ماذا ألمَّ بلمَّتي فأشابها
وخَضْبتُها فنضا البياضُ خضابَها
What befell my locks and turned them gray?
What ails my heart that it has grayed,
I dyed them, but whiteness stripped away their dye.
And I dyed it but the whiteness washed away its dye,
سَرَتِ الهُمُومُ الطَّارقاتُ فغادرت
بينَ الجوانح والحَشى أَوصا بَها
The cares that came by night crept in and left
Sorrows crept in at night and left
Their aches between my ribs and in my inward parts.
Between my chest and guts their bequests,
ما زالتِ العَبَراتُ جامدةً إلى
أنْ مسّها ألمُ الأسى فإذا بَها
The tears remained frozen until
My tears did not flow till the pain of grief
Sorrow's pain touched them—and suddenly, there they were.
Touched them, and lo! they burst forth and swayed,
قد ذُقُتُ فقدانَ الاحبّةُ بُرّهَةً
وصَرَمْتُ في أيدي الهَوى أَسْبابَها
I have tasted the loss of loved ones for a time,
I tasted for a while loss of loved ones
And severed their bonds in passion's grasp.
And struggled in the hands of passion - and snapped its ties,
عَتْبٌ على الأَيام أُظْهرُهُ ومَا
إعْتابُها لي أَن أَطَلْتُ عِتابَها
I voice my reproach against the days, but
I reproach the days openly but do not blame them
Prolonging my reproach brings me no amends from them.
That I prolonged reproaching them,
أَمَّا اْلخَطُوبُ الحادثاتُ فلنْ ترى
لي غفْلَةً عن أُهبّةٍ فأهابَها
As for calamities that arise, you will never find
As for shocking events, you’ll never see
Me heedless of preparedness, and thus afraid of them.
Me heedless of precautions, so I avoid their traps,
ترَكَتْني الحالاتُ في تصْريفها
سور النوائبِ ثالماً أَنيابَها
The changing turns of circumstance have left me
Circumstances left me, in their ups and downs,
A bulwark against calamities, blunting their fangs.
Biting the fingers of adversity with its canine teeth,
وأَنا الجليدُ فما فرِقْتُ لفُرْقةٍ
قبل اغْترابي قد زَجرْت غُرابَها
I am steadfast; I have never quailed at parting.
And I am forbearing, so before my estrangement
Before leaving home, I had already driven off its raven.
I never parted due to disunion - and deterred its crow,
أسفي على أَني تملَّيْتُ الصِّبا
وإخالُ نفْسي ما قضَت آرابَها
My regret is that I enjoyed youth to the full,
I regret that I enjoyed my youth
Yet I think my soul has not fulfilled its desires.
And let my soul have what it desired in its prime,
ولَطالما أَجْرَرتُها رُسُن الهوى
في اللَّهْو تمنَعْ في الحسابِ شبابَها
How often I let it trail the reins of passion
And for long I dragged it into the pits of passion
In revelry, it keeps its youth out of the reckoning.
To frolic - and avoid its reckoning in its youth,
ولقدْ شَهِدْتُ الشَّرْبَ بينَ دَسَاكرٍ
يُسْقُونَ من صافى الرَّحيق شَرابَها
I have joined drinking companions among country estates,
And I witnessed drinking in the taverns
Who were served their drink of pure wine.
Where they serve the pure wine’s draught,
وطَرَقْتُ صاحِبَةَ الْخِباء ودُونها
سُمْرُ القنا باتتْ تَحُفُّ قبابَها
And visited the lady of the tent by night, though before her
And I visited the mistress of the tents, and around her
Dusky lances spent the night surrounding her pavilions.
The bright stars of Canopus spent the night enveloping her pavilions,
وَلَقَد أَبيتُ اللَّيْلَ أَعْتَسفُ الفَلا
وأَجوبُ من ظْلْم الدُّجى جِلْبابَها
And indeed I spend the night crossing the trackless wilderness,
And many a night I wandered under the darkness of night's gloom,
And cleave its cloak of the night's deep darkness.
Feeling the night breeze blow through its dress,
وأَخُوضُ بالبيداءِ رَقراقَ الضُّحى
والشَّمْسُ حائِرَةٌ تمجُّ لُعَابَها
And wade through the forenoon's shimmer in the desert,
And I wade at dawn through the warbling of the first light
While the bewildered sun spits out its saliva.
As the sun wanders distraught, licking its lips,
وأُقرِّض الغُرَّ الأوابدَ مادحاً
صيدَ المُلوكِ وذاكراً أَحسابَها
And compose bright, enduring verses, praising
And I praise the sublime kings to the noble dynasties,
The proud kings and recounting their noble lineages.
And remember their great feats,
أفدي بني عُمَرَ بن نبْهان الأُلى
أُوتوا العُلى وتسربلوا أثوابَها
I would give my life for the sons of Umar ibn Nabhan, who
I ransom the family of Umar ibn Nabhan -
Were granted eminence and clothed themselves in its robes.
They attained the heights and put on its robes,
آلُ العَتيكِ الوارثين أَرُومَة ال
أزْدِ الكِرام صَميمَها ولبابَها
The house of al-Atik, heirs to the stock of the
The progeny of Atik who inherited the glory of generosity,
Noble Azd—its true core and finest essence.
Its core and essence,
الحاملون عن العَشيرة جُرمَها
والنَّاصِرون لها على ما نابَها
Who bear the clan's guilt on its behalf,
Who shoulder the burdens of their tribe,
And support it against whatever befalls it.
And support it in its trials,
والوالجون لدى الوغى غَمراتها
والفارجون إلى العُلى أَبوابَها
Who plunge into its depths amid the fray,
Who plunge into its deep waters during chaos,
And open the gates that lead to eminence.
And pave its way to the heights,
وهُم اللُّيوثُ لدى الكَريهَة أَوطنَت
بينَ الأعنَّة والأسنّة غابَها
They are the lions in battle, having made their home
They are the lions in the face of calamities,
In their thickets between reins and spearheads.
Who made their den between spearheads and sword blades,
وإذا العَشيرةُ عُرِّضت لمُلمّةٍ
يوماً كَفوها خَطْبَها وخطابَها
And if the clan is beset by a calamity
And if their tribe is exposed to adversity someday,
One day, they handle its ordeal and plead its case.
They prevent its misfortunes and blame,
وإذا تنُوب مصيبةٌ عجمتهمُ
كانوا أشداءَ القَناةِ صِلابها
And whenever a misfortune comes and tests them,
And when disaster strikes them they become
They prove strong of shaft, firm and unyielding.
The strongest to endure and the most resolute,
كَرمُوا وقد فُجعوا بفَقدِ كريمةٍ
لم يُبْلغُوا جَزَعَ النُّفوسِ مُصابَها
They bore themselves nobly, though bereaved of a noble woman;
They were generous even when grieved
They did not let her loss drive their souls to anguish.
By the loss of a precious pearl,
مَلكوا العزاءَ وقلَّما فجِعوا بما
يُنْسي الرّجال بِحيرَةٍ البابَها
They held fast to fortitude, and seldom had they suffered what
They controlled their anguish and rarely agonized
Makes men forget their wits in bewilderment.
Over what makes men forgetful in bewilderment,
نزَل الحمامُ على عقيلَّة قومها
واغتالها متَسَوِّراً مِحْرابَها
Death descended upon the cherished lady of her people,
An assassin descended upon the princess of her people
And slew her by stealth, scaling the wall of her sanctuary.
And killed her while she stood praying in her sanctuary,
والجْد يشْهَدُ انَّها شمْسُ العُلى
أَفلت وحلت بالعَراءِ حجابَها
And fortune attests that she is the sun of eminence:
And truly she was the sun of the sublime
She set, and undid her veil in the open waste.
Which disappeared and donned the dress of the ruin,
سَكنَتْ بأَخلاق المكارِم والحجى
بطنَ التُّرابِ ولم تُزل أَتْرابَها
With noble virtues and wisdom, she dwelt in
She settled with the traits of glory and decency
The belly of the earth, while her age-mates remain.
In the belly of dust but her kin still surround her tomb,
لا حوْلَ عمّا عاينتهُ وإنّما
يُرثي لها أَن فارقت أحبابَها
There is no escaping what I witnessed; only
I have no power over what I witnessed but
Her parting from her loved ones calls for pity.
I mourn for her that she left her loved ones,
كُفِيَت تصاريفَ الزّمانِ وباشرتُ
عند إلالهِ نعيمها وثوابَها
She was spared time's vicissitudes, and I experienced
The turns of fate sufficed me, and she attained
Her bliss and her reward in God's presence.
In the hands of God her bliss and reward.
Sol 6.1