Sol 6.1

  1. طَالَ في رَسْمِ مَهْدَدٍ رَبَدُهْ

    وعَفَا، واسْتَوَى بِهِ بَلَدُهْ

    Long has the dusky hue lingered in Mahdad's traces.

    They have faded, and the surrounding ground has leveled them.

  2. ومحاهُ تهطالُ أسمية ٍ

    كُلَّ يَوْمٍ ولَيْلَة ٍ تَرِدُهْ

    The streaming of rainclouds erased them,

    visiting them every day and night,

  3. غَيْرَ حَشْوٍ مِنْ عَرْفَجِ، غَرَضٍ

    لرياحِ المصيفِ، تطّردُهْ

    save clumps of arfaj, exposed

    to summer winds that drive them away,

  4. وبَقَايَا مِنْ نُؤيِ مُحْتَجِزٍ

    ومصامٍ مشعَّثٍ وتدُهْ

    and remnants of an enclosing ditch,

    and a tethering-place whose peg is battered,

  5. وخصيفٍ لدَى مناتجِ ظئرَيـ

    ـنِ منَ المرخِ، أتأمَتْ زندُهْ

    and mottled ash beside the birthplace of two foster-mothers

    of markh wood, whose firestick bore twins.

  6. تَرَكَ الدَّهْرُ أَهْلَهُ شُعَباً

    فاستمرَّتْ منْ دونِهمْ عقدُهْ

    Time left its people scattered in branches,

    and its knots held fast between them.

  7. وكَذَاكَ الزَّمَانُ يَطْرُدُ بالنَّا

    سِ إلى اليومِ يومُهُ وغدُهْ

    And so time drives people onward—

    to this day, its today and its tomorrow.

  8. لاَ يُرِيشَانِ باخْتِلاَفِهِمَا المَرْ

    ءَ، وإنْ طالَ فيهِما أمدُهْ

    Neither enriches a man through their alternation,

    though his span among them be long.

  9. كلُّ حيٍّ مستكملٌ عدَّة َ العمـ

    ـرِ، ومُودٍ إِذا انْقَضى عَدَدُهْ

    Every living thing completes the full tally of life,

    and perishes when its number is exhausted.

  10. عجباً ما عجبتُ منْ جامعِ الما

    لِ يباهي بهِ، ويرتفدُهْ

    How greatly I marvel at the hoarder of wealth,

    who boasts of it and seeks support in it,

  11. ويُضِيعُ الَّذي يُصَيِّرُهُ اللّـ

    ـهُ إِلَيْهِ، فَلَيْسَ يَعْتَقِدُهْ

    yet neglects what God will bring him to,

    giving it no heed:

  12. يَوْمَ لا يَنْفَعُ المُخَوَّلَ ذا الثَّرْ

    وة ِ خلاَّنُة ُ ولاَ ولدُهْ

    the day when the wealthy man gains no help

    from his friends or his children.

  13. ثُمَّ يُؤْتَى بِهِ، وخَصْماهُ، وَسْطَ الْـ

    ـجِنِّ والإِنْسِ، رِجْلُهُ ويَدُهْ

    Then he is brought, with his two accusers, before

    jinn and humankind: his foot and his hand.

  14. خاشعَ الطّرفِ، ليسَ ينفعُهُ ثـ

    ـمَّ أمانيُّهُ، ولا لددُهْ

    Eyes lowered, he finds no help there

    in his wishes or his stubborn disputing.

  15. قُلْ لِباكي الأَمْواتِ: لا يَبْكِ للنَّا

    سِ، ولا يستنعْ بهِ فندُهْ

    Tell the mourner of the dead: let him not weep for people,

    nor let his folly swell through it.

  16. إنّما النَّاسُ مثلُ نابتة ِ الزَّر

    عِ، متَى يَأْنِ يَأْتِ مُحْتَصِدُهْ

    People are only like growing crops:

    whenever they ripen, their reaper comes.

  17. وابْنِ سَبِيلٍ قَرَيْتُهُ أُصُلاً

    مِنْ فَوْزِ حَمْكٍ مَنْسُوبَة ٍ تُلُدُهْ

    And a wayfarer I entertained in the late afternoon,

    from the winnings of small shafts, their old stock well traced.

  18. لمْ يستدرْ في ربابة ٍ، ونحَا

    أصْلابَها، وشوشُ القِرَى ، حشدُهْ

    He sought no yield from a sheaf of arrows, but selected

    its solid shafts—a brisk, eager provider of hospitality.

  19. دفعْتُ فيهَا ذا ميعة ٍ صخباً

    مغلاقَ قمرٍ، يزينُهُ أودُهْ

    I thrust among them a swift, rattling shaft,

    a sure winner at gambling, its curvature adorning it.

  20. لمْ يبقَ منْ مرسِ كفِّ صاحبِهِ

    أخلاقُ سربالهِ، ولا جدُدُهْ

    Under the rubbing of its owner's palm, none remained

    of its worn-out coat, nor of its fresh covering.

  21. مُوعَبُ لِيطِ القَرَا، بِهِ قُوَبٌ

    سودٌ، قليلُ اللِّحاءِ، منجردُهْ

    Its back's bark is wholly stripped, with patches

    of black, its bare surface holding little bark.

  22. يغدُو منَ الحيِّ ضيفُهُ دسماً،

    وإِنْ أوَى وَهْوَ ظاهِرٌ وَبَدُهْ

    Its guest leaves the encampment well fed,

    even if he arrived with his poverty plain.

  23. مُجِرَّبٌ بالرِّهانِ، مُسْتَلِبٌ

    خصْلَ الجَوارِي، طَرَائِفٌ سَبَدُهْ

    Tried and tested in wagering, it snatches

    the winning shares of its fellow shafts; its covering is distinctive.

  24. إذا انتحَتْ بالشِّمالِ سانحة ً

    جالَ بريحاً، واستفردتْهُ يدُهْ

    When they move in the left hand, crossing from left to right,

    it wheels from right to left, and his hand singles it out.

  25. نِعْمَ نَجِيشُ القِرَى ، نُهِيبُ بِهِ

    ليلاً ذا البركُ حاردتْ رفدُهْ

    What a fine rousing force for hospitality! We call on it

    at night, when the kneeling herd withholds its yield.

  26. بانَ الخليطُ الغداة ، فاستلبوا

    منكَ فؤاداً مصابة ً كبدُهْ

    The companions departed this morning, carrying off

    your heart, its innermost core wounded.

  27. واستقلبتهُمْ هيفٌ، لهَا حدبٌ

    تُزْجي سَيَالَ السَّفَى ، وتَطَّرِدُهْ

    A hot south wind met them, swelling in gusts,

    driving streaming chaff and sweeping it along.

  28. هَاجَتْ نِزاعاً سَهْواً، مُناكِبَة ً

    منْ فجِّ نجرانَ، تغتلي بردُهْ

    It stirred longing, blowing gently, sidelong,

    from Najran's pass, its coolness surging.

  29. رَفَعْنَ فَوْقَ المُخَيَّساتِ ضُحى ً

    للبينِ لمَّا تقعقعَتْ عمدُهْ

    They raised above the kneeling camels, in the forenoon,

    for departure, when the tent-poles rattled,

  30. كُلَّ مُنِيفٍ كالقَرِّ، مُعْتَدِلٍ

    بينَ فئامينْ، سوِّيَتْ مهدُهْ

    each lofty litter, like a great basket, balanced

    between two side-frames, its bedding leveled.

  31. مُصْغِياتٍ يَرْسِمْنَ في عُرُضِ الآ

    لِ رسيماً مواشكاً حفدُهْ

    Leaning forward, they stepped through the expanse of the mirage

    with a brisk gait, their hurrying steps close together.

  32. فِيهِمْ لَنا خُلَّة ٌ نُواصِلُها

    في غيرِ أسبابِ نائلٍ تعدُهْ

    Among them is a beloved with whom we keep close ties,

    without the bonds of any favor she promises,

  33. إِلاَّ حَدِيثاً رَسْلاً يُضَلِّلُ بالْـ

    ـعزهاة ِ، والمستنيعُ فيهِ ددُهْ

    save leisurely talk that beguiles even

    the woman-shunning man, his delight in it growing great.

  34. لَمْ تَأْكُلِ الفَثَّ والدُّعَاعَ، ولَمْ

    تنقفْ هبيداً يجنيهِ مهتدُهْ

    She has not eaten famine grass-seed or weed-seed,

    nor cracked colocynth seed gathered by one who knows it.

  35. هلْ تبلغنٍّيهِمْ مذكّرة ٌ

    وَجْناءُ، مَضْبُورَة ُ القَرا، أُجُدُهْ

    Will a masculine-built camel bring me to them—

    thick-cheeked, compact-backed, firmly knit?

  36. يَبْرُقُ في دَفِّها سَلائِقُها

    منْ بينِ فذٍّ وتوءَمٍ جدَدُهْ

    On her flank her lash-marks gleam,

    their tracks both single and paired.

  37. ذَاتُ شِنْفَارَة ٍ إِذا هَمَتِ الذِّفْـ

    ـرَى بِماءٍ عَصَائِمٍ جَسَدُهْ

    Broad-lipped: when the hollows behind her ears

    stream water, streaks of her body's stain

  38. كَعِراقِ الأطِبَّة ِ السُّودِ، يَسْتَـ

    ـنُّ، كَحَبْلٍ يَجُولُ، مُنْفَصِدُهْ

    look like the seams of black waterskins; the outflow

    runs like a rope swinging about,

  39. مثلَ حبٍّ الكباث، يحدُرُهُ اللِّيـ

    ـتُ إذا ما اسْتَذَابَهُ نَجَدُهْ

    like ripe arak berries rolled down by the neck

    when exertion melts them into a stream.

  40. حينَ قالَ اليعقورُ، واعتدلَ الظَّـ

    ـلُّ، وكانَتْ فُضُولَه وُسُدُهْ

    When the antelope rests at noon and the shadow draws in,

    its remaining stretches serving as pillows,

  41. وانتمَى ابنُ الفلاة ِ في طرفِ الجّْ

    لِ، وأعيَا عليهِ ملتحدُهْ

    and the desert's son seeks the edge of the coarse herbage,

    finding no shelter there,

  42. في مليعٍ، كأنَّ حفَّانَهُ الرَّكـ

    ـبُ إِذا مَا اللَّظَى جَرَى صَخَدُهْ

    in a broad waste, his chicks like a mounted troop

    when the flame's scorching heat runs across it.

  43. لَمَّا وَرَدْتُ الطَّوِيَّ والحَوْضُ كالصِّـ

    ـيرَة ِ، دَفْنُ الإِزَاءِ، مُلْتَبِدُهْ

    When I reached the stone-lined well, the trough was like

    a pen, its bank buried beneath caked mud.

  44. سافَتْ قليلاً أعلَى نصائبِهِ،

    ثمَّ استمرَّتْ في طامسِ تخدُهْ

    She sniffed briefly at the tops of its set stones,

    then went on, striding over a faded track,

  45. وقدْ لوَى أنفَهُ بمشفرِهَا

    طِلْحُ قَرَاشِيمَ، شَاحِبٌ جَسَدُهْ

    while, against her muzzle, had turned his nose

    a weary, shriveled man, his body pale,

  46. عَلٌّ، طَوِيلُ الطَّوَى ، كَبَالَيَة ِ السُّـ

    ـفْعِ، مَتَى يَلْقَ العُلْوَ يَصْطَعِدُهْ

    gaunt, long hungry, like a worn blackened

    hearthstone; whenever he meets a rise, he climbs it.

  47. كأَنَّهَا خَاضِبٌ غَدَا هَزِجاً

    يَنْقُفُ شَرْيَ الدَّنَا، ويَحْتَصِدُهْ

    She was like a red-legged male ostrich, setting out with a booming cry,

    pecking lowland colocynths and cropping them.

  48. ظَلَّ بِنَبْدِ التَّنُّومِ يَخْذِمُهُ

    حَتَّى إِذَا يَوْمُهُ دَنَا أَفَدُهْ

    All day he cropped scattered patches of tannum,

    until his day's end drew near.

  49. راحَ يشقُّ البلادَ منتخباً،

    حمشَ الظَّنابيبِ، طائراً لبدُهْ

    At evening he went striding vigorously across the land,

    slender-shinned, his plumage flying,

  50. حَتَّى تَلاَقَى ، والشَّمْسُ جَانِحَة ٌ

    أدحيَّ عرسينِ رابياَ نضدُهْ

    until, with the sun inclining, he reached

    a pair's nest, its piled eggs rising high.

  51. بَاتَ يَحُفُّ الأُدْحِيَّ مُتَّخِذاً

    كِسْرَيْ بِجَادٍ مَهْتُوكَة ٍ اُصُدُهْ

    He spent the night sheltering the nest beneath

    two halves of a striped cloak, its panels torn.

  52. أَذَاكَ أمْ نَاشِطٌ تَوَسَّنَهُ

    جَارِي رَذَاذٍ يَسْتَنُّ مُنْجَرِدُهْ

    Was it that, or a roaming wild bull visited in his sleep

    by flowing drizzle coursing over his bare hide?

  53. بَاتَ لَدَى نُعْضَة ٍ يَطُوفُ بها

    في رَأْسِ مَتْنٍ أَبْزَى بِهِ جَرَدُهْ

    He spent the night beside a nu‘dah bush, circling it,

    on a ridge-top where the bare ground thrust upward.

  54. لَمَّا اسْتَبَانَ الشَّبا، شَبا جِرْبِيا

    ءِ المسِّ، منْ كلِّ جانبٍ تردُهْ

    When he felt the bite—the north wind's sharp

    touch, reaching him from every side—

  55. غَاطَ حَتَّى اسْتَباثَ مِنْ شِيَمِ الأَرْ

    ضِ سفاة ً منْ دونِها ثأدُهْ

    he sank down until he dug from the soil's layers

    dry sand with damp earth beneath it.

  56. طَالِعٌ نِصْفُهُ، ونِصْفٌ يُوارِيـ

    ـهِ حفيرٌ، يحفُّهُ سندُهْ

    Half of him showed; the other half was concealed

    in a hollow, its sloping bank surrounding him.

  57. بيَّتتهُ السَّماءُ منْ آخرِ اللَّيـ

    ـلِ بِشُؤْبُوبٍ مُهْذِبٍ بَرَدهْ

    The sky assailed him near the end of night

    with a downpour whose hail came rushing.

  58. فهْوَ طافٍ، يزلُّ عنْ متنهِ القطـ

    ـرُ، نقيٌّ إهابُهُ، صردُهْ

    He was exposed, the rain sliding off his back,

    his hide clean, its bare surface chilled.

  59. وغَدَا، إذْ بَدَتْ لَهُ الشَّمْسُ، يَجْتَا

    بُ كَثِيباً خَلا لَهُ عَقِدُهْ

    At morning, when the sun appeared to him, he crossed

    a dune whose firm ridges lay empty before him.

  60. بَيْنَما ذَاكَ هَاجَهُ غُدْوَة ً

    جمعُ ضروٍ، مقلَّدٌ قددُهْ

    While he was thus, he was roused at dawn

    by a pack of hunting hounds, collared with leather straps.

  61. صَائِباتُ الصُّدُورِ، يَبْدُو إذا أَقْـ

    ـعَيْنَ مِنْ كُلِّ مِرْفَقٍ بَدَدُهْ

    Straight-chested, they showed, when they squatted,

    the outward splay of every elbow.

  62. يبتدرنَ الأحراجَ كالثَّولِ، والحرْ

    جُ لربِّ الصُّيودِ يصطفدُهُ

    They rushed from their carriers like a swarm; the carrier

    the master of the hunt had lashed fast.

  63. مرعياتٍ لأخلجِ الشِّدْقِ، سلعا

    مٍ، مُمَرٍّ، مَفْتُولَة ٍ عَضُدُهْ

    They were kept for a slack-jawed, big-headed hound,

    sinewy, his foreleg tightly muscled,

  64. يَضْغَمُ النَّابِيءَ المُلَمَّعَ بَيْنَ الرَّ

    وْقِ والعَيْنِ، ثُمَّ يَقْتَصِدُهْ

    who bites the emerging dappled beast between horn

    and eye, then kills it outright.

  65. ثُمَّ إِنْ لَمْ يُوافِهِ القَوْمُ لَمْ يُشْـ

    ـكلْ عليهِ منْ أينَ يفتصدُهْ

    And if the men do not reach him, he has no doubt

    where to open its vein.

  66. ذا ضريرٍ، يصرُّ مثلَ صريرِ الـ

    ـقَعْوِ لَمَّا أَصَاحَهُ مَسَدُهْ

    Fiercely persistent, he creaks like the creaking

    of a wooden pulley set crying by its rope.

  67. مِنْ خِلاَلِ الألاَءِ عَايَنَ، فانْقَـ

    ـضَّ مليَّاً، ما يرعوي زؤدُهْ

    Through the ala’ bushes the bull saw them and darted off,

    running long, his fear unrelenting.

  68. ثمَّ آدتْهُ كبرياءُ علَى الكـ

    ـرِّ، وحردٌ في صدرهِ يجدُهْ

    Then pride bent him toward turning back,

    and rage that he felt within his breast.

  69. فهوَ ثانٍ، يذوحهُنَّ بروقيـ

    ـهِ مَعاً أوْ بِطَعْنِهِ عَنَدُهْ

    He turned, scattering them with both his horns

    together, or with a thrust whose blood flows unchecked.

  70. ذا ضريرٍ، يشكُّ آباطَها القصـ

    ـوى بطعنٍ يفوحُ معتندُهْ

    Fiercely persistent, he pierced their farther armpits

    with thrusts whose spurting blood gushed out.

  71. تتشظَّى عنهُ الضَّراءُ، فمَا تثـ

    ـبُتُ أَغْمَارُهُ ولاَ صُيُدُهْ

    The hounds scattered from him; neither

    their green recruits nor their proud veterans stood firm.

  72. فنهَى سبحَة َ اليقينُ، ومَا لاَ

    قَى عطافٌ، والموتُ محتردُهْ

    Certainty checked Sabhah, and what

    ‘Attaf had faced, with death intent upon him,

  73. إذْ أقادتْهُ عادة ٌ كانَ يرجو

    هَا، فَوَافَى المَنُونَ تَرْتَصِدُهْ

    when a habit he had trusted led him on

    to meet Death lying in wait for him.

  74. وغَدَا الثَّوْرُ يَعْسِفُ البِيدُ، لاَ يَكْـ

    ـتَنُّ مِنْ جَرْيِهِ، ويَجْتَهِدُهْ

    At morning the bull struck across the wastes, never

    holding back his running, but straining at it.

  75. فَذَاكَ شَبَّهْتُ نَاقَتِي، غَيْرَ مَا

    ضمَّتْ قتودُ الحاذينِ أوْ عقدُهْ

    To that I likened my camel, apart from what

    the saddle-frames clasped around her haunches, or their fastenings,

  76. إذا غدَتْ تمتحي معاجيلَ خـ

    ـلّ إذا مَا انتحَتْ بهِ كؤدُهْ

    when she goes forth, taking rapid strides along a sandy

    track, whenever its steep ascents bear down upon her.