هاج الهوى وضمير الحاجة الذكر — Jarir

هاجَ الهَوى وَضَميرَ الحاجَةِ الذِكَرُ

وَاِستَعجَمَ اليَومَ مِن سَلّومَةَ الخَبَرُ

Memories stirred passion and the heart's secret longing.

And today the tidings from Salluma are obscure.

عُلِّقتُ جِنِّيَّةً ضَنَّت بِنائِلِها

مِن نِسوَةٍ زانَهُنَّ الدَلُّ وَالخَفَرُ

I fell in love with a jinni maiden who withheld her favors,

One of women adorned by coquetry and modesty.

قَد كُنتُ أَحسِبُ في تَيمٍ مُصانِعَةً

وَفيهِمُ عاقِلاً بَعدَ الَّذي اِئتَمَروا

I had thought there was conciliation in Taym,

And a sensible man among them, after what they had plotted.

هَلّا اِدَّرَأتُم سِوانا يا بَني لَجَإٍ

أَمراً يُقارِبُ أَو وَحشاً لَها غِرَرُ

Why not tackle something other than us, sons of Laja—

A manageable task, or wild beasts with white blazes?

أَو تَطلُبونَ بِتَيمٍ لا أَبا لَكُمُ

مَن تَبلُغُ التَيمُ أَو تَيمٌ لَهُ خَطَرُ

Or do you make claims for Taym—may you have no father!

Whom can Taym rival, or to whom does Taym matter?

تَرجو الهَوادَةَ تَيمٌ بَعدَما وَقَعَت

صَمّاءُ لَيسَ لَها سَمعٌ وَلا بَصَرُ

Taym hopes for a truce after there has fallen

A deaf calamity, with neither hearing nor sight.

قَد كانَتِ التَيمُ مِمَّن قَد نَصَبتُ لَهُ

المَنجَنيقِ وَكَلّاً دَقَّهُ الحَجَرُ

Taym was among those against whom I had set up

The catapult; every one was crushed by its stone.

ذاقوا كَما ذاقَ مَن قَد كانَ قَبلَهُمُ

وَاِستَعقَبوا عَثرَةَ الأَقيانِ إِذ عَثَروا

They tasted what those before them had tasted,

And when they stumbled, they inherited the smiths' downfall.

قَد كانَ لَو وُعِظَت تَيمٌ بِغَيرِهِمُ

في ذي الصَليبِ وَقَينَي مالِكٍ عِبَرُ

There were—had Taym taken warning from others—

Lessons in the man of the cross and Malik's two smiths.

خَلِّ الطَريقَ لِمَن يَبني المَنارَ بِهِ

وَاِبرُز بِبَرزَةَ حَيثُ اِضطَرَّكَ القَدَرُ

Yield the road to him who builds beacons along it,

And come forth with Barza where fate has driven you.

ما زِلتَ تَحفِزُ أَقواماً وَتُبلِغُني

ذيخَ المُرَيرَةِ حَتّى اِستَحصَدَ المِرَرُ

You kept goading peoples and bringing me

The slack of the twisted cord, until its strands grew taut.

قَد حانَ قَبلَكَ أَقوامٌ فَقُلتُ لَهُم

جَدَّ النِضالُ وَقَلَّت بَينَنا العِذَرُ

Peoples before you met their doom, and I told them:

The contest has grown earnest, and excuses between us are few.

لَن تَستَطيعَ بِتَيمٍ أَن تُغالِيَني

حينَ اِستَحَنَّ جِذابَ النَبعَةِ الوَتَرُ

With Taym you will never be able to outshoot me,

When the string sings as the nabʿ-wood bow is drawn.

ما التَيمُ إِلّا ذُبابٌ لا جَناحَ لَهُ

قَد كانَ مَنَّ عَلَيهِم مَرَّةً نَمِرُ

Taym is nothing but a wingless fly;

Namir once bestowed his favor upon them,

أَزمانَ يَغشى دُخانُ الذُلِّ أَعيُنَهُم

لا يُستَعانونَ في قَومٍ إِذا ذُكِروا

In days when the smoke of humiliation veiled their eyes.

They are not sought for help among a people when mentioned.

وَالتَيمُ عَبدٌ لِأَقوامٍ يَلوذُ بِهِم

يُعطي المَقادَةَ إِن أَوفَوا وَإِن غَدَروا

Taym is a slave to peoples with whom it takes refuge,

Yielding the reins whether they keep faith or betray.

أَتَبتَغي التَيمُ عُذراً بَعدَما غَدَروا

لا يَقبَلُ اللَهُ مِن تَيمٍ إِذا اِعتَذَروا

Does Taym seek an excuse after their betrayal?

God accepts nothing from Taym when they make excuses.

لا تَمنَعونَ لَكُم عِرساً وَما لَكُمُ

إِلّا بِغَيرِكُمُ وِردٌ وَلا صَدَرُ

You cannot protect a wife of your own; you have

No way to water or back except through others.

يا تَيمُ تَيمَ عَدِيٍّ لا أَبا لَكُمُ

لا يوقِعَنَّكُمُ في سَوأَةٍ عُمَرُ

O Taym, Taym of ʿAdi—may you have no father!

Let not ʿUmar plunge you into disgrace.

يا تَيمُ إِنَّ جَسيمَ الأَمرِ لَيسَ لَكُم

وَلا الجَراثيمُ عِندَ الدَعوَةِ الكُبَرُ

O Taym, weighty affairs are not for you,

Nor great ancestral roots when the call goes out.

وَالتَيمُ كانَ سَطيحاً ثُمَّ قيلَ لَهُم

شَأنَ السَطيحِ إِلى تَخبيلِهِ العَوَرُ

Taym was prostrate; then they were told:

The prostrate one's plight: one-eyedness added to his derangement.

إِنَّ الكِرامَ إِذا مَدّوا حِبالَهُمُ

أَزرى بِحَبلِكَ ضَعفُ العَقدِ وَالقِصَرُ

When noble men stretch out their ropes,

Weak binding and shortness disgrace your rope.

لَولا قَبائِلُ مِن زَيدٍ تَلوذُ بِها

كانَت عَصاكَ الَّتي تُلحى وَتُقتَشَرُ

But for clans of Zayd with whom you take refuge,

Your staff would be the one whose bark is peeled and stripped.

جاءَت فَوارِسُنا غُرّاً مُحَجَّلَةً

إِذ لَيسَ في التَيمِ تَحجيلٌ وَلا غُرَرُ

Our horsemen came white-blazed and white-stockinged,

While in Taym there are neither white stockings nor blazes.

جِئنا بِكُم مِن زُهَيراتٍ وَمِن سَبَإٍ

وَلِلجَوامِعِ في أَعناقِكُم أَثَرُ

We brought you from Zuhayrat and from Sabaʾ,

And the shackles have left marks upon your necks.

في جِلهِمَ اللُؤمُ مَعلوماً مَعادِنهُ

وَفي حَويزَةَ خُبثُ الريحِ وَالأَدَرُ

In Jilhim lie the well-known mines of baseness,

And in Hawiza, foul smell and scrotal swelling.

قولوا لِتَيمٍ أَعَصبٌ فَوقَ آنُفِهِم

إِذ يَرأَمونَ الَّتي مِن مِثلِها نَفَروا

Say to Taym: Is there a band over their noses,

Since they cherish what they once fled the like of?

قَد خِفتَ يا اِبنَ الَّتي ماتَت مُنافِقَةً

مِن خُبثِ بَرزَةَ أَن لا يَنزِلَ المَطَرُ

You feared, son of her who died a hypocrite,

That, through Barza's foulness, the rain would not descend.

أَنتَ اِبنُ بَرزَةَ مَنسوباً إِلى لَجَإِ

عَبدُ العُصارَةِ وَالعيدانُ تَعتَصَرُ

You are Barza's son, traced in lineage to Laja,

A slave to the juice, while the stalks are pressed.

أَخزَيتَ تَيماً وَما تَحمي مَحارِمها

إِذ أَنتَ نَفّاخَةٌ لِلقَينِ مُؤتَجَرُ

You have disgraced Taym and do not defend its women,

Since you are a hired bellows for the smith.

ما بالُ بَرزَةَ في المَنحاةِ إِذ نَذَرَت

صَومَ المُحَرَّمِ إِن لَم يَطلَعِ القَمَرُ

What was Barza doing on the well-path when she vowed

To fast through Muharram if the moon did not rise?

وَصَّت بَنيها وَقالَت دونَ أَكبَرِكُم

فادوا أَباكُم فَإِنَّ التَيمَ قَد كَفَروا

She charged her sons, saying: Rally to your eldest;

Ransom your father, for Taym have disbelieved.

إِنّي لَمُهدٍ لَكُم غُرّاً مُقَشَّبةً

فيها السِمامُ وَأُخرى بَعدُ تُنتَظَرُ

I am surely offering you brilliant, freshly wrought verses,

With poisons in them; another is still awaited.

إِنَّ الحَفافيثَ حَقّاً يا بَني لَجَإٍ

يُطرِقنَ حينَ يَسورُ الحَيَّةُ الذَكَرُ

The harmless snakes, truly, O sons of Laja,

Lower their heads when the male serpent springs.

لَولا عَدِيٌّ وَلَستُم شاكِرينَ لَهُم

لَم تَدرِ تَيمٌ بِأَيِّ القُنَّةِ الحَفَرُ

But for ʿAdi—and you are not grateful to them—

Taym would not know on which summit the pits lay.

يا رُبَّ حَيٍّ نَعَشنا بَعدَ عَثرَتِهِم

كُنّا لَهُم كَسَقيفِ العَظمِ فَاِجتَبَروا

How many a clan we raised after its fall!

We were like a splint to their bones, and they mended.

ذُدنا العَدُوَّ وَأَدنَينا مَحَلَّهُمُ

حَتّى اِبتَنوا بِقِبابٍ بَعدَما اِحتَجَزوا

We drove off the enemy and drew their encampment near,

Until they built domed tents, after taking shelter.

يَوماً نَشُدُّ وَراءَ السَبيِ عادِيَةً

شُعثَ النَواصي وَيَوماً تُطرَدُ البَقَرُ

One day we urge chargers on in pursuit of captives,

With shaggy forelocks; another day the cattle are driven off.

قَد يَعلَمُ الناسَ أَنَّ التَيمَ أَلأَمُهُم

أَأُخبِرُ الناسَ لُؤمَ التَيمِ أَم أَذَرُ

People know well that Taym are the basest of them;

Shall I tell people of Taym's baseness, or leave it unsaid?

يا تَيمُ يا تَيمُ إِنَّ التَيمَ لَم يَرِثوا

بَيتاً كَريماً وَلا يَوماً إِذا اِفتَخَروا

O Taym, O Taym, Taym have not inherited

A noble house or a glorious day to boast of.

لا تُنكِرُ التَيمُ يَوماً أَن يَكونَ لَهُم

سُؤرُ العَشِيِّ وَشُربُ التابِعِ الكَدِرُ

Taym never objects to having as its share

The evening's leftovers and the follower's muddy drink.

يا تَيمُ خالَطَ مَكحولٌ أَبا لَجَإٍ

ذا نُقبَةٍ قَد بَدا في لَونِهِ عَرَرُ

O Taym, Makhul mingled with Abu Laja,

A scabbed one, with mange already showing in his coloring.

أَنا اِبنُ فَرعَي بَني زَيدٍ إِذا نُسِبوا

هَل يُنكَرُ المُصطَفى أَو يُنكَرُ القَمَرُ

I am the son of both branches of the sons of Zayd, when lineage is traced;

Can the chosen one be denied, or can the moon be denied?

وَاللُؤمُ حالَفَ تَيماً في دِيارِهِمُ

وَاللُؤمُ صُيِّرَ في تَيمٍ إِذا حَضَروا

Baseness made a pact with Taym in their dwellings,

And baseness is lodged in Taym whenever they appear.

اِقبِض يَدَيكَ فَإِنَّ التَيمَ قَد سُبِقوا

يَومَ التَفاخُرِ وَالغاياتُ تُبتَدَرُ

Draw back your hands, for Taym have been outstripped

On the day of boasting, as men race toward the finish lines.

إِن تَصبِرِ التَيمُ مُخضَرّاً جُلودُهُمُ

عَلى الهَوانِ فَقَبلَ اليَومِ ما صَبَروا

If Taym remain patient, their skins turned green,

Under humiliation, they have endured it before today.

إِنَّ الَّذينَ أَضاؤوا النارَ قَد عَرَفوا

آثارَ بَرزَةَ وَالآثارُ تُقتَفَرُ

Those who lit the fire have recognized

Barza's tracks, and tracks are followed.

قالَت لِتَيمِ بنِ قُنبٍ وَهيَ تَعذُلُهُم

يا تَيمُ ما لَكُمُ البُشرى وَلا الظَفَرُ

She said to Taym son of Qunb, reproaching them:

O Taym, neither glad tidings nor victory are yours.

تُخزيكَ أَحياءُ تَيمٍ إِن فَخَرتَ بِهِم

وَالخِزيُ أَمواتُ تَيمٍ إِن هُمُ نَشَروا

Taym's living disgrace you if you boast of them,

And Taym's dead are disgrace, should they rise again.

أَعياكَ والِدُكَ الأَدنَونَ فَاِلتَمِسَن

هَل في شُعاعَةَ ذي الأَهدامِ مُفتَخَرُ

Your nearest forefathers have failed you, so seek

Whether Shuʿaʿa, the ragged one, offers anything to boast of.

لا يَشهَدونَ نَجِيَّ القَومِ بَينَهُمُ

تُقضى الأُمورُ عَلى تَيمٍ وَما شَعَروا

They do not attend the private council held among the people;

Affairs are settled over Taym's heads without their knowing.