, on a hard, level plain.

صَيِّبُ التَّعشيرِ زِمزامُ الضُّحَى

ناِسِلٌ عقَّتَهُ مِثلُ الَمسَد

Pouring out repeated brays, rumbling at midmorning,

Running swiftly, his coat like palm-fiber cord.

يُغرِقُ الَمطرُودَ منهُ وابِلٌ

ضابِطُ الوَعثِ ضَبُوعٌ في الَجدَد

A downpour from him engulfs the quarry,

Sure-footed on soft sand, long-striding on hard ground.