ألفت الندى والعامرية تعذل — Alabywrdy

ألِفْتُ الندىً والعامريّةُ تَعْذِلُ

وممّا أفادَتْهُ الصّوارِمُ أبْذُلُ

I have grown accustomed to generosity, while the Amiri woman reproaches me.

And I give freely of what the keen swords have won.

فلا تَعْذُليني يا بْنَةَ القوْمِ إنّني

أجودُ بما أحْوي وبالعِرْضِ أبْخَلُ

So do not reproach me, daughter of the clan, for I

am generous with what I possess, but miserly with my honor.

ولَلْحَمْدُ أوْلى بالفَتى منْ ثَرائِهِ

وخَيْرٌ منَ المالِ الثّناءُ المُنَخَّلُ

Surely praise is more fitting for a young man than his wealth,

and finely sifted praise is better than money.

ومَنْ خافَ أن يَسْتَضْرِعَ الفَقْرُ خَدّهُ

وفَى بالغِنى لي أعْوَجيٌّ ومُنْصُلُ

And whoever fears that poverty will bring his cheek low—

an Awaji steed and a blade have assured me wealth.

ومُكْتَحِلاتٌ بالظّلامِ أُثيرُها

وهُنّ كأشْباحِ الأهِلّةِ نُحَّلُ

And I rouse those kohled with darkness,

slender as the ghostly forms of crescent moons.

ولا صَحْبَ لي إلا الأسنّةُ والظُّبا

بحيثُ عُيونُ الشُّهْبِ بالنّقْعِ تُكْحَلُ

I have no companions but spearheads and sword-edges,

where the bright stars' eyes are kohled with dust.

وحَوليَ منْ رَوْقَيْ أميّةَ غِلْمَةٌ

بهِمْ تُطْفَأُ الحَرْبُ العَوانُ وتُشْعَلُ

Around me are youths from Umayya's two horns,

by whom oft-renewed war is quenched and kindled.

سَرَيْتُ بهِمْ والنّاجِياتُ كأنّها

رِماحٌ بأيْديهِمْ منَ الخَطِّ ذُبَّلُ

I journeyed by night with them, while the swift she-camels seemed

like slender spears from al-Khatt in their hands.

فحَلّوا حُبا اللّيلِ البَهيمِ بأوْجُهٍ

سَنا الفَجْرِ في أرْجائِها يتهلّلُ

They unbound the bands of pitch-black night with faces

across which dawn's radiance beams.

وخاضُوا غِمارَ النّائِباتِ وما لَهُمْ

سوى اللهِ والرُّمْحِ الرُّدَيْنيّ مَعْقِلُ

They plunged into the depths of calamities, with no

refuge save God and the Rudayni spear.

يَرومونَ أمراً دونَهُ جُرَعُ الرّدى

تُعَلُّ بِها نَفْسُ الكَميِّ وتُنْهَلُ

They seek a goal barred by draughts of death,

which the armored warrior's soul is made to drink, time and again.

على حين نابَتْني خُطوبٌ كَثيرةٌ

تَؤودُ بِها الأيّامُ مَتْنِي وأحْمِلُ

At a time when many calamities befell me,

the days weigh down my back beneath them, yet I bear the burden.

وأُخْفي الصّدى والماءُ زُرْقٌ جِمامُهُ

فهُنَّ على الذُّلِّ السِّمامُ المُثَمَّلُ

I conceal my thirst, though the water's brimming pools are blue,

for at the price of humiliation, they are steeped poison.

ومَنْ سَلَبَتْهُ نَوشَةُ الدّهْرِ عِزَّهُ

فنَحْنُ لرَيْبِ الدّهْرِ لا تتذَلّلُ

And whoever Time's grasp has stripped of his honor—

we do not bow to Time's vicissitudes.

ولكنّنا نَحْمي ذِمارَ مَعاشِرٍ

لهُمْ آخِرٌ في المَكْرُماتِ وأوّلُ

But we defend the honor of clans

whose noble deeds span past and present.

ولَمْ نَغْتَرِبْ مُسْتَشْرِفينَ لثَرْوَةٍ

فَمَرْعى مَطايانا بِيَبْرينَ مُبْقِلُ

We did not go abroad eagerly seeking wealth,

for our mounts' pasture at Yabrin is green with herbage.

وقد يصْدأُ السّيفُ المُلازِمُ غِمْدَهُ

ومَنْ لا يَرِمْ أوْطانَهُ فهْوَ يخْمَلُ

A sword that keeps to its sheath may rust,

and whoever never leaves his native lands falls into obscurity.

فبِتْنا وقد نامَ الأنامُ عنِ العُلا

نُساري النّجومَ الزُّهْرَ والليلُ ألْيَلُ

So we spent the night, while mankind slept heedless of glory,

journeying with the brilliant stars, while night was pitch-dark.

ونَحْنُ على أثْباجِ جُرْدٍ كأنّها

إذا ما اسْتُدِرَّ الحُضْرُ بالرّيحِ تُنْعَلُ

We rode the backs of sleek steeds, as though they,

when urged to gallop, were shod with wind.

فأوجُهُها مِنْ طُرّةِ الصُّبْحِ تَكْتَسي

وسائِرُها في حُلّةِ اللّيلِ يَرْفُلُ

Their faces wear the fringe of dawn,

while the rest of them sweeps along in night's robe.

وتَعْلَمُ ما نَبْغي فتَبْتَدِرُ المَدى

ولَيْسَتْ عليْها الأصبَحيّةُ تَجْهَلُ

They know what we seek and race toward the goal,

and the Asbahi whips do not lash them recklessly.

ويَقْدُمُها طِرْفٌ أغَرُّ مُحجَّلٌ

لراكِبِهِ مَجْدٌ أغَرُّ مُحجَّلُ

A noble steed, white-blazed and white-stockinged, leads them,

whose rider's glory is white-blazed and white-stockinged.

فلَمْ نَدْرِ إذا أمّتْ بِنا بابَ أحْمَدٍ

أنَحنُ إِلى نادِيهِ أمْ هِيَ أعْجَلُ

We could not tell, when they bore us toward Ahmad's door,

whether we or they hurried faster to his assembly.

تَذودُ الكَرى عنّا تِلاوَةُ مَدْحِهِ

فَيرْنو إلَيْنا مُصْغِياتٍ وتَصْهَلُ

Reciting his praise drives sleep away from us;

so, listening intently, they gaze toward us and neigh.

أغَرُّ رَحيبُ الباعِ يُسْتَمْطَرُ الندىً

جَميلُ المُحيّا مِخْلَطُ الأمرِ مِزْيَلُ

Radiant and broad of reach, he is implored to rain down bounty,

fair of face, adept at mingling affairs and disentangling them.

ففي راحَتَيْهِ للمُؤَمِّلِ مُجتَدًى

وفي ساحَتَيْهِ للمُروَّعِ مَوْئِلُ

In his palms the hopeful find a source of bounty,

and in his courtyards the terrified find refuge.

سَما والشّبابُ الغَضُّ يَقْطُرُ ماؤُهُ

إِلى حيثُ يُقْصي النّظْرَةَ المتأمِّلُ

He soared while tender youth's moisture still dripped,

to where the beholder casts his gaze farthest.

وكان أبوهُ يَرْتَجي خَيْرَهُ الوَرى

وهذا المُرَجّى منْ بَنيهِ المُؤَمَّلُ

His father was one whose bounty mankind hoped for,

and this is the hoped-for, awaited one among his sons.

وقد وَلِهتْ شَوْقاً إليهِ وِزارةٌ

لَها في بَني إسحاقَ مَثْوًى ومنْزِلُ

The vizierate has grown distraught with longing for him,

its abode and dwelling lying among Banu Ishaq.

بهِمْ زُيِّنَتْ إذْ زِينَ غَيرُهُمُ بِها

وقدْ يَسْتَعيرُ الحَلْيَ مَنْ يتعطَّلُ

They adorned it, whereas others were adorned by it;

and one without adornment may borrow jewels.

وشامَ لَها الأعْداءُ بَرْقاً فأصْبَحَتْ

علَيْهِمْ بشُؤبوبِ المنيّةِ تَهْطِلُ

The enemies spied its lightning, and it began

to rain upon them a torrent of death.

وقد خيّمَتْ فيها بِدارِ مُقامَةٍ

فليسَ لَها عنْ رَبْعِهم مُتَحوَّلُ

It has pitched its tent there in a lasting abode,

so it will not move away from their dwelling.

وللدُّرِّ حُسْنٌ حَيْثُ عُلِّقَ عِقْدُهُ

ولكنّهُ في جِيدِ حَسْناءَ أجْمَلُ

Pearls have beauty wherever their necklace is hung,

but on a beautiful woman's neck they are more beautiful.

مِنَ القومِ لا مأْوَى المَساكينِ مُقْفِرٌ

لدَيْهِمْ ولا مَثْوى الصّعاليكِ مُمْحِلُ

He is of a people whose shelter for the poor is not desolate

among them, nor is the dwelling of the destitute barren.

غَطارِفةٌ إن حُورِبُوا أرْعَفوا القَنا

وإنْ سُئِلوا النُّعْمى لَدى السِّلْمِ أجزَلوا

Noble lords, if attacked, they make the spears bleed,

and if asked for favors in peace, they give lavishly.

فَدونَكَها غَرّاءُ لو رامَ مثْلَها

سِواي بَليغٌ ظلّ يُصفِي ويُجْبِلُ

So take this radiant ode; if its like were sought

by an eloquent man other than me, he would keep striking stone and bedrock.

دَنَتْ ونأَتْ إذْ أطْمَعَتْ ثمّ أيْأَسَتْ

وقد أحْزَنَ الرّاؤونَ فيها وأسْهَلوا

It drew near and withdrew, offering hope and then despair.

Its beholders have crossed rough ground and smooth within it.

فأجْزَلُها بَرْدٌ عليْكَ مُسَهَّمٌ

وأسْهَلُها عِقْدٌ لدَيْكَ مُفَصَّلُ

Its grandest passage is an arrow-patterned mantle upon you,

and its smoothest a necklace of interspersed gems in your keeping.

وها أنا أرْجو أن نَعيشَ بغِبْطَةٍ

جَميعاً وأنتَ المُنْعِمُ المتَفَضِّلُ

Here I am, hoping that we may live in happiness

together, while you are the benefactor and gracious giver.

فمِنْكَ ندىً غَمْرٌ ومنيَ شُكْرُهُ

ونحنُ كما نَهْوى أقولُ وتَفْعَلُ

From you abundant bounty, and from me gratitude for it;

we are as we desire: I speak, and you act.