Poems
- أأن هب علوي يعلل فتيةIs it because ʿAlawi rose to entertain young men
- أبالبين أمسى أسفل العين يلمعIs it parting that has set tears glistening beneath the eye,
- أبصرت ثم جامعا قد هراShe then saw Jāmiʿ, already snarling.
- أتصبر غدوا أم لعينيك سافحWill you endure in the morning, or will tears pour from your eyes,
- أثر الوقود على جوانبهاThe fuel-fire’s mark upon its sides—
- أجد بهذا الهجر أم متمزحAre you serious in this estrangement, or merely jesting?
- إذا افتقر المرار لم ير فقرهWhen al-Marrar becomes poor, his poverty is not seen.
- إذا شئت يوما أن تسود عشيرةIf someday you wish to become master of a clan,
- إذا هي خرت خر من عن يمينهاWhen she falls, the one at her right falls too—
- أعان غريب أم أمير بأرضهاAm I a captive stranger or a prince in her land,
- ألا ذكراني يا خليلي ما قضىAh, remind me, my two friends, of what has passed
- ألا رب سر عندنا غير فاحشAh, many a secret we keep, not shameful,
- ألا يا لقومي للتجلد والصبرAh, my people—help me bear up and be patient,
- إلا يا مليكا يرتجي ويهابLo, O king, looked to with hope and held in awe,
- الريح تعصف بالبقل الرطيب فلاThe wind buffets the fresh herbage, yet it does not
- ألم تربع فتخبرك المغانيDid you not linger, so the dwelling sites might tell you?
- آليت لا أخفي إذا الليل جننيI swore not to hide, when night enveloped me,
- أنا ابن الخالدين إذا تلاقىI am the son of the Khalids, when there comes
- أنار بدا من كوة السجن ضوؤهاIs it a fire whose light appeared through the prison window,
- إني لأعلم أدواء تضمنهاIndeed, I know the ailments harbored by
- أيقظتهن وما قضت نوماتهاI woke them before they had finished their slumbers—
- بحزم الأنعمين لهن حادAt the rocky ridge of al-An'amayn, they have a camel-driver,
- تظل نساء بني عامرThe women of Banu Amir keep
- تقلبت هذا الليل حتى تهورتI tossed and turned through this night, until they plunged from sight—
- تنود على سوق لها مسمهرةShe sways on her stiff, sturdy legs,
- جربن فلا يهنأن إلا بغلقةThey have contracted mange, so they are salved only with ghalqah herb,
- حي المنازل هل من أهلها خبرSalute the dwellings—is there any news of their people?
- ذكرنا الديون فجادلتناWe mentioned the debts, so you argued with us,
- رأيت ودونها هضبات سلمىI saw—with Salmā's hills between me and them—
- رعت سميسارا إلى أرمامهاShe grazed in Sumaysār as far as its Armām,
- روافع للحمى متصففاتRising toward the Ḥimā pasture, arrayed in rows,
- سكنوا شبيثا والأحص وأصبحتThey dwelt in Shubayth and al-Ahass, and now
- سويد فيه فابغونا سواهSuwayd is in it; so seek someone other than him for us.
- شقيت بنو سعد بشعر مساورBanū Saʿd came to grief through the poetry of Musāwir;
- عزفت ولم تصرم وأنت صرومYou turned away, yet did not sever ties, though you are resolute in parting.
- عشية أرضيت الوشاة وأثرتThat evening you pleased the slanderers, and a mark was left
- عصي الشمل من أسد أراهاShe defied the forbearance that came from Asad—I see her
- عفت المنازل غير مثل الأنقسThe dwellings have faded, save for marks like ink,
- على كشف مطفئة صلاهاWith breeding year after year, she quenches her heat;
- على نهد المراكل بات يدنيOn a broad-flanked steed, he spent the night bringing it closer;
- فرد على الفؤاد هوى عميداSo it brought back a grievous passion to the heart.
- فضلتا الناس أنا أولوهمWe surpassed the people, for we are the first among them,
- فقال يدير الموت في مرجحنةThen he spoke, dealing death amid a dense, swaying host,
- فكأن أرحلنا بوهد معشبSo it is as though our saddles were in a grassy hollow,
- فلست للأم من عبس ومن أسدSo, on your mother’s side, you are of neither ʿAbs nor Asad.
- فلم أشر ودي بالكساد ولم أعدSo I did not sell my affection cheaply, nor did I return
- في ليلة من ليالي الصر شاتيةOn a wintry night among the nights of bitter cold,
- قام ابن همام مقاما كأنهIbn Hammām took his stand, as though he were
- كأنني فوق أقب سهوقAs though I were astride a hollow-flanked, towering
- لا تتقيني الشول بالفحل دونهاThe dry she-camels do not ward me off with their bull before them.
- لا تسألي القوم عن مالي وكثرتهDo not ask the people about my wealth and its abundance.
- لا يقطع الله اليمين التي رمتMay God not sever the right hand that shot
- لعمرك إنني لأحب نجداBy your life, I do indeed love Najd,
- لعمرك ما ميعاد عينيك والبكاBy your life, your eyes have no tryst with weeping
- لقد تعسفت الفلاة الطلمساI have indeed struck across the trackless desert.
- لقد علمت أولى المغيرة أننيThe vanguard of the raiding force surely knows that I
- لنا مساجد نبنيها ونعمرهاWe have mosques that we build and maintain;
- لها نسقات كالقطا نشطت بهHer strides come in ordered runs, like sandgrouse; she sets out with him
- لهم إبل لا من ديات ولم تكنThey have camels—not from blood money, nor were they
- هممت بأمر أن يكون صريمةI intended a deed to be carried out with decisive resolve,
- وأخو بني الصيداء فرغ فيكمAnd a kinsman of Banū al-Ṣaydāʾ poured forth against you,
- وجدت شفاء الهموم الرحيلYou found departure the cure for worries:
- وخال على خديك يبدو كأنهAnd a beauty mark upon your cheeks appears as though it were
- وفي ذراها من الجوزاء عاصفةAnd in her shelter is a gale from al-Jawza,
- وقالوا لي ألا نعطيك شاءAnd they said to me: Shall we not give you sheep?
- ولو كنت ذا عقل رجحت ولم تكنAnd had you possessed reason, you would have been level-headed and would not
- ويزينهن مع الجمال ملاحةAnd alongside beauty, charm adorns them,
- ويطير أسوده ويبرق تحتهAnd his black plumage flutters, and beneath it flashes
- ويوم من النجم مستوقدAnd a day set ablaze by the Pleiades
- يا آل سعد وأنتم أهل معدلةO clan of Sa'd, you are people of justice,
- يعطي الجزيل ولا يرى في وجههHe gives lavishly, and his face shows no sign
- يمشين وهنا وبعد الوهن من خفرThey walk late at night, and later still, out of bashfulness,
No poems found.