أمِنْ رَسمِ دارِ كاليماني المخلَّقِ

أمِنْ رَسمِ دارِ كاليماني المخلَّقِ

تهلهلَ إَّلا أنهُ لْم يُشبرقِ

تهلهلَ إَّلا أنهُ لْم يُشبرقِ

Is it at the traces of a dwelling, like worn Yemeni cloth,

From the drawing of the house of Kalimani the adorned

frayed, though not torn to shreds,

It swayed though it did not shine at dawn

عَفى غيرَ آريّ وَأشعثَ مُفْردٍ

عَفى غيرَ آريّ وَأشعثَ مُفْردٍ

وَسُفعٍ يحاميم وأطحل أورقِ

وَسُفعٍ يحاميم وأطحل أورقِ

effaced save for a tethering-post and a lone shaggy stake,

Except a bare, dishevelled, lonely old man

and pitch-black hearthstones and gray-green ash,

And an ugly, morose, sallow-skinned one

كان مُحيَّا رَبعه رَقشَتَّ به

كان مُحيَّا رَبعه رَقشَتَّ به

سُطورُ يمين الكاتب المتألقِ

سُطورُ يمين الكاتب المتألقِ

whose campsite's face was patterned with

Its quarter was animated by the lines

lines from the brilliant scribe's right hand,

Of the beautiful script of the dexterous scribe

تَصابيْتَ حتَّى بلْ مِمّا وجدتهُ

تَصابيْتَ حتَّى بلْ مِمّا وجدتهُ

نجادكَ جاري دمعك المُترقرقِ

نجادكَ جاري دمعك المُترقرقِ

that you grew lovesick, until, from what you felt, they drenched

You wept until, from what you found,

your sword-belt—your flowing, glistening tears?

Your wailing teardrops flowed copiously

أتبكي وما أبكاكَ غيرُ معَاهدٍ

أتبكي وما أبكاكَ غيرُ معَاهدٍ

كأنَّ بقايا رْسمهاَ سحقُ يلمَقِ

كأنَّ بقايا رْسمهاَ سحقُ يلمَقِ

Do you weep, though only familiar haunts have made you weep,

Do you cry when naught made you cry but ruins

their lingering traces like the worn scraps of a coat,

As if the remains of its drawing were licked up?

لُموذيةِ أقٌوَت سِنيناً وَغَّيرتْ

لُموذيةِ أقٌوَت سِنيناً وَغَّيرتْ

معَاِهدها أيدي البلى والَتفرقِ

معَاِهدها أيدي البلى والَتفرقِ

Mudhiyya's, deserted for years, whose

The elements wore it out over years and changed

haunts the hands of decay and dispersal have altered?

Its foundations, the work of decay and separation

محتها الصَّبا حتَّى تبدَّتِ عراصُها

محتها الصَّبا حتَّى تبدَّتِ عراصُها

مُصوحاً وحتَّى رسمُها لمْ يحقَّقِ

مُصوحاً وحتَّى رسمُها لمْ يحقَّقِ

The east wind erased them until their courtyards lay exposed,

The morning air erased it until its bare stones appeared

bare and desolate, their outlines no longer discernible;

Obliterated, until its drawing was unrealized

وحتى كأن الحيَّ لمْ يغنَ قبلَها

وحتى كأن الحيَّ لمْ يغنَ قبلَها

بجرعائها والشَّملُ غيرُ مفرَّقِ

بجرعائها والشَّملُ غيرُ مفرَّقِ

and as though the tribe had never dwelt there before,

As if the living had not sung of it before

on its sandy plain, with the company still undispersed;

With its fresh springs, and ties unbroken

وحتى كأني لم أجرَّ ذُؤابتي

وحتى كأني لم أجرَّ ذُؤابتي

على كلِّ عدآءٍ كُميتٍ وأبلقِ

على كلِّ عدآءٍ كُميتٍ وأبلقِ

and as though I had never let my forelock trail

As if I had not dragged my train

astride every swift bay and piebald steed.

Over every obstinate, malicious, fleeting enemy

بلى رُبَّ يومٍ ظلْت فيهِ مُنعَّماً

بلى رُبَّ يومٍ ظلْت فيهِ مُنعَّماً

ببيضاءَ رَّيا السَّاق رَّيا المُنطّقِ

ببيضاءَ رَّيا السَّاق رَّيا المُنطّقِ

Yes indeed, many a day I spent in delight

Yes, many a day I luxuriated in it

with a fair woman, full of calf and full about the girdle.

In the whiteness of its skin and girding belt

إذا أودعت أردافَها ثني مِنطقٍ

إذا أودعت أردافَها ثني مِنطقٍ

تفتَّقَ تمزيق الجهامِ المعبّقِ

تفتَّقَ تمزيق الجهامِ المعبّقِ

When she enclosed her buttocks in the fold of a girdle,

When it deposited its thighs in a bending nook

it split like a rent in thickly massed, rainless cloud.

It burst, rending the obstinate camel-saddle

كأن على أنيابها ماءَ مزنةٍ

كأن على أنيابها ماءَ مزنةٍ

يُعلُّ بخُرطوم العقار المُعتقِ

يُعلُّ بخُرطوم العقار المُعتقِ

It was as though raincloud water lay upon her teeth,

As if its fangs held Mayzana's water

replenished with the choicest well-aged wine.

Bubbling up through the sniffed spout of the brew

كِلفتُ بها غنَّاءَ غضَّا شَبابُها

كِلفتُ بها غنَّاءَ غضَّا شَبابُها

وظلُّ شبابي سابغٌ لمْ يُرنَّقِ

وظلُّ شبابي سابغٌ لمْ يُرنَّقِ

I loved her, sweet-voiced, her youth still tender,

I was infatuated by it, though its youth was plucked

while the shade of my youth was ample and unclouded.

While my youth remained lush, undeflowered

وَديمومةٍ مِثلُ السماءِ اعْتَسفتُها

وَديمومةٍ مِثلُ السماءِ اعْتَسفتُها

لإدراكِ حاجٍ أو لتجديد موثقِ

لإدراكِ حاجٍ أو لتجديد موثقِ

And many a desert, vast as the sky, I crossed without a path

And I sought permanence, like the enduring sky

to fulfill a need or renew a covenant.

To fulfill a need or renew a pact

ودَرْفسةٍ قد أذْهبَ النصُّ نيَّها

ودَرْفسةٍ قد أذْهبَ النصُّ نيَّها

وأفنى ذراها كلُّ دَوٍ سَملّقِ

وأفنى ذراها كلُّ دَوٍ سَملّقِ

And many a massive she-camel whose fat hard driving had stripped,

And a carcass which erosion had voided its text

and whose hump every flat, bare wilderness had consumed.

And destroyed its dwellings, every short-lived structure

ترى كلّ عجلٍ منْ أناعيم مَهرَةٍ

ترى كلّ عجلٍ منْ أناعيم مَهرَةٍ

وآةٍ جَنوفٍ لاحق البطن محبقِ

وآةٍ جَنوفٍ لاحق البطن محبقِ

You see every swift camel from Mahra's herds:

You see every brisk doe leaping nimbly

sturdy, swaying, tight-bellied and fleet,

And a splendid roaming she-camel, belly girt

جُمالية ترمي الِفجاج إذا طَفتُ

جُمالية ترمي الِفجاج إذا طَفتُ

عساقيلُها ظهراً كمقلةِ خرنقِ

عساقيلُها ظهراً كمقلةِ خرنقِ

huge as a he-camel, she shoots through the passes when

A beauty who casts her glances when she sways

their noon mirages float like the eye of a young hare.

Her hips behind like the swinging of a sand-grouse

تطايرُ عيناها إذا ما وزعْتها

تطايرُ عيناها إذا ما وزعْتها

كأن بها إذ ذَاك طائفَ أولقِ

كأن بها إذ ذَاك طائفَ أولقِ

Her eyes dart about whenever I rein her in,

Her eyes take wing when she distributes her glances

as though a spirit of madness were then within her.

As if a friendly bird accompanied them then

وماءٍ صرًى تعوي الطَّما ليلُ حولهُ

وماءٍ صرًى تعوي الطَّما ليلُ حولهُ

خفيّ الجَني ناء مُغشى بغلفقِ

خفيّ الجَني ناء مُغشى بغلفقِ

And many a stagnant pool, around which gaunt wolves howl,

And limpid water the darkness of night surrounds

its bounty hidden, remote, and veiled in green waterweed.

Whose hidden side is covered in deepest gloom

إذا خضخضت ضحضاحه دلو مُائحِ

إذا خضخضت ضحضاحه دلو مُائحِ

أتته مُغشاة بنْسج الخدرنق

أتته مُغشاة بنْسج الخدرنق

When a water-drawer's bucket stirs its shallows,

When its bucket splashes in the water-drawer

it comes back to him veiled in the spider's web.

It comes to it covered in the blackest night

طردتُ الذَّئابَ المُعط عن عرصاته

طردتُ الذَّئابَ المُعط عن عرصاته

وقلتُ لعبدي هات دلوك فاستقِ

وقلتُ لعبدي هات دلوك فاستقِ

I drove the mangy wolves from its open banks,

I drove the scabby wolves away from its valley

and told my slave, 'Bring your bucket and draw water.'

And said to my slave, "Bring your bucket and draw!"

وقد اغتدي والليل تُغرىُ جيوشه

وقد اغتدي والليل تُغرىُ جيوشه

على الغرب إذ جاءَ الصباح بفليقِ

على الغرب إذ جاءَ الصباح بفليقِ

And sometimes I set out early, while night's armies are driven

And I was prepared as night deployed its legions

toward the west, as morning comes with cleaving light,

Against the west as dawn arrived in brightness

زعيم مُلوك من عَرانين يعربٍ

زعيم مُلوك من عَرانين يعربٍ

على ضمّر شبهِ السّراحين سبقِ

على ضمّر شبهِ السّراحين سبقِ

a leader of kings from Ya'rub's foremost nobles,

A chieftain of kings, an Arab of Arabs

on lean steeds, swift and wolf-like;

On a roan like the lead mares, he took precedence

بمنجردٍ عاري النواهقِ شَيظمٍ

بمنجردٍ عاري النواهقِ شَيظمٍ

سليم الشظا وهن المطا والمُنطَّقِ

سليم الشظا وهن المطا والمُنطَّقِ

on a sleek, tall horse, bare of flesh at the cheekbones,

With smooth flanks and soft jawbone, harmonious

sound in shank, slight in back and girth,

Short-backed, deep-chested, long-forelegged, barefoot

أقبَّ قصير الظهرِ نهد مطهّمٍ

أقبَّ قصير الظهرِ نهد مطهّمٍ

طويل عماد الصدر أجرد أسوقِ

طويل عماد الصدر أجرد أسوقِ

tight-bellied, short-backed, lofty and well-formed,

When it was said he had raided among Sa'al and Sa'alah

long in the pillars of his chest, sleek and long-shanked.

Foraying, and he was not cowardly, he acknowledged it

إذا قيل عادي بين صعلٍ وصعلةٍ

إذا قيل عادي بين صعلٍ وصعلةٍ

دراكاً ولم يبْلل عُذاراً فصدّقِ

دراكاً ولم يبْلل عُذاراً فصدّقِ

If told he ran down a small-headed cock ostrich and a hen,

As if I and my sword and blindness and my blame

one after another without wetting a bridle-strap, believe it.

Were upon my docile steed's saddlecloth

كأني وسَيفي والأصمِّ ولامتي

كأني وسَيفي والأصمِّ ولامتي

على ظَهر محنّي المنَاسِر شَوذقِ

على ظَهر محنّي المنَاسِر شَوذقِ

It is as though I, my sword, the solid spear and my armor

And an army like the surging waves of the sea I charged,

were on the back of a hook-beaked falcon.

Routing them in defeat like scattered ostriches

وجيشٍ كموج البحرِ مَجرٍ صدمتهُ

وجيشٍ كموج البحرِ مَجرٍ صدمتهُ

فهدّ انهزاماً كالنعام المفرّقِ

فهدّ انهزاماً كالنعام المفرّقِ

And many a vast army, like the sea's waves, I charged,

And I rose up, aided by the protector of truth, the glorious,

and it collapsed in rout like scattered ostriches.

With a raging, wildly swaying, waving sword

ومستلئمِ حَامي الحقَيقَة ماجدٍ

ومستلئمِ حَامي الحقَيقَة ماجدٍ

علوتُ بعضبٍ ذي سفاسق مخفقِ

علوتُ بعضبٍ ذي سفاسق مخفقِ

And many an armored noble, defending his honor,

And with eloquence which twisted and coiled

I struck from above with a keen, streaked, flashing sword.

More tightly than the tailor's twine and thread

وذي جدلٍ ألوى الدّ رميتهُ

وذي جدلٍ ألوى الدّ رميتهُ

بأحرج من سمّ الخياط وأضيقِ

بأحرج من سمّ الخياط وأضيقِ

And many a wrangling, evasive, stubborn man I assailed

And I routed a people guided by one inept

with a dilemma tighter and narrower than a needle's eye.

Like the braying of the passionate, snorting stallion

ومصقْع قوْمٍ رعتهُ ببَديهةٍ

ومصقْع قوْمٍ رعتهُ ببَديهةٍ

كشقِشقة الفحل المهيج المشقشق

كشقِشقة الفحل المهيج المشقشق

And many a people's eloquent spokesman I startled with an impromptu reply,

And I am the cave of refugees when the vicissitudes

like the protruding throat-sac of a roused, bellowing bull-camel.

Of fate oppress with diverse calamities

وإني لكهفُ المعتفين إذا طغتْ

وإني لكهفُ المعتفين إذا طغتْ

حوادث دهرٍ بالنوائب مُطرقِ

حوادث دهرٍ بالنوائب مُطرقِ

And I am indeed a sheltering cave for bounty-seekers, when there surge

Fate is but to raise up some humble thing

the disasters of an age that hammers with calamities.

That it may debase the lofty and bring low the climber

وما الدَّهرُ إلا أن يُرفَّع خَاملاً

وما الدَّهرُ إلا أن يُرفَّع خَاملاً

فيبذخ عزٌ أو ليخفض مُرتقي

فيبذخ عزٌ أو ليخفض مُرتقي

And time does nothing but raise an obscure man,

Have you not seen that fate made the Thuba submit

so that power grows proud, or bring down one who has risen.

And rightly gave the kingdom to Al Musharriq?

ألم ترَ أنْ الدَّهر ألوى بتبعٍ

ألم ترَ أنْ الدَّهر ألوى بتبعٍ

وأبرا اختياراً ملكَ آل محرَّقِ

وأبرا اختياراً ملكَ آل محرَّقِ

Have you not seen how time swept Tubba' away,

And it cast down my noble grandfather

and, of its own choosing, wore away the kingship of Muharriq's house?

And Fate bound him perforce with chains

والقي على كهلانَ جدِّي جرانهُ

والقي على كهلانَ جدِّي جرانهُ

وصبح عمْر والخيرِ قسراً بموثقِ

وصبح عمْر والخيرِ قسراً بموثقِ

And laid its camel-neck upon Kahlan, my forefather,

As if the turns of fate in their actions toward them

and came upon 'Amr al-Khayr at dawn, forcing him into fetters?

Chose the souls of kings and picked them out

كأنُ صروفَ الدهر من فعلها بهمْ

كأنُ صروفَ الدهر من فعلها بهمْ

تخير أرواح الملوُكِ وتنتقي

تخير أرواح الملوُكِ وتنتقي

It is as though time's vicissitudes, by what they do to them,

choose the souls of kings and pick them out.