ألا كلُّ بُرءٍ بعدَ رَامة مُسقِمي

وكلُّ نعيمٍ لا أقولُ لهُ دُمِ

Behold: every recovery after Rāmah makes me ill,

and every bliss—I do not bid it, “Remain.”

تعطلتِ الأجزاعُ من كلِّ مُسرجٍ

يُمسِّحُ أعطافَ الجيادِ ومُلجِمِ

The sandy tracts lie empty of every saddled rider

who strokes the horses’ flanks, bridle in hand;

وخيلٍ كأمْثالِ الأهلّةِ كُلّلَتْ

من أبناءِ سعدٍ والرَّبابِ بأنجُمِ

and of horses like crescent moons, crowned

with stars from among the sons of Saʿd and al-Rabāb.

كأن لم نُردها والحيا غيرُ باخلٍ

ولم نرعَ فيها والثّرى غيرُ مُعدَمِ

As though we had never watered there when the rain withheld nothing,

nor grazed there while the soil was still unfailing.

وللجدِّ صيدٌ بينَ خَودٍ وفارسٍ

وللهوِ صيدٌ بينَ ظَبيٍ وضَيْغَمِ

Earnestness has its quarry between maiden and horseman,

and sport its quarry between gazelle and lion.

فمَنْ مبلغٌ عني قبائلَ خِنْدِفٍ

رِسالةَ صَبٍّ بالنصيحةِ مُغْرَمِ

Who will carry from me to the clans of Khindif

the message of a lover passionately devoted to counsel?

أتَخضِبُ قيسٌ بالدّماءِ رماحَها

وفيكُم رماحٌ لا تتوقُ إلى الدّمِ

Does Qays stain its spears with blood

while among you are spears that do not thirst for blood?

نصحتكُم حتى أرَبتُ ظنونَكُم

ووشيتُ بُرْدَ القولِ للمتوهّمِ

I counseled you until I made your suspicions swell,

and embroidered speech’s mantle for the doubter.

فإنْ قلتمُ إنّي أكلتُ لحومَكم

بلومي فإني آكلٌ غيرُ مُطْعِمِ

If you say that, through my reproach, I have eaten your flesh,

then I am an eater who has fed no one.

وإني لخافي الثغْرِ عن كلِّ فَرْحَةٍ

إذا فضّتِ اللّذّاتُ عن كلِّ مَبسمِ

I keep my smile hidden before every delight,

when pleasures overflow from every smiling mouth.

تركتُ وراءَ القلبِ ليلةَ عرَّسوا

بحرانَ عزّي في الحياةِ ومَغنَمي

I left Laylā behind—the darling of my heart—

at Bahrān, my glory in life and my prize.

وألبستُ أتوابَ الدفينةِ ماجِداً

إذا شَمَّ ريحَ الظلمِ لم يتظلمِ

I clothed a noble man in the garments of one laid in the grave,

one who, catching the scent of injustice, would not complain of wrong.

فإنْ بخِلَتْ عني تميمٌ بنصرِها

فربّ غلامٍ بالحسامِ مُعَمّمِ

If Tamīm withheld its aid from me,

many a youth was turbaned by the sword;

وشُمٍّ من الفتيانِ سلّوا سيوفَهم

فحلّوا عليها كلَّ جيدٍ ومِعصَمِ

and many noble young men drew their swords

and with them adorned every neck and wrist.

حَكمْتُ فأعطيتُ الحكومةَ فيهمُ

وكنتُ إذا حكّمتُ لم أتحكِّمِ

I judged, and rendered judgment concerning them;

whenever I judged, I was never arbitrary.

رأيتُ أبا سهلٍ تناولَ مجدَها

وقد قَصُرَتْ عنها يدا كلِّ منعمِ

I saw Abū Sahl reach out and seize its glory,

though every turbaned man’s hand fell short of it.

أُمسّحُ أضْغانَ العدوِّ ببلدةٍ

تطالعُها الغاراتُ من كلِّ مخرمِ

I wipe away the enemy’s rancor in a land

where raids peer forth from every mountain pass.

على حين فارقتُ الهَجيمَ ومازناً

وأصبحَ عِرضي فُرصةَ المتهضمِ

That was when I had parted from al-Hajīm and Māzin,

and my honor became fair game for every accuser.

ولمّا التوى حبلُ الخِناقِ تلوّمتْ

عن النصْرِ كفي وهو لم يتلومِ

When the noose’s rope twisted tight, my hand delayed

in giving aid, though never before had it delayed.

تخطّى حُقود القومِ ينقُلُ ظلَّهُ

على كل مقرورٍ من الغيظِ مُفعمِ

He crossed the people’s massed ranks, his shadow bearing him,

over every man chilled and brimming with rage—

فتىً مثلُ طعمِ الرّاحِ تحيا بهِ المُنى

وتَسلُبُ لُبَّ الفالِ المتكلّمِ

a youth like the savor of wine, through whom hopes revive,

and whose presence robs even the eloquent speaker of his wits.

كأنّك إذْ كررتَ طرفَك فيهمُ

رميتَهُم من مقلتيكَ بأسهُمِ

As though, whenever I turned my gaze among them,

I shot them with arrows from my eyes.

فما تركَ الأعداءُ ظلمى تقيّةً

ولكنّهم خافوا حميّة أرقمِ

My enemies did not cease wronging me out of pious restraint,

but because they feared Arqam’s fierce protection—

ووثبةَ ضرغامٍ كأنّ زئيرَهُ

تَهَدُّمُ طودٍ من هِضابِ يَلَمْلَمِ

and the pounce of a lion whose roar seems

a mountain collapsing from Yalamlam’s highlands.

لهُ في الدّروعِ السابريةِ وَقفةٌ

تُبدّدُ أعيانَ الحديدِ المنظّمِ

Against close-woven coats of Sābirī mail he makes a stand

that scatters the very substance of ordered iron.

نظرتُ بصدرِ العينِ فاشتدّ ساعِدي

وطارتْ يَميني بالحُسامِ المُصَمّمِ

I looked with an unflinching eye, and my arm grew strong,

and my right hand flew with the resolute sword.

فإنّ معزَ الملكِ أتعبَ همّه

فحازكَ من آمالِه بالتّجشُّمِ

The exalter of the kingdom, wearied by his lofty purpose,

won you from among his hopes through hardship.

وكان إذا هبّت زعازعُ فتنةٍ

دعاكَ لنا قبل الخميسِ العَرَمْرَمِ

Whenever the gales of sedition blew,

he summoned you for us before the teeming host.

برأيكَ يُثنَى الدّهرُ عن حدثانِهِ

ويُفتحُ من قُفلٍ من العيسِ مبهمِ

Through your counsel, Time turns aside from its calamities,

and the obscure lock upon life is opened.

ولمّا دعاهُ الموتُ قال لأهلِهِ

صِلوا حبلَ قومٍ بالوفاءِ متيمِ

When death called him, he said to his people,

“Bind your bond to a people enamored of fidelity.”

لقد جعلَ الأهواءَ وهي حَزونةٌ

تَخُبُّ إليكُم من فصيحٍ وأعْجَمِ

He made affections, though their paths were rugged,

hasten toward you from the eloquent and inarticulate alike.

رمى دونَكُم حدّ السيوفِ بوجهِه

وعانقَ أطرافَ الوشيجِ المقَوَّمِ

In your defense he met the sword’s edge with his face

and embraced the points of straightened spears.

وكان لكُم لمّا تلجلجَ قولُكم

مكانَ الثّنايا واللّسانِ من الفمِ

When your speech faltered, he served you

as the front teeth and tongue serve the mouth.

فهلْ سرّكم أنّ الخِصامَ تكشّفتْ

صبابتُه عنكم ولم يتكلّمِ

Did it please you that the quarrel revealed

its yearning away from you, without speaking?

وبالبصرةِ الحمراءِ خاضَ مُشَمّراً

إلى عزّكمْ نارَ الحَريقِ المضرَّمِ

At Ṣabra he waded into death, his garments hitched,

through blazing fire, for the sake of your glory.

عشيةَ لا يُغني عن السيفِ حدُّه

إذا لم تُقدّمهُ يدُ المتقدمِ

On an evening when the sword’s edge availed nothing

unless the hand of one advancing drove it on;

وصبحٌ من البيضِ القواضبِ مشرقٌ

يُصَبُّ على ليلٍ من النقعِ مُظْلِمِ

and a radiant dawn of white, cutting swords

poured over a dark night of battle dust—

من النفر البيضِ الذين توسّدوا

أكفَّ اللّيالي قبلَ عاد وجرهمِ

from those fair-faced men who made pillows

of the hands of nights before ʿĀd and Jurhum.

تَدلّوا على هامِ المكارمِ والعُلا

وغيرُهم يَرقى إليها بسُلَّمِ

They alight upon the summits of noble deeds and eminence,

while others climb to them by a ladder.

تحرمتُ بالوُدّ المقرَّبِ منكُمُ

ولمْ آتّخذْ أموالَكم للتحرُّمِ

I sought sanctuary in the affection that draws me near to you,

and did not take your wealth as the price of sanctuary.

وأخفيتُ عنكُم حاجتي وهي خلةٌ

تلوحُ لعينِ الناظرِ المتوسمِ

I hid my need from you, though it is a want

plain to the discerning observer’s eye.

ولستُ بقوالٍ إذا الرزقُ فاتني

وصادفَ غيري قد ضللتَ فيمِّمِ

I am not one to say, when provision passes me by

and reaches another, “You have strayed—turn this way.”

لأفْقَر منّا بلدةً ومحلّةً

تشبُّ بروقُ العارضِ المُترنّمِ

No town or dwelling place is poorer than ours,

though the lightning of a rumbling raincloud flares there.

وآخذُ عفوَ العيشِ لا أستكدّه

لَحا اللهُ غنماً يستقادُ بمغْرَمِ

I give freely from life’s surplus and do not toil after it;

may God curse gain that must be driven forth through loss.

فإن كنتُ أرضى بالبَشاشةِ منكُمُ

ويسترُ عدمي شيمتي وتكرُّمي

If I am content with your cheerful welcome,

while my character and dignity veil my poverty,

فربَّ جوادٍ قيّدَ الفقرُ جودَهُ

ومبتسمٍ تعبيسُه في التبسُّمِ

many a generous man has had poverty fetter his generosity,

and many a smiling man bears a frown within his smile.