أَلا عَلِّلاني والمُعَلِّلُ أَروَحُ

وَيَنطِقُ ما شاءَ اللِسانُ المُسَرَّحُ

Oh companions, don't blame me, for my spirit is free

Come, distract me with drink, for distraction brings rest, and the unleashed tongue speaks whatever it wills

And my eloquent tongue speaks whatever it wants

With a basin so vast that if a strong he-camel of the Bukhti breed fell into it, he would remain swimming in its depth

بإجَّانَةٍ لَو أَنَّها خَرَّ بازِلٌ

مِن البُختِ فيها ظَلَّ للشِّقِّ يَسبَحُ

With a beautiful maid, if only she would come down

And a goblet gliding upon the surface of pure wine, passing to us with an auspicious turn, then departing

Fortune's shadow would hover over her splendor and shine

I raised my hand with it, and a noble one drank with me, bright-faced like the blade of a Hindi sword, long and tall

وَقَاقُزَّةٍ تَجري عَلى مَتنِ صَفوَةٍ

تَمُرُّ لَنا مَرّاً سَنيحاً وَتَبرَحُ

A gazelle running on the back of a noble steed

When he sees a slip from me, he does not broadcast it; and when he sees truth in my character, he rejoices

Passing by gently, walking proudly on her way

Are you leaving early in the morning, or departing in the evening? Perhaps delaying until tomorrow brings more rest

رَفَعتُ بِها كَفّي وَنادَمَني بِها

أَغَرُّ كَصَدرِ الهُندوانّي شَرمَحُ

I raised my hands praising her, and she reproached me

Perhaps that which you sought with patience will come to you, while the matter you feared withdraws

More arrogant than an Indian with braids in her hair

For Time has a share in a man's family and his ancestral wealth, like the division of meat, or even more severe

مَتى يَرَ مِنّي نَبوَةً لا يُشِد بِها

وَما يَرَ مِن أَخلاقي الصِدقَ يَفرَحُ

If only she saw in me a hint of nobility

And life is beloved to man as long as it lasts, even if he suffers in living and meets with ugliness

And the honesty in my character brought her joy

The world and the hope of its life deceive them; truly, the world is a deception that brings grief

أَغادٍ غُدوّاً أَنتَ أَم مُتَرَوَّحُ

لَعَلَّ الأَنى حَتّى غَدٍ هوَ أَروَحُ

Are you coming tomorrow morning or just teasing?

And the latest thing is what sustains you, while that which is ancient you forget, even if it used to bring joy

Perhaps until tomorrow what I hope for will come true

And a day of the Dog Star, whose gazelles remain sheltering in the trunk of the thorn trees, not moving away

لَعَلَّ الَّذي حاوَلتَهُ في تَئيَّةٍ

يواتيكَ والأَمرَ الَّذي خِفتَ يَنزَحُ

What you've attempted covertly may come openly

Intense in blaze, the midday heat scorching, its wind is a fiercer fire than its sun when it burns

And what you fear will disappear and trouble you no more

It stood high until the shadow shrank, after it had been long, until it almost disappeared into the earth

وَلِلدَّهرِ في أَهلِ الفَتى وتِلادِهِ

نَصيبٌ كَقَسمِ اللَحمِ أَو هوَ أَبرَحُ

Fate apportions to the youth and his peers

Amidst the groaning of mounts, I said to my companions—though they had not dismounted—"You have reached the cool hour, so ride on"

A share like dividing meat - or even more

So they departed quickly, then reached evening, then traveled by night; how far is their evening stop from where they reached morning!

وَحِبَّ إِلى الإِنسانِ ما طالَ عُمرَهُ

وإِن كانَ يُشقى في الحَياةِ وَيُقبَحُ

Man loves to live long even if he suffers

And a desert wasteland where soft sheets seem to flap over it with the sun—nay, even before it, shimmering

And life seems ugly and unpleasant to him

At a time when people are praised for their night journey, and kindness appears from the morning most clearly

تَغُرُّهُم الدُنيا وَتأَميلُ عيشها

أَلا إِنَّما الدُنيا غُرورٌ مُتَرِّحُ

The world tempts them and the pleasures of life entice them

It banished birds and humans from it, so there is seen no figure within it, nor any winged bird

But know the world is an illusion that will not last

I crossed it with a she-camel prone to miscarriage, whose fetus becomes clots of blood in her urine when she conceives

وآخِرُ ما شيءٍ يَعولُكَ والَّذي

تَقادَمَ تَنساهُ وَإِن كانَ يُفرِحُ

In the end, what you rely on is what you forget

Her forelegs are like the hands of a hired wailing woman, jealous over her husband, so she stands wailing

Even if it once brought you joy

Her hands offer generously what her tears held back upon him, so at times she cries out and screams

وَيَومٍ مِنَ الشِعري تَظَلُّ ظِباؤُهُ

بِسوقِ العِضاهِ عوَّذاً ما تَبَرَّحُ

And a day when the hot wind rages in the market

She has the eyes of a jealous woman; a noble son-in-law was made available to her husband, a worthy match

Stirring up dust, it does not calm

So when the news came to her of what he became involved in with her partner, she almost barked from passion

شَديدِ اللَظى حامي الوَديقَةِ ريحُهُ

أَشَدُّ لَظىً مِن شَمسِهِ حينَ يَصمَحُ

Severe in heat, guarding the shelter, its gusts

So she stood up, shrinking from baseness, possessing spirit, having status among her people and established honor

More severe in heat than the sun at its zenith

Her neighbors try to calm her, while her heart is rising, and her eyes look most intently towards evil

تَنَصَّبَ حَتّى قَلَّصَ الظِلُّ بَعدَما

تَطاوَلَ حَتّى كادَ في الأَرضِ يَمصَحُ

It rose until the shade shrank after spreading

Leave this aside; but do you see the light of a lightning flash, for which I sat watching at the end of the night, glimmering?

Until it nearly covered the earth completely

It illuminates a mass of clouds looking as if they are mountains topped with snow, or even brighter white

أَزيزَ المَطايا ثُمَ قُلتُ لِصُحبَتي

وَلَم يَنزِلوا أَبرَدتُمُ فتَرَوَّحوا

The buzz of riding camels, so I said to my friends

When the East Wind met it, it rumbled with it, and it cast down its chest, its spouts pouring forth

"It's getting cold, get some fresh air," and they left

Its peaks are tall in the seas, as if it is, when it moves, a beast with cut legs, reined in

فَراحوا سِراعا ثُمَ أَمسَوا فَأَدلَجوا

فَهَيهاتَ مِن مُمساهُمُ حَيثُ أَصبَحوا

Quickly, then entered the darkness of night

May it water Umm Amr—and peace be a greeting to her from you—while the distant one loves and advises

Alas! We won't see them again where they've gone

Buckets pouring water until the bellies of its hills collapsed, weighed down by water

وَخَرقٍ كأَنَّ الريطَ تَخفِقُ فَوقَهُ

مَعَ الشَمسِ لا بَل قَبلُها يَتَضَحضَحُ

With a tear like the pleats flickering over it

A hoarse thunder; when its rear parts rumble, its mother-clouds murmur in response to what almost oozes out

Along with the sun, no rather, before it can form

Nothing remains of what was between us except that I am a lover, and that if she goes far, I will praise her

عَلى حينَ يُثنى القَومُ خَيراً عَلى السُرى

وَيَظهَرُ مَعروفٌ مِنَ الصُبحِ أَفصَحُ

When people are thanking their companions at dawn

And indeed, forbidden is every wealth I withheld that you desire, from what we bring home or send to pasture

And kindness appears with the morning, ever eloquent

My last memory of her—while the tribe called her young—was that the scrutinizing observer might see her

نَفى الطَيرَ عَنهُ والأَنيسَ فَما يُرى

بِهِ شَبَحٌ وَلا مِنَ الطَيرِ أَجنَحُ

It drove the birds and friends away, so none are seen

Of the shy, fair women; you would think that she, if she attempted to walk, was a dizzy, intoxicated one

No specter, nor a bird with wings

And in what has passed of bygone time is a lesson for a youth, and in what comes after is a gift

قَطَعتُ بِمرجاعٍ يَكونُ جَنينُها

دَماً قِطَعاً في بَولِها حينَ تَلقَحُ

I passed by a female ostrich whose chick

Few of the youths are patient, repaying the right of Time in what it brings to rest

Would be bloody drops in her urine as she's bred

Although knowledge is of no avail if they do not have power over what they cannot control, to move it aside

يَداها يَدا نَوَّاحَةٍ مُستعانَةٍ

عَلى بَعلِها غَيرى فَقامَت تَنَوَّحُ

Her hands are the hands of a wailing mourner

Calling for help for her husband, continuously lamenting

تَجودُ يَداها فَضلَ ما ضَنَّ دَمعُها

عَليهِ فتاراتٍ تَرِنُّ وتَصدَحُ

Her hands pour down more than her tears withheld

Sighing and moaning for his loss

لَها مُقلَتا غَيرى أُتيحَ لِبَعلِها

إِلى صِهرِها صَهرٌ سِنيٌّ وَمَنكَحُ

She found her husband had been married to another

An old in-law of hers, bound to her family

فَلمّا أَتاها ما تَلبَّسَ بَعدَها

بِصاحِبها كادَت مِنَ الوَجدِ تَنبَحُ

When she learned after their wedding that he

Had betrayed her, she nearly barked in anguish

فَقامَت قَذورَ النَفسِ ذاتَ شَكيمَةٍ

لَها قَدَمٌ في قَومِها وتَبَحبُحُ

She of foul soul and wicked nature

Has standing among her people and struts about

يُخَفِّضُها جاراتُها وَهيَ طامِحُ

الفؤادِ وَعَيناها مِنَ الشَرِّ أَطمَحُ

Her neighbors put her down as she aspires

To satisfy her whims and eyes full of evil

فَدَع ذا وَلَكِن هَل تَرى ضوءَ بارِقٍ

قَعَدتُ لَهُ مِن آخرِ اللَيلِ يَلمَحُ

But let that be, do you see a flash of lightning?

I sat watching for it late into the night

يُضيءُ صَبيراً مِن سَحابٍ كأَنَّهُ

جِبالٌ عَلاها الثَلجُ أَو هوَ أَوضَحُ

Illuminating patiently from clouds as though

They were mountains covered in snow, or even brighter

فَلمّا تَلافَتهُ الصَبا قَرقَرَت بِهِ

وَأَلقى بأَرواقٍ عَزاليهِ تَسفَحُ

When the morning breeze stirred it, it crackled

And fell in streams on solitary sands overflowing

طِوالٌ ذُراهُ في البُحورِ كأَنَّهُ

إِذا سارَ مَجذوذُ القَوائِمِ مُكبَحُ

Tall, its scattering in the sea as though

It flowed, legs bound, held back

سَقى أُمَّ عَمروٍ والسَلامُ تَحيَّةٌ

لَها مِنكَ والنائي يَوَدُّ ويَنصَحُ

It watered Umm 'Amr's family, greetings

To her from you, from one far away who wishes you well

سِجالٌ يَسُحُّ الماءَ حَتّى تَهالَكَت

بُطونُ رَوابيهِ مِنَ الماءِ دُلَّحُ

Quarrelsome, sweeping the water until

The stomachs of its riders were gorged with water

أَجَشُّ إِذا حَنَّت تَواليهِ أَرزَمَت

مَطافيلُهُ تِلقاءَ ما كادَ يَرشَحُ

When its successive surges ebbed, its

Little ships almost broke apart and came undone

فَلَم يَبقَ مِمّا بَينَنا غَيرَ أَنَّني

مُحِبٌّ وَأَنّي إِن نأَت سَوفَ أَمدَحُ

Of what was between us only remains that

I love, and if you allow, I will praise

وَإِنَّ حَراماً كُلُّ مالٍ مَنَعتُهُ

تُريدينَهُ مِمّا نُريحُ وَنَسرَحُ

Any wealth I refuse you that you desire

Would be forbidden for us to enjoy and delight in

وَعَهدي بِها والحَيُّ يَدعونَ غِرَّةً

لَها أَن يَراها الناظِرُ المُتَصَفِّحُ

I promised her, by the Living, a sly

Gazelle, that the watcher would think when glancing

مِنَ الخَفِراتِ البيضِ تَحسِبُ أَنَّها

إِذا حاوَلت مَشياً نَزيفٌ مُرَنَّحُ

Of the white pleats, that if she tried to walk

She would be dripping blood, stumbling all around

وَفيما مَضى مِن سالِفِ الدَهرِ لِلفَتى

بَلاءٌ وَفيما بَعدَهُ مُتَمَنَّحُ

In the past days of the youth's life he suffered

And in the future more trials await

قَليلٌ مِنَ الفِتيانِ مَن هوَ صابِرٌ

مُثيبٌ بِحَقِّ الدَهرِ فيما يُرَوِّحُ

Few youths are patient, rewarding fate

With acceptance for what it brings day by day

عَلى أَنَّ عِرفاناً إِذا لَم يَكُن لَهُم

يَدانِ بِما لَم يَملِكوا أَن يُزَحزَحوا

Though if they have no means to what is not theirs

They should not be so bold as to overstep