Poems
- أتهجر نعما أم تديم لها وصلاWill you forsake Nuʿm, or keep your bond with her?
- اخذت بعين المال حتى نهكتهI drew on my ready cash until I exhausted it,
- إذ الناس ناس والعباد بغرةWhen people were people and worshipers with deceit
- إذا تقاعس صعب في حزامتهWhen a stubborn one falters in his resolve,
- أرادت طريق الجفر ثم أضلهاShe sought the road to al-Jafr; then she was led astray
- أعاذل أقصري ودعي بياتيO reproacher, desist and let me pass the night.
- أعاذل هل يأتي القبائل حظهاO reproacher, do the tribes receive their share
- ألا من لمولى لا يزال كأنهAh, who can deal with a kinsman who is forever like
- ألا من مبلغ عني رسولاAh, who will carry a message from me
- ألم تعلمي من قد صبرت خلافهDo you not know whose loss I have patiently borne,
- إليك سعيد الخير جابت مطيتيTo you, Sa'id al-Khayr, my riding-camel has crossed
- أمن آل ليلى الطارق المتأوبIs the returning night-visitor from Layla's people,
- إن بمدفع الملحاء قصراIndeed, at the outlet of al-Malḥāʾ stands a palace,
- باتت قلوصي بالحجاز مناخةMy young she-camel spent the night kneeling in the Hijaz.
- تأبد لأي منهم فعتائدهFor which of them is prolonged his covenants
- تأوبه طيف بذات الجراثمA phantom returned to him by night at Dhāt al-Jarāthim;
- تبدلت من ليلى ودسكرة لهاYou exchanged Layla and a country estate of hers for
- ترى عبداتهن يعدن حدباYou see the sturdy ones among them grow bent-backed,
- تضمنت بالأحساب ثم كفيتهاI took responsibility for ancestral honors, then upheld them.
- تنفس في وجهي فكدت أموتHe breathed in my face, and I nearly died;
- تولى معشر منهم ضعافA band of weak men among them turned away,
- توهمت ربعا بالمعبر واضحاI thought I recognized a clearly visible campsite at al-Muʿabbir;
- رأت نخلة من بطن أحوس حفهاShe saw a palm in the valley of Aḥwas, surrounded
- رأيت رجالا يكرهون بناتهمI saw men who disliked their daughters
- ربما خير الفتىSometimes a young man is given a choice,
- ظللنا بمستن الرياح غديةWe stayed in the winds' path early one morning,
- عذافرة ضبطاء تخدي كأنهاA massive, strong-limbed she-camel strides swiftly, as though she were
- عفا وخلا ممن عهدت به خمKhumm has faded and lies empty of those I once knew there.
- على حين ما بي من رياض لصعبةAt a time when I am in no state to tame an unruly she-camel,
- فهم مشيحون لا يألون ما طردواSo they are resolute, sparing no effort as they drive
- قالت عميرة ما يلهيك عن غنميʿUmayrah said, “What distracts you from my flock,
- قفا يا خليلي المطي المقرداHalt the tick-cleansed riding camels, my two friends,
- كأن لم يكن يا أم حقة قبل ذاAs though, O Umm Hiqqah, before this there had never been
- كل ابن أخت زائد أهل أمهEvery sister’s son is a gain to his mother’s people;
- لعمر أبي ربيعة ما نفاهBy Abu Rabi‘ah’s life, he was not driven away
- لعمرك ما أدري وإني لأوجلBy your life, I do not know, and I am indeed afraid,
- لعمرك ما أهويت كفي لريبةBy your life, I have never stretched out my hand for wrongdoing,
- لعمرك ما عرس بدار مضيعةBy your life, no wife dwells in a house of neglect,
- لعمرك ما مزينة رهط معنBy your life, Muzaynah, Maʿn’s clan, are neither
- معقومة لاحم الدأيات جوشنهاTightly jointed, her vertebrae have knit her chest together,
- وإنك فرع من قريش وإنماAnd you are a branch of Quraysh, and only
- وتكليفي مناقيها الردافىAnd my burdening its fat she-camels with riders seated behind others,
- ورثنا المجد عن آباء صدقWe inherited glory from forefathers of integrity;
- وليلى حبيب في بغيض مجاذبAnd Layla is a beloved entangled with a hated rival;
- يخفضها الآل طورا ثم تحسبهاAt times the mirage lowers it; then you take it,
No poems found.