ذِكرُ الصِبى وَمَراتِعِ الآرامِ

ذِكرُ الصِبى وَمَراتِعِ الآرامِ

جَلَبَت حِمامي قَبلَ وَقتِ حِمامي

جَلَبَت حِمامي قَبلَ وَقتِ حِمامي

The memory of youth and the gazelles' grazing grounds

The memory of childhood and abodes of tranquility

The memory of youth and the gazelles' pastures / Hastened my doom before its destined time.

has brought my death before my time to die.

Hastened my pigeons before their usual time

Ruins where sorrows multiplied upon me, / Crowding their courtyards like a throng of blamers.

دِمَنٌ تَكاثَرَتِ الهُمومُ عَلَيَّ في

دِمَنٌ تَكاثَرَتِ الهُمومُ عَلَيَّ في

عَرَصاتِها كَتَكاثُرِ اللُوّامِ

عَرَصاتِها كَتَكاثُرِ اللُوّامِ

Traces of abandoned camps—sorrows crowded upon me in

It is as though when cares multiplied within

As if every cloud that shed its rain there / Wept with the sorrowful eyes of Urwa ibn Hizam.

their open grounds, as reproachers crowd.

Its open spaces, like the multiplying of blamers

How often I drank the nectar of a maiden there, / While she exhausted my words with her reproach.

فَكَأَنَّ كُلَّ سَحابَةٍ وَكَفَت بِها

فَكَأَنَّ كُلَّ سَحابَةٍ وَكَفَت بِها

تَبكي بِعَينَي عُروَةَ اِبنِ حِزامِ

تَبكي بِعَينَي عُروَةَ اِبنِ حِزامِ

So it is as though every cloud that dripped rain upon them

So every cloud seemed to have wept with

You used to mock at separation in jest, / Dragging the trains of youthful arrogance and fire.

weeps with the eyes of Urwah ibn Hizam.

My eyes for Urwah ibn Hizam

Those are not mere howdahs atop the camels; / They are Life itself, departing in peace.

وَلَطالَما أَفنَيتُ ريقَ كَعابِها

وَلَطالَما أَفنَيتُ ريقَ كَعابِها

فيها وَأَفنَت بِالعِتابِ كَلامي

فيها وَأَفنَت بِالعِتابِ كَلامي

And how often I drained their nubile maiden's saliva

And how much did I spend the spittle of its clouds

Would that the Creator of distance had made the pebbles / Beneath their hoofbeats my own joints and bones.

there, while she exhausted my words with reproach.

In it, and how many reproaches did I spend

Gazing at one another, we poured forth our tears, / Hidden in our sleeves for fear of spying eyes.

قَد كُنتَ تَهزَءُ بِالفِراقِ مَجانَةً

قَد كُنتَ تَهزَءُ بِالفِراقِ مَجانَةً

وَتَجُرُّ ذَيلَي شِرَّةٍ وَعُرامِ

وَتَجُرُّ ذَيلَي شِرَّةٍ وَعُرامِ

You once mocked parting in wantonness,

You used to jest freely about separation

Our very souls flowed out, yet we lived on / Even after they dripped down upon our feet.

and trailed the twin hems of impetuosity and unruliness.

And malign my character, out of wickedness and nakedness

Had those tears, the day they ran, possessed our patience / At the moment of parting, they would not have flowed.

لَيسَ القِبابُ عَلى الرِكابِ وَإِنَّما

لَيسَ القِبابُ عَلى الرِكابِ وَإِنَّما

هُنَّ الحَياةُ تَرَحَّلَت بِسَلامِ

هُنَّ الحَياةُ تَرَحَّلَت بِسَلامِ

Those are not domed litters on the riding camels; rather,

It is not the domes upon the riders but rather

They left me no companion save sorrow alone, / And the trot of a she-camel, swift as a male ostrich.

they are life itself, departing in peace.

Life itself that has departed in peace

The scarcity of noble men has made her saddle / Forbidden to me, save when riding to you.

لَيتَ الَّذي خَلَقَ النَوى جَعَلَ الحَصى

لَيتَ الَّذي خَلَقَ النَوى جَعَلَ الحَصى

لِخِفافِهِنَّ مَفاصِلي وَعِظامي

لِخِفافِهِنَّ مَفاصِلي وَعِظامي

Would that he who created separation had made the pebbles

Would that He who created nuclei had made pebbles

You are the rarity in an age whose people / Were born with virtues unfinished and flawed.

beneath their padded feet my joints and my bones.

To be the joints and bones of their hoofs and my joints and bones

You have lavished your gifts, remaining ever / A towering landmark of grace and bestowal.

مُتَلاحِظَينِ نَسُحُّ ماءَ شُؤونِنا

مُتَلاحِظَينِ نَسُحُّ ماءَ شُؤونِنا

حَذَراً مِنَ الرُقَباءِ في الأَكمامِ

حَذَراً مِنَ الرُقَباءِ في الأَكمامِ

Exchanging glances, we poured the water of our tear ducts

Exchanging glances, we pour the water of our affairs

You dwarfed every great deed, rising above them, / Though your years were but the years of a boy.

for fear of the watchers, into our sleeves.

Wary of the spying in the sleeves

You walked in robes of praise, for truly / To lack such praise is the depth of destitution.

أَرواحُنا اِنهَمَلَت وَعِشنا بَعدَها

أَرواحُنا اِنهَمَلَت وَعِشنا بَعدَها

مِن بَعدِ ما قَطَرَت عَلى الأَقدامِ

مِن بَعدِ ما قَطَرَت عَلى الأَقدامِ

Our souls streamed out, yet we lived on after them,

Our souls have departed and after them we lived

It is a flaw for you to be seen with a sword in war; / For what use is a blade to one who is the Blade?

after they had dripped upon our feet.

After they had dripped upon the feet

If ever there was, or ever shall be, your equal, / Then at that moment, I renounce my faith.

لَو كُنَّ يَومَ جَرَينَ كُنَّ كَصَبرِنا

لَو كُنَّ يَومَ جَرَينَ كُنَّ كَصَبرِنا

عِندَ الرَحيلِ لَكُنَّ غَيرَ سِجامِ

عِندَ الرَحيلِ لَكُنَّ غَيرَ سِجامِ

Had they, on the day they flowed, been like our patience

Had they been like our patience on the day of departure

A king whose era gloried in his presence, / Until his days boasted of him to all other ages.

at departure, they would not have streamed.

They would have been unlike fetters

You would think he robbed mankind of their wits / With his own vast wisdom, leaving them mindless.

لَم يَترُكوا لي صاحِباً إِلّا الأَسى

لَم يَترُكوا لي صاحِباً إِلّا الأَسى

وَذَميلَ دِعبِلَةٍ كَفَحلِ نَعامِ

وَذَميلَ دِعبِلَةٍ كَفَحلِ نَعامِ

They left me no companion but sorrow

They left me no friend but sorrow

When tested, his resolutions reveal a singular soul, / Sole master of breaking and binding every decree.

and the brisk trot of a stout she-camel like a male ostrich.

And the appendage of a ostrich like a stallion ostrich

And if you asked his fingers of their bounty, / The whole world would not suffice him to settle the debt.

وَتَعَذُّرُ الأَحرارِ صَيَّرَ ظَهرَها

وَتَعَذُّرُ الأَحرارِ صَيَّرَ ظَهرَها

إِلّا إِلَيكَ عَلَيَّ فَرجَ حَرامِ

إِلّا إِلَيكَ عَلَيَّ فَرجَ حَرامِ

And the scarcity of noble men has made her back

The aloofness of the noble turned their backs

Gently now! By God, see what the lances have wrought / Upon 'Amr of Hab and the barbarous Dabba clan!

a forbidden woman's loins to me, except when bound for you.

To none but you, upon me unlawfully

When the spear-points were made judges over them, / They ruled unjustly—as spears are wont to do.

أَنتَ الغَريبَةُ في زَمانٍ أَهلُهُ

أَنتَ الغَريبَةُ في زَمانٍ أَهلُهُ

وُلِدَت مَكارِمُهُم لِغَيرِ تَمامِ

وُلِدَت مَكارِمُهُم لِغَيرِ تَمامِ

You are the rare wonder in an age whose people's

You are the stranger in an era whose people

You left them strewn among the dwellings, as if / Their severed heads had grown angry at their bodies.

noble qualities were born before full term.

Were born with their virtues incomplete

Stones made of men upon an earth made of blood, / And stars of steel in a sky of battle-dust.

أَكثَرتَ مِن بَذلِ النَوالِ وَلَم تَزَل

أَكثَرتَ مِن بَذلِ النَوالِ وَلَم تَزَل

عَلَماً عَلى الإِفضالِ وَالإِنعامِ

عَلَماً عَلى الإِفضالِ وَالإِنعامِ

You have bestowed bounty in abundance, and have never ceased

You have been excessive in bestowing gifts but have not ceased

The arm of every 'Father of So-and-So' has failed, / Transforming him into the Father of Orphans.

to be a standard of generosity and beneficence.

To be a banner of benevolence and favor

I witnessed the Prince's battle, where his steed / Amidst the dust, refrained only from refraining.

صَغَّرتَ كُلَّ كَبيرَةٍ وَكَبُرتَ عَن

صَغَّرتَ كُلَّ كَبيرَةٍ وَكَبُرتَ عَن

لَكَأَنَّهُ وَعَدَدتَ سِنَّ غُلامِ

لَكَأَنَّهُ وَعَدَدتَ سِنَّ غُلامِ

You made every great feat small, and became too great for

You made each great one small and grew

O Sword of the Hashemite State, whoever seeks / To reach your height, seeks the impossible.

'surely he is like ...,' though you numbered a boy's years.

As if you had counted the years of a boy

May God bless you, never to be bid farewell, / And water your parents' grave with pouring rain.

وَرَفَلتَ في حُلَلِ الثَناءِ وَإِنَّما

وَرَفَلتَ في حُلَلِ الثَناءِ وَإِنَّما

عَدَمُ الثَناءِ نِهايَةُ الإِعدامِ

عَدَمُ الثَناءِ نِهايَةُ الإِعدامِ

And you strode in robes of praise, for only

You have reveled in garments of praise though

And clothe you in a robe of His divine awe, / And show you the face of your noble brother.

the lack of praise is utter destitution.

Lack of praise is the end of oblivion

For he has cast himself into the enemy's land, / Leading a vast host, surging like the ocean.

عَيبٌ عَلَيكَ تُرى بِسَيفٍ في الوَغى

عَيبٌ عَلَيكَ تُرى بِسَيفٍ في الوَغى

ما يَصنَعُ الصَمصامُ بِالصَمصامِ

ما يَصنَعُ الصَمصامُ بِالصَمصامِ

It is a fault in you to be seen with a sword in battle:

A fault upon you is seen bearing a sword amidst the fray

A people whom Death itself has scrutinized, / And found in you the endurance of the noble.

what does a keen sword do with a keen sword?

What can sword do against sword?

By God, were it not for you, no man would know / The true nature of giving, nor how to strike heads.

إِن كانَ مِثلُكَ كانَ أَو هُوَ كائِنٌ

إِن كانَ مِثلُكَ كانَ أَو هُوَ كائِنٌ

فَبَرِئتُ حينَئذٍ مِنَ الإِسلامِ

فَبَرِئتُ حينَئذٍ مِنَ الإِسلامِ

If your equal has ever existed, or is in being,

If one like you existed or exists

then I would renounce Islam.

Then I am exonerated from Islam

مَلِكٌ زُهَت بِمَكانِهِ أَيّامُهُ

مَلِكٌ زُهَت بِمَكانِهِ أَيّامُهُ

حَتّى اِفتَخَرنَ بِهِ عَلى الأَيّامِ

حَتّى اِفتَخَرنَ بِهِ عَلى الأَيّامِ

A king whose days grew proud of his presence,

A king whose days were adorned with his position

until, through him, they boasted over all other days.

Until they boasted of him against the days

وَتَخالُهُ سَلَبَ الوَرى أَحلامَهُم

وَتَخالُهُ سَلَبَ الوَرى أَحلامَهُم

مِن حِلمِهِ فَهُمُ بِلا أَحلامِ

مِن حِلمِهِ فَهُمُ بِلا أَحلامِ

And you would think he had robbed mankind of their wisdom,

His image robbed the world of their dreams

such is his wisdom, so they are left without wisdom.

Of his dream, so they are without dreams

وَإِذا اِمتَحَنتَ تَكَشَّفَت عَزَماتُهُ

وَإِذا اِمتَحَنتَ تَكَشَّفَت عَزَماتُهُ

عَن أَوحَدِيِّ النَقضِ وَالإِبرامِ

عَن أَوحَدِيِّ النَقضِ وَالإِبرامِ

And when you test him, his resolutions unveil

And if you tested, his resolves would be exposed

one peerless in undoing and binding fast.

To the unique annulment and conclusion

وَإِذا سَأَلتَ بَنانَهُ عَن نَيلِهِ

وَإِذا سَأَلتَ بَنانَهُ عَن نَيلِهِ

لَم يَرضَ بِالدُنيا قَضاءَ ذِمامِ

لَم يَرضَ بِالدُنيا قَضاءَ ذِمامِ

And when you ask his fingertips about his bounty,

And if you asked his edifice about his achievements

he would not deem the world enough to discharge an obligation.

He would not be content with fulfilling the bounds of the world

مَهلاً أَلا لِلَّهِ ما صَنَعَ القَنا

مَهلاً أَلا لِلَّهِ ما صَنَعَ القَنا

في عَمروُ حابِ وَضَبَّةَ الأَغتامِ

في عَمروُ حابِ وَضَبَّةَ الأَغتامِ

Hold! Behold, glory to God for what the spears have done

Wait! By God, what the thin worms have done

to Amr Hab and Dabbah, the inarticulate.

To Amr son of Hind and Dabba the dark camels

لَمّا تُحَكَّمَتِ الأَسِنَّةُ فيهِم

لَمّا تُحَكَّمَتِ الأَسِنَّةُ فيهِم

جارَت وَهُنَّ يَجُرنَ في الأَحكامِ

جارَت وَهُنَّ يَجُرنَ في الأَحكامِ

When the spearheads were made arbiters over them,

When the tongues gained mastery over them

they judged unjustly, as they do in their judgments.

They erred while they dragged in the rulings

فَتَرَكتَهُم خَلَلَ البُيوتِ كَأَنَّما

فَتَرَكتَهُم خَلَلَ البُيوتِ كَأَنَّما

غَضِبَت رُؤوسُهُمُ عَلى الأَجسامِ

غَضِبَت رُؤوسُهُمُ عَلى الأَجسامِ

So you left them among the dwellings, as though

You left them cleft amidst the houses as though

their heads had grown angry with their bodies.

Their heads had become angry at their bodies

أَحجارُ ناسٍ فَوقَ أَرضٍ مِن دَمٍ

أَحجارُ ناسٍ فَوقَ أَرضٍ مِن دَمٍ

وَنُجومُ بَيضٍ في سَماءِ قَتامِ

وَنُجومُ بَيضٍ في سَماءِ قَتامِ

Stones of men upon a ground of blood,

Stones of people over earth of blood

and stars of helmets in a sky of battle-dust.

And white stars in a sky of darkness

وَذِراعُ كُلِّ أَبي فُلانٍ كُنيَةً

وَذِراعُ كُلِّ أَبي فُلانٍ كُنيَةً

حالَت فَصاحِبُها أَبو الأَيتامِ

حالَت فَصاحِبُها أَبو الأَيتامِ

And the arm of each man called 'Father of So-and-so'

The arm of each father so-and-so is a nickname

was changed: its owner was now 'Father of Orphans.'

Whose companion then became father of the orphans

عَهدي بِمَعرَكَةِ الأَميرِ وَخَيلُهُ

عَهدي بِمَعرَكَةِ الأَميرِ وَخَيلُهُ

في النَقعِ مُحجِمَةٌ عَنِ الإِحجامِ

في النَقعِ مُحجِمَةٌ عَنِ الإِحجامِ

I remember the emir's battle, and his horses

My pact with the battle of the emir and his horses

in the dust, shrinking from shrinking back.

Subdued at Naqaa, refraining from subjugation

يا سَيفَ دَولَةِ هاشِمٍ مَن رامَ أَن

يا سَيفَ دَولَةِ هاشِمٍ مَن رامَ أَن

يَلقى مَنالَكَ رامَ غَيرَ مَرامِ

يَلقى مَنالَكَ رامَ غَيرَ مَرامِ

O Sword of Hashim's realm, whoever seeks to

O sword of the state of Hashim, he who intends

attain your rank seeks an unattainable goal.

To attain your gifts intends the impossible

صَلّى الإِلَهُ عَلَيكَ غَيرَ مُوَدَّعٍ

صَلّى الإِلَهُ عَلَيكَ غَيرَ مُوَدَّعٍ

وَسَقى ثَرى أَبَوَيكَ صَوبَ غَمامِ

وَسَقى ثَرى أَبَوَيكَ صَوبَ غَمامِ

May God bless you, with no farewell intended,

May God pray upon you without farewell

and water your parents' soil with a cloud's downpour,

And water the soil of your parents by the clouds

وَكَساكَ ثَوبَ مَهابَةٍ مِن عِندِهِ

وَكَساكَ ثَوبَ مَهابَةٍ مِن عِندِهِ

وَأَراكَ وَجهَ شَقيقِكَ القَمقامِ

وَأَراكَ وَجهَ شَقيقِكَ القَمقامِ

and clothe you in a robe of awe from Himself,

He clothed you in a garment of awe from Him

and show you the face of your mighty brother.

And showed you the face of your brother Al-Qamqam

فَلَقَد رَمى بَلَدَ العَدُوِّ بِنَفسِهِ

فَلَقَد رَمى بَلَدَ العَدُوِّ بِنَفسِهِ

في رَوقِ أَرعَنَ كَالغِطَمِّ لُهامِ

في رَوقِ أَرعَنَ كَالغِطَمِّ لُهامِ

For he hurled himself into the enemy's land,

Indeed, he threw himself into the abode of the enemy

in the vanguard of a towering, all-devouring host like the vast sea.

In the onslaught of a maddened lion

قَومٌ تَفَرَّسَتِ المَنايا فيكُمُ

قَومٌ تَفَرَّسَتِ المَنايا فيكُمُ

فَرَأَت لَكُم في الحَربِ صَبرَ كِرامِ

فَرَأَت لَكُم في الحَربِ صَبرَ كِرامِ

A people—the fates of death scrutinized you,

A people whom the fates spied upon in you

and found in you, in war, the endurance of noble men.

And saw in you enduring patience in war

تَاللَهِ ما عَلِمَ اِمرُؤٌ لَولاكُمُ

تَاللَهِ ما عَلِمَ اِمرُؤٌ لَولاكُمُ

كَيفَ السَخاءُ وَكَيفَ ضَربَ الهامِ

كَيفَ السَخاءُ وَكَيفَ ضَربَ الهامِ

By God, were it not for you, no man would have known

By God, if not for you, no man would have known

how to be generous, and how to strike heads.

Generosity, or how to strike resolutely