Poems
- أتعرف رسما دارسا قد تغيراDo you know of a drawing that has changed
- إذا تعلو براكبها خليجاWhen she bears her rider up a ravine,
- إذا ما جد واستذكى عليهاWhenever he strove hard and pressed them fiercely,
- إذا ما راية رفعت لمجدWhenever a banner was raised for glory,
- أرسل يوما ديمة تهتاناOne day he sent down a steady rain, streaming without cease—
- أريغوني إراغتكم فإنيPursue me as you will, for I
- أعائش ما لأهلك لا أراهمO A'ish, what is with your people? I do not see them
- ألا أصبحت عرسي من البيت جامحاLo, this morning my wife has bolted from the house,
- ألا إنما الداء العياء مرامناLo, the incurable malady is nothing but our pursuit
- ألا من مبلغ خاقان عنيO messenger to the Khan, hear me:
- ألا ناديا أظعان ليلى تعرجO, you two, call Layla's departing caravan to halt!
- أمن دمنتين عرج الركب فيهماWas it for two deserted campsites that the riders turned aside,
- إن الجليد زلق زملقIndeed, al-Julayd is slippery, quick to spill his seed;
- إن ضباع ابتكرت على سفرIndeed, Dubaʿ set out early on a journey.
- إنك يا ابن جعفر نعم الفتىIndeed, O son of Ja‘far, what a fine young man you are!
- إنما نحن مثل خامة زرعWe are but like a tender stalk of grain;
- أواعدتني مالا أحاول نفعهDid you promise me wealth whose benefit I seek—
- بادت وغير آيهن مع البلىThey vanished, their traces altered by decay,
- بانت سعاد فنوم العين مملولSuʿād has departed; the eye’s sleep has grown wearisome.
- ترى السرحان مفترشا يديهYou see the wolf with his forelegs stretched out,
- تزور امرءا يعطى على الحمد مالهYou visit a man who gives his wealth in return for praise.
- تعارض أسماء الركاب عشيةAsmāʾ meets the riding camels one evening,
- تعلم رسول الله أنا كأنناKnow, Messenger of God, that we seem
- تقولها ناكحة أويساShe says it as she marries Uways.
- تمشي مباذلها الفرند وهبررShe walks, her everyday garments of patterned silk and brocade,
- ثلاث غمامات تنصبن في الضحىThree clouds towered in the forenoon,
- جزى الله خيرا من أمير وباركتMay God reward him well as a commander, and may
- خليل خود غرها شبابهA tender maiden's lover—his youth beguiled her.
- ذاك مما لقين من دلج الليلThat is from what they endured in traveling by night,
- راحت يقحمها ذو أزمل وسقتThey set out at evening, driven headlong by a loud-braying male; pregnant
- رأيت وقد أتى نجران دونيI saw—with Najran already lying before me,
- سل الهموم التي باتت مؤرقةDispel the cares that have kept you sleepless,
- صدع الظعائن قلبه المشتاقاThe women in their litters cleft his yearning heart,
- صفوح بخديها وقد طال جريهاShe turns her cheeks from side to side, her running having lasted long,
- طاف خيال من سليمى فاعترىAn apparition of Sulayma passed by and came upon me.
- طال الثواء على رسم بيمئودLong has been the stay beside a ruined trace at Yam'ud,
- طيف خيال من سليمى هائجيA phantom vision from Sulayma stirs me,
- عفا بطن قو من سليمى فعالزQaww's valley-floor lies desolate, bereft of Sulayma, and Aliz too,
- عفت ذروة من أهلها فجفيرهاDharwah is effaced of its people, and so is its Jafir,
- فأظهر ودا والعداوة سرهSo he showed affection, while enmity was his secret,
- فصوبته كأنه صوب غبيةSo I sent him downward, like a shower of rain pouring
- قالت ألا يدعى لهذا عرافShe said, “Will no diviner be summoned for this man?
- قالت سليمى لست بالحادي المدلSulayma said, “You are no self-assured camel-driver.
- قد تبطنت بهلواعةI have indeed ridden a swift she-camel,
- كأن المتن والشرخين منهAs though its shaft and its two nock-prongs,
- كأن هزيز الريح بين فروجهAs though the wind’s whistling among its gaps
- كأنها وقد بدا عوارضThey seemed—ʿUwāriḍ now in view,
- كأنها وقد براها الأخماسAs though they, worn thin by five-day watering intervals,
- كأني كسوت الرحل جونا رباعياAs though I had clad the saddle in a dark, four-year-old wild ass,
- كلا يومي طوالة وصل أروىOn both days at Tuwalah, union with Arwa
- لا يطبيني العمل المقذيRepugnant work does not entice me.
- لعلك والموعود حق لقاؤهPerhaps you—and what is promised is certain to be met—
- لعمري لا أنسى وإن طال عهدناBy my life, I shall not forget, however long we have been apart,
- لما رأتنا واقفي المطياتWhen she saw us halting our riding camels,
- لمن طلل عاف ورسم منازلTo whom belong this fading ruin and this trace of dwellings,
- لنا صاحب قد خان من أجل نظرةWe have a friend who betrayed us for a glance
- ما قطعت من أمم ولا دانShe crossed no short or nearby stretch.
- ماذا يهيجك من ذكر ابنة الراقيWhat stirs you at the memory of al-Rāqī's daughter,
- من اللواتي إذا لانت عريكتهاOf those that, when their humps soften,
- نظرت وسهب من بوانة بينناI gazed—though Buwāna’s broad plain lay between us,
- وأحمى عليها ابنا يزيد بن مسهرAnd the two sons of Yazid ibn Mus-hir barred them
- وأطرق إطراق الشجاع وقد جرىAnd he lowered his head like a serpent, while there flowed
- وأعجلنا وشك الفراق وبينناAnd the imminence of parting hurried us, while between us
- وأمر تشتهيه النفس حلوAnd many a sweet thing the soul desires,
- وإن على الإوانة من عقيلAnd indeed, at al-Iwānah, of ʿUqayl,
- وحرف قد بعثت على وجاهاAnd many a lean she-camel I have urged on despite her sore feet,
- وذات أثارة أكلت عليهAnd a she-camel with a remnant of fat grazed, adding to it,
- وعدت وكان الخلف منك سجيةYou promised, though breaking promises was your nature—
- وقد لاح في الصبح الثريا لمن رأىAnd at dawn the Pleiades shone for whoever looked,
- وكم وزعنا من خميس جحفلAnd many a mighty army have we held back!
- وكنت إذا ما جئت ليلى تبرقعتAnd whenever I came to Layla, she would veil her face.
- ولقد قطعت الخرق تحمل نمرقيAnd indeed I crossed the waste, my saddle-cushion borne
- يأوي إذا كشحت إلى أطبائهاHe shelters at her teats when she turns aside,
- يثقب نارها والليل داجHe kindles her fire while the night is dark,
- يحيل به الذئب الأحل وقوتهThe slack-limbed wolf dwells there, and his food is
No poems found.