أمن طرب بكيت وذكر أهل — Al Qatami Al Taghlibi

أَمِن طَرَبٍ بكيتُ وذكرِ أهلٍ

وللطربِ المُتاحِ لَكَ إدِّكارُ

Was it from yearning and remembrance of loved ones that I wept?

And yearning allotted to you has its reminders.

وأطلالٌ عَفَت من بعدِ أنسٍ

ودارُ الحي منكرةٌ قفارُ

And ruins, effaced after companionship,

And the tribe's dwelling, unrecognizable and deserted.

خَلَت غيرُ الظباءِ بها وعينٌ

وظلمانُ النعامِ لها عِرارُ

It lies empty, save for gazelles and wide-eyed wild cattle,

And male ostriches whose calls ring out there.

وإنَّ بكلِ محنيةٍ وسفحٍ

مقابلَ منظرٍ فيها صوارُ

And in every hollow and on every slope,

Before a lookout, there is a herd of wild cattle.

خواذلَ من مصاحبةٍ وفردٍ

كَبُلقِ الخيلِ يتبعُها المهارُ

Females apart from the herd, some paired and some alone,

Like piebald horses followed by their foals.

وقد دَرَسَت سوى آثارِ نؤيٍ

وآريٍّ تنصَّفَهُ الغبارُ

They have faded, save for traces of an enclosing trench,

And a tethering stake half-covered by dust,

وكلِّ جَذَمِّهِ خَرِبٍ محيلٍ

كأنّ بقيةً منه جدارُ

And every crumbling, weathered stump of it,

As though what remained of it were a wall,

وأَورقَ كالحمامَةٍ مقشعِرٍّ

وشُعثٍ سجَّحَتهنَّ الفِهارُ

And a gray ash-heap, bristling like a dove,

And rough stones smoothed by pounding-stones,

ومحتدمِ القدورِ على ثلاثٍ

كأنَّ مناكبَ الأحجارِ قارُ

And the blazing hearth of pots upon three stones,

As though the stones' shoulders were pitch,

وملعبِ وبربٍ أدمٍ هجانٍ

نوادٍ عند مشيتِها انفتارُ

And a playground, and a tawny, fair herd of beauties,

Shy ones, with a languid sway in their walk,

بوارقَ ترقد الصبحاتُ خردٍ

بهن من الشَّبابِ ضحى انبهارُ

Radiant, sleeping through the mornings, bashful maidens,

In whom youth's radiance dazzles at midmorning.

ونادينا الرسومَ وهُنَّ صُمٌّ

ومنطقُها المعاجمُ والسّطارُ

We called to the traces, but they were deaf;

Their speech was mute markings and lines.

وكان الصّبرُ أجملَ فانصرفنا

وَدمعُ العينَِ البثُهُ انحدارُ

Patience was more seemly, so we turned away,

While the eye's tears kept streaming down.

وعارضت المطيةُ وهي تهوي

وأهونُ سيرِها منها انسجارُ

The mount veered as it sped along,

And even its easiest gait was a headlong rush.

وقلت لصاحبيَّ الا اصبحاني

لتسلي عبرتي خَمرٌ عقارُ

I said to my two companions, 'Come, give me a morning drink,

That potent wine may console my weeping.'

فَشَعشَعَ بالأداوةِ شَرمحيٌّ

وليس بنا ولو جهدَ انتظارُ

Then a tall, lean man diluted the wine in a leather vessel,

And we would not wait, however weary.

ونحن على قلامِسَ يعملاتِ

أضَرَّ بها الترحُّلُ والسّفارُ

We rode massive, hard-working she-camels,

Worn down by journeying and travel.

كأنّ لغامَهُنَّ سبيخُ قطنٍ

على المعزاءِ تَندِفُهُ الوتارُ

Their foam was like teased cotton

On stony ground, fluffed by the carders' bowstrings.

وتسمعُ من أسادِسِها صريفاً

كما صاحَت على الحَدَبِ الصقارُ

You could hear their rear molars grinding,

As hawks cry upon the hillocks.

سواهم تغتلي في كلِّ فرعٍ

كما يَرمي مدى الغَرضِ القِتارُ

Lean mounts, racing up every height,

Like arrows shooting to the target's farthest reach.

وبشَّرَنا البشيرُ بنغمِ طيرٍ

ومما أن تقبَّلنا البشارُ

The messenger brought us glad tidings through birdsong,

And it was our way to welcome glad tidings,

بظعنٍ لجَّجَت في يومِ صيفٍ

وقالوا ليس بالأنهى قِطارُ

Of women in howdahs pressing onward through a summer day.

They said, 'There is no caravan at al-Anha.'

دَعتهنَّ الهواجرُ نحو نجدٍ

وصابَ الهيفُ فابتدرَ الغمارُ

The midday heat called them toward Najd,

The scorching wind struck, and the throng rushed forward.

فشمَّرت الحداةُ بكل رَسلٍ

علاه الرّيطُ اشعَلَه احمِرارُ

The camel-drivers urged on every easy-paced mount,

Draped in fine cloth whose redness blazed.

فلمّا أن لحقنا بَعدَ لأيٍ

ببيضِ في محاجِرها احوِرارُ

When, after much hardship, we caught up

With fair women whose eyes shone dark against white,

تنازَعنا الحديثَ فحدَّثتنا

عطابيلٌ تُقتَّلُ مَن يَغَارُ

We exchanged talk, and they spoke to us:

Shapely beauties who slay jealous men.

وجدنَ بفديةٍ قصدت الينا

وطرفِ يعافرٍ فيه انكسارُ

They generously offered ransom, turning toward us,

And the soft, downcast glance of gazelles.

وعُجنَ سوالِفاً وقدت عليها

قلائدُها كما تقِدُ الجمارُ

They turned their necks, upon which blazed

Their necklaces, as live coals blaze.

اذا ما احتلَّ بالبطحاءِ حَيٌّ

بَدَت غُرَرٌ تُرادِفُها البشارُ

Whenever a tribe encamped on the gravelly plain,

Radiant faces appeared, followed by glad tidings.

أذاك هديت أم ما بالُ ضيفٍ

تضمَّنُهُ المضاجعُ والشعارُ

Is it that—may you be guided—or what ails a guest

Whom beds and inner coverings enfold?

وأرَّقني بدائِعُ من مَعَدٍّ

أراها اليومَ ليس لها ازدجارُ

Strange happenings among Ma'add kept me awake;

Today I see no restraint upon them.

اذا ما قلت قد جُبِرَت صدوعٌ

تُهاضُ وليس للهَيضِ انجبارُ

Whenever I said, 'The fractures have been mended,'

They broke anew, and such breaking has no healing.

كذاك المُفسِدونَ اذا تولوا

على شيءٍ فأمرُهم التَّبارُ

So it is with corrupters: when they take charge

Of anything, their business is destruction.

فأينَ ذوو البطاحِ ذرى قريشٍ

وأحلامٌ لَهُم ما تستعارُ

Where are the lords of the valleys, the heights of Quraysh,

And their sound judgments, which cannot be borrowed?

ونحن رعِيةٌ وهم رُعاةٌ

ولولا رَعيُهُم شنع الشنارُ

We are a flock, and they are shepherds;

But for their care, disgrace would grow hideous.

فإن لم تأتَمِر رُشداً قريشٌ

فليس لسائرِ العَرَبِ ائتمارُ

If Quraysh does not deliberate rightly,

The rest of the Arabs have no sound counsel.

وفضلُهُمُ باذنِ اللهِ صَبرٌ

وضَرسٌ للاعادي واحتقارُ

Their excellence, by God's permission, is patience,

A crushing bite for their foes, and disdain.

فيا قومي هَلُمَّ الى جميعٍ

وفيما قد مضى لكم اعتبارُ

My people, come together in unity;

In what has passed, there is a lesson for you.

الم يُخز التفرقُ جيشَ كِسرى

ونُحّوا عن مدائنهم فطاروا

Did disunity not disgrace Kisra's army?

They were driven from their cities and scattered.

وشُقَّ البَحرُ عن اصحابِ موسى

وغُرِّقَت الفراعِنةُ الكفارُ

The sea was parted for Moses' companions,

And the unbelieving Pharaohs were drowned.

فكَم مِن مُدَّةٍ سَبَقَت لقومٍ

زَماناً ثم يلحقها انبتارُ

How many a span was granted to a people

For a time, before severance overtook it!

فما من جِدَّةٍ الا ستَبلى

ويبقى بعد جِدَّتها الحبارُ

Nothing fresh exists but it will wear out,

And after its freshness, traces remain.

وأنذُرُكم مصائرَ قوم نوحٍ

وكانت أمةً فيها انتشارُ

I warn you of the fate of Noah's people;

They were a nation scattered abroad.

وكان يسبّحُ الرحمنَ شكراً

وللهِ المحامدُ والوقارُ

He glorified the Merciful in gratitude;

To God belong praises and reverence.

فلما أَن أرادَ اللهُ أمراً

مضى والمُشرِكونَ لهم جؤارُ

When God willed a thing,

It came to pass, while the polytheists wailed.

ونادى صاحِبُ التنورِ نُوحاً

وصُبَّ عليهِمُ منهُ الوَبارُ

The keeper of the oven called to Noah,

And from it, ruin was poured upon them.

وضجوا عند جيئتِهِ اليهم

ولا يُنجي من القدرِ الحذارُ

They clamored when it came upon them;

Caution does not save anyone from fate.

وجاشَ الماءُ مُنهَمِراً اليهم

كأنّ غثاءَه خرقٌ نشارُ

The water surged toward them in torrents,

Its floating debris like scattered rags.

وعامَت وهي قاصِدَةٌ بإذنٍ

ولولا اللهُ جارَ بها الجوارُ

The vessel floated, keeping its course by permission;

But for God, the current would have swept it astray.

الى الجوديِّ حتى صار حجراً

وحان لتالِك الغمر الخسارُ

Toward al-Judi, until it became a refuge,

And ruin came upon that multitude.

فهذا فيه موعِظَةٌ وحُكمٌ

ولكني امرؤٌ فيَّ افتِخارُ

In this there is admonition and wisdom,

Yet I am a man possessed of pride,

مِن الفتيانِ اقذفُ كلَّ عَبدٍ

بحربٍ ليس فيهنّ اعتِذارُ

One of the young warriors, hurling every slave

Into wars in which there is no making excuses.

وعندَ الحقِ تعتزلُ الموالي

اذا ما أُوقدَت للحَربِ نارُ

At the moment of truth, the clients withdraw,

Whenever a fire is kindled for war.

اكلبُ هلمّ نحنُ بني أبيكُم

ودعوى الزورِ مَنقَصةٌ وعارُ

O Kalb, come—we are your father's sons;

A false claim is a blemish and a disgrace.

وقد علمت كهولهم القدامى

اذا قعدوا كأنهم النسارُ

Their ancient elders have known this,

When they sit like vultures:

بان قُضاعةَ الاولى معدٍّ

لقرمٍ لا تَغُطُّ بهِ البِكارُ

That ancient Quda'a of Ma'add

Is a mighty camel-stallion beside whom young she-camels dare not grunt.

اذا هدرت شقاشِقُهُ ونَشبَت

له الاظفارُ تركَ له المدارُ

When his throat-sacs roar and there take hold

Claws on his behalf, the arena is left to him.

ومَن يَتَوَلَّ للرحمن نَصراً

يفرّثُ من مدامِعِهِ انتثارُ

Whoever undertakes support for the Merciful,

A spray bursts from his tear ducts.

اذا اصطَكَّا بارَعنَ مكفهرٍ

تفارَطَ أن تناوله القصارُ

When the two clash amid a grim, towering host,

He stands beyond the reach of the short.

هلم فعندنا عَدلٌ ونَصفٌ

وأحكامٌ تسدُّ بها الثِغارُ

Come: with us there is justice and equity,

And judgments by which breaches are closed.

وإن يعطفكُمُ نَسَبٌ الينا

فليسَ عليكم منها ظهارُ

If kinship inclines you toward us,

No support on its account is demanded of you.

أبونا فارسُ الفرسانِ عَلقَت

بكفته الاعنةُ والغوارُ

Our father was the horseman of horsemen; there hung

In his hand the reins and the raids.

وأفضلُ ما اقتنينا من سوامٍ

ذكورُ الخيلِ والاسلُ الحرارُ

The finest livestock we have acquired

Are stallions and noble spears.

ورَثِنا الخيلَ قد عَلِمَت مَعَدٍّ

ومن عاداتهِنَّ لنا اختيارُ

We inherited the horses—Ma'add knows it—

And ours is the choice of their qualities,

تراثاً عن أبي صدقٍ أيادٍ

وعِيلانٍ وخندفِها الكثارُ

An inheritance from a true forefather, Iyad,

And 'Aylan and its numerous Khindif clans.

اباعرةٌ فكلٌّ ساقَ نهباً

له منه العرارةُ والخيارُ

Camels, each driving off plunder,

With its choicest and best share for himself.

فصارت بالجدودِ بنو نِزارٍ

فَسِدناهم واثعلت المضارُ

Thus the sons of Nizar rose through good fortune;

We became their lords, and the Mudar clans multiplied.

فكان لنا وللمضرين حظٌّ

وللحُسّادِ في الأثَرِ الغبارُ

There was a share for us and for the Mudaris,

And for the envious, dust in our wake.

فصار العِزّ والبَسَطات فينا

واعلامٌ قدامِسَةٌ كبارُ

Glory and ample power became ours,

And mighty, towering standards.

ومنا الأنبياءُ وكُلٌّ مَلكٍ

وحُكّامُ الائمةِ حيثُ صاروا

From us came the prophets and every king,

And the rulers of the leaders, wherever they went.

غَلَبنا الناسَ في الدنيا بفضل

ونرجو أن يكونَ لنا المحارُ

We surpassed others in this world through excellence,

And hope that the place of return will be ours.

واسماعيلُ بعد اللهِ يقضي

لنا بالحقِّ اذ رُفِعَ الخطارُ

Ishmael, after God, judges

For us in truth, when the stakes were raised.

فعندي الفصلُ للجهالِ منكم

كمنهاجِ الطريقِ به المنارُ

I possess the decisive answer for the ignorant among you,

Like a clear road marked with beacons.

قضاعةُ كان حزباً من معدٍ

تَصِر تبعاً وللتَبَعِ الصَّغارُ

Quda'a was a faction of Ma'add;

You become followers, and followers bear humiliation.

ويلقوا ثَرَّ شَخبٍ من مَعَدٍّ

يَدُرُّ لِمَن يشاركُه الغرارُ

They find a copious gush of milk from Ma'add;

A scant stream flows for whoever shares with it.

وتعرفُ من بني قحطانَ بُعداً

وتظلم وهي ليس لها انتصارُ

You will know remoteness from the sons of Qahtan,

And be wronged, with no power to avenge yourself.

ومَن يكُ يومَ دعوتِهِ غريباً

يخُنهُ من جناحَيهِ انكسارُ

Whoever is a stranger on the day he calls for help,

The breaking of his two wings betrays him.

ونصرُ ذوي الاباعدِ منك رَيثٌ

واحشاءُ ابنِ عمِّكَ تُستطارُ

Help from distant kinsmen comes slowly to you,

While your cousin's very heart is stirred to alarm.

ومن يَنزَع أرومَتَه لأخرى

فذاك لثابتِ الأصلِ اعتقارُ

Whoever uproots his stock for another,

That is a mutilation of firmly rooted lineage.

كما الزيتونُ لا يَمّازُ نخلاً

ولا الجبارُ تبدلُه الصحارُ

Just as the olive cannot be classed as a palm,

Nor can deserts change a lofty palm tree,

ولا التمرُ المكمَّمُ حولَ حِمصٍ

اذا ماحانَ من هَجَرِ الجزارُ

Nor the dates enclosed in their sheaths around Hims,

When harvest time comes in Hajar.

وآنَفُ أن يكونَ اخي تبيعاً

لدى يمنٍ وقد قُهِرت نزارُ

I disdain that my brother should be a follower

Among Yemen's people, with Nizar subdued.

ويأبى الصيدُ من سلفى نزارٍ

وأرفادٍ محالبُها غِزارُ

The proud men among my forebears of Nizar refuse it,

And gifts whose udders yield abundantly.

اذا الرِّيحُ الشّآميةُ استحنّت

وَلَعبض بها مع الليلِ العصارُ

When the Syrian wind begins to moan,

And whirlwinds play with it through the night,

فأُدبَتُنا الجوافِلُ كلَّ يومٍ

وبعضُ الناسِ أُدبَتُه انتقارُ

Our banquets are open to all each day,

While some people invite only a chosen few.

وقولُ المرءِ ينفذُ بعبدَ حينٍ

اماكنَ لا تجاوُرها الابارُ

A man's words travel, after a while,

To places no wells lie near.

أميرُ المؤمنين هدىً ونورٌ

كما جلّى دجى الظلمِ النهارُ

The Commander of the Faithful is guidance and light,

As daylight clears the gloom of darkness.

قريعُ بني أميةَ من قريشٍ

همُ السَّرُ المهذبُ والنضارُ

The foremost of the sons of Umayya, of Quraysh:

They are refined, choice stock and pure gold.

وعبدُ المَلكِ للفقراء طَعمٌ

وحِرزٌ ليس معقلُه يُضارُ

'Abd al-Malik is sustenance for the poor,

And a refuge whose fortress cannot be harmed.

وقد حَمَلَ الخِلافَةَ ثم حَلَّ

بها عند ابنِ مروانَ القرارُ

He bore the caliphate; then rest came

To it with the son of Marwan.

وقلت لذي الكلاعِ وذي رعينٍ

أَحَقَّ قولُ حميرَ أم جوارُ

I said to Dhu al-Kala' and Dhu Ru'ayn,

'Is Himyar's claim true, or is it injustice?'

تدعّيهم قضاعَةُ بَعدَ دَهرٍ

وفي الدَّهرِ التَّقَلُّبُ والغيارُ

Quda'a claims them after a long age;

In time there are reversals and changes.

وانمارُ بنُ بجلةَ قال قِيلاً

وليس له اذا عدوا غدارُ

Anmar son of Bajila uttered a saying,

And when they count, he has no evasion.

متى ترعش الى الالجامِ يوماً

يَقُم سوقُ الطعانِ لها تجارُ

Whenever you reach, trembling, for the bridles one day,

A market of spear-thrusts rises, with traders in it.

ومعقلُنا السيوفُ اذا انخنا

وقد طارَ القنازعُ والشرارُ

Our fortress is our swords when we encamp,

When topknots and sparks have flown,

بضَربٍ تَبصُرُ العميانُ منه

وتعشى دونَه الحَدَقُ البِصارُ

With blows by which the blind can see,

Yet before which keen eyes are dazzled.

واسحاقٌ اخونا قد علمتُم

علينا من مواسِمِه النجارُ

Isaac is our brother, as you have known;

Our lineage bears his ancestral marks.

نَهُزُّ المشرفيةَ ثم نعدوا

وليس بنا عن العادي ازورارُ

We brandish Mashrafi swords, then charge,

And never turn away from an assailant.