إِنّي صَرَمتُ مِنَ الصَبا آرابي
وَسَلَوتُ بَعدَ تَعِلَّةٍ وَتَصابي
In my youth I was thin and slender,
After sickness and emaciation.
أَزمانَ كُنتُ إِذا سَمِعتُ حَمامَةً
هَدَلَت بَكَيتُ لِشائِقِ الأَطرابِ
Whenever I heard a dove cooing,
I would weep, longing for past pleasures.
بَيتٌ بَجيحٌ في قُماقِمِ طَيِّئٍ
بَخٍّ لِذَلِكَ عِزُّ بَيتٍ رابي
A rude house amidst the sandy hills of Tayy',
Unfit for such noble people.
بَيتٌ سَماعَةُ وَالأَمينُ عِمادُهُ
وَالأَثرَمانِ وَفارِسُ الهَلّابِ
It was frequented by Samā'ah and al-Amīn was its pillar,
And al-Athram and the horseman of shouts.
عَمّي الَّذي صَبَحَ الجَلائِبَ غُدوَةً
في نَهرَوانَ بِجفَلٍ مِطنابِ
My uncle who at dawn unsheathed the swords
At Nahrawān with a sharpened blade.
وَأَبو الفَوارِسِ مُحتَبٍ بِفِنائِهِ
نَفرُ النَفيرِ وَمَوئِلُ الهُرّابِ
And the father of horsemen, honored in his domain,
Commander of commanders, and refuge of fugitives.
فَهُناكَ إِن تَسأَل تَجِدهُم والِدي
وَهُمُ سَناءُ عَشيرَتي وَنِصابي
There you would find, if you asked, my parents,
The glory and pillars of my tribe.
يَهدي أَوائِلَها كَأَنَّ لِواءَهُ
لَمّا اِستَمَرَّ بِهِ جَناحُ عُقابِ
Its notables lead like an eagle spreading its wings
When it soared mightily into the sky.
وَعَلا مُسَيلِمَةَ الكَذوبَ بِضَربَةٍ
أَوهَت مَفارِقَ هامَةِ الكَذّابِ
And it destroyed the liar Musaylimah with one blow,
Which stunned the thick skulls of the liars.
وَعَلا سَجاجاً مِثلَها فَتَجَدَّلَت
ضَرباً بِكُلِّ مُهَنَّدٍ قَضّابِ
And it rose against Sajāh likewise and he recoiled,
Striking with every seasoned warrior and archer.
يَومَ البُطاحِ وَطَيِّئٌ تَردي بِها
جُردُ المُتونِ لَواحِقُ الأَقرابِ
On the day of al-Buṭāḥ when Tayy' plunged into battle,
The steeds leapt forth, kinship forgotten.
يَصهَلنَ لِلنَظَرِ البَعيدِ كَأَنَّها
عِقبانُ يَومِ دُجُنَّةٍ وَضَبابِ
They seemed like eagles on a cloudy day,
When the gloom is but shifting mirage.
بَل أَيُّها الرَجُلُ المُفاخِرُ طَيِّئاً
أَعزَبتَ لُبَّكَ أَيَّما إِعزابِ
But you, O man boasting of Tayy'!
Have you not erred in your reckoning?
أَنَّ العَرارَةَ وَالنُبوحَ لِطَيِّئٍ
وَالعِزَّ عِندَ تَكامُلِ الأَحسابِ
Verily valor and excellence belong to Tayy'
When the accounts are made full and complete.
