أَمِن دِمَنٍ بِشاجِنَةِ الحَجونِ
عَفَت مِنها المَعارِفُ مُنذُ حينِ
From the ruins of Demen with lofty walls
Knowledge kept away long ago,
وَضَنَّت بِالكَلامِ وَلَم تَكَلَّم
بَكَيتَ وَكَيفَ تَبكي لِلضَنينِ
She was silent in speech and did not talk,
You wept - how can you weep for someone stoic?
وَنَدّى الماءُ جَفنَ العَينِ حَتّى
تَرَقرَقَ ثُمَّ فاضَ مِنَ الجُفونِ
Tears wet the eye until it trickled,
Then overflowed from the eyelids,
كَما هَمَلت وَسالَ مِنَ الأَواتي
دُموعُ النِكسِ مِن وَشَلٍ مَعينِ
As if it weakened and flowed from
The tears of affliction from a flowing spring.
مَنازِلُ ما تَرى الأَنصابَ فيها
وَلا حُفَرَ المُبَلّي لِلمَنونِ
Dwellings where you see no remains
Nor graves dug for the departed,
وَلا أَثَرَ الدَوارِ وَلا المَآلي
وَلَكِن قَد تَرى أُرَبَ الحَصونِ
No traces of homes, or places
But you may see the pens of fortresses.
عَفَت إِلّا أَياصِرَ أَو نُئِيّاً
مَحافِرُها كَأَسرِيَةِ الإِضينِ
They disappeared except for wall bases
Or low areas, their digging like the burrows of jerboas,
وَأَخرَجَ أُمُّهُ لِسَواسِ سَلمى
لِمَعفورِ الضَرا ضَرِمِ الجَنينِ
And his mother brought out Salma’s foal
For the curing of the injured, the fetus of the placenta,
تَنَكَّرَ رَسمُها إِلّا بَقايا
جَلا عَنها جَدا هَمِعٍ هَتونِ
Its features changed except for remnants
Far from the residue of a negligent, straying youth,
كَآثارِ النَؤورِ لَهُ دُخانٌ
أُسِفَّ مُتونَ مُقتَرَحٍ رَصينِ
Like the traces of mouflon, for it there is smoke
كَأَنَّ حُطامَ قَيضِ الصَيفِ فيهِ
فَراشُ صَميمِ أَقحافِ الشُؤونِ
That darkened the bases of a steady hill,
As if the wreckage of the summer hut in it
وَقَفتُ بِها فَهيضَ جَوىً أَطاعَت
لَهُ زَفَراتُ مُغتَرِبٍ حَزينِ
Was the bedding of the essence of misfortunes.
أَشَتَّ بِأَهلِهِ صَرفُ اللَيالي
فَأَضحى وَهوَ مُنجَذِمُ القَرينِ
I stood in it and it roared obediently
To the sighs of a homesick, sad soul,
وَيَومِ ظَعائِنٍ عَلَّلتُ نَفسي
بِهِنَّ عَلى مُواشِكَةٍ ذَقونِ
The nights went by and he longed for his family
And thus he became broken-hearted.
مُبَرِّزَةٍ إِذا أَيدي المَطايا
سَدَت بِقَباضَةٍ وَثَنَت بِلينِ
And on a day of misfortunes I blamed myself
For them, almost reaching the peak of misery,
ظَعائِنُ كُنتُ أَعهَدُهُنَّ قِدماً
وَهُنَّ لِذي الأَمانَةِ غَيرُ خونِ
Stretching out when the hands of calamities
Clasped with a fist and bent with gentleness,
حِسانُ مَواضِعالنُقَبِ الأَعالي
غِراثُ الوُشحِ صامِتَةُ البُرينِ
Misfortunes that I knew long ago
And they to the trustee are not treasonous,
طِوالُ مَشَكِّ أَعناقِ الهَوادي
نَواعِمُ بَينَ أَبكارٍ وَعونِ
The best parts of the high passes
Scrubs of the plateau, silent places of open spaces,
يُسارِقنَ الكَلامَ إِلّيَّ لَمّا
حَسِسنَ حِذارَ مُرتَقِبٍ شَفونِ
Tall, with prominent necks over valleys
كَأَنَّ الخَيمَ هاجَ إِلَيَّ مِنهُ
نِعاجُ صَرائِمٍ حُمَّ القُرونِ
Tender, between virgins and helpers,
They whisper to me when
عَقائِلُ رَملَةٍ نازَعنَ مِنها
دُفوقَ أَقاحِ مَعهود وَدينِ
They sense the caution of a watchful eyelid,
خِلاطَ أَكُلِّ شُقّارى اِحتَشَتها
مُلَمَّعَةُ الشَوى بيضُ البُطونِ
As if the tents were aroused towards me
A flock of grazing sheep, blunt-horned,
فَلَمّا أَن رَأَينَ القَولَ حالَت
حَواجِزُ دونَ مُعجِبِهِ وَدوني
Young female onagers took from it
The leading mares of promised and obligated herds,
نَقَبنَ وَصاوِصاً حَذَرَ الغَيارى
إِلَيَّ مِنَ الهَوادِجِ لِلعُيونِ
A mixture of partridges gathered together,
Their bellies glistening white from being roasted,
نَطَقنَ بِحاجَةٍ وَطَوَينَ أُخرى
كَطَيِّ كَرائِمِ البَزِّ المَصونِ
So when they saw speech was difficult
Barriers lay between the admirer and me,
بِمُقتَنَصِ الهَوى وَصَّلنَ مِنهُ
مَعاتِبَ نَقَّبَت قَصَبَ الوَتينِ
They crept whispering, cautiously from the passions
To me from the pits for the eyes,
بِذي ذِئبٍ يَنوسُ بِجانِبَيهِ
عَثاكِلُ مِن أَكاليلِ العُهودِ
They spoke a need and folded another
Like folding precious fine silk,
أَحَمِّ سَوادِ أَعلى اللَونِ مِنهُ
كَلَونِ سَراةِ ثُعبانِ العَرينِ
With the snatching of passion they connected from it
Reproaches that probed the joints of the sugarcane,
تُخيِّرَ مِن سَرارَةِ أَثلِ حَجرٍ
وَلاحَكَ بَينَهُ نَحتُ القُيونِ
With one whose wolf creeps at his sides
Relics of pacts,
تَقولُ لِيَ المَليحَةُ أُمُّ جَهمٍ
وَقَد يُرعى لِذي الشَفَقِ المَتينِ
Darker in color than it
Like the color of the serpent of the lair,
كَأَنَّكَ لا تَرى أَهلاً وَمالاً
سِوى وَجناءَ جائِلَة الوَضينِ
It was chosen from the essence of a stone
And engraved between it was sculpture,
وَلَو أَنّي أَشاءُ كَنَنتُ جِسمي
إِلى بَيضاءَ واضِحَةِ الجَبينِ
The beautiful one, mother of Jahm says to me
While the one with compassion can be pastured:
إِذا قامَت تَأَوَّدَ مُسبَكِرٌّ
مِنَ القُضبانِ في فَنَنٍ كَنينِ
Do you not see people and money
Other than the prize of the owner of the refuge?
وَلَكِنّي أَسيرُ العَنسَ يَدمى
أَظَلّاها وَتَركَعُ في الحُزونِ
If I wanted I could make my body
To an open, bright-faced white one,
يَظَلُّ يَجولُ فَوقَ الحاذِ مِنها
بِآيِلِ بَولِها قِطَعُ الجَنينِ
If she stands the drunk rises
From the bars in seductions, moaning,
تَسُدُّ بِمَضرَحِيِّ اللَونِ جَثلٍ
خَوايَةَ فَرجِ مِقلاتٍ دَهينِ
But I am a captive of ugliness that pains me
Its shadows cover me and kneel in sorrows,
كَعُثكولِ الصَفِيِّ زَهاهُ هُلبٌ
بِهِ عَبسُ المَصايِفِ كَالقُرونِ
It remains circling above the edge of it
With its urine that cuts the fetus,
تُمِرُّ عَلى الوِراكِ إِذا المَطايا
تَقايَسنَ النِجادَ مِنَ الوَجينِ
My misshapen, discolored thighs cover
The opening of the vulva of a dumpy, stocky woman,
خَريعَ النَعوِ مُضطَرِبَ النَواحي
كَأَخلاقِ الغَريفَةِ ذا غُضونِ
Like the foreskin of the uncircumcised, its prepuce
With which the summers frowned like horns,
نَزَت شُعبُ النَسا مِنها الأَعالي
بِجانِبِ صَفحِ مِطحرَةٍ زَبونِ
She passes by the couch when the hands
Measure the softness of the pillows,
تَشُقُّ مُغمِّضاتِ اللَيلِ عَنها
إِذا طَرَقَت بِمِرداسٍ رَعونِ
Her left cheek hits it
When she tastes the power of a solid fist,
يُلاطِمُ أَيسَرُ الخَدَّينِ مِنها
إِذا ذَقِنَت قُوى مَرَسٍ مَتينِ
Like the gullet of a cat, bitter aloe passes through it
Like the passing of the easily sliding smooth,
كَحُلقومِ القَطاةِ أُمِرَّ شَزراً
كَإِمرارِ المُحَدرَجِ ذي الأُسونِ
This and that - if she is confined a little
She justifies it with the blackened palms,
كَذا وَكَلا إِذا حُبِسَت قَليلاً
تَعَلُّلُها بِمُسوَدِّ الدَرينِ
Her hands built up to a support
Like the tower of the insane,
مُضَبَّرَةُ القَرى بُنِيَت يَداها
إِلى سَنَدٍ كَبُرجِ المَنجَنونِ
Little conflict makes her forearms
Avoid her like the whorls of a spindle,
قَليلُ العَراكِ يَهجُرُ مِرفَقاها
خَليفَ رَحىً كَفُرزومِ القُيونِ
As if after the people walked five leagues
I check the description, it shines with minarets,
كَأَنّي بَعدَ سَيرِ القَومِ خَمساً
أَحَذُّ النَعتِ يَلمَعُ بِالمَنينِ
On a plain with the daughters of Qayn
Horses race the suspicions of beginnings,
عَلى بَيدانَةٍ بِبَناتِ قَينٍ
تَسوفُ صِلالَ مُبتَدٍّ ظَنونِ
Some lead a mare and others lead
Light-stepped with deep eyes,
تُعارِضُ رَعلَةً وَتَقودُ أُخرى
خِفافَ الوَطءِ غائِرَةَ العُيونِ
Tender, accompanying each other
With necks like the sails of ships,
نَواعِجَ يَغتَلينَ مُواكِباتٍ
بِأَعناقٍ كَأَشرِعَةِ السَفينِ
One mounts the back of the camel again and again
Like the back of an untiring camel,
تُراكِلُ عَربَسيسَ المَتنِ مَرتاً
كَظَهرِ السَيحِ مُطَّرِدَ المُتونِ
You see their lights gathered
On the balconies like dear friends,
تَرى أَصواءَهُ مُتجاوِراتٍ
عَلى الأَشرافِ كَالرُفَقِ العِزينِ
With prominent nostrils the wind moans in it
The moan of longing in an old abode,
بِمُنخَرِقٍ تَحِنُّ الريحُ فيهِ
حَنينَ الجُلبِ في البَلَدِ السَنينِ
Its raven remains calling, its straying
A rebel against the hostility of the malicious wolf,
يَظَلُّ غُرابُها ضَرِماً شَذاهُ
شَجٍ بِخُصومَةِ الذِئبِ الشَنونِ
On Khuwla the mirage floats in it
So the thirsty one sees it from afar,
عَلى حُوَلاءَ يَطفو السُخدُ فيها
فَراها الشَيذُمانُ عَنِ الجَنينِ
And a band I sent to the remains
Scouts like the nature of eyelids,
وَرَكبٍ قَد بَعَثتُ إِلى رَذايا
طَلائِحَ مِثلِ أَخلاقِ الجُفونِ
Fearing that sleep might show them
In their intoxication all delusions,
مَخافَةَ أَن يَرينَ النَومُ فيهِم
بِسُكرِ سِناتِهِم كُلَّ الرُيونِ
So they got up tearing apart nights
That firmly attached with its mists after eyes,
فَقاموا يَنقُضونَ كَرى لَيالٍ
تَمَكَّنَ بِالطُلى بَعدَ العُيونِ
And the difficulty of the stay, I extracted from it
With my record a narration of a deep-rooted bowing one,
وَشَحواءِ المَقامِ بَلَلتُ مِنها
بِسَجلٍ بَطنَ مُطَّرِقٍ دَفينِ
As if the steps of the moonlit night in it
Were the notes of its racing she-camels,
كَأَنَّ قَوادِمَ القُمرِيِّ فيهِ
عَلى رَجَوَي مَراكِضِها الأُجونِ
Necklaces that Yathrib excelled in
After Yathrib an excellent one of the valleys,
سَلاجِمُ يَثرِبَ اللاتي عَلَتها
بِيَثرِبَ كَبرَةٌ بَعدَ الجُرونِ
I surpassed its flock so the heads overflowed
Parts between muddy and clear,
سَبَقتُ بِوِردِها فَرّاطَ سربٍ
شَرائِجَ بَينَ كُدرِيَّ وَجوني
You see the palates of its vanguard
Glistening like pottery,
تَرى لِحُلوق جِلَّتِها أَداوى
مُلَمَّعَةُ كَتَلميعِ الكُرينِ
For every medicine of it there are pouches
And a throat joined to a clay flask,
لِكُلِّ إِداوَةٍ مِنها نِياطٌ
وَحُلقومٌ أُضيفَ إِلى وَتينِ
Ringdoves take the forest as a courtyard
When they call each other to the rain pool,
حَوائِمُ يَتَّخِذنَ الغِبَّ رِفهاً
إِذا اِقلَولَينَ لِلقَرَبِ البَطينِ
With wings they pass through like sieves
And necks calling to other than nests,
بِأَجنِحَةٍ يَمُرنَ بِهِنَّ حُردٍ
وَأَعناقٍ حُنينَ لِغَيرِ أَونِ
Wild pigeons approached their chicks
Young ones with yellow bellies,
قَطا قَرَبٍ تَرَوَّحَ عَن فِراخٍ
نَواهِضَ بِالفَلا صُفرِ البُطونِ
As if their skin when it molts
Were the comforts of summer in the fleeing of ostriches,
كَأَنَّ جُلودَهُنَّ إِذا اِزلَغَبَّت
أَفاني الصَيفِ في حُردِ المُتونِ
So they preferred me, their guidance and obedience in confusion
With the similarities of appearances and plates.
فَفَضَّلَني هُدايَ وَتِهنَ حَيرى
بِمُشتَبِهِ الظَواهِرِ وَالصُحونِ
