Poems
- أبي الذي أخنب رجل ابن الصعقMy father is the one who crippled the leg of Ibn al-Ṣaʿiq,
- إذا ضيعت أول كل أمرIf you neglect the beginning of any undertaking,
- إذا قال سيف الله كروا عليهمWhen the Sword of God says, “Charge at them!”
- إذا ماجعلت السر بيني وبينهIf I place the secret between me and him,
- إذا نزل الشتاء بدار قومWhen winter descends upon a people's dwelling,
- أغدوا واعد الحي الزبالاHas the tribe arranged to meet at al-Zibal in the morning?
- أفد الرحيل وليته لم يأفدDeparture has drawn near—would that it had not! Today it hastens, and tomorrow brings blame.
- أفرغ لها من جم جياش حصبPour for her from a brimming pool, surging over pebbles;
- ألا ليت المنازل قد بليناOh, if only the dwellings had worn away,
- ألا يا ديار الحي بالسبعانOh home of the living with its two lions
- ألم ترم الأطلال من حول جعشمHave you not left the ruins around Ju‘shum,
- ألم تسأل بفاضحة الدياراHave you not asked the dwellings at Fadihah
- إنك لو رأيتني والقسراIndeed, had you seen me and al-Qasr,
- إني أقيد بالمأثور راحلتيIndeed, I tether my riding camel with the patterned sword,
- إني وجدت بني سهم وجاملهمI found the sons of Sahm and their camel-herd, like a goat bending its horns to suckle itself.
- بان الشباب وأفنى ضعفه العمرYouth has gone, and age has consumed twice its span.
- بمنزلة لا يشتكي السل أهلهاWith a home none suffer,
- تجلو بأخضر من نعمان ذا أشرShe reveals teeth fresher than the Arak of Nu'man, serrated, like a flash of lightning untouched by gloom.
- تفوت القصار والطوال يفتنهاShe surpasses the short, and the tall cannot reach her,
- تقلدت إبريقا وعلقت جعبةShe girded herself with a gleaming sword and slung a quiver
- ثكلى عوان بدوار مؤلفةA bereaved, middle-aged mother, at home in Duwwar,
- حتى إذا أسلكوهم في قتائدةUntil, when they had driven them into Quta’idah,
- حلوا الربيع فلما أن تجللهمThey settled in the spring pasture; then, when they were enveloped
- حي الديار بسيل فالقهرSalute the dwellings at Sayl, then al-Qahr,
- خذا وجه هرشى أو قفاها فإنهYou two, take the front of Harshā or its back, for
- رماني بأمر كنت منه ووالديHe accused me of something of which my father and I were
- رمتني بهورات الذنوب وباعدتShe accused me of ruinous sins and shunned
- سقيا لحلوان ذي الكروم وماWater-carrier of the sweetest vineyards, and what
- سواس كأسنان الحمار فلا ترىAll alike, like a donkey’s teeth, so you see no
- شط المزار بجدوى وانتهى الأملThe meeting place with Jadwa is far, and hope has ceased,
- شكوت ذهاب طارقتي إليهاI complained to her of losing my she-camel,
- عذبني ذو الجلال بالنارMay the Lord of Majesty torment me with fire
- عرانين من عبد بن غنم أبوهمNoble lords of Abd bin Ghunm, their sire of purebred stock, who rose in rank and noble sons begot.
- عوجوا فحيوا أيها السفرTurn aside and offer greetings, O travelers.
- غادرني سهمه أعشى وغادرهHis arrow left me dim-sighted, while he was left
- فإن تدفنوا الداء لا نخفهSo if you bury the malady, we will not uncover it.
- فبعثتها تقص المقاصر بعدماSo I sent her forth, following the shortcuts, after
- فردوا ما لديكم من ركابيSo return the riding camels of mine that you hold,
- فلما تجلى ما تجلى من الدجىThen, when some of the darkness had lifted,
- فمثلك ألوى بالفؤاد وزار بالعدادOne like you my heart yearns for and my count of days
- فورطهم وسط البياض كأنهمSo he plunged them into the midst of the white plain, as though they were
- قد بكرت عاذلتي بكرةMy reproaching woman came early at daybreak,
- قد جعلت مي على الطرارOver the thorn-trees are five fingers, claws crooked, shedding tears of blood
- كأن لم يكن منا الفراض مظنةAs though al-Firad had never been a haunt of ours,
- كأني لم أقل عاج لأفتAs though I had not cried “Halt!” to a swift she-camel,
- كبيضة أدحي بوعث خميلةLike an egg in an ostrich’s nesting hollow, in the soft sand of a thicket,
- كريم النجار حمى ظهرهThe generous carpenter protected his back
- كسع الشتاء بسبعة غبرWinter was struck from behind by seven dusky days—
- لا يجفلون عن المضاف ولو رأواHomes yearn not for guests, though they witness
- لعمري لئن حلت قتيبة بلدةBy my life, if Qutaybah has settled in a place
- لعمري ما خلفت إلا لما أرىBy my life, I was left behind only to see what I see,
- ليست بمشتمة تعد وعفوهاIt is not a flaw to be counted, and her unforced pace
- ما للكواعب يا عيساء قد جعلتWhat ails the young maidens, O ʿAysāʾ, that they have begun
- من مبلغ مألكا عني أبا حسنWho will convey a message from me to Abu Hasan?
- منازلا من ذات خلق عبهرDwellings of one with a form like the narcissus,
- نبئت سفيان يلحانا ويشتمناI was told that Sufyan blames and reviles us, yet Allah wards off from us the evil of Sufyan.
- نهارهم ظمآن ضاح وليلهمTheir day is parched and exposed to the sun, and their night,
- نولي قبل نأي ذاري جماناGrant me your favor before [my dwelling] grows distant, Jumāna;
- وأشياء مما يعطف المرء ذا النهىAnd things of the sort that sway a man of reason
- وتغير القمر المنير لموتهThe shining moon was altered by his death,
- وقرطوا الخيل من فلج أعنتهاAnd they spurred on the horses from a valley whose steepness exhausted them
- ولا مكللة راج الشمال بهاNor a wreathed cloud that the north wind drove to and fro,
- وللشيخ تكبيه رسوم كأنهاThe old man has markings like spirits
- وما أنس م الأشياء لا أنس قولهاWhatever else I may forget, I shall not forget her words
- ومل صيهم ذو كراديس لم يكنAnd a stout, large-jointed beast grew weary, being neither tame nor yearning to trail the caravan,
- ومن خطيب إذا ما انساح مسحلهAnd of an orator, when his tongue flows freely,
- يد ما قضد يديت على سكينA hand I never intended to raise against a knife
- يسوف بأنفيه النقاع كأنهHe sniffs the dust with his nose, as though
- يطول على الرمح الرديني قامةHe surpasses the Rudayni spear in stature,
No poems found.