1. أرَاحَت لِقَلبي عَازِبَ الهَمِّ والهَوَى

    رُبُوعٌ بِذَاتش الرِّيعِ شَرقِىِّ ذِى الهُوَى

    They brought back to my heart long-absent sorrow and love—

    dwelling sites at Dhatsh al-Riʿ, east of Dhu al-Huwa.

  2. وألوَت بِصَبرٍ بَعدَ صَبرِى مَنَازِلٌ

    بِجَنبَةِ ذَاتِ الدُّخنِ في مُلتَوَى اللِّوىَ

    And dwellings swept away my patience after I had endured,

    on Dhat al-Dukhn's flank, at al-Liwa's bend.

  3. وقَد هَيَّجت آيَاتُ دُورٍ مَحِيلَةٍ

    لَدَى مَيسةِ المَرضَى البَلاَبِلَ والجَوَى

    Traces of deserted dwellings have stirred up

    anguish and lovesickness beside Maysat al-Marḍa.

  4. وبِالسِّفحِ مِن بَصَّارَةِ المَيسَةِ التى

    تَلِى تِلعَةَ الغُدرَانِ مُرتَبَعٌ قَوَا

    And on the slope of Baṣṣarat al-Maysa, which

    adjoins Talʿat al-Ghudran, a spring campsite lies deserted.

  5. وفي جَانبي غَورِ الغَدِيرِ مَرَابِعٌ

    دَوَارِسُ هِىَّ الدّاءُ لِى وَهِىَ الدَّوا

    On either side of the pool's hollow lie spring camping grounds,

    effaced: they are my sickness and my cure.

  6. وفي جَلهَتَى ذَاتِ الجِمَالِ ونَعفِهَا

    إِلَى مُلتَوَى الوَعسَاءِ مِن حَيثُ مَا التَوَى

    On both flanks of Dhat al-Jimal and its hill-spur,

    as far as al-Waʿsa's bend, wherever it winds,

  7. مَعَاهِدُ إِن رُمتُ إرعَوَاءً عَنِ الصِّبَا

    أبَى ذِكرُهَا إِلاَّ ارعوَاءً عَنِ ارعِوَا

    are familiar haunts; if I seek to renounce youthful love,

    their memory insists I renounce renunciation itself.

  8. مَنَازِلُ مَاهَاجَتهُ مَاهِيجَ قَبلَهَا

    فَقلبي عَلَى صَفوِ الوِدَادِ لَهَا انطَوَى

    What these dwellings stirred had never been stirred before them;

    so my heart enfolded pure affection for them.

  9. أقَمتُ بِها دَهراً بِأهَنَأِ غِبطَةٍ

    وأعذَبِ وَصلٍ آمِناً صَولَةَ النَّوَى

    I dwelt there an age in the happiest bliss,

    and the sweetest union, safe from separation's assault.

  10. دِيَّارٌ بِهَا احلَولَى التَّصَابي وَأينَعَت

    غُصُونُ الهَوَى حَتَّى تَأنَّقَ وَاستَوَى

    Homes where youthful dalliance grew sweet, and ripened

    love's branches, until it grew exquisite and complete.

  11. فَكَم لَيلَةٍ في هَذِهِ الدُّورِ بِتُّهَا

    أُغَازِلُ غَزلاَناً مَعَاصِمُهَا رِوَا

    How many a night I spent in these dwellings,

    wooing gazelles with full, rounded wrists.

  12. إِذَا ابتَسَمَت خِلتَ البُرُوقَ إبتِسَامَهَا

    سَناً في هَوَاءٍ مِثلُ آخَرَ في هَوَا

    When they smiled, you took the lightning for their smiles—

    one radiance in the air like another in the air.

  13. وَتَحسَبُهَا مَهمَا تَثَنَّت أو استَوَت

    نَضِيرَاتِ بَانٍ في تَثَنٍّ وفي استِوَا

    Whenever they swayed or stood straight, you took them

    for fresh bān saplings, swaying or upright.

  14. ومَهمَا التَوت فَوقَ اللِّوىَ قُلتَ هَذِهِ

    ظِبَاءُ اللِّوَى لَولاَ الشَّوَاكِلُ والشَّوَى

    Whenever they bent upon al-Liwa, you said, 'These

    are al-Liwa's gazelles, but for their flanks and limbs.'

  15. دِيَّارٌ حَنَينَا العِلمَ في جَنَباتِهَا

    شَهِيًّا وَأدنَينَاهُ إِذ هُو مُجتَوَى

    Homes where we gathered learning within their bounds,

    delectable, drawing it near when it was shunned.

  16. وَرُضنَا بِهَا صَعبَ القَوَافي فأَصبَحَت

    لَنَا ذُلَلاً فِيهَا ضَوىً ولَهَا قُوَى

    There we tamed the unruly rhymes, and they became

    docile for us, slender yet possessed of strength.

  17. لَيالِينَا لا تَخشي هَجوَ واغِلٍ

    وَإِذ هُو فِينَا مِن حِواٍ إِلَى حِوَا

    Our nights did not fear a gatecrasher's lampoon,

    while he moved among us from camp to camp.

  18. إِذَا رَاءَ عِرساً مُوذِناً بِوَلِيمَةٍ

    ثَوَى وَإِذَا المَأمُولُ مِنهَا انزَوَى انزَوَى

    Whenever he saw a wedding heralding a feast,

    he stayed; when his hopes of it withdrew, he withdrew.

  19. أيَا ابنَ حَبِيبِ اللهِ لَم تَكُ عِندَنَا

    بِمُحتَرَمٍ جَراَّ الأبَاطِيلِ واللُّوَى

    O son of Habib Allah, you were never, among us,

    held in respect, because of falsehoods and evasions.

  20. فَلَسنَا كَمَن يَقتَادُهُ كُلُّ مُدَّعٍ

    وَلَسنَا كَمَن يُغوِيهِ غَاوٍ إِذَا اغتَوَى

    For we are not people whom every pretender can lead,

    nor people a wayward man misleads when he goes astray.

  21. أظُنُّ ِإذَا مَا مِتَّ قَادِرٌ

    عَلَى أنني أُحيِيكَ بِاللهِ لاَ القُوَى

    I think, if you die, I am able

    to bring you to life, through God, not strength.

  22. أُرَدِّدُ كَأساً عِندَ وَجهِكَ لَذَّةً

    وَآتِى بِلَحمٍ مِن قَدِيدٍ وَمُشتَوَى

    I wave a delightful cup back and forth before your face,

    and bring meat, dried and roasted.

  23. فَلاَبُدَّ أَن تَحتَالَ حَتَّى تُحِيلَهَا

    وَتفتَرِسَ اللَّحمَ القَدِيدَ أوِ الشِّوَا

    Then you must contrive a way until you empty it,

    and devour the dried meat or the roast.

  24. وَفَخرُكَ بِالشَّيخِ الَّذِي قُلتَ ثابِتٌ

    فَإِن تَكُ مِثلَ الشَّيخِ فَاستَطِبِ الثَّوَا

    Your boast of the shaykh you mentioned stands;

    if you are like the shaykh, then relish your stay.

  25. فَسَعيُكَ نَاءٍ عَن طريقةَ سَعيِهِ

    وَمعنَاكَ عَن مَّعنَاتِهِ أعوَجَّ وَالتَوَى

    But your striving is far from his way of striving,

    and your purpose, beside his, has grown crooked and twisted.

  26. فَطَرَّدَكَ الحِرمَانُ عَن بَابِ عِلمِهِ

    وَحلأكَ الشَّيطَانُ عَن مَائِهِ الرِّوَى

    Deprivation drove you away from the gate of his learning,

    and Satan barred you from his thirst-quenching water.

  27. عَلَى أنَّهُ مِن نَبعِنَا وَوَشِيجِنَا

    وَقَد كَانَ مِنَّا حَاوِيًّا كُلَّ مَا حَوَى

    Yet he was of our bow-wood and our spear-reeds,

    and from us had gathered all he possessed.

  28. أَبَنَّ بِنَا لاَ يَبتَغِى بَدَلاً بِنَا

    وأُشرِبَ مِنَّا العِلمَ واعتَزًّ واقتَوَى

    He stayed with us, seeking no replacement for us,

    was steeped by us in learning, and grew proud and strong.

  29. وَقَد كَان غَضَّافي المَكَارِمِ غُصنُهُ

    ولَكِنَّ غُصنَ الشَّيخِ مِن بَعدِهِ ذَوَى

    His branch had been fresh amid noble virtues,

    but the shaykh's branch withered after him.

  30. فَأنتَ نَوَاةٌ مِنهُ إِن كَانَ تَمرَةً

    وَلَم يَكُ فَضلُ التَّمرِ يَسرِى ِإلَى النَّوَى

    You are his date-stone, if he was a date,

    and a date's excellence does not pass into its stone.

  31. وفي ثَمَرِ البُهمَى لِمِثلِكَ أُسوَةٌ

    فَأنتَ وَمَا قَد أَثمَرتَ مِن سفي سَوَا

    The fruit of buhmā grass is a model for your like:

    you and the awns you have borne are alike.

  32. أتَى وَاغِلٌ يَوماً نَدِيًّا فَشَلَّهُ

    وَصَارَ ورَاءَ الدَّارِ يَرنُو مِنَ الكُوَى

    One day a gatecrasher came to a gathering, which drove him out;

    he went behind the house, peering through the windows.

  33. وقَالَ لَهُم إِنِّي مُهَاجٍ لِشَاعِرٍ

    وَدَأبِيَ أن أُهجَى دَوَاماً وأهجُوَا

    He told them, 'I trade lampoons with a poet;

    my habit is always to be lampooned and to lampoon.'

  34. وَمأمُولُهُ أن يُّستَرَدَّ إِلَيهُمُ

    وَيَقرب مِمَّا قَرَّبُوهُ وَيَدنُوَا

    His hope was to be called back to them,

    and get close to what they had set out, and draw near.

  35. فَقَالُوا وَمَن تَهجُو فَقَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ

    فَقَالُوا ابنُ مَن قَالَ ابنُ ابنُ أخِى النِّوَا

    They asked, 'Whom do you lampoon?' He said, 'Muhammad.'

    They asked, 'Whose son?' He said, 'The grandson of al-Niwa's brother.'

  36. فَقَالُوا أَتَنقِيصاً تُرِيدُ فَقَالَ

    ولَكِنَّهُ في ثَروَةٍ أزمُناً ثَوَى

    They said, 'Do you mean to disparage him?' He replied,

    'But he dwelt in wealth for years.'

  37. فَقَالُوا عَلَى الإِنفَاقِ في خَيرِ مَصرِفٍ

    وإكرَامِ ضِيفَانٍ وإِيوَاءِ مَن أوَى

    They said, 'For spending in the finest cause,

    honoring guests and sheltering those who sought refuge.'

  38. وَقَالُوا أهَوَّ الشَّاعِرُ الذَّرِبُ الذي

    تُنُوذِرَ في الآفَاقِ قَالَ لَهُم هُوَّ

    They asked, 'Is he the sharp-tongued poet against whom

    people warn one another across the lands?' He said, 'He is.'

  39. فَقَالُوا أخُو عَقلٍ يُعَرِّضُ عِرضَهُ

    بِدَوٍّ لِرِيحٍ زَعزَعٍ لَهُو الدَّوَى

    They said, 'A man of sense who exposes his honor

    in the open desert to a raging wind is surely mad.'

  40. أتسطاع في حَوكِ القَصَائِدِ شَأوَهُ

    إذَا أَبيَضَّ مَعنَاهُ المَرُومُ أو أَحوَى

    Can you match his reach in weaving poems,

    whether his intended meaning shines white or grows dark?

  41. تَقَاصَر فَمَا شَمسُ الظَّهِيرَةِ كَالسُّهَا

    سَنَاءً وَلاَ الشُّمُّ الشَّوَاهِقِ كالصُّوَى

    Stay within your limits: the noonday sun is not like al-Suha

    in radiance, nor towering summits like cairns.

  42. وَلاَ الضَّغَمُ الضَّارِى يُرَجِّعُ زَأرَهُ

    بِأَجمَتِه كَالِّذِّيبِ في قَفرَةٍ عَوَى

    Nor is a fierce lion echoing its roar

    in its thicket like a wolf howling in a wilderness.

  43. ولَم يَكُنِ البَحرُ الغَطَمطَمُ كَالإِضَا

    ولَم تَكُنِ العِيسُ الهَجَائِنُ كالذِّوَى

    Nor is the deep, tumultuous sea like pools,

    nor pale, thoroughbred camels like scrawny ones.

  44. بَعَثتَ رَكِيِكَ الشِّعرِ نَحوي وِإنني

    لأعلَم مَن أغرَاكَ بي إِذلَكَ انضَوَى

    You sent your feeble verse toward me, and indeed

    I know who incited you against me when he attached himself to you,

  45. وَغَرَّكَ حَتَّى خِلتَ أَنَّكَ شَاعِرٌ

    فَألقَاكَ مِن عَليَاء نِيقٍ ِإلَى الهُوَى

    and deceived you until you thought yourself a poet,

    then hurled you from a lofty summit into the abyss.

  46. فَرُمتَ إِرتِقَاءً في الهَوَاءِ وَمَن يَرُم

    بِغَيرِ جَنَاحٍ مُرتَقًى في الهَوَى هَوَى

    You sought ascent in the air; whoever seeks

    a height in the air without wings falls.

  47. سَأسقِيكَ كَأساً مِن هِجَائِكَ مُرَّةً

    تَوَدُّ ِإذَا مَا ذُقَتَهَا قَبلَهَا التَّوَى

    I shall give you a bitter cup of satire against you,

    which, once tasted, will make you wish you had died before it.

  48. فَلاَ تَتَألَّم مِن هِجَائِكَ هِجتَهُ

    وَتعلَمُ أني حَامِلٌ فِيهِ لِلتوي

    Do not complain of the lampoon against you—you provoked it;

    and know that in it I bear ruin.

  49. وَلَم يَتَشَكَّ الضَّربَ ضَارِبُ نَفسِهِ

    ولَم يَشكُ حَرَّ النَّارِ مُكتَوٍ اكتَوَى

    No one who strikes himself complains of the blow,

    nor does one who seeks cautery complain of the fire's heat.

  50. فَخُذهَا عَرُوباً بِنتَ فَكرٍ مُعِيرَةً

    لِجِسمِكَ دَاءً لاَ يُتَاحُ لَهُ دَوَا

    So take her, an ardent daughter of thought, lending

    your body a sickness for which no cure is granted.

  51. يُذَلِّكَ في الأَندَاءِ حُسنُ إنسِجَامِهَا

    إِذَا طَفِقَ الرَّاوي يُكَرِّرُ وَاء وَوَا

    Her beautiful flow will humble you in assemblies,

    when the reciter begins repeating 'wāʾ' and 'wā.'

  52. فَتَخرَى وتَعيَا بَعدَمَا كُنتَ تَدَّعِى

    وتُصبِحَ نَهباً لِلمَرَابِر والدَّوَا

    Then you will shit and falter after all your boasting,

    and become prey to the marābir [unclear term] and fools.

  53. أجِبهَأ بِأخرَى مِثلِهَا في رَوِّيهَا

    وفي بَحرِهَا إِن كُنتَ تَقدِرُ لاَ سِوَى

    Answer it with another matching its rhyme consonant,

    and its meter, if you can—nothing else.

  54. وَلاَ تَطوِهَا ِإلاَّ عَلَى أحسَنِ اللُّغَى

    وأحسَنِ مَعنًى وَأنوِ لِلمَرءِ مَا نَوَى

    Enfold it only in the finest language,

    and the finest meaning; intend for the man what he intended.

  55. وإيَّاكَ مِن مَعنًى رَدِىٍّ أمُجُّهُ

    وأكرَهُهُ طَبعاً كَمَا تَكرَهُ الطَّوَى

    Beware a base meaning that I would spit out,

    and instinctively loathe, as you loathe hunger.