ما اعتاد حب سليمى حين معتاد — Al Qatami Al Taghlibi

ما اعتادَ حُبُّ سُليمى حينَ مُعتادِ

ولا تقضّى بواديدَينها الطَّادي

Love of Sulayma did not return at its accustomed time,

Nor did the signs of her long-established ways pass away,

إِلاَّ كما كنت تلقى من صواحبِها

ولا كيومِكِ من غرّاءَ ورّادِ

Except as you used to encounter from her companions;

Nor was anything like your day with a radiant, long-tressed beauty.

بيضاءُ محطوطَةُ المَتنينِ بَهكَنَّة

ريّا الروادفِ لم تُمغِل بأولادِ

Fair, smooth-backed, soft and full-figured,

Full in the buttocks, not worn by closely spaced births.

ما للكواعبِ وَدَّعنَ الحياةَ كما

وَدَّعنَني واتخذنَ الشَّيبَ ميعادي

What ails the budding maidens? May they forsake life as

They forsook me, making gray hair my appointed hour.

أبصارُهُنَّ إِلى الشُبَّانِ مائلةٌ

وقد اراهُنَّ عني غَيرَ صُدّادِ

Their eyes incline toward young men,

Though I once saw them never turning away from me,

إذ باطلي لم تَقشَّع جاهليتُه

عني ولم يترك الخلانُ تقوادي

When the recklessness of my folly had not yet lifted

From me, and friends had not abandoned my lead.

كنيّةِ القومِ من ذي الغضبةِ احتملوا

مستحقبينَ فؤاداً ما له فاد

As when the people resolved to depart from Dhu al-Ghadba,

Carrying off a heart with no one to ransom it,

محددينَ لِبَرقٍ صابَ في خيمٍ

وفي القُرَيّةِ رادوهُ برُوّادِ

Intent on lightning whose rain fell in Khaym;

And at al-Qurayya they sought it through scouts.

بانوا وكانَت حياتي في اجتماعِهِمُ

وفي تفرقِهم موتي وإقصادي

They departed; my life had lain in their togetherness,

And in their scattering lay my death and destruction.

أرمي قَصيدَهُمُ طرفي وقد سلكوا

بين المُجيمرِ فالرَّوحاءَِ فالوادي

I cast my gaze toward them, when they had taken the way

Between al-Mujaymir, then al-Rawha', then the valley.

يخفون طَوراً وأحياناً إذا طَلعوا

طَوداً بدا لي من اجمالهِم بادِ

They vanished at times; sometimes, when they climbed

A mountain, some of their camels came into view.

وفي الخدورِ غماماتٌ بَرَقنَ لنا

حتى تصيَّدنَنا من كُلِّ مُصطادِ

In the curtained litters were clouds that flashed for us,

Until they hunted us from every hunting ground.

يَقتُلننا بحديثٍ ليس يَعلَمُه

من يتقينَ ولا مكنونُه بادِ

They kill us with talk unknown

To those they fear, its hidden meaning unrevealed.

فَهُنَّ يَنبِذنَ من قَولِ يُصبنَ به

مواقعَ الماءِ من ذي الغُلَّةَ الصّادي

They toss out words with which they strike

Where water reaches in a man burning with thirst.

المعنَ يقصُرنَ من بُختٍ مُخيَّسَةٍ

ومن عرابٍ بعيداتٍ من الحادي

They signaled, holding back their tamed Bactrian camels,

And Arab she-camels, far from the camel-driver.

تبدو إذا انكشفت عنها اشلتُها

منها خصائِلُ أفخاذٍ وأعضادِ

When their coverings slipped away, there appeared

The muscles of their thighs and upper arms.

من كُلِّ بَهكَنةٍ القت اشلتَها

على هِبلٍّ كرُكنِ الطَود مُنقادِ

Each soft, full-figured woman cast her coverings

Over a massive, tractable camel, like a mountain's flank.

وَكُلُّ ذلك منها كلما رَفَعَت

منها المكري ومنها الليّن السادي

All these parts of her showed whenever she lifted her coverings:

Her full flesh [reading uncertain], and her soft, flowing flesh.

حتى إذا الحيُّ مالوا بَعدَ ما ذَعَروا

وَحشَ اللهيمِ بأمواتٍ وطُرّادِ

Until, when the tribe turned aside, after they had startled

Al-Luhaym's wild beasts with the dead and the pursuers,

حَلّوا بأخضرَ قد مالَت سرارتُهُ

من ماءِ مُزنٍ على الأعراض أنضادِ

They camped on green ground whose hollows brimmed

With rain from clouds banked over the uplands.

قَفرٌ تظَل مَكاكيُّ النهارِ بِهِ

كأن أصواتها أصواتُ نُشّادِ

A wilderness, where larks remain throughout the day,

Their voices like those of seekers calling for what is lost.

مالي أرى الناسَ مزورّاً فحولُهم

عني اذا سَمِعوا صوتي وإنشادي

Why do I see the people's champions turning away

From me when they hear my voice and recitation,

إِلا أُخيَّ بني الجَوال يوعدُني

ماذا يريدُ ابنُ جَوّالٍ بايعادي

Except the little fellow of Banu al-Jawwal, who threatens me?

What does Ibn Jawwal want by threatening me?

وطالما ذَبَّ عني سُيَّرٌ شُردٌ

يَصبَحنَ فوقَ لسانِ الراكبِ الغادي

How often far-traveling, wide-ranging verses have defended me,

Appearing at dawn on the early rider's tongue.

فاسأل نِزاراً فقد كانت تُنازلُني

بالنَّصفِ من بينِ اسخانٍ وابرادِ

Ask Nizar, who used to contend with me

On equal terms, between heat and coolness.

وأسأل اياداً وكانوا طالما حَضروا

مِني بواطنَ إدناءٍ وإبعادِ

And ask Iyad, who so often witnessed

My hidden ways of drawing near and keeping distant,

عني وَعن قُرَّحِ كانت تَضُمُّ معي

حتى تقطَّعَ من مَثنى وفُرَّادِ

About me, and mature stallions once gathered with me,

Until they scattered, two by two and singly.

فلا يطيقونَ حَملي إذ هجوتُهُمُ

وإن مَدَحتُهُمُ لم يَبغَلوا آدي

They cannot bear my assault when I satirize them,

And when I praise them, they cannot match my strength.

مَن مُبلِغٌ زُفَرَ القيسي مِدحَتَهُ

عن القطاميِّ قولاً غَيرَ أفنادِ

Who will convey to Zufar al-Qaysi his praise

From al-Qutami, in words free of folly?

إني وإن كانَ قَومي ليس بينهم

وبين قومِك إلا ضَربَةُ الهادي

Indeed, though my people have nothing between themselves

And your people but a stroke at the neck,

مُثنٍ عليك بما استبقيت مَعرِفَتي

وقد تعرضَ مني مقتَلٌ بادِ

I praise you for preserving your regard for me,

When a place to strike me dead lay exposed.

فَلَن أُثيبَك بالنَّعماءِ مَشتَمَةً

ولَن أكافىءَ اصلاحاً بإفسَادِ

I will not repay your kindness with abuse,

Nor repay mending with destruction.

وإن هَجَوتُك ما تمت مُكارَمتي

وإن مَدَحتُ فقد أحسنتَ اصفادي

If I satirized you, my noble conduct would fall short;

If I praise you, you have bestowed your gifts on me well.

وما نَسيست مقامَ الوردِ تجعلُه

بيني وبينَ حفيفِ الغابةِ الغادي

Nor have I forgotten the tawny lion's stance you set

Between me and the advancing thicket's rustle.

قتلتَ بكراً وكلباً واثَّلَثتَ

وَقَد اردتَ بأن يَستَجمعَ الوادي

You killed Bakr and Kalb, and added a third,

And you wanted the valley to gather its full force.

لولا كتائِبُ مِن عمروٍ تَصولُ بها

أرديتَ يا خيرَ مَن يندو له النادي

But for battalions from 'Amr with which you charged,

You would have perished, best of men for whom assemblies gather.

اذ لا ترَى العينُ إِلا كُلَّ سَلهَبَةٍ

وسابحٍ مثل سيدِ الرَّدهَةِ العادي

When the eye saw nothing but tall mares

And swimming steeds, like the racing wolf of the hollow.

إذا الفوارِسُ من قيسٍ بشكَّتِهِم

حولي شهودٌ وقومي غَيرُ شُهَادِ

When the horsemen of Qays, in their armor,

Were present around me, while my people were absent;

إذ يعتريك رِجالٌ يسألون دمي

ولو اطعتَهُمُ أبكيتَ عُوّادي

When men pressed upon you, demanding my blood,

Had you obeyed them, you would have made my visitors weep.

فَقَد عصيتَهم والحَربُ مقبلةٌ

لا بَل قَدَحتَ زَناداً غَيرَ صلاَّدِ

But you disobeyed them as war advanced;

No, rather you struck fire-sticks that would not fail.

والصِيدُ آلُ نُفَيلٍ خيرُ قومِهِمُ

عندَ الشتاءِ إذا ما ضُنَّ بالزَّادِ

The proud lords, the house of Nufayl, are their people's best

In winter, when provisions are begrudged,

المانِعونَ غداةَ الرَّوع جارَهُمُ

بالمَشرِفِيَّة من ماضِ ومُنَادِ

Defending their neighbor on the morning of terror

With Mashrafi swords, keen and bent.

أيامَ قومي مَكاني مَنصِبٌ لَهم

ولا يظنونَ إلا أنَّني رادِ

In days when my plight was a hardship to my people,

And they thought only that I was doomed,

فانتاشَني لَكَ من غبراءَ مظلمةٍ

حَبلٌ تضمَّنَ إصداري وإيرادي

From a dark, dust-gray calamity I was rescued through you

By a cord that secured my going out and coming in.

ولا كَرَدَّكَ مالي بَعدَما كَرُبَت

تُبدي الشماتةَ أَعدائي وحُسَّادي

Nothing matched your restoring my wealth, when they were about

To show their glee—my enemies and those who envied me.

فإن قدرتَ على شيءٍ جُزيتَ به

واللهُ يَجعَلُ أقواماً بِمِرصادِ

If you accomplish a deed, you will be repaid for it;

And God sets people on the watch.

نفسي فداءُ بني أم هُمُ خلطوا

يومَ العَروبةِ اوراداً بأورادِ

My life be ransom for sons of one mother, who mingled

On al-'Aruba's day, thirsty bands with thirsty bands.

بيضٌ صوارمُ كالشهبانِ تعسفها

في البيضِ من مستقيماتِ ومنآدِ

Bright, keen blades like shooting stars, which you drive hard

Through helmets, some straight and some bent.

نُبِّئتُ قَيساً على الحشَاك قد نَزلوا

منا بحيٍّ على الأضيافِ حُشَادِ

I was told that Qays had descended at al-Hashak

Upon a clan of ours eager to gather for guests,

في المَجدِ والشَرَفِ العالي ذوي أَمَلٍ

وفي الحياةِ وفي الأموال زهّادِ

Aspiring to glory and lofty honor,

But caring little for life or wealth.

الضاربينَ عُميراً في بيوتِهِمُ

بالتلِّ يومَ عُميرٌ ظالِمٌ عادِ

Those who struck 'Umayr within their dwellings,

At al-Tall, when 'Umayr was unjust and aggressive.

ثابت له عُصَبٌ من مالِكٍ رُجُحٌ

عند اللقاءِ مساريعُ إلى النادي

Bands from Malik rallied to him, steadfast

In battle, quick to the assembly.

ليست تُجَرَّحُ فُرَاراً ظهورُهم

وفي النّحورِ كُلومٌ ذاتُ أبلادِ

Their backs are not wounded in flight,

But on their throats are wounds with lasting scars.

لا يَغمُدونَ لهم سَيفاً وقد عَلِموا

إن لا يَكُن لهم أيامُ اغمادِ

They do not sheath a sword of theirs, knowing

That they have no days for sheathing.

لا يُبعِد اللهُ قوماً من عشيرَتِنا

لم يخذلونا على الجُلى ولا العادي

May God not cast away a people of our clan,

Who failed us neither in great calamity nor ordinary trouble.

مَحميةً وحِفاظاً إنّها شِيَمٌ

كانت لقومي عاداتٍ من العادِ

Protective zeal and defense of honor—these are traits

That had long been my people's customary ways.

لم تَلقَ قوماً هُمُ شَرِّ لاخوتهم

منا عَشيةً يجري بالدَّمِ الوادي

You have never met a people worse to their brothers

Than us, on an evening when the valley ran with blood.

حَالَ الحوادثُ والأيامُ دونَهُمُ

ونحنُ من من بَعدِهِم لَسنا بخُلاَّدِ

Calamities and days have come between us and them,

And we who come after them are not immortal.

مُستَلبثينَ وماكانت أناتُهم

إِلا كما لَبِثَ الضَّاحي عن الغادي

Left to linger, though their delay was

Only the forenoon traveler's lag behind the dawn traveler.

ودعوةٍ قد سِمعنا لا يقومُ لها

إِلا الحفاظُ والا المِقنَبُ الآدي

Many a summons we have heard, answered by none

But zeal for honor and the well-armed cavalry troop.

حتى إذا كانت النيرانُ بينَهُمُ

للحَرب يُوقدونَ لا يُوَقدنَ للزّادِ

Until, when fires were burning among them,

They kindled them for war, not for food.

واستعجلونا وكانوا من صَحَابَتِنا

كما تعجل فراطٌ لروّادِ

They hurried us on, though they had been our companions,

As water-forerunners hurry ahead for scouts.

نَقربهُمُ لهذمياتٍ نَقُدُّ بها

ما كان خاطَ عليهم كُلَّ زَرَادِ

We served them keen-edged spears, with which we slit

Whatever every mail-maker had stitched upon them.

ابلِغ ربيعةَ اعلاها واسفَلَها

انا وقيساً تَوافينا لميعادِ

Tell Rabi'a, its highest and its lowest,

That we and Qays met at an appointed time.

وكان قومي ولم تَغدُر لهم ذِمَمٌ

كطالبِ الدَينِ مُستَوفٍ ومُزدادِ

My people, whose pledges never proved false,

Were like a creditor collecting in full—and taking more.

ولو تبينتُ قومي ما وَجَدتُهُم

في طالعينَ من الثرثار نُدَّادِ

Had I looked closely at my people, I would not have found them

Among fugitives coming up from al-Tharthar.