Sol 6.1

  1. إِنَّ الهَوانَ حِمارُ القَومِ يَعرِفُهُ

    والحُرُّ يُنكِرُهُ والرَّسلَةُ الأُجُدُ

    The people's donkey indeed knows humiliation,

    but the freeborn man rejects it, as does the easy-paced, sturdy she-camel.

  2. كونوا كَبَكرٍ كَما قَد كانَ أَوَّلُكُم

    وَلا تَكونوا كَعَبدِ القَيسِ إِذ قَعَدوا

    Be like Bakr, as your forebears once were,

    and do not be like ʿAbd al-Qays when they sat idle,

  3. يُعطونَ ما سُئِلوا وَالخَطُّ مَنزِلُهُم

    كَما أَكَبَّ عَلى ذِي بَطنِهِ الفَهَدُ

    giving whatever they were asked for, with al-Khatt their home,

    as a cheetah lies prone over its full belly.

  4. وَلَن يُقيمَ عَلى خَسفٍ يُسامُ بِهِ

    إِلاّ الأَذَلاّنِ عَيرُ الأَهلِ وَالوَتِدُ

    And none will ever endure the abasement imposed upon him

    except the two most abject: the household ass and the tent peg.

  5. هَذا عَلى الخَسفِ مَربوطٌ بِرُمَّتهِ

    وَذا يُشَجُّ فما يَرثي لَهُ أَحَدُ

    This one is tethered in abasement with its worn rope,

    and that one's head is battered, yet no one pities it.

  6. فَإِن أَقَمتُم عَلى ضَيمٍ يُرادُ بِكُم

    فَإِنَّ رَحلي لَكُم وَالٍ وَمُعتَمَدُ

    So if you remain under the oppression intended for you,

    then my saddle is your guardian and support.

  7. كونوا كَسامَةَ إِذا شَعفٌ مَنازِلُهُ

    إِذ قِيلَ جَيشٌ وَجَيشٌ حافِظٌ رَصَدُ

    Be like Samah, when Shaʿaf was his home,

    when word came of an army—and an army kept watch in ambush.

  8. شَدَّ المَطيَّةَ بِالأَنساعِ فَاِنحَرَفَت

    عُرضَ التَنوفَةِ حَتّى مَسَّها النَجَدُ

    He girt the riding-camel with straps, and she veered away

    across the desert's breadth, until sweat broke out on her.

  9. وَفي البِلادِ إِذا ما خِفتَ نائِرَةً

    مَشهورَةً عَن وُلاةِ السَوءِ مُبتَعَدُ

    And in the lands, if ever you fear a blaze of strife,

    openly kindled, there is refuge far from wicked rulers.