1. يا هل رَأيتَ بين فَيدٍ فاللّوى

    ظَمائناً تجزعُ أعراصَ الِلوَى

    O, have you seen between Fayd and al-Liwa

    Women in howdahs crossing the open tracts of al-Liwa?

  2. عَقائلاً من يَعرُبٍ عَطابِلاً

    عَرَانجاً لصَنا بألحَاظِ المهَا

    Noble women of Yaʿrub, full-figured beauties,

    Coquettish, stealing us with the glances of oryx,

  3. مِن كُلِّ جمَّاء الحُجوم بَضَّةٍ

    صَامِتِة الخِلخالِ غَرثاء الحَشا

    Each ample in bodily contour, tender-skinned,

    Her anklet silent, her waist slender,

  4. دُرّية الثغر مُنيرٌ صَلتُها

    عَذبةُ سلسَالِ الثغُور والسَّلمى

    Pearl-toothed, her smooth forehead radiant,

    Sweet in the flowing nectar of her mouth and al-Salma [unclear].

  5. كأنها بدرُ تمامٍ قد عَلا

    على كثيبٍ أصلدٍ على نقا

    As though she were a full moon that had risen

    Above a hard-packed dune upon a sand ridge.

  6. فالليَّلُ والصُّبحُ المنيرُ أصبَحا

    مِنَهَا حسودَيْ ضَوء صبحٍ ودُجى

    So night and radiant morning have become

    Because of her, two enviers of dawnlight and darkness.

  7. ونَفْنفٍ مَرتٍ طوت بي ثوبهَا

    حُرجُوجةٌ تسبِقُ ظِلماَن الفَلا

    And many a vast, barren waste—its robe was folded beneath me

    By a tall, lean she-camel outstripping the desert's ostriches,

  8. حَرفٌ ذمولٌ حرَّةٌ عيرانةٌ

    مَوَّارةُ الضَّبع أمُونٌ في السُّرى

    Lean, swift-trotting, noble-bred, strong and fleet,

    Swinging her upper arms, dependable in night travel.

  9. كأننَّي فَوقَ ظَلِيمٍ مُفعَمٍ

    أربدَ مثلِ البيتِ ممشوقِ الشَّوى

    As though I were atop a bulky male ostrich,

    Dusky-gray, tent-sized, with long, slender legs,

  10. أو لَهقٍ فردٍ شَبُوبٍ ناشطٍ

    مُطرَّد الرّوقين مَدموم الصَّلا

    Or a white oryx, solitary, full-grown, lively,

    With straight horns and a reddened rump,

  11. مُستَوِحشٍ أوجس رِكزاً فانثنى

    يَخلُط بالمِلع أفانينَ الوَجى

    Wary, sensing a faint sound and turning aside,

    Mixing swift running with varied limping steps.

  12. يحدُوهُ زحَّافُ العَشي شَاحذٌ

    وَحَرجفٌ يجتثُّ أشجارَ الرُّبى

    A creeping, stinging evening storm drives him on,

    And a bitter gale uprooting the trees of the hills.

  13. فباتَ ضيفاً لغضاهُ فحمُهُ

    تَخللَّت حرَّ رُكام في ثَرى

    So he lodged as a guest of his ghada trees; their charcoal

    Had permeated the heat of a heap in the soil [text unclear],

  14. بَين أريكٍ فَرُجامٍ فَصرَا

    فعجمَة الرَّمثِ فجمهورِ الغضا

    Between Arik, then Rujam, then Sara,

    Then the ramth thicket, then the mass of ghada trees.

  15. يحفرُ بالروقِ يُريقُ أفرعاً

    مِمَّا عَرَاهُ من تهاويل الدُّجى

    He digs with his horn, casting off branches,

    From the terrors of darkness that have befallen him.

  16. حتّى إذا انجابَ الظَّلامُ وانجَلى

    باكَرهُ ثمَّ بمحتُوم القَضَا

    Until, when the darkness lifted and cleared,

    There came upon him at dawn, with inevitable doom,

  17. مُخّرّقُ الأطَمارِ طاوٍ قد عداَ

    بِضُمَّرٍ أنيسهُا طُولُ الطُّوّى

    A hungry man in tattered rags, who had run forth

    With lean hounds whose companion was long hunger:

  18. شَوازبٍ قُودٍ ضَوَارٍ قُحَّلٍ

    فوهٍ يُضاهينَ سرَاحينَ الغضَا

    Gaunt, long-limbed, predatory, wasted,

    Wide-mouthed, resembling the wolves of the ghada scrub.

  19. فَانصلتَتْ تمعجُّ مَعجا خلفَهَ

    وانصَبَّ يكسُوهنَّ نقعاً وهبَا

    They darted forth, swerving and twisting behind him,

    And he rushed onward, clothing them in dust and haze.

  20. حَّتى إذا أمكَنها منهُ القضا

    أوزَعها طَعناً كتخريق الدِّلا

    Until, when fate let them reach him,

    He dealt them thrusts like the ripping of buckets.

  21. فَظَلَّ بين مُجلخِدٍ جاثمٍ

    وهاربٍ سَّلمهُ فرُط النَّجا

    So he stood among sprawling and crouching ones,

    And a fleeing one saved by exceptional swiftness.

  22. حَّتى إذا أنفَذ فيها حُكمَهُ

    وغودرَتْ بين صريعٍ ولَقا

    Until, when he had carried out his judgment upon them,

    And they were left struck down or lifeless,

  23. وَليَّ مُحِثا مُصْمعِدَّاً مُعنِقاً

    مُنْتَصباً يقطعُ أجواز الفلاَ

    He turned away, hastening, pressing straight onward, swift-striding,

    Upright, crossing the middle expanses of the wilderness.

  24. وَمُهجِرٍ سِربالُه الآلُ إذا

    تراكمَ الآلُ هجيراً وطغا

    And many a noon-traveler, his garment the mirage, when

    The mirage piled up in midday heat and overflowed,

  25. مَطَا علافَيا على شمليِله

    ألوى بها الملعُ ففَاضت كالغضا

    Rode an ʿAllafi saddle upon a fleet she-camel.

    Her swift gait swept her away, and she surged like ghada trees.

  26. نازعتهُ خمرة سُبلِ لم تزلْ

    مُسكرةً لكنَّها لا تحتَسى

    I shared with him the wine of the roads, which remained

    Intoxicating, though it is never sipped.

  27. أنا ابن ذي التَّاج المِليك نُبَّعٍ

    وصفوة المختَارِ هود المصطفى

    I am the son of the crowned king Nubbaʿ,

    And the choicest scion of Hud, the chosen, the elect,

  28. من دوحة هُوُد النبيّ أصلُها

    وفرعُها في شرفٍ ماءُ السَّماء

    From a family tree whose root is Hud the prophet,

    And whose branch, in nobility, is Maʾ al-Samaʾ.

  29. أني أنا الأبريزُ أصلاً وعُلىً

    والنَّاسُ صُفرٌ بالدقيق يُشترى

    Indeed, I am pure gold in lineage and eminence,

    While other people are brass, bought with flour.

  30. أنا ذُعار الخيل إن مجَّ القَنا

    دَماً وسمُّ الخصم يوماً إن عتَا

    I am the terror of horses when lances spew

    Blood, and my foe's poison on any day he rebels.

  31. إذا طغى الفقرُ وكفِّي لم يزَل

    فيها لداء الفقر والعُدمِ دَوا

    When poverty overwhelms, my hand never ceases

    To hold a cure for poverty's sickness and destitution.

  32. ماليَ مبذولٌ لِكلّ طالبٍ

    والَعِرضُ مِنّي لم يُدنّسِه الطَّحا

    My wealth is freely offered to every seeker,

    And my honor has not been sullied by grime.

  33. أنا عتيقُ الطير قلباً في الوغىَ

    والضَّيغمُ الوردُ إذا التفَّ القنا

    I am the noblest of birds at heart in battle,

    And the tawny lion when lances intertwine,

  34. أقدمُ من شهم عَلى الهَوْل إذا

    فَرَّعنِ الموْتِ الشّجاعُ وانثنى

    More daring than a brave man before terror, when

    The brave man flees death and turns away.

  35. أنا ربيعُ النَّاسِ في عَامِ القَسَا

    وكعبةُ الوفد إذا ضنَّ الحَيَا

    I am the people's springtime in a year of drought,

    And the Kaaba of delegations when rain withholds itself.

  36. أنا المجَّلي في الفخار والعُلىَ

    وكلُّ ملك حيثُ ما سرتُ وَرا

    I am the frontrunner in glory and eminence,

    And every king trails behind wherever I go.

  37. كالبحر أهدى للقريب جوهراً

    جوداً وأهدى لأخي البُعد الغُثا

    Like the sea, I give jewels to those nearby

    Generously, and give flotsam to the far-off one.

  38. كالطَّوْدِ حِلماً والسّماكِ رتُبةً

    والسَّيف عزماً إن له القرنَ انتصى

    Like a mountain in forbearance, and al-Simak in rank,

    And a sword in resolve when an opponent rises against it.

  39. كالدَّهر نفعاً لِصديقٍ قد بَنا

    بهِ مطا الدَّهر وضراً لِلعدا

    Like Time, a boon to a friend who has built

    With it the back of Time, and a bane to enemies.

  40. أنا أخو الفضل وينبوعُ النَّدا

    ومعدنُ الصّدق لعَمري والوفَا

    I possess excellence and am the fountain of generosity,

    And the source of truth, by my life, and fidelity.

  41. ففي يَميني للوَرى وَيُسرتي

    بحرانِ جاشا من مَنونٍ ومنُى

    For mankind, in my right hand and my left

    Are two surging seas, of death and desires.

  42. ونائلي يَفضحُ جيحونَ ندًى

    وسطوتي تُذعرُ آسادَ الشَّرَى

    My gifts put Jayhun to shame in generosity,

    And my might terrifies the lions of al-Shara.

  43. وعَزمتي تُربي على الشُّهبِ مَضا

    وِهمتي تنطح عِرنينَ السُّهَا

    My resolve surpasses meteors in piercing force,

    And my ambition butts against al-Suha's nose.

  44. لو طَلبَ الموتُ نزالي في الوغى

    جَدلته بالمُرهفِ الماضي الشَّبَا

    If Death sought combat with me in battle,

    I would fell him with the sharpened, keen-edged sword.

  45. مَلأتُ أقطارَ البلادِ نائلاً

    وسطوة ترهبُ مرّيخَ السَّما

    I have filled the reaches of the lands with bounty,

    And with might that terrifies Mars in heaven.

  46. منَاقبي فوق النُّجومِ كثرةً

    وَشيمتي الصَدقُ وتجزيل اللّها

    My virtues exceed the stars in number,

    And my nature is truthfulness and lavishing gifts.

  47. وأَغْتدي بِضرم نيرانِ القرَى

    فوق التّلِاع الشُّم ليلاً والرُّبىَ

    I go out early amid blazing fires of hospitality,

    Above lofty ridges and hills by night.

  48. وإن تمَّنى ذو رجاً أمْنيَّةً

    أعطيتُهُ فوقَ رجاهُ والمُنى

    If a hopeful man wishes for something,

    I give him beyond his hopes and desires.

  49. وطَارقٍ جَشَّمهُ نيلُ المُنى

    جَوْبَ الدَّياميم إذا الليلُ عَسَا

    And many a night visitor, whom attaining his desires obliged

    To cross trackless wastes when night grew dark:

  50. رفعتُ ناري فَاهتدى بِضوِئها

    فنالَ عندي مَااشتَهاهُ وارتَجى

    I raised my fire, and he was guided by its light,

    Then gained with me what he craved and hoped for.

  51. وقَد أشُبُّ جاحمُ الحَرب إذا

    هَانَ لَظى الحربِ لأمرٍ وَخبَا

    I kindle war's raging blaze when

    For some reason its flame subsides and dies down.

  52. يَحِملْني مُطَهَّمٌ ذُو مَيعة

    أقبُّ طَاوي الكَشحِ محبوك القَرا

    A handsome steed of spirited vigor carries me,

    Slender-bellied, tucked in the flank, firm-backed,

  53. مُجَملَحُ الخلقِ طَويلٌ كرْدُهُ

    مُؤلَّلُ الأُذنين معروق الشَّوى

    Stoutly built, long-necked,

    With pointed ears and lean-fleshed limbs,

  54. نَهدٌ أسيلُ أعَوْجيٌ زَانَهُ

    تَلاَحكُ الجسمِ وتحنيبُ المَطا

    Powerful, smooth-cheeked, of Aʿwaj's strain, adorned by

    His compact body and the arching of his back.

  55. كالطّود طَيَّار العِنان وقعُهُ

    في ركضهِ وقعُ الصَّفا على الصَّفا

    Mountain-like, flying at the reins; his footfall

    In his gallop is rock striking rock.

  56. كالسَّهم بل كالرَّيح لاَ بلَ دونَهُ

    في مرهِّ البَرقُ إذا البرقُ أضَا

    Like an arrow—rather, like the wind—no, beneath him

    In speed is lightning itself when it flashes.

  57. وَفي يميني مُرهفٌ ذُو رَونق

    أبيضُ كالمِلحةِ مفتُوقُ الشَّبَا

    In my right hand is a sharpened sword of luster,

    White as salt, its edges opened out,

  58. مُصمّمٌ عَضبٌ خفيٌ كِلمُهُ

    لَوْ باشرَ الصَّخرَ براهُ وَفرَا

    Piercing, keen, its wound almost imperceptible:

    If it touched rock, it would shave and split it.

  59. وقَدْ لَبستُ نَثْرة مُفاضةً

    مبُيضَّة كأنَّها مَتنُ الأضَا

    I have worn an ample coat of mail,

    Gleaming white, like the surface of pools,

  60. مِن صنُع دَاودَ النَّبيِّ سَردُهُ

    يفلُّ أطراَف الرِّماحِ والظُّبى

    Its linked weave of the craftsmanship of Dawud the prophet,

    Blunting spearheads and swordblades.

  61. وَمُرَّةِ الطَّعم عُقارٍ قَرقف

    لو ذاقَها الطَّودُ الأشمُّ لا نتَشى

    And bitter-tasting, shiver-bringing wine:

    If the lofty mountain tasted it, it would grow drunk.

  62. إن هُرقت في صخبها حَسِبتها

    نار غضاً تأججُ أو شمس الَضُّحى

    When poured amid its splashing, you would think it

    Blazing ghada fire, or the sun of midmorning.

  63. نَازعنيهَا مَاجدٌ ذُو نخوَة

    مُهذّبُ الأخلاق محموُد الاخا

    A noble man of proud spirit shared it with me,

    Refined in manners, praiseworthy in friendship.

  64. وخدر ذاتِ دملجٍ دخلْتهُ

    على شمُوع رَودةِ مِثل الرَّشا

    And a chamber of an armlet-wearing woman I entered,

    Coming upon a playful, tender maiden like a fawn.

  65. تقول إذ جردَّتْها من درعِها

    نفسي لكِ اليومَ وما حُزتُ الفِدَا

    She says, when I stripped her of her shift,

    “My life is yours today, and all I own as ransom.”

  66. منْ كلّ ما نَالَ المُلوكُ نلتُهُ

    وكلُّ حيّ للحُتوف والتّوى

    Of all that kings have attained, I have attained it,

    And every living thing is destined for death and destruction.

  67. واَلمرءٌ لاَ ينفَعُهُ منْ مَالِه

    إلاَّ الَّذي قدَّمَ في سُبل الهُدى

    A man gains no benefit from his wealth

    Except what he has sent ahead on the paths of guidance.

  68. وكلُّ ذِي عيشِ سَيَفنى ما خَلا

    ذا العرش والفعلَ الجميل والثَّنَا

    Every living being will perish, save

    The Lord of the Throne, noble deeds, and praise.

  69. مَنْ أخذَ الصّدقَ له سَفينةً

    وفوَّضَ الأمرَ لذي الطَّول نجَا

    Whoever takes truth as his vessel

    And entrusts his affairs to the Lord of bounty is saved.

  70. من جَعَلَ الأفكَ له مطيَّةً

    ألقَتهُ في قعرِ الحتُوفِ والثَّرى

    Whoever makes falsehood his mount,

    It casts him into the depths of death and earth.

  71. من استشار غيرَ ذي العَقلِ هَوى

    ولم ينلْ مِنْ قصدِه غيرَ العنَا

    Whoever consults one without reason falls,

    And gains nothing from his purpose but trouble.

  72. مَنْ خاضَ عَشْرَ الأربعينَ عمُرُهُ

    ولَم يزغ عن غيّةِ فَقد غَوى

    Whoever's lifetime enters the decade of forty

    Without turning away from error has indeed gone astray.

  73. وقد نظمْتُ بلَ بقيتُ حكمَةً

    ما شكَّ فيها ذو حجىً ولا اقتوى

    I have composed—rather, left enduring—wisdom

    Which no man of reason doubted or contested [reading uncertain].

  74. لو عرَّجَت بابن دُرَيدٍ لم يقل

    وهو الحليم الألمعيُّ المُفتَتا

    Had it turned aside to Ibn Durayd, he would not have said—

    Forbearing, quick-witted, and sought for counsel as he was—

  75. يا ظبيةً أشبَه شيءٍ بالمَها

    راتِعةً بين السَّدير فاللّوِى

    “O gazelle, closest of all things to an oryx,

    Grazing between al-Sadir and al-Liwa.”