بِذَاتِ الدُّخنِ أدوِرَةٌ بَوَالِ
مَصُونُ الدَّمعِ فِيهَا ذُو إنهمَالِ
With smoky ruins and abandoned dwellings
Where tears are guarded and sorrow concealed
دَيَارٌ بَعدَ سَاكِنِهَا عَفَتهَا
مُسَاجَلَةُ الجُنُوبُ مَعَ الشَّمَالِ
A home abandoned by its dwellers retains its honor
While south and north winds battle
ومَرُّ الرَّامِسَاتِ وكُلٌ جَونٍ
من الجَوزَاءِ مُنطَلِقَ العَزَالِى
And predawn songbirds depart
From the starry sky at dawn's first light
بِهَا مَن آيِهَا لَم يَبقَ إِلاَّ
رَمَادٌ مِثلُ كُحلِ العَينِ بَالِ
Of its vestiges remains
Only ashes like kohl on the eye's rim
وَسفعٌ كَالحَمَائِمِ خَالِدَاتٍ
مُنَاخَاتٍ ونُؤىٌ كَالهِلاَلِ
And a trace like the lasting marks of doves
On their nesting places and crescent dunes
دَيَارٌ عَافِيَاتٌ عُوِّضَت مِن
أوَانِسِ عِينِهَا خَيطَ الرِّئَالِ
A home compensated for its consoling friends
With threads of ephemeral visions
وأذيَالُ الرَّوَامِسِ عُوِّضَتهَا
مِن أذيَالٍب لِرَبَّاتِ الحِجَالِ
And the train of gazelles compensated
With the tails of lionesses on the prowl
دِيَارٌ بُعدَ أسمَاءَ اضمَحَلَّت
وأمسَ لَهُوُهَا رَنقَ الزُّلاَلِ
A home whose names have faded
And whose beauty has shed the adornment of freshness
عَرُوبٌ تَستِيكَ بِذِى غَرُوبٍ
يَحَاكِى لَونُهُ شَوكَ السَّيَالِ
Where the dusk resembles in its redness
The thorns of the siyaal
وَوَجهٍ يُخجِلُ القَمَرَينِ نُوراً
وفَرعٍ فَاحِمٍ وَحفٍ جَفَالِ
An Arab of arresting beauty
With a face whose light shames the two moons
فَمَا يَحكِى الغَزَالُ الجِيدَ مَنهَا
وعَينَيهَا ولاَ أُمُّ الغَزَالِ
And intense dark eyes and a delicate neck
That the most elegant gazelle cannot describe
فَدَع ذِكرَ الدِّيَارِ وذِكرَ أسمَا
وَيمِّم مَدحَ مَن حَازُوا المَعَالِى
So cease remembering homes and names
And praise those who have attained glory
هُمُ الأسيَادُ أقمَارُ الدَّيَاجِى
إِضَاضُ النَّاسِ في الأُزُمِ الطِّوَالِ
They are the luminous moons in dark nights
Bringing light when calamities befall people
وهُم في المَحلِ لِلأنَامِ غَيثٌ
وهُم تِرسُ المُلِمَّاتِ الثِّقَألِ
They are in times of distress rains for the people
And shields against overwhelming adversities
وهُم مَأوَى الأرَامِلِ واليَتَامَى
وهُم مُلقَى وَلِيَّاتِ الرِّحَالِ
They are the refuge of widows and orphans
And the goal of distant travelers
وهَم مَأوَى الجَنَاةِ فَمَا تَرَاهُم
عَنِ الجَانِينِ مَالُوا مِن مُمَالِ
They are the asylum of offenders, never
Turning away from those seeking respite
وَرَكبٌ فَوقَ أنضَاءٍ عِجَافٍ
بَرَاهَا النَّىَّ إدمَانُ التَّغَالِي
A troop of riders on starving camels
Whose emaciation betrays enduring hardship
تَرَاهَا في الحَنَادِسِ سَابِحَاتٍ
بِهُم لُجَّ الصَّفَا صِفِ والرِّمَالِ
You see them swimming in the sands
Joining the smooth expanse of dunes
فَمَا بَرِحَت تَجُوبُ البِيدَ حَتَّى
أنَا خُوهَأ كأَمثَالِ السَّعَالِى
They roamed the deserts ceaselessly
Until I feared that I would be one of the wretched
فَزُرهُم خَائِفاً تَأمَن وزُرهُم
لِفَقرٍ دَاهِمٍ تُسعَف بِمَالِ
Visit them apprehensively and you will be safe
When dire poverty befalls you, you will be aided
فَكَم عَوصَاءَ قَد حَلَّت وأعيَت
أتَتهُم فَأنثَنَت شَمسَ زَوَالِ
How often has their rope been cast to save
Those who lost their way and almost perished
عَلَوا أعصَارَ ذِى الأرضِينَ طُرًّا
كَمَا عَلَتِ الصُّوَى شُمُّ الجِبَالِ
They surmounted the storms of life
As mountain peaks rise above dwellings
فَكَم سَهِرُوا اللَّيَالِى بِالغَواني
وكَم بِالدَّرسِ قَد سَهِرُوا اللَّيَالِى
How often they passed nights reciting poetry
And nights studying and chanting verse
وكَم سَهِرُوا بِإنشَادِ القَوافي
وكَأسَاتٍ كَلَونِ دَمِ الغَزَالِ
How often they passed nights drinking wine
The color of gazelles' blood
وكَم بَيدَاءَ في المَشتَاةِ جَابُوا
لِتَر ئِيبِ الرِّمَامِ مِنَ الجِبَالِ
How often they roamed the arid plains
To hunt prey amidst the mountains
وكَم جَابُوا التَّنَائِفَ فَوقَ نُوقٍ
يَحَاكِى عَدوُهَا عَدوَ الرِّئَالِ
How often they traversed the meadows
On steeds racing like antelopes
وكَم ضَرَبُوا إِذَا الأُرَبَى أَلَمَّت
لِوَصلِ الرُّودِ أكبَادَ الجِمَالِ
How often when destiny pained
They joined to console the hearts of camels
غَدَت أموَالُهُم في النَّاسِ نَهباً
وَبَاعُوهَا بِأعرَاضٍ صِقَالِ
Their wealth became the spoils of people
As they sold it for their lost honor
وكَم أحيَوا وكَم قَتَلُوا نُفُوساً
بِأشعَارٍ كَمَنثُورِ اللاَّلِى
How many lives they sustained, how many they took
With words scattered like gemstones
عَلَى الهَادِى صَلاَةٌ مَا تَسَامَوا
إِلَى دَركِ المُهَمَّاتِ العَوَالِى
Blessings upon the Guide who never ceased
Pursuing the most lofty aspirations
