طال في رسم مهدد أبده — Al Tirimmah

طالَ في رَسمِ مَهدَدٍ أَبَدُه

وَعَفا وَاِستَوى بِهِ بَلَدُه

Long ages have passed over Mahdad's traces.

They have faded, their ground leveled over them.

وَمَحاهُ تَهطالُ أَسمِيَةٍ

كُلَّ يَومٍ وَلَيلَةٍ ترِدُه

The downpour of rainclouds has erased them,

visiting them each day and night,

غَيرَ حَشوٍ مِن عَرفَجِ غَرَضٍ

لِرِياحِ المَصيفِ تَطَّرِدُه

save a tangle of arfaj shrubs, exposed

to summer winds that drive them onward;

وَبَقايا مِن نُؤيِ مُحتَجِزٍ

وَمصامٍ مُشَعَّثٍ وَتِدُه

and remnants of an encircling trench,

and a tethering-place whose peg is splintered;

وَخَصيفٍ لَدى مَناتِجِ ظِئرَي

نِ مِنَ المَرخِ أَتأَمَت زُنُدُه

and mottled ashes where two foster-mothers gave birth—

of markh wood, whose firesticks bore twins.

تَرَكَ الدَهرُ أَهلَهُ شُعَباً

فَاِستَمَرَّت مِن دونِهِم عُقَدُه

Time left its people scattered along separate paths,

and its bonds held fast after they were gone.

وَكَذاكَ الزَمانُ يَطرُدُ بِالنا

سِ إِلى اليَومِ يَومُهُ وَغَدُه

So time drives people onward,

to this day, with its today and tomorrow.

لا يُريشانِ بِاِختِلافِهِما المَر

ءَ وَإِن طالَ فيهِما أَمَدُه

Neither, by alternating, enriches a man,

however long his allotted span within them.

كُلُّ حَيٍّ مُستَكمِلٌ عِدَّةَ العُم

رِ وَمودٍ إِذا اِنقَضى عَدَدُه

Every living thing completes its numbered years,

and perishes when their count is finished.

عَجَباً ما عَجِبتُ مِن جامِعِ الما

لِ يُباهي بِهِ وَيَرتَفِدُه

How greatly I marvel at one who gathers wealth,

boasting of it and drawing support from it,

وَيُضيعُ الَّذي يُصَيِّرُهُ اللَ

هُ إِلَيهِ فَلَيسَ يَعتَقِدُه

yet neglects what God will bring him

to, and takes no thought for it:

يَومَ لا يَنفَعُ المُخَوَّلَ ذا الثَر

وَةِ خُلّانُهُ وَلا وَلَدُه

on the day when the man endowed with wealth finds no help

from his friends or his children.

ثُمَّ يُؤتى بِهِ وَخَصماهُ وَسطَ ال

جِنِّ وَالإِنسِ رِجلُهُ وَيَدُه

Then he is brought forth, his two accusers, amid

jinn and humankind, being his foot and his hand.

خاشِعَ الطِرفِ لَيسَ يَنفَعُهُ ثَمْ

مَ أَمانِيُّهُ أَمانِيُّهُ وَلا لَدَدُه

His gaze downcast, nothing there avails him—

neither his hopes, his hopes, nor his wrangling.

قُل لِباكي الأَموتِ لا يَبكِ لِلنا

سِ وَلا يَستَنِع بِهِ فَنَدُه

Tell the mourner of the dead not to weep for people,

nor let his folly rise to excess through it.

إِنَّما الناسُ مِثلُ نابِتَةِ الزَر

عِ مَتى يَأنِ يَأتِ مُحتَصِدُه

People are only like the growing crop:

whenever it ripens, its reaper comes.

وَاِبنِ سَبيلٍ قَرَيتُهُ أُصُلاً

مِن فَوزِ حَمكٍ مَنسوبَةٍ تُلُدُه

Many a wayfarer I have fed at evening,

from winnings of young stock, its ancestry well traced.

لَم يَستَدِر رِبابَةٍ وَنَحا

أَصلابَها وَشوَشُ القِرى حَشِدُه

He did not turn the arrow-case, but sought

its solid shafts, eager and tireless in hospitality.

دَفعتُ فيها ذا مَيعَةٍ صَخِباً

مِغلاقَ قَمرٍ يَزينُهُ أَوَدُه

I thrust among them a lively, rattling shaft,

a closer of games, graced by its curvature.

لَم يَبقَ مِن مَرسِ كَفِّ صاحِبِهِ

أَخلاقُ سِربالِهِ وَلا جُدُدُه

Its owner's rubbing hand has left neither

the worn parts of its garment nor the new.

موعَبُ ليطِ القَرا بِهِ قُوَبٌ

سودٌ قَليلُ اللِحاءِ مُنجَرِدُه

Its back is stripped of bark, with patches upon it,

black; little rind remains on its bare surface.

يُعدو مِنَ الحَيِّ ضَيفُهُ دَسِماً

وَإِن أَوى وَهوَ ظاهِرٌ وَبَدُه

It sends its guest away from the tribe well-fed,

though he arrived with his wretchedness plain to see.

مُجَرِّبٌ بِالرِهانِ مُستَلِبٌ

خَصلَ الجَواري طَرائِفٌ سَبَدُه

Tried in wagering, it snatches

the prizes from rival shafts; its wealth is choice spoils.

إِذا اِنتَحَت بِالشِمالِ شانِحَةً

جالَ بَريحاً وَاِستَفرَدَتهُ يَدُه

When they lean aside in the left hand,

it sweeps across, and his hand singles it out.

نِعمَ نَجيشُ القِرى نُهيبُ بِهِ

لَيلاً إِذا البَركُ حارَدَت رُفُدُه

A splendid rouser of hospitality, we summon it

at night, when the kneeling herd's milk-bowls yield nothing.

بِاَنَ الخَليطُ الغَداةَ فَاِستَلَبوا

مِنكَ فُؤاداً مُصابَةً كَبَدُه

The company departed at dawn and carried off

your heart, its liver stricken.

وَاِستَقبَلَتهُم هَيفٌ لَها حَدَبٌ

تُزجى سَيالَ السَفى وَتَطَّرِدُه

A hot wind, heaving in waves, met them,

driving a stream of chaff and chasing it onward.

هاجَت نِزاعاً سَهواً مُناكِبَةً

مِن فَجٍّ نَجرانَ تَغتَلي بُرُدُه

It rose, tugging, gently blowing, veering aside,

from Najran's pass, its mantles seething.

رَفَعنَ فَوقَ المُخَيَّساتِ ضُحىً

لِلبَينِ لَمّا تَقَعقَعَت عَمَدُه

At midmorning they hoisted above the kneeling camels,

for departure, when its poles rattled,

كُلَّ مُنيفٍ كَالقَرِّ مُعتَدِلٍ

بَينَ فِئامَينِ سُوِّيَت مُهُدُه

each towering structure, balanced like a howdah,

between two side-frames, its bedding smoothed.

مُصغِياتٍ يَرسِمنَ في عُرُضِ الآ

لِ رَسيماً مُواشِكاً حَفَدُه

Leaning forward, they trotted across the mirage,

at a swift trot, their steps quickening.

فيهِم لَنا خُلَّةٌ نُواصِلُها

في غَيرِ أَسبابِ نائِلٍ تَعِدُه

Among them is a beloved whom we keep close,

not through any promise of a gift from her,

إِلّا حَديثاً رَسلاً يُضَلِّلُ بِال

عِزهاتِ وَالمُستَنيعُ فيهِ دَدُه

but only easy talk, beguiling with

idle fancies; even its loftiest part is play.

لَم تَأكُلِ الفَثَّ وَالدُعاعَ وَلَم

تَنقُف هَبيداً يَجنيهِ مُهتَدُه

She has not eaten fath-seed or du'a'-seed, nor

cracked colocynth kernels gathered by one who knows their haunts.

هَل تُبلِغَنّيهِم مُذَكَّرَةٌ

وَجَناءُ مَضبورَةُ القَرا أُجُدُه

Will a masculine-built she-camel carry me to them,

strong-cheeked, her backbone compact and sturdy?

يَبرُقُ في دَفِّها سَلائِقُها

مِن بَينِ فَذٍّ وَتَوءَمٍ جُدَدُه

Her long streaks gleam along her flank,

their stripes single here and doubled there.

ذاتُ شِنفارَةٍ إِذا هَمَتِ الذِف

رى بِماءٍ عَصائِمٍ جَسَدُه

Long-lipped, when the hollows behind her ears pour

water, it crusts her body in streaks,

كعراقِ الأَطِبَّةِ السودِ يَستنْ

نُ كَحَبلٍ يَجولُ مُنفَصِدُه

like the seepage of black milk-skins, flowing

like a cord, its outpouring wavering.

مِثلَ حَبِّ الكَباثِ يَحدُرُهُ اللي

تُ إِذا ما اِستَذابَهُ نَجَدُه

Like ripe arak berries, the neck lets it roll down

whenever exertion melts it.

حينَ قالَ اليَعفورَ وَاِعتَدَلَ الظِلْ

لُ وَكانَت فُضولَهُ وُسُدُه

When the gazelle takes its midday rest and the shade draws even,

the shade's remnants serve as its pillows;

وَاِنتَمى اِبنُ الفَلاةِ في طَرَفِ الجَذ

لِ وَأَعيا عَلَيهِ مُلتَحَدُه

and the desert's son climbs to the tip of a stump,

unable to find a refuge there,

في مَليعٍ كَأَنَّ حَفّانَهُ الرَك

بُ إِذا ما اللَظى جَرى صَخَدُه

in an open waste whose ostrich chicks seem riders

when the flaming heat sends its glare streaming.

لَمّا وَرَدتُ الطَوِيَّ وَالحَوضُ كَالص

يرَةِ دَفنُ الإِزاءِ مُلتَبِدُه

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

a sheepfold, its inlet buried beneath caked mud.

سافَت قَليلاً أَعلى نَصائِبِهِ

ثُمَّ اِستَمَرَّت في طامِسٍ تَخِدُه

She sniffed briefly at the tops of its upright stones,

then kept on, striding through a trackless waste.

وَقَد لَوى أَنفَهُ بِمَشفَرِها

طِلحُ قَراشيمَ شاحِبٌ جَسَدُه

And hooked by its nose into her lip

was a worn-out giant tick, its body pallid,

عَلٌّ طَويلُ الطَوى كَبالِيَةِ السُ

فعِ مَتى يَلقَ العُلوَ يَصطَعِدُه

a long-famished tick, like a weathered dark stone,

climbing any height it meets.

كَأَنَّها خاضِبٌ غَدا هَزِجاً

يَنقُفُ شَريَ الدَنا وَيَحتَصِدُه

She is like a red-legged cock ostrich setting out, calling,

pecking nearby bitter fruit and cropping it.

ظَلَّ بِنَبذِ التَنّومِ يَخذِمُهُ

حَتّى إِذا يَومُهُ دَنا أَفَدُه

All day it clipped the scattered tannum plants,

until its day drew near its end.

راحَ يَشُقُّ البِلادَ مُنتَخَباً

حَمشَ الظَنابيبِ طائِراً لَبَدُه

It sped off, cutting across the country,

thin-shinned, its tufts flying,

حَتّى تَلاقى وَالشَمسُ جانِحَةٌ

أُدحِيَّ عِرسَينِ رابِياً نَضَدُه

until, with the sun declining, it reached

the nest of a mated pair, its clutch heaped high.

باتَ يَحُفُّ الأُدحِيَّ مُتَّخِذاً

كِسرَي بِجادٍ مَهتوكَةٍ أُصُدُه

It spent the night sheltering the nest, using

two coarse cloak-flaps whose seams were torn open.

أَذاكَ أَم ناشِطٌ تَوَسَّنَهُ

جاري رَذاذٍ يَستَنُّ مُنجَرِدُه

Is it that, or a solitary wild bull surprised in his sleep

by streaming drizzle running over his bare hide?

باتَ لَدى نُعذَةٍ يَطوفُ بِها

في رَأسِ مَتنٍ أَبزى بِهِ جَرَدُه

He spent the night beside a nu'dhah bush, circling it,

atop a ridge whose bare crest jutted high,

طَوفَ مُتَلّي نَذرٍ عَلى نُصُبٍ

حَولَ دَوارٍ مُحمَرَّةٍ جُدَدُه

like a vow-fulfiller circling a sacred stone,

around Duwar, its streaks reddened.

لَمّا اِستَبانَ الشَبا شَبا جِربيا

ءِ المَسِّ مِن كُلِّ جانِبٍ تَرِدُه

When the keen edge grew clear—the biting touch of

the north wind, reaching him from every side—

غاطَ حَتّى اِستَباثَ مِن شِيَمِ الأَر

ضِ سَفاةً مِن دونِها ثَأَدُه

he went down, searching the varied ground,

until he found a sandy patch with damp earth below it.

طالِعٌ نِصفُهُ وَنِصفٌ يُواري

هِ حَفيرٌ يَحُفُّهُ سَنَدُه

Half of him showed, while the other half was hidden

by a hollow whose sloping bank enclosed him.

بَيَّتَهُ السَماءُ مِن آخِرِ اللَي

لِ بِشُؤبوبٍ مُهذِبٍ بَرَدُه

The sky assailed him toward the end of night

with a downpour, its hail driving hard.

فَهوَ طافٍ يَزِلُّ عَن مَتنِهِ القَط

رُ نَقِيُّ إِهابُهُ صَرِدُه

He stood exposed, rain slipping off his back,

his hide washed clean and chilled.

وَغَذا إِذ بَدَت لَهُ الشَمسُ يَجتا

بُ كَثيباً خَلا لَهُ عَقِدُه

At dawn, when the sun appeared, he threaded

a dune whose tangled thickets were his alone.

بَينَما ذاكَ هاجَهُ غُدوَةً

جَمعُ ضِروٍ مُقَلَّدٌ قِدَدُه

While he was thus, he was roused one morning

by a pack of hounds, collared with leather thongs.

صائِباتُ الصُدورِ يَبدو إِذا أَق

عَينَ مِن كُلِّ مِرفَقٍ بَدَدُه

Straight-chested, they show, when they sit

on their haunches, a splay at every elbow.

يَبتَدِرنَ الأَحراجَ كَالثَولِ وَالحِر

جُ لِرَبِّ الصُيودِ يَصطَفِدُه

They race toward the frames like a swarm; the frame

the master of the hunt straps fast.

مُرعِياتٍ لِأَخلَجِ الشِدقِ سِلعا

مٍ مُمَرٍّ مَفتولَةٍ عَضُدُه

They heed a crooked-jawed, huge hound,

sinewy, his foreleg tightly knotted,

يَضغَمُ النابِيءَ المُلَمَّعَ بَينَ الرَ

وقِ وَالعَينِ ثُمَّ يَقتَصِدُه

who bites the leaping, dappled beast between horn

and eye, then strikes it down.

ثُمَّ إِن لَم يُوافِهِ القَومُ لَم يُش

كِل عَلَيهِ مِن أَينَ يَفتَصِدُه

Then, if the hunters do not reach him, he has no doubt

where to open a vein in it.

ذا ضَريرٍ يَصِرُّ مِثلَ صَريرِ ال

قَعوِ لَمّا أَصاحَهُ مَسَدُه

Resolute, he yelps like the creaking of

a pulley made to cry out by its rope.

مِن خِلالِ الأَلاءِ عايَنَ فَاِنقضْ

ضَ مَلِيّاً ما يَرعَوي زُؤُدُه

Through the ala' bushes the bull saw him and shot away,

for a long while, his terror not abating.

ثُمَّ آدَتهُ كِبرِياءُ عَلى الكر

رِ وَحَردٌ في صَدرِهِ يَجِدُه

Then pride turned him back to charge,

and a rage he felt within his breast.

فَهوَ ثانٍ يَذُوحُهُنَّ بِرَوقَي

هِ مَعاً أَو بِطَعنِهِ عَنَدُه

He wheels back, driving them off with both his horns

at once, or with defiant thrusts;

ذا ضَريرٍ يَشُكُّ آباطَها القُص

وى بِطَعنٍ يَفوحُ مُعتَنِدُه

resolute, he pierces through to their far armpits

with thrusts that send the blood gushing.

تَتَشَظّى عَنهُ الضِراءُ فَما تَث

بُتُ أَغمارُهُ وَلا صُيُدُه

The hounds splinter away from him; neither

their novices nor their seasoned hunters stand firm.

فَنَهى سُبحَةَ اليَقينُ وَما لا

قى عِطافٌ وَالمَوتُ مُحتَرِدُه

Certainty checked Subhah, and the fate

that met ʿItaf, with death bent upon him.

إِذا أَقادَتهُ عادَةٌ طانَ يَرجو

ها فَوافى المَنونَ تَرتَصِدُه

When a familiar habit led him on, hoping

for it, he met Death waiting for him.

وَغَذا الثَورُ يَعسِفُ البيدَ لا يَك

تَنُّ مِن جَريِهِ وَيَجتَهِدُه

The wild bull went forth, traversing the wastes, never

holding back his run, but straining it to the utmost.

فَذاك شَبَّهتُ ناقَتي غَيرَ ما

ضَمَّت قُتودُه الحاذَينِ أَو عُقَدُه

To that I likened my she-camel, save for what

its saddle-bars or their bindings clasp at her two haunches,

إِذا غَدَت تَمتَحي مَعاجيلَ خَلْ

لٍ إِذا ما اِنتَحَت بِهِ كُؤُدُه

when she sets out, drawing the quick paces of a lean beast,

as difficult ascents press hard upon it.