Sol 6.1

  1. لَنا كُلَّ يَومٍ رَنَّةٌ خَلفَ ذاهِبٍ

    وَمُستَهلَكٍ بَينَ النَوى وَالنَوادِبِ

    Each day we have a lament for someone departed,

    and someone lost amid separation and mourning women.

  2. وَقَلعَةُ إِخوانٍ كَأَنّا وَراهُمُ

    نُرامِقُ أَعجازَ النُجومِ الغَوارِبِ

    And friends are uprooted: it is as though, behind them,

    we watch the backs of stars as they set.

  3. نُوادِعُ أَحداثَ اللَيالي عَلى شَفاً

    مِنَ الحَربِ لَو سالَمنَ مَن لَم يُحارِبِ

    We keep a truce with the nights' vicissitudes, on the brink

    of war—if only they would make peace with those who do not fight.

  4. وَنَأمُلُ مِن وَعدِ المُنى غَيرَ صادِقٍ

    وَنَأمَنُ مِن وَعدِ الرَدى غَيرَ كاذِبِ

    We put our hopes in wishes' untruthful promise,

    and feel safe from death's promise, which tells no lie.

  5. وَما الناسُ إِلّا دارِعٌ مِثلُ حاسِرٍ

    يُصابُ وَإِلّا داجِنٌ مِثلُ سارِبِ

    People are but the armored, like the unarmored,

    struck down—or the homebound, like those who roam.

  6. إِلى كَم نُمَنّى بِالغُرورِ وَنَنثَني

    بِأَعناقِنا لِلمُطمِعاتِ الكَواذِبِ

    How long shall we be fed delusions, and bend

    our necks toward lying enticements?

  7. وَهَل يَنفَعُ المَغرورَ قُرَّبَ لِلنَوى

    تَلَوُّمُ مَغرورٍ بِأَرجاءِ جاذِبِ

    Can it help the deluded man, brought near to parting,

    to linger, still deluded, within a tempter's bounds?

  8. لُزِزنا مِنَ الدَهرِ الخَؤونِ بِمِصدَمٍ

    يُحَطِّمُ أَشلاءَ القَرينِ المَجاذِبِ

    Treacherous Time has thrust us against a battering force

    that crushes the limbs of the opponent grappling with it.

  9. هُوَ القَدَرُ المَجلوبُ مِن حَيثُ لا يُرى

    وَأَعيا عَلينا رَدُّ تِلكَ الجَوالِبِ

    It is destiny, brought from where it cannot be seen,

    and repelling those forces that bring it has baffled us.

  10. نُراعُ إِذا ما شيكَ أَخمَصُ بَعضِنا

    وَأَقدامُنا ما بَينَ شَوكِ العَقارِبِ

    We take fright when one of us has his sole pricked,

    though our feet stand amid the scorpions' thorns.

  11. وَنُمسي بِآمالٍ طِوالٍ كَأَنَّنا

    أَمِنّا بَياتَ الخَطبِ دونَ المَطالِبِ

    We pass the evening with long hopes, as though

    we were safe from calamity's night attack before reaching our goals.

  12. نَعَم إِنَّها الدُنيا سِمامٌ لِطاعِمٍ

    وَخَوفٌ لِمَطلوبٍ وَهَمٍّ لِطالِبِ

    Yes, this world is poison to whoever tastes it,

    fear for the pursued, and anxiety for the pursuer.

  13. تَصَدّى لَنا قُربُ المُوامِقِ ذي الهَوى

    وَيَختُلُنا كَيدُ العَدُوِّ المُجانِبِ

    The nearness of the ardent, loving friend confronts us,

    and the distant enemy's scheming deceives us.

  14. وَإِنّا لَنَهواها عَلى الغَدرِ وَالقِلى

    وَنَمدَحُها مَع عِلمِنا بِالمَعائِبِ

    Yet we love this world despite its treachery and hatred,

    and praise it despite knowing its faults.

  15. وَحَسبِيَ مِن ضَرّاءِ دَهرِيَ أَنَّني

    أُقيمُ الأَعادي لي مَقامَ الحَبائِبِ

    Enough of my Time's affliction is this:

    I give enemies the place of my beloved.

  16. أَلَم يَأنِ يا لِلناسِ هَبَّةُ نائِمٍ

    رَأى سيرَةَ الأَيّامِ أَوجَدَ لاعِبِ

    Has the time not come—O people!—for a sleeper's awakening,

    one who has seen the days' conduct, that most resourceful player?

  17. حَدَت بِعَصاها آلَ ساسانَ وَالتَوَت

    يَداها بِآلِ المُنذِرَينِ الأَشاهِبِ

    The days drove the house of Sasan with their staff, and wound

    their hands around the illustrious house of the two Mundhirs.

  18. وَحَلَّت عَلى أَطلالِ عادٍ وَحَميرٍ

    سَنابِكُها حَلَّ الجِيادِ اللَواغِبِ

    And down upon the ruins of 'Ad and Himyar came

    their hooves, as weary steeds come down.

  19. نَزَلنَ قِبابَ المُنذِرِ بنِ مُحَرِّقٍ

    وَأَندِيَةَ الشُمِّ الطِوالِ بِمارِبِ

    They descended upon the pavilions of al-Mundhir ibn Muharriq

    and the meeting halls of the proud, towering men at Ma'rib.

  20. نَبا بِبَني العَنقاءِ نابٌ وَقَعقَعَت

    عِمادُ بَني الرَيّانِ إِحدى الشَواعِبِ

    A calamity cast out the Banu al-'Anqa', and shook

    the pillars of Banu al-Rayyan—a blow that scatters.

  21. فَقادَتهُمُ قَودَ الأَيانِقِ في البُرى

    وَزَمَّتهُمُ زَمَّ القُرومِ المَصاعِبِ

    They led them as she-camels are led by nose-rings,

    and haltered them as stubborn camel stallions are haltered.

  22. أَهَبَّت عَلَيهِم قاصِفاً مِن رِياحِها

    فَطاروا كَما وَلّى جُفاءُ المَذانِبِ

    They raised against them a shattering blast of their winds,

    and they flew away like scum swept from watercourses.

  23. مَسيرٌ مَعَ الأَقدارِ ما فيهِ وَنيَةٌ

    وَلا وَقعَةٌ بَعدَ اللُغوبِ لِراكِبِ

    A journey with fate's decrees, with no slackening,

    and no rest for a rider after weariness.

  24. وَمَن كانَتِ الأَيّامُ ظَهراً لِرَحلِهِ

    فَيا قُربَ ما بَينَ المَدى وَالرَكائِبِ

    Whoever has the days as the back beneath his saddle—

    how short the distance between the goal and the mounts!

  25. وَمَن أَصبَحَ المِقدارُ حادي مَطِيَّهِ

    أَجَدُّ بِلا رُزءٍ وَلا سَوطِ ضارِبِ

    And whoever has Fate as the driver of his mounts

    hastens all the harder, without loss or a driver's lash.

  26. عَلى مِثلِها يُدمي الحَليمُ بَنانَهُ

    عِضاضاً عَلى أَيدي المَنايا السَوالِبِ

    At such a calamity the forbearing man bloodies his fingertips,

    biting them because of death's despoiling hands.

  27. عَلى أَيِّ خَلقٍ آمِنُ الدَهرِ بَعدَما

    تَباعَدَ ما بَيني وَبَينَ الأَقارِبِ

    For what mortal can I trust Time, now that

    the distance between me and my kinsmen has grown?

  28. سِنانُ عُلاً عُزّي قَناتي وَمَضرَبٌ

    مِنَ المَجدِ مُستَثنىً بِهِ مِن مَضارِبي

    A spearhead of eminence—my might, my spear—and a striking edge

    of glory, set apart among all my blades.

  29. وَلَمّا طُوي طَيَّ البُرودِ وَأَقبَلوا

    يُهادونَهُ بَينَ الطُلى وَالمَناكِبِ

    And when he was folded as mantles are folded, and they came

    bearing him gently between necks and shoulders,

  30. صَبَرتُ عَلَيهِ أَطلُبُ النَصرَ بُرهَةً

    مِنَ الدَهرِ ثُمَّ اِنقَدتُ طَوعَ الجَواذِبِ

    I endured his loss, seeking victory for a while

    of Time, then yielded willingly to the forces drawing me.

  31. تَقَطَّعَتِ الأَسبابُ بَيني وَبَينَهُ

    فَلَم تَبقَ إِلّا عُلقَةٌ لِلمَناسِبِ

    The bonds between me and him were severed,

    and nothing remained but a bond of kinship.

  32. لَئِن لَم نُطِل لَدمَ التَرائِبِ لَوعَةً

    فَإِنَّ لَنا لَدماً وَراءَ التَرائِبِ

    Though we have not long beaten our breasts in anguish,

    there is a beating within us, behind the breastbones.

  33. يَتِمُّ تَمامَ الرُمحِ زادَت كُعوبُهُ

    وَيَهتَزُّ لِلحَمدِ اِهتِزازَ القَواضِبِ

    He attains fullness like a spear whose joints have grown,

    and thrills to praise as keen swords quiver.

  34. فَلا الحِلمُ في عَركِ الخُطوبِ بِعازِبٍ

    وَلا الريقُ في كَرِّ الرَزايا بِناضِبِ

    His forbearance does not fail amid calamities' grinding,

    nor does his mouth go dry under misfortunes' repeated assaults.

  35. يُداهي ضِبابَ القاعِ وَهوَ كَأَنَّهُ

    مِنَ اللينِ غَمرٌ غَيرُ جَمِّ المَذاهِبِ

    He outwits the lizards of the plain, though he seems,

    in his gentleness, an innocent with few stratagems.

  36. إِذا طَبَعَ الآراءَ ما طَلَ غَربَها

    فَلَم يُمضِها إِلّا بِإِذنِ العَواقِبِ

    When he forges judgments, he does not waste their edge,

    and puts them into force only with the leave of their outcomes.

  37. مِنَ القَومِ حَلّوا في المَكارِمِ وَالعُلى

    بِمُلتَفِّ أَعياصِ الفُروعِ الأَطايِبِ

    He is of a people who dwell in noble deeds and eminence,

    amid entwined stocks of the finest branches.

  38. أَقاموا بِمُستَنِّ البِطاحِ وَمَجدُهُم

    مَكانَ النَواصي مِن لُؤَيِّ بنِ غالِبِ

    They dwelt where the broad valley waters run, while their glory

    held the forelock's place within Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib.

  39. بَهاليلُ أَزوالٌ تُعاجُ إِلَيهِمُ

    صُدورُ القَوافي أَو صُدورُ النَجائِبِ

    Noble, resourceful men, toward whom are turned

    the openings of odes, or the breasts of noble she-camels.

  40. عِظامُ المَقاري يُمطِرونَ نَوالَهُم

    بِأَيدي مَساميحٍ سِباطِ الرَواجِبِ

    Great in hospitality, they rain down their bounty

    with generous hands, long and supple in their finger joints.

  41. إِذا طَلَبوا الأَعداءَ كانوا نَغيضَةً

    لِيَومِ الوَغى مِن قَبلِ جَرِّ الكَتائِبِ

    When they pursued their enemies, they were a vanguard

    for the day of battle, before the battalions were drawn out.

  42. وَباتوا مَبيتَ الأُسدِ تَلتَمِسُ القِرى

    بِمَطرورَةِ الأَنيابِ عوجِ المَخالِبِ

    They spent the night as lions do, seeking guest-fare

    with sharpened fangs and curved claws.

  43. وَأَضحوا عَلى الأَعوادِ تَسمو لِحاظَهُم

    كَلَمحِ القَطامِيّاتِ فَوقَ المَراقِبِ

    By morning, upon the wooden pulpits, their glances rose

    like the flashing gaze of falcons above lookout posts.

  44. فَما شِئتَ مِن داعٍ إِلى اللَهِ مُسمِعٍ

    وَمِن ناصِرٍ لِلحَقِّ ماضي الضَرائِبِ

    Whatever you wish of a caller to God who makes himself heard,

    or of a champion of truth whose blows cut through.

  45. هُمُ اِستَخدَموا الأَملاكَ عِزّاً وَأَرهَفوا

    بَصائِرَهُم بَعدَ الرَدى وَالمَعاطِبِ

    They made kings serve them through their might, and sharpened

    their insight after ruin and deadly perils.

  46. وَهُم أَنزَلوهُم بَعدَما اِمتَدَّ غَيُّهُم

    جَماماً عَلى حُكمٍ مِنَ الدينِ واجِبِ

    They brought them down, after their error had spread,

    in throngs, beneath a binding judgment of religion.

  47. تَساموا إِلى العِزِّ المُمَنَّعِ وَاِرتَقوا

    مِنَ المَجدِ أَنشازَ الذُرى وَالغَوارِبِ

    They rose toward impregnable might and climbed

    the high ridges of glory's summits and crests.

  48. عَلى إِرثِ مَجدِ الأَوَّلينَ تَعَلَّقوا

    ذَوائِبَ أَعناقِ العُلى وَالمَناصِبِ

    Upon the inherited glory of their forebears, they took hold

    of the crowning locks on the necks of eminence and rank,

  49. بِحَيثُ اِبتَنَت أُمُّ النُجومِ مَنارَها

    وَأَوفَت رَبايا الطالِعاتِ الثَواقِبِ

    where the mother of the stars has built her beacon,

    and the sentries of the piercing rising stars stand aloft.

  50. لَهُم وَرَقٌ مِن عَهدِ عادٍ وَتُبَّعٍ

    حَديدُ الظُبى إِلّا اِنثِلامَ المَضارِبِ

    They have slender blades from the age of 'Ad and Tubba',

    keen-edged, save for notches in their striking edges:

  51. فُضالاتُ ما أَبقى الكُلابُ وَطَخفَةٌ

    وَما أَسأَرَ الأَبطالُ يَومَ الذَنائِبِ

    relics of what al-Kulab and Takhfa left,

    and what the champions spared on the day of al-Dhana'ib.

  52. بِهِنَّ فُلولٌ مِن وَريدي عُتَيبَةٍ

    وَنَضخُ نَجيعٍ مِن ذُؤابِ بنِ قارِبِ

    In them are notches from 'Utayba's two jugular veins,

    and splashes of fresh blood from Dhu'ab ibn Qarib.

  53. تُقَلقَلُ في الأَغمادِ هَزلاً وَخَطبِها

    جَسيمٌ إِذا جُرَّبنَ بَعضَ التَجارِبِ

    They are rattled in their scabbards in jest, yet their business

    is grave when they are put to any trial:

  54. غُدُوّاً إِلى هَدمِ الكَواهِلِ وَالطُلى

    وَعودٌ إِلى حَذفِ الذُرى وَالعَراقِبِ

    morning sorties to demolish upper backs and throats,

    and a return to sever crowns and hamstrings.

  55. لِتُبكَ قُبورٌ أَفرَغَ المَوتُ تَحتَها

    سِجالَ العَطايا بَعدَهُم وَالرَغائِبِ

    Let graves be mourned: beneath them Death has emptied

    the brimming buckets of gifts and prized bounty, now they are gone.

  56. وَطابَ ثَراها وَالثَرى غَيرُ طيّبٍ

    وَذابَ نَداها وَالنَدى غَيرُ ذائِبِ

    Their soil grew fragrant, though soil is not fragrant,

    and their bounty melted, though bounty cannot melt.

  57. كَأَنَّ اليَماني ذا العِيابِ بِأَرضِها

    يُقَلِّبُ مِن دارَينِ ما في الحَقائِبِ

    As though the Yemeni with his chests, upon their ground,

    were turning out the contents of his bags from Darin.

  58. إِذا اِجتازَ رَكبٌ كانَ أَجوَدَ عِندَها

    بِعَقرِ المَطايا مِن سُحَيمٍ وَغالِبِ

    Whenever a caravan passes, beside them it is more lavish

    in slaughtering mounts than Suhaym and Ghalib.

  59. أَفي كُلِّ يَومٍ يَعرُقُ الدَهرُ أَعظُمي

    وَيَنهَسُ لَحمي جانِباً بَعدَ جانِبِ

    Must Time every day strip my bones bare

    and gnaw my flesh, side after side?

  60. فَيَوماً رَزايا في صَديقٍ مُصادِقٍ

    وَيَوماً رَزايا في قَريبٍ مُقارِبِ

    One day, afflictions in a friend true in friendship,

    another day, afflictions in a closely attached kinsman.

  61. فَكَم فَلَّ مِنّي ساعِداً بَعدَ ساعِدٍ

    وَكَم جَبَّ مِنّي غارِباً بَعدَ غارِبِ

    How often it has broken an arm of mine after another,

    and cut off a shoulder of mine after another!

  62. وَفادِحَةٍ يُستَهزَمُ الصَبرُ بِاِسمِها

    وَتُظمى إِلى ماءِ الدُموعِ السَواكِبِ

    And many a crushing calamity routs endurance with its very name,

    and leaves one thirsting for the water of streaming tears.

  63. صَبَرنا لَها صَبرَ المَناكِبِ حِسبَةً

    إِذا اِضطَرَبَ الناسُ اِضطَرابَ الذَوائِبِ

    We endured it with the steadfastness of shoulders, seeking reward,

    when people shook as forelocks shake.

  64. تُعاصي أَنابيبُ الحُلومِ جَلادَةً

    وَتَهفو يَراعاتُ العُقولِ العَوازِبِ

    The reed-shafts of forbearance resist with steadfastness,

    while the reed-stalks of wandering minds flutter.

  65. كَظوماً عَلى مِثلِ الجَوائِفِ أَتعَبَت

    نَطاسِيُّها مِن قارِفٍ بَعدَ جالِبِ

    Stifling grief over wounds like those that pierce within, which wearied

    their skilled healer, tending them after bringing remedies.

  66. تَحِلُّ الرَزايا بِالرِجالِ وَتَنجَلي

    وَرُبَّ مُصابٍ يَنجَلي عَن مَصائِبِ

    Calamities befall men, then clear away,

    yet many an affliction clears away to reveal more afflictions.

  67. مِنَ اليَومِ يَستَدعي مَنازِلَكَ البُكا

    إِذا ما طَوى الأَبوابَ مَرُّ المَواكِبِ

    From this day, weeping seeks out your dwellings,

    when the passing cavalcades have left the doors behind.

  68. وَتَضحَكُ عَنكَ الأَرضُ أُنساً وَغَبطَةً

    وَتَبكيكَ أَخدانُ العُلى وَالمَناقِبِ

    The earth smiles for you in companionship and joy,

    while the companions of eminence and noble deeds weep for you.

  69. سَقاكَ الحَيا إِن كانَ يَرضى لَكَ الحَيا

    بِغُرِّ الأَعالي مُظلِماتِ الجَوانِبِ

    May rain water you, if rain be deemed worthy of you,

    from bright-topped clouds with darkened sides,

  70. تَمُدُّ بِأَردافٍ ثِقالٍ وَتَرتَمي

    عَلى عَجرَفِيّاتِ الصِبا وَالجَنايِبِ

    trailing heavy rears and flinging themselves

    upon the headlong gusts of the east wind and the crosswinds.

  71. كَأَنَّ لِواءً يَزدَحِمنَ وَراؤَهُ

    إِذا اِختَلَجَ البَرقُ اِزدِحامَ المَقانِبِ

    As though they crowded behind a banner,

    when lightning quivers, thronging like cavalry squadrons,

  72. بِوَدقٍ كَأَخلافِ العِشارِ اِستَفاضَها

    تَداعي رُغاءٍ مِن مُبِسٍّ وَحالِبِ

    with rain like the teats of pregnant she-camels, drawn to gush

    by answering bellows at the coaxer's and the milker's call.

  73. يَقَرُّ بِعَيني أَن تُطيلَ مَواقِفاً

    عَليكَ مَجَرُّ المُدجِناتِ الهَواضِبِ

    It would gladden my eye for long halts to be made

    above you by the train of dark, downpouring clouds,

  74. وَأَن تَرقُمَ الأَنواءُ تُربَكَ بَعدَها

    بِكُلِّ جَديدِ النَورِ رَقمَ الكَواكِبِ

    and for the rain-bearing stars to embroider your soil afterward

    with every fresh blossom, like the pattern of the stars.

  75. ذَكَرتُكُمُ وَالعَينُ غَيرُ مُحيلَةٍ

    فَأَنبَطتُ غُدرانَ الدُموعِ السَواكِبِ

    I remembered you, my eye still not dry,

    and so drew forth pools of streaming tears.

  76. وَما جالَتِ الأَلحاظُ إِلّا بِقاطِرٍ

    وَلا اِمتَدَّتِ الأَنفاسُ إِلّا بِحاصِبٍ

    My glances never roamed without a falling tear,

    nor did my breaths lengthen without a stone-laden blast.

  77. وَهَل نافِعِ ذِكرُ الأَخِلاّءِ بَعدَهُ

    جَرى بَينَنا مَورُ النَقا وَالسَباسِبِ

    Can remembrance of friends avail after he is gone,

    when surging dunes and desert wastes have flowed between us?