لحا اللهُ حياً لا تزالُ حِرابُهُ
هَواربَ من حزبٍ تَراها الى حِزْبِ
May God keep alive those whose swords are unsheathed
Against the allies you see shift from one party to another
أَبِقْنَ فما يَرجِعْنَ الاَّ عواطِفاً
على كلِّ نَحْرٍ في السَّنوَّر أو قُلْبِ
They remain, never to return except with deep passions
In every throat or heart pierced by the bright sword
وما تصنعُ الزغبُ القِصَارُ اذا نَزَتْ
مع الزابلِ الخَطَّارِ والصَّارمِ العَضْبِ
What can light spears in close combat achieve
Against the heavily armed warrior with his sharp blade?
اذا ما سلاحُ المرءِ فارقَ كفَّهُ
أَضاعَ ولاقى عَزْبَ قومٍ بلا عَزْبِ
When a man's weapon leaves his hand
He loses honor among a people who have none
تحمل كردُ الشَّاذِجانِ أُمورَها
غُلاماً كغصنِ البانةِ الناعمِ الرطْبِ
The slave girls bear their lot
Like the soft moist branch of a banana tree
ومشتقُّ عنَّازٍ من العنز في الوَغى
وجَدِّكَ ما اشتقَ الحرابُ من الحَرْبِ
As the howler derives from the goat during battle
By God, how the sword derives from war!
ولكنَّ أشباحاً من البيضِ والقَنا
تُعادُ وتُبدي في المفارقِ والحُجْبِ
But like phantoms of eggs and coffins
They alternate, appearing through separation and veils
يقولُ تباشيرُ الغزالةِ راجَعَتْ
كِناسَ الدُّجى أَم بُدّلَ الشرقُ بالغرْبِ
The gazelle says her omens have returned
Like the darkness of night, or did east become west?
رأَى الليلَ تَزْهَاهُ النُّجومُ وانما
رأَى قَارِيَات في رِماحِ بني كَعْبِ
The night saw its beauty in the stars, but truly
Saw riders with the spears of the Bani Ka'b
وَمَبثُوثَةً سوم الجَرادِ كأَنَّها
لَوَاحِسُ يا جُوجٍ خَرَجْنَ من النَّقْبِ
And scattered like locust swarms as if they were
Serpents slithering out from their holes
روادفُ بالخَطّي أَيمانَ فِتْيَةٍ
تُناجزُ بَعْدَ السَّمْهَريةِ بالقُرْبِ
Riders of excellent pedigree on thoroughbreds
Vying in glory after the herd had settled
فَما راعَهُ غلاَّ وميضُ سَحَائِبٍ
تَصُوْبُ بمنهلٍّ من الطَّعنِ والضَّرْبِ
Unheeding the threats and sparks from the clouds
Aiming with death and blows from their drinking place
وقوم بهم يُستدركُ الفَوتُ عَنوَةً
اذا كانَ سَهلاً جاوزوهُ الى الصَّعْبِ
A people who forcibly make up for what was missed
If the path was easy, they took the harder one
فهلا شَدَدْتَ الطَّرفَ يومَ تَعَرَّضَتْ
فوارسُ من أولادِ حُرْقُفَةِ الكَلْبِ
Why did you not peer closely the day the horsemen
Of the despicable sons of Hurquf the dog approached?
كِرامٌ رَحى قيسٍ تدورُ عليهمُ
وكل رَحى دارتْ تدورُ على قُطْبِ
Nobles grinding the grain of Qais about them
And every millstone that turns, turns upon its pivot
حَسِبتُ طِعَانَ الغُرِّ آلِ مُقَلَّدٍ
طِرادَ بنى شَيْبَانَ في أثَرِ النَّهْبِ
I thought the piercing insults from a slanderer
Were like the Bani Shayban pursuing loot
وأوطَأَكَ البَغيُ المُضَللُ جَمْرَةً
نكَصْتَ لها يوم الهِياج على العَقْبِ
And vile error made you stumble blindly
Retreating from it in tumult and alarm
وجَوْثَةُ حيٍّ من يُردْها بكَيْدِهِ
يكُنُ حَتْفُهُ أَدنى اليهِ من الرُّعْبِ
Only he who counters it with his schemes
Will meet his fate nearest to fear itself
فقولا له لا وَفَّقَ اللهُ رأْيَهُ
متى صَبَرَتْ كردُ الأَعاجمِ للعُرْبِ
Say to him - may God not prosper his judgment! -
When did the Persian slaves withstand the Arabs?
