إِنّي وَرَبِّ رِجالٍ شَعبُهُم شُعَبٌ
شَتّى يَطوفونَ حَولَ البَيتِ وَالحَجَرِ
By God! The tribes of these men are scattered tribes,
They circle around the House and the Stone.
جاءَت بِهِم قُلُصٌ فُتلٌ مَرافِقُها
قُبُّ البُطونِ مِنَ الإِدلاجِ وَالبُكَرِ
Lean bellies brought them, their ribs concave
From hunger and virginity.
مِن كُلِّ قَراوَءَ مَعقودٍ فَقارَتُها
عَلى مُنيفٍ كُرُكنِ الطَودِ وَالضَفَرِ
The hump of every young female camel is tied
To tent poles, bending like the hump of a bull.
يُمِرُّ مِرفَقُها بِالدَفِّ مُعتَرِضاً
مَرَّ الوَليدِ عَلى الزُحلوفَةِ الأَشِرِ
Her elbow strikes the tambourine, intercepting
The path of Al-Walid at Az-Zuhlufah the Most Evil.
تَقاعَسَت كَتِفاها بِعدَها حُنِيَت
بِالمَنكِبَينِ رُؤوسُ الأَعظُمِ الأُخَرِ
Their shoulders incline backwards after straightening,
The heads of the tall ones lowered with the shoulders.
قَضَينَ حَجّاً وَحاجاتٍ عَلى عَجَلٍ
ثُمَّ اِستَدرَنَ إِلَينا لَيلَةَ النَفَرِ
They performed the pilgrimage and their needs hastily,
Then they hastened to us on the night of departure.
لَولا حُمَيدَةُ ما هامَ الفُؤادُ وَلا
رَجَّيتُ وَصَلَ الغَواني آخِرَ العُمُرِ
If it weren’t for Humaydah, the heart wouldn’t waver, and I wouldn’t have hoped
For the realization of desires at the end of life.
أَحبَبتُها فَوقَ ما ظَنَّ العُداةُ بِنا
حُبَّ العَلاقَةِ لا حُبّاً عَلى الخَبَرِ
I loved her beyond what the enemies thought of us -
A love of passion, not just infatuation.
حَتّى إِذا قُلتُ هَذا المَوتُ أَدرَكَني
صَبرُ الكِرامِ وَضَربُ الجَأشِ لِلقَدَرِ
Until when I said: “Death has overtaken me,”
It was the patience of the honourable and the striking of fate.
وَلَن تُعَزِّيَ نَفساً حَرَّةً أَبَداً
إِلّا اِستَمَرَّت عَزوفاً جَلدَةَ الصَبِرِ
And no impassioned soul will ever be consoled,
Except if it remains aloof, enduring with steadfastness.
يا حَبَّذا نَسَمٌ مَن فيكِ يَمزُجُهُ
عودُ الأَراكِ جَلا عَن بارِدٍ خَصِرِ
O if only a breeze would blow from you, mixing in it
The aromatic wood, smooth over a cold waist!
هَل تَذكُرينَ مَقيلاً لَستُ ناسِيَهُ
بَينَ الأَبارِقِ ذاتَ المَرخِ وَالسَمُرِ
Do you remember a night I can't forget
Between the lightning, the flares and the pine wood?
بِبَطنِ وادي سَنامٍ حَيثُ قابَلَهُ
وادٍ مِنَ الشُعبَةِ اليُمنى بِمُنحَدِرِ
In the valley of Sanam, where it meets
A valley from the right slope with a descent?
لما أتيتُ على السبعين قلتُ له
يا ابن المسَحَّجِ هل تلوي من الكبرِ
When I reached seventy, I said to him:
“O son of Musahhaj, does old age twist you?”
شيخ تحنّى وأروى لحمُ أعظمِهِ
تحنّيَ النبعة العوجاء في الوتَرِ
An old man bent over, the flesh of his bones bent
Like the crooked spout bending in the lute.
كأن لمَّتَهُ الشعراء إذا طلعت
من آخر الليل تتلو دارة العمرِ
It was as if his blindness ensnared him, when at the end of night
The poets rose to bid farewell to the days of life.
