Sol 6.1

  1. في كُلِّ يَومٍ لِأَحِبَّةِ مَطرَحُ

    وَعَلى المَنازِلِ لِلمَدامِعِ مَسفَحُ

    Each day brings a place of exile for loved ones,

    and at their dwellings, a place for tears to pour.

  2. شَوقٌ عَلى نَأيِ الدِيارِ مُغالِبٌ

    وَجَوىً عَلى طولِ المَطالِ مُبَرِّحُ

    Longing prevails despite the distance of their homes,

    and heartache torments throughout the long delay.

  3. نَفَرَت بَناتُ الصَبرِ مِنكَ وَطالَما

    قُصِرَت نَوازِعُ عَن ضَميرِكَ تَطمَحُ

    The daughters of patience fled from you, though so often

    impulses straining upward had been kept from your heart.

  4. ياهَل يُمانِعُ بَعدَ طولِ قِيادِهِ

    قَلبٌ يُطاوِعُ في القِيادِ وَيَسمَحُ

    Ah, can it resist, after so long being led—

    a heart that obeys the reins and willingly yields?

  5. وَعَلى المَطِيِّ ظِباءُ وَجرَةَ كُلَّما

    غَفَلَ المُراقِبُ تَشرَئِبُّ وَتَسنَحُ

    Upon the riding camels are Wajrah's gazelles; whenever

    the watcher is heedless, they crane their necks and come into view.

  6. خالَسنَنا النَظَرَ المُريبَ كَما رَنَت

    بَقَرُ الجَواءِ إِلى وَميضٍ يَلمَحُ

    They traded furtive, suspicious glances with us, as gazed

    the wild cows of al-Jawa toward a glimmering flash.

  7. يَبسِمنَ عَن بَردِ الغَمامِ وَبَردُهُ

    رَيّانُ يُغبَقُ بِالمُدامِ وَيُصبَحُ

    They smile, revealing the clouds' hail; that hail

    is thirst-quenched, given wine at dusk and dawn.

  8. كَلَّفتَ عَينَكَ نَظرَةً مَزؤودَةً

    مَنَعَتكَ لَذَّتَها مَدامِعُ تَسفَحُ

    You tasked your eye with a fearful glance;

    streaming tears denied you its delight.

  9. أَمسوا كَأَنَّ لَطائِماً دارِيَّةً

    باتَت تَضوعُ مِنَ القِبابِ وَتَنفَحُ

    At evening they seemed like perfume caravans from Darin,

    spreading and wafting fragrance all night from the tents.

  10. مَلَكوا وَلَمّا يُحسِنوا وَوَلوا وَلَم

    ما يَعدِلوا وَغَنوا وَلَمّا يَسمَحوا

    They gained power but did no good; they ruled, but did not

    yet act justly; they grew rich but were not generous.

  11. قُل لِلَّيالي قَد مَلَكتِ فَأَسجِحي

    وَلِغَيرِكِ الخُلُقُ الكَريمُ الأَسجَحُ

    Tell the nights: 'You have gained power; be gentle!'

    But noble, gentle character belongs to others, not you.

  12. مِن أَيِّ خَطبٍ مِن خُطوبِكِ أَشتَكي

    وَعَنَ اَيِّ ذَنبٍ مِن ذُنوبِكِ أَصفَحُ

    Which of your calamities should I complain of,

    and which of your sins should I forgive?

  13. إِن أَشكُ فِعلَكِ مِن فِراقِ أَحِبَّتي

    فَلَسوءُ فِعلِكِ في عِذاري أَقبَحُ

    If I lament your deed in parting me from my loved ones,

    the evil you did to my cheek-locks is uglier still.

  14. ضَوءٌ تَشَعشَعَ في سَوادِ ذَوائِبي

    لا أَستَضيءُ بِهِ وَلا أَستَصبِحُ

    A light has shimmered through the blackness of my locks,

    yet I gain no light from it, nor kindle my lamp with it.

  15. بِعتُ الشَبابَ بِهِ عَلى مِقَةٍ لَهُ

    بَيعَ العَليمِ بِأَنَّهُ لا يَربَحُ

    I sold youth in exchange for it, despite my love for youth,

    like one who sells knowing he will make no profit.

  16. لا تُنكِرَنَّ مِنَ الزَمانِ غَريبَةً

    إِنَّ الخُطوبَ قَلِيبُها لا يَنزَحُ

    Do not be astonished at any strange turn of time:

    the well of calamities cannot be drained.

  17. لِلذُلِّ بَينَ الأَقرَبينَ مَضاضَةٌ

    وَالذُلُّ ما بَينَ الأَباعِدِ أَروَحُ

    Humiliation among close kin has a bitter sting,

    while humiliation among strangers is easier to bear.

  18. وَإِذا رَمَتكَ مِنَ الرِجالِ قَوارِصٌ

    فَسِهامُ ذي القُربى القَريبَةِ أَجرَحُ

    And when men's stinging taunts strike you,

    the arrows of close kin wound more deeply.

  19. اِلبَس نَسيجَ الذُلِّ إِن أُلبِستَهُ

    مُتَمَلمِلاً وَإِناءُ قَلبِكَ يَطفَحُ

    Wear the fabric of humiliation, if you are made to wear it,

    restlessly, while the vessel of your heart overflows.

  20. ما دُمتَ تَنتَظِرُ العَواقِبَ لا بِداً

    لا تَغتَدي لِعُلىً وَلا تَتَرَوَّحُ

    So long as you await outcomes, lying low,

    you neither set out at dawn for glory nor go forth at evening.

  21. وَضَجيعُكَ العَضبُ الَّذي لا يُنتَضى

    وَخَليطُكَ الزورُ الَّذي لا يَبرَحُ

    Your bedfellow is the keen sword that is never drawn,

    and your companion the guest who never departs.

  22. وَاِعلَم بِأَنَّ البَيتَ إِن أوطِنتَهُ

    سِجنٌ وَطولُ الهَمِّ غُلٌّ يَجرَحُ

    Know that the house, if you settle in it,

    is a prison, and prolonged sorrow a shackle that wounds.

  23. أَأُخَيَّ لاتَكُ مُضغَةً مَزرودَةً

    تَنساغُ لَيِّنَةَ القِيادِ وَتَسرَحُ

    O my little brother, do not be a swallowed morsel,

    slipping down easily, docile to the reins, and roaming freely.

  24. أَلّا أَبَيتَ وَأَنتَ مِن جَمراتِها

    وَمِنَ العَجائِبِ جَمرَةٌ لا تَلفَحُ

    Will you not refuse, when you are one of its embers?

    Among marvels is an ember that does not scorch.

  25. كُن شَوكَةً يُعيي اِنتِقاصُ شَباتِها

    أَو حَمضَةً يَشجى بِها المُتَمَلِّحُ

    Be a thorn whose point defies all blunting,

    or a saltbush that chokes the seeker of salt.

  26. وَاِنفُض يَدَيكَ مِنَ الثَراءِ فَكَم مَضى

    مِن دونِ ثَروَتِهِ البَخيلُ المُصلِحُ

    Shake your hands free of wealth: how many have passed away—

    miserly savers, leaving their riches behind!

  27. يَبقى لِوارِثِهِ كَرائِمُ مالِهِ

    وَلَقَد يُرَقِّعُ عَيشَهُ وَيَرَقِّحُ

    The choicest of his wealth remains for his heir,

    while he patches up his livelihood and scrimps.

  28. قَد يُنتِجُ المَرءُ العِشارَ بِجِدِّهِ

    وَسِواهُ يَعتامُ الفُحولَ وَيُلقِحُ

    A man may toil to bring pregnant she-camels to birth,

    while another chooses the stallions and mates them.

  29. لا عُذرَ إِلّا أَن أَرى سُرباتِها

    سَومَ الجَرادِ يَثورُ مِنها الأَبطَحُ

    There is no excuse unless I see its cavalry bands

    swarming like locusts, stirring the pebbly plain to dust.

  30. وَالهامُ تَعتَصِبُ العَجاجَ كَأَنَّهُ

    في الجَوِّ شُؤبوبُ الغَمامِ الأَملَحُ

    Heads wear turbans of dust, as though it were

    a downpour from gray-white clouds in the air.

  31. قَومي الأُولى ضَمِنَت لَهُم أَحسابُهُم

    أَنَّ الزَمانَ بِمِثلِهِم لا يَسمَحُ

    My people are those whose noble lineages have guaranteed them

    that time will never bestow their like.

  32. عَرَكوا أَديمَ الأَرضِ قَبلَ نَباتِها

    وَاِستَفسَحوا أَعطانَها وَتَفَيَّحوا

    They scoured the earth's hide before its plants sprang up,

    and widened its watering grounds, spreading far and wide.

  33. فَتَقوا بِشَزرِ الطَعنِ أَكمامَ العُلى

    وَهُمُ جِذاعُ قَبائِلٍ لَم يَقرَحوا

    They split glory's bud-sheaths with slanting spear-thrusts,

    while still their tribes' young colts, not yet full-grown.

  34. إِن أُحرِجوا لَم يَجهَلوا وَإِذا قَضَوا

    لَم يَقسِطوا وَإِذا عَلَوا لَم يَبجَحوا

    If hard-pressed, they did not act rashly; when they judged,

    they were not unjust; when exalted, they did not boast.

  35. ذَنبي إِلى البُهمِ الكَواذِبِ أَنَّني ال

    طُرفُ المُطَهَّمُ وَالأَغَرُّ الأَقرَحُ

    My offense to the lying, unmarked beasts is that I am the

    noble steed, finely formed, blaze-faced and star-marked.

  36. يولونَني خُزرَ العُيونِ لِأَنَّني

    غَلسَتُ في طَلَبِ العُلى وَتَصَبَّحوا

    They turn sidelong eyes upon me, because I

    set out before dawn in pursuit of glory, while they slept late.

  37. وَجَذَبتُ بِالطولِ الَّذي لَم يَجذِبوا

    وَمَتَحتُ بِالغَربِ الَّذي لَم يَمتَحوا

    I pulled with the long rope they did not pull with,

    and drew water with the great bucket they did not draw with.

  38. مِن كُلِّ حامِلِ إِحنَةٍ لا تَنجَلي

    غَطشى دُجُنَّتُها وَلا تَتَوَضَّحُ

    From every bearer of a grudge that never clears,

    whose gloom is pitch-black and never brightens—

  39. ضَبٌّ يُداهِنُني وَيُشكِلُ غَيبُهُ

    مِمّا يُرَغّي قَولَهُ وَيُصَرَّحُ

    a lizard that fawns upon me, his secret nature hard to discern

    from the froth he makes of his speech and what is openly declared.

  40. يَغدو وَمَرجَلُ ضِغنِهِ مُتَهَزِّمٌ

    أَبَداً عَلَيَّ وَجُرحُهُ مُتقَرِّحُ

    He sets out with the cauldron of his rancor rumbling,

    ever against me, and his wound festering.

  41. مُسِحَت جِباهُ الوانِياتِ وَلُطِّمَت

    مِن دونِ غايَتِها العِتاقُ القُرحُ

    The foreheads of laggard mares were stroked; blows struck

    the noble, full-grown steeds before they reached their goal.

  42. لَو لَم يَكُن لي في القُلوبِ مَهابَةٌ

    لَم يَطعَنِ الأَعداءُ فِيَّ وَيَقدَحوا

    Had I no awe in people's hearts,

    my enemies would not assail and disparage me.

  43. مَن خيفَ خَوفَ اللَيثِ خُطَّ لَهُ الرُبى

    وَعَوَت لِتُشهِرَهُ الكِلابُ النُبَّحُ

    The hills are marked out for one feared like a lion,

    and barking dogs howl to make him known.

  44. نَظَروا بِعَينِ عَداوَةٍ لَو أَنَّها

    عَينُ الرِضى لَاِستَحسَنوا ما اِستَقبَحوا

    They looked with an eye of enmity; had it been

    an eye of favor, they would have admired what they found ugly.

  45. ما كانَ مِن شُعثٍ فَإِنّي مِنهُمُ

    لَهُمُ أَوَدُّ عَلى البِعادِ وَأَسمَحُ

    Whatever disheveled folk there are, I am one of them;

    I am more loving and more generous to them, despite the distance.