Sol 6.1

  1. نأتْ والأمانِي بها تقرُبُ

    ومَلَّتْ وأحسَبها تَعتِبُ

    She has gone far, yet hopes of her draw near.

    She has wearied, though I think she is reproaching me.

  2. ومالي بها الغدرُ غدرُ الطبا

    عِ عنِّيَ والكاشحُ المُجلِبُ

    Why blame her? The betrayal lies in people's natures

    toward me, and in the clamorous, rancorous foe.

  3. وغيرانُ يُذْعِره اسمي بكم

    ويؤنسه حولَهُ المِقنبُ

    And a jealous man whom my name with you terrifies,

    though the mounted troop around him reassures him.

  4. يكون لغيري جناحَ البعو

    ضِ ليناً ولي قَرْمهُ المصعَبُ

    To others he is a mosquito's wing

    in softness; to me, his fierce, unbroken bull camel.

  5. ومنتحِلٌ في الهوى يدَّعي

    مقامي وشاهدُه يكذِبُ

    And an impostor in love lays claim

    to my station, though his own witness lies.

  6. تبدّل بي ساء ذاك البديلُ

    كما بِيعَ في الأخبثِ الأطيبُ

    He replaced me—wretched was that replacement—

    as the finest is sold for the vilest.

  7. فيا عَجَبي من مُريقٍ دمي

    عناداً وقلبي به معجَبُ

    How strange: one who spills my blood

    out of obstinacy, yet my heart is captivated by him!

  8. ومستهزىءٌ ضاحكٌ من بكاي

    يجدُّ بقلبي كما يلعبُ

    And a mocker who laughs at my weeping

    treats my heart earnestly even as he plays.

  9. أهيفاء أيُّ هوى قد علم

    ت يُقصى وأيّ أخٍ يُقصَبُ

    O slender-waisted one, what love have you known

    to be cast aside, and what friend reviled?

  10. ولما انطوَى العامُ نفسي تَرُ

    دُّ عنكِ وحافزُها يَطلُبُ

    When the year was spent, my soul was driven

    back from you, while its impulse urged pursuit.

  11. صددتِ كما انصرفَتْ بالصدى

    غرائبُ أوجهها تُضرَبُ

    You shunned me, as they turn back still thirsty—

    stray camels, their faces struck.

  12. أقول غداً نظراً للوفاء

    وغدركُمُ من غدٍ أقربُ

    I say, “Tomorrow,” looking for fidelity,

    yet your betrayal is nearer than tomorrow.

  13. وكيف اللقاءُ وقد سُدّتِ ال

    مطالعُ يا ذلك الكوكبُ

    How can we meet, when barred are the

    rising places, O you star?

  14. وأين النجاءُ وما الحظُّ فيه

    ومنكِ وأنتِ المنًى المهربُ

    Where is escape, and what good fortune lies in it?

    And where is refuge from you, when you are my desire?

  15. سل الهاجعين على ذي الطُّلوح

    وطَرفي لهم حارسٌ يرقُبُ

    Ask those asleep at Dhu al-Tuluh,

    while my eye stands guard over them, watching:

  16. أشمتمُ يميناً سنا بارقٍ

    يشوقُ على أنه خُلَّبُ

    Did you glimpse to the right the gleam of lightning

    that stirs longing, though it brings no rain?

  17. تألَّق مستشرفاً لا يُسَلُّ

    حتى يُرَى سيفُه يُقْرَبُ

    It flared aloft, no sooner unsheathed

    than its sword was seen being sheathed.

  18. يُبينُ ويُخفِي رءوسَ الهضابِ

    فتنصُلُ منه كما تُخضَبُ

    It reveals and conceals the hilltops,

    which lose its dye even as they take it.

  19. يَمُرُّ فيُرغِب في أضلُعِي

    صُدوعاً برَجعتِة تُشْعَبُ

    It passes, widening within my ribs

    rifts that its return rejoins.

  20. وهل عنده خبرٌ إن سأل

    تُ ما البانتان وما زينبُ

    And has it news, if I should ask,

    “What of the two ban-trees, and what of Zaynab?”

  21. وهل ربعُ غُرَّبَ في الباليا

    تِ أم هل على عهدنا غُرَّبُ

    Is Ghurrab's dwelling among the ruins,

    or is Ghurrab still as we knew it?

  22. سقَى بالحمى الأعينَ النابلا

    تِ من دم أحشايَ ما تشربُ

    May the arrow-shooting eyes in the sanctuary be watered

    with all they can drink of my entrails' blood.

  23. وحيَّا الحيا أوجها لا تَغُشُّ

    لُجينُ الجمالِ بها مُذهَبُ

    And may rain greet faces that do not deceive,

    where beauty's silver is gilded.

  24. وفي السانحاتِ بذاك الرُّمي

    ل عفراءُ تاهَ بها الربربُ

    Among those passing to the right on that little sandhill

    is a pale doe, the pride of the gazelle-herd,

  25. من الذاهباتِ بحَبّ القلو

    بِ لا تُقتَضَى رَدَّ ما تَّسلُبُ

    one of those who carry off the cores of hearts,

    never required to return what they steal.

  26. وما نُطفةٌ حصَّنتها السماءُ

    بأرعنَ مَرقاهُ مَستصعَبُ

    No drop of water, guarded by heaven

    on a rugged peak whose ascent is difficult,

  27. مصفَّقةٌ حَلَبتْ عَفوَها

    بها المزنُ أوّلَ ما تُحلَبُ

    clear, whose freshest bounty was milked

    there by the clouds at their first milking,

  28. إلى أن تبقَّت لُباناتُها

    وكادت بما لطُفتْ تَنضُبُ

    until its coveted last drops remained

    and it nearly ran dry, so scant it had become,

  29. تراوِحها وتغادي الشَّمالُ

    تُرقرقُ فيها وتُستعذَبُ

    visited evening and morning by the north wind,

    rippling within it, while it is found sweet;

  30. ولا نحلةٌ بات يَعسوبُها

    على الحسْنِ من حذَرٍ يلسِبُ

    nor a bee's honey, whose leader spends the night

    on the height, stinging in cautious defense,

  31. يَغار فيمنعها أن تُشا

    رَ ما منع الشائَر المِشغَبُ

    guarding jealously, keeping it from being harvested,

    holding the troublesome honey-gatherer at bay,

  32. تُجاذبُ فيها أكفُّ الجُنا

    ةِ غِنىً مثلها مثله تَكسِبُ

    the gatherers' hands contending over it

    for wealth such as its kind produces;

  33. ولا مِسكةٌ طاف عطَّارُها

    بدارِينَ ينخلُ ما يَجلبُ

    nor musk whose perfumer has roamed

    about Darin, sifting what he brings,

  34. يبقِّرُ عنها بطونَ الظِّباءِ

    من الألف واحدةٌ تُنجِبُ

    slitting gazelles' bellies to obtain it,

    one out of a thousand yielding the finest,

  35. فجاءت لضوعتها سَورةٌ

    تكاد العِيابُ بها تُثْقبُ

    its spreading fragrance gaining such force

    that it almost pierces the storage sacks—

  36. بأطيبَ من فم ذات الوشاح

    سُحوراً بلى فمُها أطيبُ

    is sweeter than the mouth of the lady of the sash

    before dawn—indeed, her mouth is sweeter.

  37. تقول العواذلُ دعْ ذِكرها

    ففي الذِّكر قادحةٌ تُلهِبُ

    The reproaching women say, “Leave off mentioning her:

    in remembrance lies a spark that sets you ablaze.

  38. وهَبْها كعاريةٍ تُستَرَ

    دُّ لابدَّ أو ثَلَّةٍ تعزُبُ

    Think of her as a borrowed thing to be reclaimed,

    inevitably, or a flock that strays.”

  39. فقلتُ إذن كبِدي فلذةٌ

    من الصخر أو كبِدي أصلبُ

    I said, “Then my liver must be a shard

    of rock, or my liver is harder still:

  40. تُزَمُّ الحمولُ فلا أستكينُ

    وتشدو الحمامُ فلا أَطربُ

    laden camels are harnessed, yet I do not falter,

    and doves sing, yet I feel no rapture!”

  41. عَذيريَ من زمنٍ لا يَسُرُّ

    بنعماءَ إلا بها يَنكُبُ

    Who will plead my case against a time that never gladdens

    with a blessing except to afflict me through it?

  42. إذا قَسمَ الحظَّ بين الرجال

    فحظيَ من شر ما يُنصِبُ

    When it apportions fortune among men,

    my share is the worst of its afflictions.

  43. تَعاوَى عليّ تصاريفُه

    تُذأبِبُ حولي وتَستكلبُ

    Its vicissitudes howl together against me,

    prowling like wolves around me, raging like dogs.

  44. فأدفعهنّ بصبري الجميلِ

    إذا ظَلَع المتنُ والمنكِبُ

    I repel them with my gracious patience

    when back and shoulder give way.

  45. سأركبُ عزمِيَ حتى يطيرَ

    عن الضيم عنقاءُ بِي مُغرِبُ

    I shall ride my resolve until I am borne aloft

    away from oppression by the ʿAnqa Mughrib.

  46. وإلا فعندَ عميدِ الكفا

    ةِ حِمىً مانعٌ وذَرىً مُعشِبُ

    Otherwise, with ʿAmid al-Kufat

    is a protecting sanctuary and a grassy shelter,

  47. وراتعةٌ من أماني العُفا

    ةِ لا هيَ نَظميَ ولا تَسغَبُ

    and a grazing hope among the petitioners' wishes:

    it neither [thirsts] nor goes hungry.

  48. لها ما يُوَسِّعُ من ذَرعها

    بساطَ الرجاء وما يُرحِبُ

    It has what extends its reach,

    spreading the carpet of hope and broadening it.

  49. كريمٌ وشائجُ أعراقِهِ

    إلى العِيصِ من مجده تَضرِبُ

    A generous man, whose interwoven ancestral roots

    strike deep into his glory's thicket.

  50. توسَّعَ في نسبٍ كالهلال

    إلى الشمس أعرقَ ما يُنسَبُ

    He flourished in a lineage, like the crescent,

    tracing to the sun, the deepest-rooted ancestry.

  51. بُناةُ العلا آلُ عبدِ الرحي

    م يُعرَفُ بابنِهمُ ما الأبُ

    Builders of the heights: the house of ʿAbd al-Rahim,

    whose son makes known what the father was.

  52. ميامينُ أنديةُ المكرمات

    لهم تُجتَبَى وبهم تُعصَبُ

    Blessed men: the councils of noble deeds

    are chosen for them and bound together through them.

  53. إذا ذَكَروا العارَ لم يأمنوا

    وإن ركبوا السيفَ لم يَرهَبوا

    When they speak of dishonor, they do not rest secure,

    yet when they take to the sword, they know no fear.

  54. وجوهٌ ميسَّرةٌ للنجا

    حِ باسمةٌ والثرى يَقطُبُ

    Faces made ready for success,

    smiling while the earth frowns.

  55. وأيدٍ تخفُّ إلى الأعطياتِ

    إذا حُسِبَ الفقرُ لا تُحسَبُ

    Hands that hasten to give gifts,

    uncounted when poverty is reckoned.

  56. تراحُ عِشارُهُمُ للشفارِ

    فتُعبَطُ من قبلِ تُستحلَبُ

    Their pregnant she-camels are brought at evening to the blades,

    slaughtered sound before they are milked.

  57. ولولا القرَى ورشادُ الضيو

    فِ لم يغدُ عبدٌ لهم يَحطِبُ

    Were it not for hospitality and guiding guests,

    no servant of theirs would go out to gather firewood.

  58. مضَوا تضمنُ المجدَ أحداثُهم

    وذكرهُمُ خالدٌ طيِّبُ

    They passed on, their young men securing their glory,

    and their memory is everlasting and sweet.

  59. وقام أبو سعدهم ذائداً

    بميراثه وبما يكسِبُ

    Their Abu Saʿd rose to defend it

    with his inheritance and with what he earns.

  60. فتاهم بما عُدّ من سِنِّه

    وشيخٌ وأحلامهم تعزُبُ

    Their youth, by the reckoning of his years,

    yet their elder when their wisdom deserts them.

  61. كفته بديهةُ حِدْثانهِ

    قديمَ الرجالِ وما جَرّبوا

    The intuition of his youth spared him

    the elders' long years and all their trials.

  62. وغَلَّس حتى انتهى واحداً

    له المجلسُ الصدرُ والموكبُ

    He set out before dawn until he arrived alone,

    his the foremost seat in council and the procession.

  63. كثير الغَناءِ قليل العناءِ

    فما يستريح وما يَتعَبُ

    Great in achievement, slight in toil,

    he neither rests nor tires.

  64. وما يَغمزُ الخطبُ في عُوده

    إذا انقلبَ الزمنُ القُلَّبُ

    No calamity can dent his wood

    when fickle time turns.

  65. أبيٌّ جوادٌ فيومَ الخصام

    يَحُجُّ ويومَ الندى يَغلبُ

    Unbowed and generous: on the day of dispute

    he wins the argument, and on the day of bounty he prevails.

  66. يرى النفسَ تلك التي لا تُذَ

    لُّ والمالَ ذاك الذي يُوهَبُ

    He holds the soul to be that which is never

    abased, and wealth that which is given away.

  67. أصاخ بكم لِيَ حظِّي الأص

    مُّ واعتذر الزمنُ المذنبُ

    Through you, my deaf fortune listened to me,

    and guilty time offered its apology.

  68. وذلَّلتُمُ لي ظهورَ الرجا

    ءِ ما شئتُ أركبُ أو أجنُبُ

    You made the backs of hope docile for me,

    to ride or lead beside me as I pleased.

  69. وكنتم مآلي ومالي فلس

    تُ أرهبُ شيئاً ولا أرغبُ

    You were my refuge and my wealth; thus I

    fear nothing and covet nothing.

  70. وردَّ الودادُ إليكم قِيا

    دَ قلبي فما عنكُمُ مَذهبُ

    Affection returned to you the reins

    of my heart; I have no way away from you.

  71. وحَّلأتُ عن حوض شعري الملو

    كَ وهو لكم مُغدِقٌ مُعذَبُ

    I kept kings away from the pool of my verse,

    which flows copiously and sweetly for you.

  72. صوارمهُ دونكم تُنتضَى

    وأذيالُه حولكم تُسحَبُ

    Its sharp swords are drawn in your defense,

    and its trailing hems sweep around you.

  73. أَحنُّ لكم حَنَّة العاشقين

    فأمدحكم مثلَ ما أنسِبُ

    I yearn for you with lovers' yearning,

    and praise you just as I sing of love,

  74. على مللٍ فيكُمُ لا تزال

    بجنبي قوارفُهُ تَنْدُبُ

    despite a disaffection among you whose instigators

    still lament beside me.

  75. متى آتِ لم أكُ مستكرهَاً

    وأنأَى فما أنا مستقرَبُ

    Whenever I come, I am not unwelcome;

    when I withdraw, no one brings me near.

  76. وكم ماطرٍ فيهِمُ بالوفاءِ

    إذا رمتُ أنصافَهُ يحلِبُ

    And many a man among them rains down loyalty,

    when I seek his fair dealing, he [proves rainless].

  77. يُدير كؤسَ الهوى بيننا

    فيسقي الغرامَ ولا يشرَبُ

    He passes cups of love between us,

    pouring out passion, yet never drinking.

  78. ومن حاسدٍ ليَ أرسانُهُ

    بما ساءني عندكم تُجذَبُ

    And an envier of mine whose reins

    are tugged before you by whatever harms me:

  79. إذا خافني دبَّ في دوركم

    بعيبي كما دبَّت العقربُ

    when he fears me, he creeps through your houses,

    with tales of my faults, as a scorpion creeps.

  80. فلا وشَقاوتِهِ ما يَشُقُّ

    على البدر أن تَنبحَ الأكلُبُ

    No—by his wretchedness! It does not trouble

    the full moon when dogs bark.

  81. ولو كنتُ أُغلي عليكم رضايَ

    لما سرّكم أنني أَغضبُ

    Had I made my goodwill costly to you,

    you would not have been pleased that I grew angry.

  82. ولكن فؤادٌ لكم رقُّهُ

    فما يستبيع ولا يَهرُبُ

    But here is a heart whose bondage belongs to you:

    it neither seeks a buyer nor runs away.

  83. يُريه الهوى أنَّ إمساكه

    بكم من تنقّلِهِ أصْوبُ

    Love shows it that holding fast

    to you is sounder than wandering,

  84. وأنَّ الحِفاظَ وحبَّ الوفاءِ

    على طينِ طابِعهِ أغلبُ

    and that loyalty and love of fidelity

    prevail most strongly in the clay of its mold.

  85. فلا تنتزعكم يدٌ تستم

    يحُ مِنّي ولا قاهرٌ يَغصِبُ

    No hand seeking a gift shall tear you

    from me, nor any oppressor seize you.

  86. ولا أعدَمَنْ منكُمُ أُسرةً

    بأيسر عُتبَى لها تعتِبُ

    May I never lack in you a family

    reconciled by the slightest appeasement,

  87. وغُرٍّ مفوَّفةٍ كالبرو

    دِ أو هي من حَوكها أقشبُ

    and bright poems, patterned like striped cloaks,

    or fresher still than the cloaks' own weave.

  88. تجارِي بروجَ العلا أو تعود

    وشرقُ النجوم لها مَغرِبُ

    They rival the towers of glory—or become such

    that the stars' rising is, to them, a setting.

  89. يُذِلُّ النوالُ لكم صعبَها

    فكلُّ شوامسها تُركَبُ

    Your bounty tames their stubbornness for you,

    so all their restive ones can be ridden.

  90. بكم هامَ ريِّقُها في الشبابِ

    وهذا لكم عمرُها الأشيبُ

    Their first freshness was infatuated with you in youth,

    and this, their gray-haired age, is yours.

  91. على كلِّ يومٍ جديدِ السعو

    دِ ومن حُسنِها سِمةٌ تغرُبُ

    On every day of renewed good fortune,

    a feature of their beauty becomes a marvel.

  92. فإن جاءكم أعجميُّ اللسا

    ن فهْي لسانٌ له مُعرِبُ

    If one of foreign tongue comes to you,

    they are an eloquent tongue for him.

  93. فتبقونَ وهي بواقٍ قعودٌ

    ما اختلفَ الصبحُ والغيهبُ

    You will endure, and they will remain, abiding,

    as long as dawn and deepest darkness alternate.