يا رَيط هَل لي عِندَكُم نائِل
أَم لا فَإِنّي مِن غَدٍ راحِلُ
O tribe, is there a friend for me amongst you
Or not, for tomorrow I shall be departing
لا يَكُ ما مَنَّيتِنا باطِلاً
وَشَرُّ ما عيشَ بِهِ الباطِلُ
Never should our wishes be in vain
And how evil is the life of futility
أَفي لودّي فاِصرُمي أَو صِلي
أَو لِتلادي لَكمُ باذِلُ
Shall I sever ties or keep them connected
Or to my beloveds, how much shall I give
يا رَيط يا أُختَ بَني مالِكٍ
أَنتِ لِقَلبي شُغلٌ شاغِلُ
O tribe, O sister of the sons of Malik
You are in my heart an ever-present preoccupation
إِنَّ مِلاكَ الوَصلِ أَن تَفعَلي
ما قُلتِ إِنَّ المُوفيَ الفاعِلُ
To fulfill the promise of union you must do
What you said, for the faithful one is the doer
دومِي عَلى الوُدِّ الَّذي بَينَنا
لا يَقُلِ الهُجرَ لَنا قائِلُ
Remain constant in the love between us
Let no sayer of separation speak to us
بِوَحي لا أَو بنعم إِنَّما
مَطلُكِ هَذا خَبَلٌ خابِلُ
Not by revelation or blessing, but rather
This expectation of you is a delusion
أَو أَيئِسينا إِنَّ من دونِكُم
وَحشاً يَرى غرَّتَها الخاتِلُ
Or have you despaired, for besides you
Is a wilderness that the lost one wanders
فَإِنَّ في لا أَو نعم راحَةً
إِنّي لما اِستَودعتِني حامِلُ
For in no or yes there is comfort
Since I entrusted it to you, expectant
لَم يَبقَ من رَيطَةَ إِلا المُنى
عاجِلُها مستأخِراً آجِلُ
Of Rayta there remains only wishes
That soon or late shall be fulfilled
لَيتَ الَّذي أَضمَرتُ مِن حُبِّها
يَنحَلُّ أَو يَنقُلُه ناقِلُ
Would that this love I harbored for her
Would dissolve or be removed by a conveyor
كُلِّفها قَلبي وَعُلِّقتُها
وَلا يُرى مِن وُدِّها طائِلُ
I devoted my heart and was devoted to her
Yet no sign of her love can be perceived
يا أسمَ كوني حَكَماً بَينَنا
عَدلاً فَإِنَّ الحَكَمَ العادِلُ
O most cherished one, be the judge between us
With justice, for the just judge is best
مَن هوَ لا مُفشي الَّذي بَينَنا
يَوماً مِن الدَّهرِ وَلا باخِلُ
Who is this revealer amongst us
One day in life, neither miserly nor withholding
فَلم تُثِب أُختُ بَني مالِكٍ
وَلَم تَجُد لي بِالَّذي آمُلُ
So Rayta the sister of Malik's sons
Did not reward me as I had hoped
لا هيَ تَجزيني بِوُدّي لَها
وَلا امرؤٌ عَن ذِكرِها ذاهِلُ
Nor did any man forget to mention her
His tongue is sweet and his favors well-known
لِسانُها حُلوٌ وَمعروفُها
حَيثُ يَحُلُّ الأَعصَمُ العاقِلُ
Wherever the sensible wise man settles
O Rayta do you have one who is constant
يا رَيطَ هَل عِندَكُم دائِمٌ
إِنّي لمن واصلَني واصِلُ
For I am faithful to those who are faithful to me
How many blamed me, O Rayta, of companion
كَم لامَني يا رَيطَ مِن صاحِبٍ
فيك وَبَعضُ القَومِ لي قائِلُ
And some of the tribe spoke against me
I said to the critic, advising:
وَعاذِلٍ قُلتُ له ناصِحٍ
نَفسَكَ أرشد أَيُّها العاذِلُ
Guide your own soul first, O you who find fault
He said to me, how can you desire a man
فَقالَ لي كَيفَ تصابي امرئٍ
وَالشَّيبُ في مَفرِقِهِ شامِلُ
When grey hair covers his temples
If you had known Rayta intimately
رَيطَةُ لَو كُنتَ بِها خابِراً
آنِسَةٌ مجلِسُها آهِلُ
Her company's gathering would be lively
Like the light of al-Washsha none shot at her
مِثلُ نوارِ الوَحشِ لَم يَرمِها
رامٍ مِن الناسِ وَلا حابِلُ
Of men nor did any rope pull her
Like the fleeing Maha of the sands in confusion
مِثلُ مَهاةِ الرَّملِ في رَبرَبٍ
يَتبَعُها ذو جُدَّةٍ خاذِلُ
Pursued by the noble and glorious
A free woman whom the protector befriends
أَصيلَةٌ يألفُها ذو الحِجى
وَيَتَّقيها البَرَمُ الجاهِلُ
And the ignorant fool avoids
Every evening they have a visitor
في كُلِّ مُمسى منهم زائِرٌ
لا شَنأُ الوَجهِ وَلا عاطِلُ
No cheerless face nor inactive one
The half-blind Aṣram roams about her
يَعتَسِفُ الأَصرَمُ مِن دونِها
أَغبرَ مَرهوبَ الرَّدى ماحِلُ
More dusty, banned, and disgraced
What if Rayta eluded you
هَل أَنتَ إِن رَيطَةُ شَطَّت بِها
عَنكَ النَّوى مِن سَقَمٍ وائِلُ
And the settled love for her failed you
More desolate than Rayta I would become
أَقفرَ مِن رَيطَةَ جَنبا مِنّي
فالجِزعُ مِن مَكَّةَ فالساحِلُ
Then my passion lost after her absence
And all worldly joys she has
إلا رُسوماً قَد عَفا آيُها
مَعروفُها مُلتَبِدٌ ناحِلُ
Are exposed to their people and fleeting
No - by Him whom longingly goes to His house
كَأَنَّ دارَ الحَيِّ لَمّا خَلَت
غَربَل أَعلى تُربِها ناخِلُ
From every steep path, forbidden, descending
I have no inner knowledge of her
من نَسجِ ريحٍ درجَت فوقَها
جالَ عليها تُربُها الجائِلُ
Though her love has entered and filled me
Can her abode be reached if we come
بَينَ جَنوبٍ وَصَباً تَغتَدي
طاوَعَها ذو لَجبٍ هاطِلُ
Led by the guessers of secrets who roam
A white oryx you can see its elbow
كَأَنَّما الوَحشُ بِها خِلفَةً
بَعدَ الأَنيسِ النعَمُ الهامِلُ
As if a butcher is slaughtering and skinning it
O Rayta, O Rayta, have you not been told of us
وَقَد أراها وَبِها سامِرٌ
منهُم وَجُردُ الخَيلِ وَالجامِلُ
While the asker praises us
The neighbor, the confidante, the loyal
تَغَيَّرَت رَيطَةُ عَن عَهدِنا
وَغالَ وُدّي بَعدَها غائِلُ
Our favors and the other settling
If you ask about us, you'll be told leaders
وَكُلُّ دُنيا وَنَعيمٍ لَها
مُنكَشِفٌ عَن أَهلِهِ زائِلُ
Among whom are the sweet and the excellent
We prepare for the guests the fat of ostriches
لا وَالَّذي يَهوى إِلى بَيتِهِ
مِن كُلِّ فَجٍّ محرِمٌ ناحِلُ
For some come and some take
We are the Beni Shaddad, none can reproach them
ما ليَ مِن عِلمٍ بِها باطِنٍ
وَقَد بَراني حُبُّها الداخِلُ
Neither horseman nor foot soldier
The enemies warned each other of our onslaught
هَل يُبلِغَنّي دارَها إِن نأَت
أَغلَبُ خَطّارُ السُّرى ذائِلُ
Their horseman and their footman
Our horses in the valley are combed
ناجٍ تَرى المِرفَقَ عَن زَورِه
كَأَنَّما يَفتِلُه فاتِلُ
Like the Sa'alik and the emaciated Qana
We ready them if a group attacks us
يا رَيطَ يا رَيطَ أَلَم تُخبَري
عَنّا وَقَد يَحمِدُنا السائِلُ
Or war befalls us with its afflictions
In each assembled troop of its horsemen
وَالجارُ وَالمختَبِطُ المُعتَفي
مَعروفَنا وَالآخَرُ النازِلُ
Are warriors and heroes inclined
They race with the brave towards the fray
إِن تَسألي عَنّا يَقُل سادَةٌ
فيهِم حلومٌ وَندىً فاضِلُ
Their ambition honor which accepts all
Bent-necked, they challenge the battlefield
نُهينُ لِلضِّيفانِ شَحمَ الذُّرى
فَمِنهُمُ الوارِدُ وَالناهِلُ
Their meat emaciated like the Maghali
They emerge from Akdur's valley
نَحنُ بَنو الشَّدَّاخِ لَم يَعلُهم
حافٍ مِن الناسِ وَلا ناعِلُ
Driven by the rain to Wadi Qatta
With each elder and young champion
تَناذَرَ الأَعداءُ إِيقاعَنا
فارِسُهُم وَالآخرُ الرَّاجِلُ
The hero wards him off with courage
With his palms he irrigates the next morn the fray
خُيولُنا بالسَّهلِ مَشطونَةً
مِثلُ السَّعالي وَالقَنا الذابِلُ
The chest of the spearpoint and its worker
Most stunning is the warrior with spear thrice bent
نُعِدُّها إِن كادَنا مَعشَرٌ
أَو نزلت حَربٌ بِنا حائِلُ
With it the coats of mail are ripped and torn
في كُلِّ ملتَفّ لفرسانِها
مِنهم عَقيرٌ وَفَتىً مائِلُ
يَعدونَ بالأَبطالِ نَحوَ الوَغى
وَهَمُّهُنَّ الشَّرَفُ القابِلُ
عوجٌ عناجِيجُ تُباري الوَغى
مِثلُ المَغالي لَحمُها ذابِلُ
يَخرُجنَ من أَكدَرَ مُعصَوصِبٍ
وردَ القَطا يَحفِزُها الوابِلُ
بِكُلِّ كَهلٍ وَفَتىً نَجدَةٍ
يَصُدُّ عَنهُ البَطَلُ الباسِلُ
يُروي بكفيهِ غَداةَ الوَغى
صَدرَ سِنانِ الرُّمحِ وَالعامِلِ
أَروَعُ واري الزَّندِ ذو مِرَّةٍ
تَشقَى بِهِ المُتليَةُ البازِلُ
