لعمري لقد أسريت لا ليل عاجز — Akhtal

لَعَمري لَقَد أَسرَيتُ لا لَيلَ عاجِزٍ

بِساهِمَةِ العَينَينِ طاوِيَةِ القُربِ

By my life, I journeyed by night—not a laggard's night journey—

on a gaunt-eyed she-camel, hollow-flanked,

جُمالِيَّةٍ لا يُدرِكُ العيسُ رَفعَها

إِذا كُنَّ بِالرُكبانِ كَالقِيَمِ النُكبِ

a robust, male-like beast whose swift gait the pale camels cannot match

when, bearing riders, they resemble tilted well-frames.

مُعارِضَةٍ خوصاً حَراجيجَ شَمَّرَت

بِنُجعَةِ مَلكٍ لا ضَئيلٍ وَلا جَأبِ

Keeping alongside sunken-eyed, lean camels that hastened

in quest of a king's bounty, neither puny nor coarse.

كَأَنَّ رِحالَ المَيسِ حينَ تَزَعزَعَت

عَلى قَطَواتٍ مِن قَطا عالِجٍ حُقبِ

As though the hackberry-wood saddles, when they rocked,

were upon white-bellied sandgrouse of Alij.

أَجَدَّت لِوِردٍ مِن أُباغَ وَشَفَّها

هَواجِرُ أَيّامٍ وَقَدنَ لَها شُهبِ

They sped toward a drink from Ubagh, worn thin

by the noonday heats of white-hot days blazing upon them.

إِذا حَمَلَت ماءَ الصَرائِمِ قَلَّصَت

رَوايا لِأَطفالٍ بِمَعمِيَّةٍ زُغبُ

When they carried water from the dune tracts, they hurried,

water-bearers for downy chicks in a trackless waste,

تَوائِمَ أَشباهٍ بِأَرضٍ مَريضَةٍ

يَلُذنَ بِخِذرافِ المِتانِ وَبِالعِربِ

twins alike, in a sickly land,

sheltering in the khidhraf of firm ground and in irb.

إِذا صَخِبَ الحادي عَلَيهِنَّ بَرَّزَت

بَعيدَةُ ما بَينَ المَشافِرِ وَالعَجبِ

When the driver shouted at them, she sprang ahead,

the one with a great span from lips to tailbone.

فَكَم جاوَزَت بَحراً وَلَيلاً يَخُضنَهُ

إِلَيكَ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ وَمِن سَهبِ

How many a sea she crossed, and a night they waded through,

toward you, Commander of the Faithful—and how many a plain!

عَوادِلَ عوجاً عَن أُناسٍ كَأَنَّما

تَرى بِهِمِ جَمعَ الصَقالِبَةِ الصُهبِ

Turning aside, veering away from people in whom it seems

you see a gathering of fair-haired Slavs.

يُعارِضنَ بَطنَ الصَحصَحانِ وَقَد بَدَت

بُيوتٌ بِوادٍ مِن نُمَيرٍ وَمِن كَلبِ

They skirt the floor of al-Sahsahan, while there appear

dwellings in a valley, of Numayr and Kalb.

وَيا مَنَّ عَن نَجدِ العُقابِ وَياسَرَت

بِنا العيسُ عَن عَذراءَ دارِ بَني الشَجبِ

They turned right from Najd al-Uqab and bore left,

the pale camels taking us away from Adhra, home of Banu al-Shajb.

يَحِدنَ بِنا عَن كُلِّ شَيءٍ كَأَنَّنا

أَخاريسُ عَيّوا بِالسَلامِ وَبِالنَسبِ

They turn us aside from everything, as though we were

mutes, unable to offer greetings or tell our lineage.

إِذا طَلَعَ العَيّوقُ وَالنَجمُ أَولَجَت

سَوالِفَها بَينَ السِماكَينِ وَالقَلبِ

When Capella and the Pleiades rose, she thrust

the sides of her neck between the two Simaks and the Heart-star.

إِلَيكَ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ رَحَلتُها

عَلى الطائِرِ المَيمونِ وَالمَنزِلِ الرَحبِ

Toward you, Commander of the Faithful, I saddled her,

under an auspicious bird-omen, toward a spacious lodging.

إِلى مُؤمِنٍ تَجلو صَفيحَةُ وَجهِهِ

بَلابِلَ تَغشى مِن هُمومٍ وَمِن كَربِ

Toward a believer whose countenance dispels

the disquiet that descends with worries and distress;

مُناخِ ذَوي الحاجاتِ يَستَمطِرونَهُ

عَطاءَ كَريمٍ مِن أُسارى وَمِن نَهبِ

a resting-place for the needy, who ask him to rain down

a generous man's gifts of captives and spoils.

تَرى الحَلَقَ الماذِيَّ تَجري فُضولُهُ

عَلى مُستَخِفٍّ بِالنَوائِبِ وَالحَربِ

You see the fine chain-mail, its loose folds flowing

upon one who makes light of calamities and war.

أَخوها إِذا شالَت عَضوضاً سَما لَها

عَلى كُلِّ حالٍ مِن ذَلولٍ وَمِن صَعبِ

War's brother—when it rears, biting fiercely, he rises to meet it,

in every condition, whether yielding or difficult.

إِمامٌ سَما بِالخَيلِ حَتّى تَقَلقَلَت

قَلائِدُ في أَعناقِ مُعمَلَةٍ حُدبِ

A leader who advanced with the horses until there rattled

necklaces on the necks of hard-worked, bowed-backed mounts,

شَواخِصُ بِالأَبصارِ مِن كُلِّ مُقرَبٍ

أُعِدَّ لِهَيجا أَو مُواقَفَةِ الرَكبِ

staring wide-eyed, each a cherished steed,

readied for battle or to face a mounted band.

سِواهِمَ قَد عاوَدنَ كُلَّ عَظيمَةٍ

مُجَلَّلَةَ الشَطِّيِّ طَيِّبَةَ الكَسبِ

Gaunt, they have repeatedly faced every great ordeal,

draped in Shatti cloth, with good spoils won.

يُعانِدنَ عَن صُلبِ الطَريقِ مِنَ الوَجى

وَهُنَّ عَلى العِلّاتِ يَردينَ كَالنُكبِ

They veer from the road's hard center through hoof-soreness,

yet despite their ailments they gallop like crosswinds.

إِذا كَلَّفوهُنَّ التَنائِيَ لَم يَزَل

غُرابٌ عَلى عَوجاءَ مِنهُنَّ أَو سَقبِ

When they are tasked with distant travel, there is always

a raven on a bent-backed one of them or on a male foal.

وَفي كُلِّ عامٍ مِنكَ لِلرومِ غَزوَةٌ

بَعيدَةُ آثارِ السَنابِكِ وَالسَربِ

And every year you send an expedition against the Romans,

far-ranging in hoofprints and the course of its mounted host.

يُطَرِّحنَ بِالدَربِ السِخالِ كَأَنَّما

يُشَقِّقنَ بِالأَسلاءِ أَردِيَةَ العَصبِ

They cast their young along the pass, as though

with their afterbirths they tore striped cloaks.

بَناتُ غُرابٍ لَم تُكَمَّل شُهورُها

تَقَلقَلنَ مِن طولِ المَفاوِزِ وَالجَذبِ

Daughters of Ghurab, their months not yet complete,

shaken by the long desert wastes and the strain.

وَإِنَّ لَها يَومَينِ يَومَ إِقامَةٍ

وَيَوماً تَشَكّى القَضَّ مِن حَذَرِ الدَربِ

And it has two days: a day of encampment,

and a day it complains of sharp gravel, dreading the pass.

غَموسُ الدُجى تَنشَقُّ عَن مُتَضَرِّمٍ

طَلوبِ الأَعادي لا سَؤومٍ وَلا وَجبِ

Plunging into darkness, it breaks open upon a blazing warrior,

an eager pursuer of enemies, neither weary nor timid.

عَلى اِبنِ أَبي العاصي قُرَيشٌ تَعَطَّفَت

لَهُ صُلبُها لَيسَ الوَشائِظُ كَالصُلبِ

Around the son of Abi al-As Quraysh has rallied,

its true stock for him; outsiders are not like true stock.

وَقَد جَعَلَ اللَهُ الخِلافَةَ فيكُمُ

لِأَبيَضَ لا عاري الخِوانِ وَلا جَدبِ

God has placed the caliphate among you,

for a fair-faced noble whose table is neither bare nor barren.

عَتَبتُم عَلَينا قَيسَ عَيلانَ كُلُّكُم

وَأَيُّ عَدُوٍّ لَم نُبِتهُ عَلى عَتبِ

You all reproached us, Qays Aylan,

and what foe have we not left to spend the night aggrieved?

لَقَد عَلِمَت تِلكَ القَبائِلُ أَنَّنا

مَصاليتُ جَذّامونَ آخِيَّةَ الشَغبِ

Those tribes have surely learned that we

are bold warriors, severing strife's tether.

فَإِن تَكُ حَربُ اِبنَي نِزارٍ تَواضَعَت

فَقَد عَذَرَتنا مِن كِلابٍ وَمِن كَعبِ

If the war of Nizar's two sons has subsided,

it has already vindicated us against Kilab and Ka'b.

وَفي الحُقبِ مِن أَفناءِ قَيسٍ كَأَنَّهُم

بِمُنعَرَجِ الثَرثارِ خُشبٌ عَلى خُشبِ

And in al-Huqb, men of Qays's many clans lie as though,

at the bend of al-Tharthar, they were timber piled on timber.

وَهُنَ أَذَقنَ المَوتَ جَزءَ بنَ ظالِمٍ

بِماضِيَةٍ بَينَ الشَراسيفِ وَالقُصبِ

And there they made Jaz' ibn Zalim taste death

with a piercing stroke between rib-ends and entrails.

وَظَلَّت بَنو الصَمعاءِ تَأوي فُلولُهُم

إِلى كُلِّ دَسماءِ الذِراعَينِ وَالعَقبِ

And Banu al-Sam'a's broken remnants kept seeking refuge

with every woman, greasy of arms and heel.

وَقَد كانَ يَوما راهِطٍ مِن ضَلالِكُم

فَناءً لِأَقوامٍ وَخَطباً مِنَ الخَطبِ

The two days of Rahit, born of your folly, were

destruction for peoples, a calamity among calamities.

تُسامونَ أَهلَ الحَقِّ بِاِبنَي مُحارِبٍ

وَرَكبِ بَني العَجلانِ حَسبُكَ مِن رَكبِ

You challenge the people of right with Muharib's two sons,

and Banu al-Ajlan's riders—riders enough for you!

قُرومَ أَبي العاصي غَداةَ تَخَمَّطَت

دِمَشقُ بِأَشباهِ المُهَنَّأَةِ الجُربِ

The chieftains of Abi al-As, on the morning

Damascus seethed with the likes of tar-smeared, mangy camels,

يَقودونَ مَوجاً مِن أُمَيَّةَ لَم يَرِث

دِيارَ سُلَيمٍ بِالحِجازِ وَلا الهَضبِ

lead a wave of Umayya that has not inherited

Sulaym's dwellings in the Hijaz or the uplands.

مُلوكٌ وَأَحكامٌ وَأَصحابُ نَجدَةٍ

إِذا شوغِبوا كانوا عَلَيها أُلي شَغبِ

Kings and arbiters and men of valor,

when provoked, they are masters of strife.

أَهَلّوا مِنَ الشَهرِ الحَرامِ فَأَصبَحوا

مَوالِيَ مُلكٍ لا طَريفٍ وَلا غَصبِ

They came forth from the sacred month and became

lords of a kingship neither newly acquired nor usurped.

تَذودُ القَنا وَالخَيلُ تُثنى عَلَيهِمِ

وَهُنَّ بِأَيدي المُستَميتينَ كَالشُهبِ

The spears fend off while cavalry is wheeled against them,

and in the hands of death-seeking men they are like meteors.

وَلَم تَرَ عَيني مِثلَ مُلكٍ رَأَيتُهُ

أَتاكَ بِلا طَعنِ الرِماحِ وَلا الضَربِ

My eye has never seen a kingship like the one I saw

come to you without spear-thrusts or blows,

وَبِالسودِ أَستاهاً فَوارِسِ مُسلِمٍ

غَداةَ يَرُدُّ المَوتَ ذو النَفسِ بِالكَربِ

and through Muslim's horsemen, black of buttocks,

on the morning a living man wards off death in anguish.

وَلَكِن رَآكَ اللَهُ مَوضِعَ حَقِّهِ

عَلى رَغمِ أَعداءٍ وَصَدّادَةٍ كُذبِ

But God saw you as the proper bearer of His right,

despite enemies and lying obstructers.

لَحى اللَهُ صِرماً مِن كُلَيبٍ كَأَنَّهُم

جِداءُ حِجازٍ لاجِئاتٌ إِلى زَربِ

May God curse a band of Kulayb, as though they were

Hijazi goat-kids fleeing to a pen.

أُكارِعُ لَيسَوا بِالعَريضِ مَحَلُّهُم

وَلا بِالحُماةِ الذائِدينَ عَنِ السَربِ

Mere shanks: their encampment is not spacious,

nor are they protectors who defend the herd.

بَني الكَلبِ لَولا أَنَّ أَولادَ دارِمٍ

تُذَبِّبُ عَنكُم في الهَزاهِزِ وَالحَربِ

Sons of the dog, were it not that Darim's sons

defend you amid upheavals and war,

إِذاً لَاِتَّقَيتُم مالِكاً بِضَريبَةٍ

كَذَلِكَ يُعطيها الذَليلُ عَلى العَصبِ

you would have warded off Malik with tribute,

as the lowly pays it under compulsion.

وَإِنَّ الَّتي أَدَّت جَريراً بِزَفرَةٍ

لَخائِنَةُ العَينَينِ صائِبَةُ القَلبِ

And she who delivered Jarir with a groan

is treacherous of eye and wayward of heart.

وَما يَفرَحُ الأَضيافُ أَن يَنزِلوا بِها

إِذا كانَ أَعلى الطَلحِ كَالرَمَكِ الشُهبِ

Guests are not glad to alight with her

when the acacia tops are like gray mares.

يَقولونَ ذَبِّب يا جَريرُ وَراءَنا

وَلَيسَ جَريرٌ بِالمُحامي وَلا الصُلبِ

They say, "Defend us from behind, Jarir!"

but Jarir is neither a defender nor staunch.