صبا قلبي وكلفني كنودا — Khedash Al Amri

صَبا قَلبي وَكَلَّفَني كَنودا

وَعاوَدَ داءَهُ مِنها التَليدا

My heart grew lovesick and made me love Kanud,

and returned to its age-old sickness for her.

وَلَم يَكُ حُبُّها عَرَضاً وَلَكِن

تَعَلَّقَ داءَهُ مِنها وَليدا

Love for her was no passing fancy; rather,

it caught its sickness for her while still a child,

لَيالِيَ إِذ تَرَيَّعُ بَطنَ ضيمٍ

فَأَكنافَ الوَضيحَةِ فَالبَرودا

in the nights when she roamed the valley of Daym,

then the outskirts of al-Wadiha, then al-Barud;

وَإِذ هِيَ عَذبَةُ الأَنيابِ خَودٌ

تُعيشُ بِريقِها العَطِشَ المَجودا

and when she was a tender maiden, sweet of teeth,

reviving with her saliva one dying of thirst.

ذَريني أَصطَبِح كَأساً وَأودي

مَعَ الفِتيانِ إِذ صَحِبوا ثَمودا

Let me drink a cup at dawn and perish

with the young men, when they joined Thamud.

فَإِنّي قَد بَقيتُ بَقاءَ حَيٍّ

وَلَكِن لا بَقاءَ وَلا خُلودا

For I have lived as living men do,

but there is no permanence and no immortality.

وَإِنَّ المَرءَ لَم يُخلَق سِلاماً

وَلا حَجَرا وَلَم يُخلَق حَديدا

And a man was not made of hard rock,

nor of stone, nor was he made of iron.

وَلَكِن عايِشٌ ما عاشَ حَتّى

إِذا ما كادَهُ الأَيّامُ كيدا

Rather, he lives as long as he lives, until

the days work their wiles against him.

لَحَت عَذّالَتايَ فَقُلتُ مَهلاً

أَلَمّا تُبصِرا الرَأيَ الرَشيدا

My two female reprovers scolded me; I said, 'Gently!'

Have you two not yet discerned sound judgment?

فَما إِن أَصدَرتُما إِلّا بِبُخلٍ

فَهَلّا أَن أُثَمَّرَ أَو أَفيدا

You two have put forth nothing but miserly counsel;

why not let me be enriched, or acquire wealth?

سَأُحضِرُها التِجارَ إِذا أَتوني

بِخَمرِهُم وَأَمنَحُها المُريدا

I shall offer it to the merchants when they come to me

with their wine, and grant it to whoever seeks it,

وَأُروي الفِتيَةَ النُدَماءَ مِنها

ذَوي شَرِكٍ يُعِدّونَ الفُقودا

and give the young drinking companions their fill of it,

fellow sharers who make provision for the absent.

رَأَيتُ اللَهَ أَكثَرَ كُلِّ شَيءٍ

مُحاوَلَةً وَأَكثَرَهُم جُنودا

I have seen God surpass all things

in His designs, and surpass them in hosts.

تَقوهُ أَيُّها الفِتيانُ إِنّي

رَأَيتُ اللَهَ قَد غَلَبَ الجُدودا

Fear Him, young men, for I

have seen God overcome good fortunes.

رَأَيتُ الخادِرَ المَحجوبَ مِنّا

يُلَقّى حَتفَهُ وَالمُستَزيدا

I have seen the secluded, sheltered man among us

meet his doom, and the seeker of more likewise.

وَلَمّا يُبقِ مِن سَرَواتِ فِهرٍ

وَخِندِفَ هَذِهِ إِلّا شَريدا

And He has left none of the chiefs of Fihr

and this Khindif, save a fugitive.

تَوَلَّوا نَضرِبُ الأَقفاءَ مِنهُم

بِما اِنتَهَكوا المَحارِمَ وَالجُدودا

They turned away while we struck the backs of their necks,

for violating sacred things and ancestral honor.

فَأَبرَحُ ما أَدامَ اللَهَ رَهطي

رَخِيَّ البالِ مُنتَطِقاً مُجيدا

So I go forth as long as God preserves my clan,

carefree, girded, well mounted

بِساهِمَةٍ أَهَنتُ لَها عِيالي

وَأَمنَحُها الخَلِيَّةَ وَالصُعودا

on a lean mare for whose sake I have neglected my household;

and reserve for her the milking camel and the camel bereft of its calf.

وَأُلحِفُها إِذا ما الكَلبُ وَلّى

بَراثِنَهُ وَجَبهَتَهُ الجَليدا

I cover her, when the dog turns

its paws and forehead toward the frost,

رِدائِيَ فَهيَ صافِنَةٌ إِلَينا

تَشيمُ بِطَرفِها البَلَدَ البَعيدا

with my cloak; she stands facing us with one hoof raised,

scanning the distant land with her eye,

مِنَ المُتَلَفِّتاتِ لِجانِبَيها

إِذا أَخضَلنَ بِالعَرَقِ اللَبودا

one of those mares that glance to either side

when they drench the saddle-felts with sweat.

أَقَدتُ بِثابِتٍ وَإِلى زِيادٍ

رَضَختُ بِنِعمَةٍ وَإِلى يَزيدا

I secured blood-requital for Thabit; and to Ziyad

I allotted a portion of bounty, and to Yazid too.

وَفي النَجّارِ قَد أَسدَيتُ نُعمى

وَأَجدِر في النَوائِبِ أَن أَعودا

And among al-Najjar I have bestowed a favor,

and in times of hardship I am all the likelier to return,

إِذِ الأَشهادُ مِن عَمروُ بنِ عَوفٍ

قُعودٌ في الرِفاقِ وَفي يَهودا

when those present from Amr ibn Awf

sit among the companies and among the Jews.

أَثيبوني القِيانَ إِذا اِنتَدَيتُم

وَبُزلَ الشَولِ تُحدى وَالبُرودا

Reward me with singing girls when you meet in council,

and mature she-camels with dwindling milk, driven by song, and striped cloaks,

وَجُرداً في الأَعِنَّةِ مُصغِياتٍ

حِدادَ الطَرفِ يَعلِكنَ الحَديدا

and sleek horses in their reins, ears inclined,

keen-eyed, champing the iron bits.

فَأَبلِغ إِن عَرَضتَ بِنا هِشاماً

وَعَبدَ اللَهِ أَبلِغ وَالوَليدا

Tell Hisham, if you chance to pass our way,

and tell Abd Allah and al-Walid:

أولَئِكَ إِن يَكُن في القَومِ خَيرٌ

فَإِنَّ لَدَيهِمُ حَسَباً وَجودا

those men—if there is any good in the people—

surely possess ancestral honor and generosity.

هُمُ خَيرُ المَعاشِرِ مِن قُرَيشٍ

وَأَوراها إِذا قُدِحَت زُنودا

They are the best of the clans of Quraysh,

and the readiest to kindle when fire-sticks are struck,

بِأَنّا يَومَ شَمظَةَ قَد أَقَمنا

عَمودَ المَجدِ إِنَّ لَهُ عَمودا

that on the day of Shamzah we raised

the pillar of glory; indeed, glory has a pillar.

جَلَبنا الخَيلَ ساهِمَةٌ إِلَيهِم

عَوابِسَ يَدَّرِعنَ النَقعَ قودا

We brought the lean horses against them,

grim-faced, armoring themselves in dust, long-necked.

وَبِتنا نَعقِدُ السِيمى وَباتوا

وَقالوا صَبَّحوا الأَنَسَ الحَريدا

We spent the night tying on our insignia, and they spent theirs,

and said, 'Attack the isolated band at dawn!'

وَقَد حَتَموا القَضاءَ لِيَجعَلونا

مَعَ الإِصباحِ جارِيَةً وَئيدا

They had already settled their decree, to make us

at daybreak a young girl, slow of step.

فَجاؤوا عارِضاً بَرِداً وَجِئنا

كَما أَضرَمتَ في الغابِ الوُقودا

Then they came like a cold cloudbank, and we came

as when you set fuel ablaze in the thicket.

فَقالوا يا لَعَمروُ لا تَفِرّوا

فَقُلنا لا فِرارَ وَلا صُدودا

They cried, 'O for Amr! Do not flee!'

We answered, 'No flight, no turning away!'

فَعارَكنا الكُماةَ وَعارَكونا

عِراكَ النُمرِ واجَهَتِ الأُسودا

So we battled the armored champions, and they battled us,

as leopards battle when confronting lions.

عَلَوناهُم بِكُلِّ أَفَلَّ عَضبٍ

تَخالُ جَماءَ وَقعَتَهُ خُدودا

We struck down upon them with every notched, keen sword;

you would think its mighty stroke had gouged out furrows.

فَلَم أَرَ مِثلَهُم هُزِموا وَفُلّوا

وَلا كَذِيادِنا غَبقا مَذودا

Never have I seen their like so routed and shattered,

nor anyone driven from evening drink as we drove them off.

عَدَدتُم عَطفَتَينِ وَلَم تَعُدّوا

وَقائِعَ قَد تَرَكنَكُم حَصيدا

You counted two counter-charges, but did not count

battles that left you a reaped crop.

تَرَكنا البيدَ وَالمَعزاءَ مِنهُم

تَخالُ خِلالَها مِعزى صَريدا

We left the desert plains and stony ground strewn with them;

you would think scattered goats lay across it.

تَرَكنا عامِرَيهِم مِثلَ عادٍ

وَمُرَّةَ أُهلِكوا إِلّا الشَريدا

We left their two Amirs like Ad,

and Murra: destroyed, except for the fugitive.

وَعَبدَ اللَهِ قَد قَتَلوا فَصاروا

هُمُ الأَنكاسَ يَرعَونَ النَقيدا

They had killed Abd Allah, and so became

base men themselves, herding little sheep.

أَنا الحامي الذِمارَ وَلَيثُ غابٍ

أَشُبُّ الحَربَ أُشعِلُها وَقودا

I am the defender of all held dear, a lion of the thicket;

I kindle war and set it blazing with fuel.

أَهُمُّ فَلا أُقَصِّرُ دونَ هَمّي

أَنالُ الغُنمَ وَالبَلَدَ البَعيدا

I set my resolve and do not fall short of my aim;

I win booty and reach the distant land

بِتَجهيزي المَقانِبَ كُلَّ عامٍ

وَغاراتي عَلى جَبَلي زَرودا

by equipping cavalry detachments every year,

and by my raids upon the two hills of Zarud,

عَلى الأَحلافِ مِن أَسَدٍ وَطَيءٍ

وَفي غَطَفانَ أَجدِر أَن أَعودا

against the allies from Asad and Tayy;

and against Ghatafan, I am all the likelier to return.