ألا بَكَرَت مَيِّ بغيرِ سَفاهَةٍ

تعاتِبُ والمودودُ يَنفَعُه العَزرُ

Oh, the wine was not frivolously poured,

Reproaching while the beloved benefits from blaming.

فَقُلتُ لها إنّي بحلمِكِ واثِقٌ

وغنَّ سوى ما تأمرينَ هُوَ الآمرُ

So I said to her: I am confident in your forbearance,

And anything other than your command is the commander.

وتَرعِيَّةٍ لم يَدرِ ما الخمرُ قبلَنا

سقيناهُ حتى صارَ قيداً له السُّكرُ

And a ward whom wine had not known before us-

We made him drink until drunkenness became his shackle.

فثمَّ كفيناهُ البَدادَ ولم نكُن

لننكدَهُ عما يَضِنُّ به الصَّدرُ

Then we stopped supplying him with wine, for we were not

Going to burden him with what pains the breast.

وَظلَّ الى أن باتَ عندي بنعمةٍ

الى أن غدا لا لومَ أهلي ولا خَمرُ

He stayed with me in comfort until he slept,

Until morning came with no blame from my family or wine.

غطاريفُ يَدعون الكريمَ أخاهم

وإن لم يكن فيهم له مِنهُمُ صَهرُ

Noblemen who call the generous man their brother

Even if he has no marital bond to connect them.

وتغلِبُ حَيَّ وَرَّثَ المجدَ وائلاً

مَراسِلُها حُشدٌ مرافِدُها غُزرُ

Life triumphs and bequeaths glory to Wael

Whose lineage has flowing tributaries.

دَعوا النَمرَ لا تثنوا عليهم خِنايَةً

فقد أحسنت فيما خلا بينَنا النَمرُ

Leave the leopard be! Do not denounce him slanderously

For the leopard has been good in what was between us.

وكنا كما كانوان إذا نَزَلت بهم

من المُعضلاتِ لا عَوانٌ ولا بِكرُ

We were as the two tribes were whenever

Hardships that had no helpers or camels befell them.

وكنا إذا نابَت من الدَّهرِ نوبةٌ

كفتها الهوادي من بني جُشَمَ الزهرُ

And we were, whenever fate brought about a calamity

The valleys of Bani Jusham al-Zahar held it back.

ألم تَرَ همّاماً فتى تغلِب الذي

تعاورُه الأيامُ واضطَرَّهُ الدَّهرُ

Did you not see Hammaam, the young knight of Taghlib

Whom the days contend with and time has constrained,

بنى بَينَ حَيَّي وائِلٍ بصنيعةٍ

فلا تغلِبٌ لامَت أخاها ولا بَكرُ

Who built between the two tribes of Wael with a feat

So glorious that Taghlib acknowledged its brother and Bakr submitted?

لَعَمرُ أبي أمِّ الأراقم إنها

لَغرّاءُ مذكارٌ تجنُّبُها النَّززُ

By the life of Umm Al-Arajam's father, it

Is unassailable, protected, avoiding weak points!

ولو ثَوَّبَ الدّاعي بشَيبانَ زَعزَعَت

رماحٌ وجَاشَت من جوانِبِها القِدرُ

And if the caller to war roused it with grey hair,

Spears would clash and cauldrons bubble over from its sides.

لَجِيميةٌ خرساءُ أو ثعلبيَّةٌ

يُحشنَ حُمَيَّاها المساعِرةُ الزَهرُ

It is an invincible, speechless she-camel, or a skilled doe

Whose guardians are the bright-eyed Zahir.

هُمُ يَومَ ذي قارٍ اناخوا وجالَدوا

كتائبَ كسرى بعد ما وَقَد الجَمرُ

They on the day of Dhi Qar lined up and battled

The regiments of Chosroes after the live coals burned.

وظلت بناتُ الحُصنِ بالمِسكِ تطّلي

اليهم وقد طابَت بأيدِيهِمُ الخَمرُ

The fortress maidens with musk continued perfuming themselves

For them, and in their hands the wine was refined.