Sol 6.1

  1. تأمّلْتُ الورى جِيلاً فجيلا

    فكانَ كَثيرهُمْ عِندي قَليلا

    I contemplated mankind, generation after generation;

    so their multitude counted for little in my eyes.

  2. لهُمْ صُوَرٌ تَروقُ ولا حُلومٌ

    وأجسامٌ تَروعُ ولا عُقولا

    They have pleasing forms, but no sound judgment,

    and bodies that inspire awe, but no minds.

  3. وأُبْصِرُ خامِلاً يَجْفو نَبيهاً

    وأسْمَعُ عالِماً يَشكو جَهولا

    I see an obscure man snubbing a distinguished one,

    and hear a learned man complain of an ignoramus.

  4. إذا ما شئْتَ أنْ يَلقاكَ فيهِمْ

    عَدوٌّ فاتّخِذْ مِنهُمْ خَليلا

    If ever you wish to encounter among them

    an enemy, then take one of them as a friend.

  5. وإنْ تُؤثِرْ دُنُوَّهُمُ تُمارِسْ

    أذىً تَجِدُ العَناءَ بهِ طَويلا

    And if you prefer their closeness, you will endure

    harm whose suffering you will find long-lasting.

  6. وإنْ ناوَلْتَهُم أطرافَ حَبْلٍ

    وهَى فاهْجُرْهُمُ هَجْراً جَميلا

    And if you hand them the ends of a rope,

    it gives way; so leave them with a gracious parting.

  7. ولِنْ لهُم وخادِعْهُمْ أوِ اشْدُدْ

    على صَفَحاتِهِمْ وَطْئاً ثَقيلا

    Be gentle with them and deceive them, or bear down

    upon their flanks with a heavy tread.

  8. فإما أن تُغالِبَهُمْ عَزيزاً

    وإما أنْ تُداريَهُمْ ذَليلا

    So either overpower them with might,

    or placate them in abasement.

  9. ومَن راقَتْهُ ضَجْعَتُهُ بِدارٍ

    يُقِلُّ المَشْرَفيُّ بِها صَليلا

    While some delight in their repose in a home

    where the Mashrafi sword seldom rings,

  10. فلَسْتُ منَ الهَوانِ ولَيسَ منّي

    فألْبَسَهُ وأدَّرِعَ الخُمولا

    I have no part in abasement, nor it in me,

    that I should wear it and don obscurity as armor.

  11. إذا الأُمَويُّ قَرَّبَ أعْوَجِيّاً

    وضاجَعَ هِندُوانِيّاً صَقيلا

    When the Umayyad brings an Aʿwaj-bred steed near

    and sleeps beside a polished Indian blade,

  12. فذَرْهُ والمِصاعَ فسوفَ تُؤتَى

    بهِ مَلِكاً مَهيباً أو قَتيلا

    leave him to combat; soon you will receive

    him as an awe-inspiring king or a slain man.

  13. وطامِحَةِ العُيونِ على مَطاها

    أُسودٌ يتّخِذْنَ السُّمْرَ غِيلا

    And lofty-eyed steeds, upon their backs

    are lions who make brown lances their thicket.

  14. أظُنُّ مِراحَها راحاً فمِنْهُ

    بِها ثَمَلٌ وما شَرِبَتْ شَمولا

    I take their high spirits for wine; from it

    comes their drunkenness, though they have drunk no wine.

  15. وأزْجُرُ منْ نَزائِعِها رَعيلاً

    إذا وَقَذَ الوَجى منها رَعيلا

    And I urge on a troop of their far-brought steeds

    when hoof-soreness has crippled a troop of them.

  16. وأُورِدُها الوَغى والنّقُْ كابٍ

    فتَسْحَبُ منْ وشائِعِهِ ذُيولا

    And I lead them into battle while the dust rises,

    so they drag trailing hems from its skeins,

  17. وتَعْثُرُ بالكُماةِ الصِّيدِ صَرْعَى

    فتَنْفِرُ وهْيَ تَحْسَبُهمْ نَخيلا

    and stumble over proud armored warriors lying slain,

    then shy away, thinking them palm trees.

  18. بحَيثُ النَّسْرُ لا يُلفِي لَدَيْهِمْ

    سِوى الذّئبِ الأزَلِّ لهُ أكيلا

    Where the vulture does not find beside them

    a fellow-feaster save the lean-haunched wolf.

  19. وتَخْطِرُ في نَجيعٍ غِبَّ طَعْنٍ

    وَجيعٍ يَسْلُبُ البَطَلَ الشّليلا

    And they strut through gore after a spear-thrust

    grievous, stripping the champion of his under-armor tunic.

  20. كأنّ الشّمسَ قد نَضحَتْ جِيادي

    بِذَوْبِ التّبْرِ إذ جَنَحَتْ أصيلا

    As though the sun had sprinkled my steeds

    with molten gold as it inclined in late afternoon.

  21. وسَيفي تتّقيهِ الهَامُ حتَّى

    تُفارِقَ قَبلَ سلّتِهِ المَقيلا

    And heads so dread my sword that

    they leave their resting-place before it is drawn.

  22. بهِ بَعدَ الإلهِ بَلَغْتُ شأواً

    يُسارِقُهُ السُّها نَظَراً كَليلا

    By it—after God—I have reached a height

    at which Suha steals a weary glance.

  23. وطافَتْ بالعُلا هِمَمي وعافَتْ

    غِنًى أرْعى بهِ كَلأً وَبِيلا

    My ambitions roamed through lofty heights and scorned

    wealth by which I would graze on unwholesome pasture.

  24. فلَمْ أحْمَدْ لِعارِفَةٍ جَواداً

    ولم أذْمُمْ على مَنْعٍ بَخيلا

    So I have not praised a generous man for a favor,

    nor blamed a miser for withholding.

  25. نَماني كُلُّ أبْيَضَ عَبْشَميٍّ

    تُعَدُّ النّيِّراتُ لهُ قَبيلا

    Every fair-faced ʿAbshamī begot me;

    the shining stars are reckoned as his clan.

  26. فآبائي مَعاقِلُهُمْ سُيوفٌ

    بِها شَجّوا الحُزونَةَ والسُّهولا

    For my forefathers have swords for their strongholds,

    with which they gashed rugged ground and plains.

  27. وأرضى اللهَ نَصْرُهُمُ لِدِينٍ

    بهِ بُعِثَ ابنُ عمّهِمُ رَسولا

    And their support for a faith pleased God,

    with which their cousin was sent as a messenger.

  28. وهُمْ غُرَرٌ أضاءَتْ في نِزارٍ

    وكانَ بَنوهُ بَعْدَهُمُ حُجولا

    And they are white forehead-blazes shining in Nizār,

    while his sons, after them, were white ankle-markings.

  29. متى هَذَرَ القَبائلُ في فَخارٍ

    بألْسِنَةٍ تَهُزُّ بِها نُصولا

    Whenever the tribes prattle in vainglory

    with tongues with which they brandish blades,

  30. فنحنُ نكون أطْوَلَها فُروعاً

    إذا نُسِبَتْ وأكرَمَها أُصولا

    we are tallest among them in branches,

    when lineages are traced, and noblest in roots.