أكلفت تصعيد الحدوج الروافع — Jarir

أَكُلِّفتَ تَصعيدَ الحُدوجِ الرَوافِعِ

كَأَنَّ خَبالي بَعدَ بُرءٍ مُراجِعي

Have you been captivated by the ascent of the lofty howdahs?

As though my madness, after recovery, were returning to me.

قِفا نَعرِفِ الرَبعَينِ بَينَ مُلَيحَةٍ

وَبُرقَةِ سُلمانينَ ذاتِ الأَجارِعِ

Halt, you two, that we may recognize the two encampments between Mulayha

and the stony tract of Sulmanayn, with its sandy flats.

سَقى الغَيثُ سُلمانينَ وَالبُرَقَ العُلا

إِلى كُلِّ وادٍ مِن مُلَيحَةَ دافِعِ

May rain water Sulmanayn and the lofty stony tracts,

as far as every valley flowing out from Mulayha.

أَرَجَّعتَ مِن عِرفانِ رَبعٍ كَأَنَّهُ

بَقِيَّةُ وَشمٍ في مُتونِ الأَشاجِعِ

Have you cried plaintively upon recognizing an encampment resembling

the remnant of a tattoo on the backs of the knuckles?

مَتى أَنتَ مُهتاجٌ بِحِلمِكَ بَعدَما

وَصَلتَ بِهِ حَبلَ القَرينِ المُنازِعِ

When will you be roused by your good sense, after

you have used it to mend the bond with a quarrelsome companion?

إِذا ما رَجا الظَمآنُ وِردَ شَريعَةٍ

ضَرَبنَ حِبالَ المَوتِ دونَ الشَرائِعِ

Whenever a thirsty man hopes to reach a watering place,

they stretch death's cords before the watering places.

إِذا قُلنَ لَيسَت لِلرِجالِ أَمانَةٌ

وَفَينا فَلَم نَنقُض عُهودَ الوَدائِعِ

When they say, 'Men cannot be trusted,'

we kept faith and did not break the pledges of entrusted things.

سَقَينَ البَشامَ المِسكَ ثُمَّ رَشَفنَهُ

رَشيفَ الغُرَيرِيّاتِ ماءَ الوَقائِعِ

They soaked the balsam wood in musk, then sucked it,

as Ghurayri she-camels sip water from rock pools.

لَقَد هاجَ هاذا الشَوقُ عَيناً مَريضَةً

وَنَوحُ الحَمامِ الصادِحاتِ السَواجِعِ

This longing has indeed stirred an ailing eye,

and so has the lament of the loudly calling, cooing doves.

فَذَكَّرنَ ذا الإِعوالِ وَالشَوقِ ذِكرَهُ

فَهَيَّجنَ ما بَينَ الحَشا وَالأَضالِعِ

So they brought his memories back to the man of wailing and longing,

and stirred what lay between his heart and ribs.

أَلَم تَكُ قَد خَبَّرتَ إِن شَطَّتِ النَوى

بِأَنَّكَ يَوماً عِندَها غَيرُ جازِعِ

Had you not already declared, if separation grew distant,

that, when the day came, you would not be distraught by it?

فَلَمّا اِستَقَلّوا كِدتَ تَهلِكُ حَسرَةً

وَراعَتكَ إِحدى المُفظِعاتِ الرَوائِعِ

Yet when they set out, you nearly perished of grief,

and one of those dreadful terrors frightened you.

سَمَت بِيَ مِن شَيبانَ أُمٌّ نَزيعَةٌ

كَذالِكَ ضَربُ المُنجِباتِ النَزائِعِ

A mother from Shayban, married far from her kin, raised me high;

such is the stock of out-married mothers who bear noble offspring.

فَلَمّا سَقَيتُ السُمَّ خِنزيرَ تَغلِبٍ

أَبا مالِكٍ جَدَّعتُ قَينَ الصَعاصِعِ

When I gave the swine of Taghlib poison to drink—

Abu Malik—I mutilated the smith of the Saʿasiʿ.

رَمَيتُ ذَوي الأَضغانَ حَتّى تَناذَروا

حِمايَ وَأَلقى قَوسَهُ كُلُّ نازِعِ

I shot at those bearing grudges until they warned one another

against my guarded ground, and every archer cast down his bow.

فَإِنّي بِكَيِّ الناظِرينِ كِلَيهِما

طَبيبٌ وَأَشفي مَن نَسا المُتَظالِعِ

For I, in cauterizing both eyes,

am a physician, and I cure the sciatic pain of one who feigns a limp.

إِذا ما اِستَضافَتني الهُمومُ قَرَيتُها

زِماعي وَلَيلَ الذامِلاتِ الهَوابِعِ

Whenever worries seek my hospitality, I offer them

my resolve and a night of trotting, neck-stretching she-camels:

حَراجيجَ يُعلَفنَ الذَميلَ كَأَنَّها

مَعاطِفُ نَبعٍ أَو حَنِيُّ الشَراجِعِ

gaunt she-camels fed on brisk trotting, as though they were

curved pieces of nabʿ wood, or the arched frames of biers.

إِذا بَلَّغَ اللَهُ الخَليفَةَ لَم تُبَل

سِقاطَ الرَزايا مِن حَسيرٍ وَظالِعِ

If God brings us to the caliph, you need not heed

the fallen victims of hardship, exhausted or lame.

سَمَونا إِلى بَحرِ البُحورِ وَلَم نَسِر

إِلى ثَمَدٍ مِن مُعرِضِ العَينِ قاطِعِ

We rose toward the sea of seas, and did not journey

toward a scant pool from one who averts his gaze and withholds.

تَؤُمُّ عِظامَ الجَمِّ عادِيَةَ الجَبا

عَلى الطُرُقِ المُستَورَداتِ المَهايِعِ

They head for vast, brimming waters with ancient banks,

along the broad roads leading to water.

فَلَمّا اِلتَقى وَفدا مَعَدٍّ عَرَضتَهُم

بِسِجلَينِ مِن آذِيِّكَ المُتَدافِعِ

When Maʿadd's two delegations met, you supplied them

with two great buckets from your surging waves.

وَأَنتَ اِبنُ أَعياصٍ تَمَكَّنَ في الذُرى

وَأَنتَ اِبنُ سَيلِ الراسِياتِ الفَوارِعِ

And you are a son of Aʿyas stock, established on the heights;

and you are the son of the torrent from the firm, towering mountains.

عَلَوتَ مِنَ الأَعياصِ في مُتَمَنِّعٍ

مُقايَسَةً طالَت مِدادَ المُذارِعِ

You rose from the Aʿyas to an unassailable height,

in a comparison surpassing the reach of those who measure.

فَلَمّا تَسَربَلتَ الخِلافَةَ أَقبَلَت

عَلَيكَ بِأَبوابِ الأُمورِ الجَوامِعِ

When you donned the caliphate as a robe, it came

to you with the gateways to all-encompassing affairs.

تَبَحبَحَ هَذا المُلكُ في مُستَقَرِّهِ

فَلَيسَ إِلى قَومٍ سِواكُم بِراجِعِ

This dominion has found ample room in its resting place,

so it will not return to any people other than you.

وَضارَبتُمُ حَتّى شَفَيتُم مِنَ العَمى

قُلوباً وَحَتّى جازَ نَقشُ الطَوابِعِ

And you fought until you cured of blindness

hearts, and until the seals' imprint was accepted.

فَقَد سَرَّني أَن لا يَزالَ يَزيدُكُم

يَسيرُ بِأَمرِ الأُمَّةِ المُتَتابِعِ

So it has delighted me that your Yazid continues

to steer the community's ever-unfolding affairs.

أَتَتكَ قُرَيشٌ لاجِئينَ وَغَيرُهُم

إِلى كُلِّ دِفءٍ مِن جَناحِكَ واسِعِ

Quraysh have come to you seeking refuge, and others besides them,

to every warm, spacious refuge beneath your wing.

وَيَرجو أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ وَسَيبَهُ

مَراضيعُ مِثلُ الريشِ سُفعُ المَدامِعِ

And the Commander of the Faithful and his bounty are the hope of

suckling children like feathers, dark around the tear ducts.