تَوَقَّ كَلامي يا ابنَ عَمرو فَإِنَّهُ
أَسنَّةُ عارٍ لا يُبَلُّ طَعينُها
Cease your words, O son of Amr, for they are
A shameful gossip whose drivel has no worth.
فَقَد نازَعتَني العِزَّ فيكَ قَبائِلٌ
مَلأتَ عَلَيها دَهرَها ما يُهِينُها
You have disputed my glory among the tribes,
Filling their lifetimes with that which degrades them.
وَفارَقتُها مُستَبدِلاً دارَ غُربَةٍ
أَلا إِنَّ أَوطانَ الغنا ما يَصونُها
I left them, settling in a foreign land.
Alas, homelands of song do not preserve their honor.
تَوَقَّدُ مِن غَيظٍ عَليَّ صُدورُها
وَتَزوَرُّ مِن خَوف إلَيَّ عُيونُها
Their chests blaze against me with anger,
And their eyes glance at me in pretended fear.
غَدَت فِقَرٌ مِنّي تُثيرُ مَخازِياً
بِأَعراضِها لَو كانَ لُؤمٌ يُشينُها
My poverty has made me a target for their slander
With their chastity, if baseness could diminish it.
خَلائِقُ نَدبٍ أَطمَعَتكُم سُهولُها
سَتُفزِعُكُم عَمّا قَليلٍ حُزونُها
O fools who hope to easily seduce them,
Soon their sadness will startle you.
وَكَيفَ يُرامُ الذُّلُّ مِنّي وَعامِرٌ
تُقَضَّى بِأَطرافِ العَوالي دُيونُها
How could I be shamed when Aamir
Settles their debts at mountain peaks?
وَما نَكَرَت بيضَ السُّيوفِ صُدورُها
وَلا جَهِلَت سُمرَ الرِّماحِ مُتونُها
Their chests are not ignorant of the white swords,
Nor are their spear-shafts unaware of the brown lance.
نَبَذتُكَ نَبذَ العارِ مِني فَلَو صَبَت
إِلَيكَ شِمالي فارَقَتها يَمينُها
I have discarded you as I would discard dishonor; if
My left hand extended to you, my right would forsake it.
وَلَو كُنتُ بَرقاً بِالغُوَيرِ بَدَت بِهِ
مَنازِلُ سَلمى سَهلُها وَوَجينُها
If I were lightning in Al-Ghuwair then would appear
The abodes of Salma, its plains and undulating dunes,
لأَعرَضتُ عَنهُ وَالجَوى في مَقَرِّهِ
وَنازَعتُ نَفساً جُنَّ مِنها جُنونُها
I would turn away from it while passion dwells within it
And wrest from it a soul made mad by its madness.
مَتى أَنا غادٍ بِالغَميمِ وَصُحبَتي
تُجاوِدُ هَطّالَ الغَوادي شُؤونُها
When I wander with the clouds as my friends,
My concerns commune with the winding valleys.
عَلَى ضُمُرٍ بارَيتُهُم بِحَنينِها
غَراماً وَبارَها سَقاماً حَنينُها
For hearts I have filled with yearning for them,
Passionately in love, and in love driving them mad.
تَجِد إِذا هَبَّت رِياحٌ مَريضَةٌ
ضَلالَكَ مِنها إِن تَوَعَّكَ لينُها
You will find, when the treasonous winds blow,
That you are misguided if you expect softness from them.
إِذا خِلنَ غُدرانَ الغُوَيرِ صَوارِماً
تَمَنَّينَ لَو أَجفانَهُنَّ جُفونُها
When the polished blades of Al-Ghuwair are unsheathed,
You will wish their eyelids were closed fast.
فَإِنَّ بِقَلبي مِن فِراق عُذَيبَةٍ
طَماعَةُ شَكّ لا عَراني يَقينُها
In my heart is such anguish over 'Udhaybah
That doubt's greed admits no certainty.
