لعلَّ الهوى إنْ أنتَ حيَّيْتَ منزِلاً
بأكبادَ مُرتدٌّ عليكَ عقابِلُهْ
Perhaps if you settle somewhere, O love
Vengeful ones will return to you with livers bleeding
محتْهُ الرياحُ الهُوجُ يَحْننَّ بالحصى
ونَوءُ الثريّا الجَودُ منهُ ووابلُهْ
The fierce winds have erased it, moaning over pebbles
And the downpour of heavy rain and its floods
عفا غيرَ أُخدودَيْنِ جَرَّ عليهِما
جدى كلِّ دَلْوِيٍّ تُجَنُّ أصائلُهْ
Except for two cheeks furrowed by my tears
The lifeblood of every miserable wretch pouring down them
فلمّا سألتُ الرَّبْعَ أينَ تيمَّمَتْ
نوى الحيّ لم ينطقْ وضُلِّلَ سائلُهْ
So when I asked the countryside where your tent was pitched
The living intended no reply and led the questioner astray
وكنتُ إذا خُبِّرْتُ أنَّ مُكَلَّفاً
بكى أو تَعنّاهُ عِدادٌ يُماطلُهْ
Whenever I heard that some wretched soul
Had wept for you or you had oppressed him
منَ الحُبِّ زَرَّفتُ المُحبَّ فقد بكا
فؤادي حتى أسلمتْهُ عواذلُهْ
I adorned the lover so that he wept
Until his darling ones took him away
كأنَّ فؤادي طائرٌ في حِبالةٍ
رأى غيَّهُ لمّا اعْتفَتْهُ حبائلُهْ
As if my heart were a bird snared
Who saw his deceiver when the snares entangled him
عشيّةَ رَدَّ الحيُّ بُزْلاً يَزِينُها
تمامٌ ونَيٌّ طارَ عنهُ خمائلُهْ
One evening the living one turned away a young camel, decorating her
With a nose-rein - she left behind her nose-bag
عقائلُ ما منهنَّ إلاّ عَدَبَّسٌ
ذرى شوكُهُ أو فاطرُ النابِ باقلُهْ
No part of her but was dusty-haired or white-blazed,
Prickly with thorn-bushes or cleft of hoof
ومرْتٍ إذا أمسى بهِ القومُ أعظمَتْ
مَخاقَتَهمْ أهوالُهُ وغوائلُهْ
When the clan spent a night with her, their close friendship
Was destroyed by her terrors and calamities
تأوّلتُ آياتٍ بهِ ورمَيْنَهُ
بمِردى سِفارٍ ابنُ عامَيْنِ بازلُهْ
I interpreted tokens concerning her and kept track of them
With the spying of a boy of two years - his observing was weak
بأتلعَ فَعْمِ المنكبَيْنِ تقابلَتْ
عليهِ المهارى أروعُ القلبِ جاهلُهْ
With a neck curved like a ladle, the horsemen
competed for her, the most valiant of heart, ignorant
إذا قلتُ جاهٍ لَجَّ حتى يرُدَّهُ
مِراسٌ ومكِيٌّ تأوَّبَ جادِلُهْ
When I said she belonged to a tribe, she turned aside
Until a horseman of Mikhy guided her back
كأنّي ورَحلي فوقَ جأبٍ خلا لهُ
وإلفَيْهِ جَنْبا صارةٍ فجُلاجِلُهْ
As though I and my camel-litter were above a desolate valley
While the sides of her saddle-frame were breaking apart
رِباعٍ نفى عنها وعنهُ جِحاشَها
فما هنَّ إلاّ مُلْمِعاتٍ قَتائلُهْ
A pasture that denied both her and her leanness
So that they were nothing but brightly gleaming, deadly weapons
شهورَ الندى حتى إذا هاجَ ناصلٌ
عليهِ ورامَتْهُ بصُرْمِ حَلائلُهْ
For months of dew, until a companion came to her
And her eyes glanced at him sharply
غدا في ثلاثٍ مُرْبِعاً لاحقَ الحشا
إذا هو أمسى راجعَتْهُ أفاكِلُهْ
Next day she was speeding after wild donkeys
By evening they had turned her back, defeated
فظلَّ بآرامَ النُّوَيْرِ كأنّهُ
رَبِيئةُ قومٍ خائفُ القلبِ واجلُهْ
She remained standing still among Nu'ayr's hills
Like a people in fear with cowardly hearts
فلمّا رأيْنَ الليلَ جِنْحاً وقدْ بدا
لها ولهُ الأمرُ الذي هو فاعلُهْ
When she saw the wing of night spreading
She did what she did - and it was up to her
تيمَّمَ عَيناً من أُثالَ رَوِيّةً
عليها أخو بِيدٍ شديدٍ خصائلُهْ
She made for the tents of Rawiya's clan
Where a brother of Bayd had a firm character
يُعَشِّرُ في تَقريبِهِ وإذا انتحى
عليهنَّ من قُفٍّ أرنَتْ جَنادلُهْ
He covered them at mating time and when he withdrew
From them, the clattering tent-poles moaned
وأوقدْنَ نيرانَ الحُباحِبِ والتقى
حصىً يتراقى بينهنَّ ولاوِلُهْ
They kindled the fires of lovemaking and the sparks flew
Between them, while the cooking-pots boiled over
إذا قلنَ كلاّ قالَ والنَّقْعُ ساطعٌ
بلى وهْوَ واهٍ بالجِراءِ أباجلُهْ
When they said "No more!" he said "Yes!" and the branding irons flashed
"Indeed," while he was confused by the open spaces and dunes
وإنْ أسهلَ اسْتَتْلَيْنَ نَقعاً كأنّهُ
شَماطيطُ كتّانٍ تطيرُ رَعابلُهْ
And when he made it easy, they extracted a branding
As though it were tufts of flax their awls plucked out
فأوردَها والليلُ نَصفانُ بعدَما
علاها حميمٌ ما رعَتْهُ شُلاشِلُهْ
He brought her when night was halfway gone, after
Fervent passion had induced in her what her ragings could not
يرَيْنَ نجومَ الليلِ فيها كأنّها
مصابيحُ مِحرابٍ تُذَكّى قنادلُهْ
She could see the stars of night in her as though they were
Lamps being fueled in a prayer-niche and its candles lit
وفي الجانبِ الأدنى الذي ليس ضربةً
برمحٍ بلى حَرّانُ زُرقٌ مَعابلُهْ
On her nearer side which no spear-thrust reached
But hot-brandings, blue, opposite each other
مُطِلٌّ بمَنحاةٍ لهُ في شِمالِهِ
رَنينٌ إذا ما حرَّكتْها أناملُهْ
Aiming with a branding-iron which, when he moved
His fingers, gave out a humming sound
فَصَوَّبْنَ أعناناً وأدنَيْنَ أذرُعاً
إليهنَّ والجَرْع انتهازاً تُداخلُهْ
They guided the halters and moved the fore-arms
Toward them, seizing the occasion of mating eagerly
رمى العَيرُ أذْناهُ على الفُقْرةِ التي
تَليهِ وأدنى النَّجْبِ منهُ مَقاتلُهْ
The side of his ear touched her spine
And the lower part of his throat met her deadly blows
فمَرَّ تُحَيْتَ المَرفقَيْنِ وصدَّهُ
عنِ الجَوفِ إنْ لمْ يلقَ حتفاً يُعاجلُهْ
It passed by the two elbows and he warded it
Off from his belly, if he did not meet sudden death
فيا لكَ إخطاءً ويا لكَ جَولةً
ويا لكَ شدّاً يَعْبِطُ الأكْمَ وابِلُهْ
Oh what a mistake! What a going astray!
What strength to wrench bones and shed their joints!
كما انقضَّ دَرِيٌّ على مُتَعَفْرِتٍ
رجيمٍ تَدرَّى وحيَ سمعٍ يُخائلُهْ
As a wild ass charged down on a reddish camel, sniffing her urine,
While the voice of a fool harangued him to release her
أذلكَ أمْ ذَبُّ الرِّيادِ خلا لهُ
لوىً وكثيبٌ مُزْبَئِرٌّ خمائلُهْ
Or was it the slavering desire, having an opportunity,
For him - with his neck twisted and his forelock dishevelled?
رعى الخَطراتِ الحُوَّ فرْداً كأنّهُ
حسامٌ جلا أطباعَ مَتْنَيْهِ صاقِلُهْ
He pastured on dangerous places alone, as though he were
A polished sword that had cast off the sheathings of its blade
طَباهُ عنِ الأُلاّفِ أيامُ سَلوةٍ
يُناطحُ فيها ظِلَّهُ ويُخائِلُهْ
Days of tranquility corrupted him from gentle ways -
He contended with his shadow in them and his thoughts strayed
إذا رَيْدَةٌ من حيثُ ما نفحَتْ لهُ
أتاهُ برَيّاها خليلٌ يُواصلُهْ
When a small blow from her assailed him, though he did not know
Where it came from, a friend brought him her wind, joined to him
غدا والندى يَنصبُّ عنهُ كأنّهُ
فريدُ العذارى ضيَّعَ السِّلْكَ ناصِلُهْ
Next morning the dew was streaming from him as though
He were the single stallion who had lost the progeny of his ancestor
