لِمَن الحدوج علَت على أَقتابها
وَحدا بها الحادونَ خلفَ رِكابِها
For whom did the curves grow on their stalks,
And the men sharpened them behind their backs,
سارَت بأمثالِ البدورِ حواصن
غيد زَكت بِالفجر في أحسابِها
They travelled like the full moons in their prime,
Rising beautifully at dawn in their reckoning,
أَتبعتُهم نظري غَداةَ تَحمّلوا
وَاليعمُلات تخوضُ لجّ سَرابها
I followed them with my gaze when they bore
The impassable mirages plowing their illusion,
ما بالُ طاوية الحَشا ما واصَلت
في الحبّ أَسبابي إِلى أَسبابِها
Why is the curving bow not reaching
My love to its love through its cause,
يا لَيتَ شعري ما أَرادَ تهاوما
عنوان ما أَبدت غداةَ عتابها
Oh, how I wish I knew what Tahwim meant
By the title she gave the day after her rebuke,
أَسفاً عَلى أَسفٍ على تقبيل ذا
ك الطلع ممّا كانَ تحتَ نقابِها
Regrets upon regrets for kissing the one
Whose buds were under her veil,
نارُ الكآبةِ يستلذّ عذابها
قلقٌ وَلم يَسأم أَليم عذابها
The fire of sadness finds pleasure in its torment,
Restless and unwearied of its painful torment,
شَمسٌ إِذا سَفَرت تلألأ وَجهها
بِالنورِ بينَ خِيامِها وقبابِها
A sun that sparkles and brightens her face
With light amidst her tents and dwellings when she travels
وَلَها ثناياتٌ لطاف المتنِ كال
أَغصانِ خير مِن عنّابها
And she has gentle, smooth curves like
The branches, better than her imploring,
وَلَقد أَغار على محاسنِ حُسنها
إِن صافَحته بِحليها وثيابِها
And he was jealous of the beauty of her beauty
If she greeted him with her jewellery and clothes,
وَأَغار مِن مِسواكها في الرشف إن
عاينتهُ مترشّفاً لرضابها
And he was jealous of her toothbrush in the morning if
He saw her holding it to brush her teeth,
ما لى أبيدُ العمرَ بين معاشري
أزري بها النقصان في أَلبابِها
Why should I spend my life among kinsmen
Who bring me down in their minds,
لَم تسعَ سعياً قطّ طول حياتها
إلّا لكدش طعامِها وَشرابِها
She never sought, throughout her life,
Except to get her food and drink,
عَميت عنِ الآداب حتّى أَصبَحت
مَمنوعةً في ذاكَ عن آدابِها
She was blind to manners until she became
Forbidden, in that, from manners,
وَرواحل تنفي اللغاب إِذا حدت
فَيطيرُ مثل الطرسِ فيض لغابها
And rides that drive away boredom when they pass,
So it flies like an eagle in the expanse of its boredom,
طَوت المسافة في السرى حتّى اِنطوت
مِن طولِ قطع عمارِها وخرابها
It crossed vast distances until it folded
From the length of the ruin and construction of her buildings,
صلنا نجوبُ بِها النقا وتهزّنا
فرح منَ الرجوى على أَصلابها
We arrived, roaming it, crossing the plains, shaken
With joy at the hope on its backs,
متوجّهين إِلى المتوّج حمير
شمسِ المفاخرِ بدرها وشهابها
Heading towards Himyar, the crowned one,
The sun of glories, its full moons and comets,
ملك تسيحُ هباتهُ للوفدِ كال
أَمطارِ تهطلُ مِن خلالِ سحابها
A king whose gifts pour unto the delegates like
The rains falling through the midst of their clouds,
أَموالُه لا تستقرّ كأنّما
فيها دَعا للبينِ صوتُ غرابِها
His wealth does not settle, as if
Among them he called out to separation in its cawing,
عَرَفَ الصنائعَ فاِصطَفى مَحمودها
ذُخراً وَأَعرض عن صلاتِ مغابها
He knew the crafts, so he chose their praiseworthiness
As a treasure, and turned away from the prayers of its caves,
خَطَبته أَبكارُ النساءِ لأنّها
وجدتهُ أَولى الخلقِ من خطّابها
The virgins of women proposed to him, because
They found him the most worthy of people for their courting,
وَكذاك جردُ الخيلِ تعلم أنّه
أَولى جميعِ الناس من ركّابها
And likewise the horses know that he
Is the most worthy of all people for riding them,
وَإِذا الملوكُ رأَته يوماً طأطأت
في دستهِ برؤوسِها وَرقابها
And when the kings see him one day, they bow
Before him with their heads and necks,
يا خيرَ مَن وَجدت به زيافة
محفوفة بِجلالها وَقرابِها
O best one I found blessedness in him
Enveloped in its majesty and kin,
ما راية للمجدِ لاحت مرّة
إِلّا وَأَنت مِن الورى أَولى بها
The banner of glory never shone once
Unless you were the worthiest of it amongst mankind,
لولاك ما الدنيا حَلَت يوماً ولا
عَطفت بدرّتها على أَصحابِها
Were it not for you, the world would not have settled one day,
Nor cast its pearls upon its companions,
