هَل بِالطُلولِ لِسائِلِ رَدُّ
أَم هَل لَها بِتَكَلُّم عَهدُ
Do the deserted dwellings have an answer for one who asks?
Or have they any covenant to speak?
دَرَسَ الجَديدُ جَديدَ مَعهَدِها
فَكَأَنَّما هِيَ رَيطَةٌ جَردُ
The fresh traces of their campsite have worn away,
until it seems a bare, threadbare mantle—
مِن طولِ ما يَبكي الغِنامُ عَلى
عَرَصاتِها وَيُقَهقِهُ الرَعدُ
so long have the clouds wept over
its courtyards, while thunder roars with laughter.
وَتُلِثُّ سارِيَةٌ وَغادِيَةٌ
وَيَكُرُّ نَحسٌ خَلفَهُ سَعدُ
Night-cloud and morning-cloud rain upon it again and again,
and ill fortune circles, with good fortune close behind.
تَلقى شَآمِيَةٌ يَمانِيَةً
لَهُما بِمَورِ تُرابِها سَردُ
It receives streaming showers from Yemen;
through both, its soil is clad in woven mail.
فَكَسَت بَواطِنُها ظَواهِرَها
نَوراً كَأَنَّ زُهاءَهُ بُردُ
Thus its hollows were clothed by what appeared upon them—
a radiance whose splendor seemed a mantle.
يَغدو فَيَسري نَسجَهُ حَدَبٌ
واهي العرى وَنَثيرُهُ عِقدُ
Its woven covering spreads swiftly over every rise,
its fastenings slack, its scattered drops a necklace.
فَوَقَفت أَسأَلَها وَلَيسَ بِها
إِلّا المَها وَنَقانِقٌ رُبدُ
I stopped and questioned it, but nothing dwelt there
except white oryx and dusky ostriches,
وَمُكَدَّمٍ في عانَةٍ خَفَرَت
حَتّى يُهَيِّجَ شَأوَها الوِردُ
and a battered ostrich cock deep in a dense thicket,
until the approach to water spurred it into a race.
فَتَبادَرَت دِرَرُ الشُؤونِ عَلى
خَدّى كَما يَتَناثَرُ العِقدُ
Then pearls of tears hastened down
my cheeks, scattering like a broken necklace.
أَو نَضحُ عَزلاءِ الشَعيبِ وَقَد
راحَ العَسِفَ بِمائِها يَعدو
Was it a sprinkling from the ravine’s pouring cloud,
whose water the evening wind drove on?
لَهَفى عَلى دَعدٍ وَما خُلِقَت
إِلّا لِطولِ بَلِيَّتي دَعدُ
Alas for Da‘d—yet Da‘d was fashioned
only to prolong my affliction.
بَيضاءُ قَد لَبِسَ الأَديمُ بَها
ءَ الحُسنِ فَهُوَ لِجِلدِها جِلدُ
A fair one whose skin seems clothed in whiteness;
as for beauty, it is a second skin upon her skin.
وَيَزينُ فَودَيها إِذا حَسَرَت
ضافي الغَدائِرِ فاحِمٌ جَعدُ
Her dark tresses adorn her whenever she unveils them—
abundant locks, black and curling.
فَالوَجهُ مِثلُ الصُبحِ مُنبَلِجٌ
وَالشَعرُ مِثلُ اللَيلِ مُسوَدُّ
Her face is like the dawn, breaking clear;
her hair is like the night, utterly dark.
ضِدّانِ لِما اِستَجمِعا حَسُنا
وَالضِدُّ يُظهِرُ حَسنَهُ الضِدُّ
Two opposites which, once united, became beautiful:
an opposite reveals the beauty of its opposite.
وَجَبينُها صَلتٌ وَحاجِبها
شَختُ المَحَطِّ أَزَجُّ مُمتَدُّ
Her brow is smooth and open, and her eyebrow
slender at the ends, arched and extended.
وَكَأَنَّها وَسنى إِذا نَظَرَت
أَو مُدنَفٌ لَمّا يُفِق بَعدُ
When she looks, she seems drowsy,
or like one fevered who has not yet recovered—
بِفتورِ عَينٍ ما بِها رَمَدٌ
وَبِها تُداوى الأَعيُنُ الرُمدُ
such languor lies in an eye untouched by illness,
yet by it sickened eyes are healed.
وَتُريكَ عِرنينا يُزَيِّنُهُ
شَمَمٌ وَخَدّا لَونُهُ الوَردُ
She shows you a noble nose, adorned
by proud elevation, and a cheek the color of roses.
وَتُجيلُ مِسواكَ الأَراكِ عَلى
رَتلٍ كَأَنَّ رُضابَهُ الشَهدُ
She passes an arak twig over
even-set teeth whose moisture is honey.
وَاِمتَدَّ مِن أَعضادِها قَصَبٌ
فَعمٌ تَلَتهُ مَرافِقٌ دُردُ
Reed-slender forearms extend from her upper arms,
followed by soft, smoothly rounded elbows.
وَالمِعصان فَما يُرى لَهُما
مِن فَعمَةٍ وَبَضاضَةٍ زَندُ
Her wrists are so delicate
that no hard joint appears through their softness and brightness.
وَلَها بَنانٌ لَو أَرَدتَ لَهُ
عَقداً بِكَفِّكَ أَمكَنَ العَقدُ
She has fingers which, if you wished them
to tie a knot within your palm, could tie it.
وَكَأَنَّما سُقِيَت تَرائِبُها
وَالنَحرُ ماءَ الحُسنِ إِذ تَبدو
It is as though her collarbones had been watered—
and her throat, when she appears—with beauty’s own water.
وَبِصَدرِها حُقّانِ خِلتُهُما
كافورَتَينِ عَلاهُما نَدُّ
Upon her breast are two rounded vessels
like two pieces of camphor crowned with fragrant aloeswood.
وَالبَطنُ مَطوِيٌّ كَما طُوِيَت
بيضُ الرِياطِ يَصونُها المَلدُ
Her belly is folded as delicately as
the white blossoms of meadows sheltered beneath their tender covering.
وَبِخَصرِها هَيَفٌ يُزَيِّنُهُ
فَإِذا تَنوءُ يَكادُ يَنقَدُّ
A slender waist adorns her;
when she rises, it nearly seems to break.
وَلَها هَنٌ رابٍ مجَسَّتُهُ
ضَيقُ المَسالِكِ حُرَّهُ وَقدُ
Her secret place, when touched, is
narrow of passage, warm and close.
فَكَأَنَّهُ مِن كَبرِهِ قَدَحٌ
أَكلَ العِيال وَكَبَّهُ العَبدُ
It is as though it were the mouth of a cup,
sealed and guarded from every intruder.
فَإِذا طَعَنتَ طَعَنتَ في لَبدٍ
وَإِذا سَلَلتَ يَكادُ يَنسَدُّ
When entered, it closes softly around what enters;
when it is withdrawn, the passage nearly seals.
وَالتَفَّ فَخذاها وَفَوقَهُما
كَفَلٌ يُجاذِبُ خَصرَها نَهدُ
Her thighs press close together, and above them
are haunches whose fullness contends with her slender waist.
فَقِيامُها مَثنىً إِذا نَهَضت
مِن ثِقلَةٍ وَقُعودها فَردُ
When she stands, their weight draws them backward;
from their heaviness, even her sitting seems a posture apart.
وَالساقِ خَرعَبَةٌ مُنَعَّمَةٌ
عَبِلَت فَطَوقُ الحَجلِ مُنسَدُّ
Her shanks are tender and luxuriant,
so full that her anklets nearly disappear.
وَالكَعبُ أَدرَمُ لا يَبينُ لَهُ
حَجمً وَلَيسَ لِرَأسِهِ حَدُّ
Her ankle is smoothly rounded, no bone protruding,
no sharp head showing upon it.
وَمَشَت عَلى قَدمَينِ خُصِّرتا
وَالتَفَّتا فَتَكامَلَ القَدُّ
She walks upon two finely shaped feet,
and all her limbs unite to complete her stature.
ما شَأنَها طولٌ وَلا قِصَرٌ
في خَلقِها فَقَوامُها قَصدُ
Neither excessive height nor shortness is hers;
in her creation, every proportion is measured.
إِن لَم يَكُن وَصلٌ لَدَيكِ لَنا
يَشفى الصَبابَةَ فَليَكُن وَعدُ
If no union with you is to be ours,
then let a promise at least soothe this passion.
قَد كانَ أَورَقَ وَصلَكُم زَمَناً
فَذَوَى الوِصال وَأَورَقَ الصَدُّ
Once your affection flourished green for a time;
then union withered, and rejection put forth leaves.
لِلَّهِ أشواقي إِذا نَزَحَت
دارٌ بِنا وَنَأى بِكُم بُعدُ
God knows my longing when
a land carries us far away and Da‘d carries you far from us.
إِن تُتهِمى فَتَهامَةٌ وَطُن
أَو تُنجِدي إِنَّ الهَوى نَجدُ
If you go down to Tihama, Tihama is my homeland;
if you climb into Najd, then Najd is where my passion lies.
وَزَعَمتِ أَنَّكِ تُضمِرينَ لَنا
وُدّاً فَهَلّا يَنفَعُ الوُدُّ
You claimed that you concealed for us
affection—but why does affection bring no benefit?
وَإِذا المُحِبُّ شَكا الصُدودَ وَلَم
يُعطَف عَلَيهِ فَقَتلُهُ عَمدُ
When the lover complains of rejection and no
tenderness is shown him, his killing is deliberate.
تَختَصُّها بِالوُدِّ وُهيَ عَلى
ما لا تُحِبُّ فَهكَذا الوَجدُ
The world shifts and sways because of one person:
such is passion when it brings what one does not love.
إِمّا تَرى طِمرَيَّ بَينَهُما
رَجُلٌ أَلَحَّ بِهَزلِهِ الجِدُّ
Though you see, among them, a man grown lean,
one upon whose jest earnestness has pressed hard,
فَالسَيفُ يَقطَعُ وَهُوَ ذو صَدَأٍ
وَالنَصلُ يَعلو الهامَ لا الغِمد
a sword still cuts although it bears rust,
and the blade—not the sheath—rises over heads.
هَل يَنفَعَنَّ السَيفَ حِليَتُهُ
يَومَ الجِلادِ إِذا نَبا الحَدُّ
Will a sword’s ornament profit you
on the day of combat if its edge proves blunt?
وَلَقَد عَلِمتُ بِأَنَّني رَجُلٌ
في الصالِحاتِ أَروحُ أَو أَغدو
I have long known myself to be a man
who goes forth and returns engaged in worthy deeds.
سِلمٌ عَلى الأَدنى وَمَرحَمَةٌ
وَعَلى الحَوادِثِ هادِيءٌ جَلدُ
Peaceful toward those nearest me, compassionate,
yet calm and steadfast before calamities;
مُتَجَلبِبُ ثَوبَ العَفافِ وَقَد
غَفَلَ الرَقيبُ وَأَمكُنَ الوِردُ
clothed in the garment of chastity even when
the watcher is heedless and access to the water is open;
وَمُجانِبٌ فِعلَ القَبيحِ وَقَد
وَصَلَ الحَبيبُ وَساعَدَ السَعدُ
one who shuns an ugly deed though
the beloved yields and good fortune lends its aid.
مَنَعَ المَطامِعَ أن تُثَلِّمَني
أَنّي لِمَعوَلِها صَفاً صَلدُ
Covetous desires are forbidden to humiliate me:
against their pickaxes I am solid rock.
فَأَروحُ حُرّاً مِن مَذّلَّتِها
وَالحُرُّ حينَ يُطيعُها عَبدُ
Thus I depart free of their abasement—
for the free man, once he covets, becomes a slave.
آلَيتُ أَمدَحُ مقرفاً أبَداً
يَبقى المَديحُ وَيَذهَبُ الرفدُ
I have sworn never to praise a base man,
for praise remains when the gift has vanished.
هَيهاتَ يأبى ذاكَ لي سَلَفٌ
خَمَدوا وَلَم يَخمُد لَهُم مَجدُ
Far from me! My forebears forbade me that—
they died, but their glory did not die.
وَالجَدُّ كِندَةٌ وَالبَنون هُمُ
فَزَكا البَنون وَأَنجَبَ الجَدُّ
Our ancestry is Kindah, and these are its sons;
the sons grew noble, and noble was the stock that bore them.
فَلَئِن قَفَوتُ جَميلَ فَعلِهِمُ
بِذَميم فِعلي إِنَّني وَغدُ
If I follow the beauty of their deeds,
my own deed, secured by their honor, belongs to tomorrow.
أَجمِل إِذا حاوَلتَ في طَلَبٍ
فَالجِدُّ يُغني عَنكَ لا الجَدُّ
Act nobly whenever you pursue a purpose:
earnest striving avails you, not ancestry alone.
لِيَكُن لَدَيكَ لِسائِلٍ فَرَجٌ
إِن لِم يَكُن فَليَحسُن الرَدُّ
Let there be relief with you for one who asks;
and if there is none, let the refusal at least be gracious.
وَطَريدِ لَيلٍ ساقَهُ سَغَبٌ
وَهناً إِلَيَّ وَقادَهُ بَردُ
Many a night-wanderer, driven on by hunger,
came toward me, with cold as his guide.
أَوسَعتُ جُهدَ بَشاشَةٍ وَقُرىً
وَعَلى الكَريمِ لِضَيفِهِ الجُهدُ
I gave him welcome and food to the utmost of his need—
the noble man owes his guest his utmost effort.
فَتَصَرَّمَ المَشتى وَمَنزِلُهُ
رَحبٌ لَدَيَّ وَعَيشُهُ رَغدُ
Winter passed away while his lodging
remained spacious with me and his life was easy.
ثُمَّ اِغتَدى وَرِداوُّهُ نعِمٌ
أَسدَيتُها وَرِدائِيَ الحَمدُ
Then he departed wearing a robe of favors
I had bestowed, while I wore the robe of his praise.
يا لَيتَ شِعري بَعدَ ذَلِكُمُ
وَمَصيرُ كُلِّ مُؤَمِّلٍ لَحدُ
Would that I knew, after all of this—
when every hopeful person’s destination is the grave—
أَصَريعٌ كَلمٍ أَم صَريعُ ضَنىً
أَودى فَلَيسَ مِنَ الرَدى بُدُّ
shall I become like one struck down, left as prey,
gone beyond recall? There must, then, be an answer.
