عَفا السَفحُ مِن أُم الوَليدِ فكَبكَبُ
فَنُعمانُ وَحشٌ فَالرَكيُّ المثقَّبُ
The plain of Umm al-Walid sloped gently, so we descended,
A wilderness where al-Rukayy, the perforated well, bubbles up.
خَلاءٌ إلى الأَحواضِ عافٍ وَقَد يُرى
سَوامٌ يُعَافيهِ مُراحٌ وَمُعزَبُ
An open expanse down to the cisterns, wholesome, though sometimes
Herdsmen and their cattle are seen there, and sheepfolds.
عَلى أَنَّ بِاِالأَقوازِ أَطلالَ دِمنَةٍ
تُجِدُّ بِها هُوجُ الرِياحِ وَتَلعَبُ
Ruins of Diymah loom in the distance
Where the winds howl and sport.
لِعَزَّةَ إِذ حَبلُ المَوَدَّةِ دائِمٌ
وَإِذ أَنتَ مَتبُولٌ بِعَزَّةَ مُعجَبُ
For your nobility, while the bond of love endures
And while you take pride in your nobility and are transfixed,
وَاِذا لا تَرَى في النَاسِ شَيئًا يَفوقُها
وَفِيهِنَّ حُسنٌ لَو تَأَمَّلتَ مَجنَبُ
When you see nothing among people to surpass it
Though there is beauty in them, if you but glanced askance,
هِيَ الحُرَةُ الدَلُّ الحَصانُ وَرَهطُها
إِذاذُكِرَ الحَيُّ الصَريحُ المُهَذَبُ
She is the free woman, the fine, slender steed and her clan,
When the true horseman, cultured and refined, is mentioned.
هَضيمُ الحَشا رُودُ المَطا بَختَرِية
جَمِيلٌ عَلَيها الأتحَميُّ الممُنَشَّبُ
Devourer of herbage, warder-off of rain, excellent
Is he who dons the russet cloak with the shoulder-mantle.
رَأيتُ وَأَصحابِي بِأَيلَةَ موهِنًا
وَقَد لاحَ نَجمُ الفَرقَدِ المُتَصَوِّبُ
I saw, together with my friends, irresolute in Ayla,
When the star of the Pleiades shone out, precisely aimed.
لِعَزَّةَ نارًا ما تَبوخُ كأَنَّها
إِذا ما رَمَقناها مِنَ البُعدِ كَوكَبُ
O Azra, a fire that does not die out, as though
When we glimpse it from afar, it were a planet.
تَعَجَّبَ أَصحابِي لَها حِينَ أُوقِدَت
وَلَلمُصطَلوها آخِرَ اللَيلِ أَعجَبُ
My friends expressed wonder at it when first lit,
And that it should be rekindled late at night was stranger still.
إِذا ما خَبَت مِن آخِرِ اللَيلِ خَبوَةً
أُعِيدَ لها بِالمَندَلِّي فَتُثقَبُ
When it sank low late in the night,
It would be revived for us with bellows, and pierced through.
وَقَفنَا فَشُبَّت شَبَّةً فَبَدا لنا
بِأَهضامِ وَاديها أَراكٌ وَتَنضُبُ
We halted, and it blazed up, and there appeared to us
In the hollows of its valley, carpets which took form and flowed.
وَمِن دون حَيثُ اِستُوقِدَت مِن مُجالِخٍ
مَراحٌ وَمُغدًى للمَطِيِّ وَسَبسَبُ
And below, where it was lit, were encampments
And resting-places for the rider and copses.
أَتَتنا بِرَيَّاها وَلَلعيسِ تَحتَنا
وَجِيفٌ بِصَحرَاءِ الرُسَيسِ مُهَذِّبُ
The breath of its wind brought us the grouse in the evening
And meat undercooked in the plain of Rusaifah, seasoned.
جنوبٌ تُسامي أَوجُهَ الرَكبِ مسُّها
لَذيذٌ وَمَسراها مِنَ الأَرضِ طَيِّبُ
A south wind which touches gently the faces of the riders,
Delicious, and the scent of it from the ground is sweet.
فَيا طولَ ما شَوقي إِذا حالَ دُونَها
بُصاقٌ وَمَن أَعلامِ صِندِدَ مَنكِبُ
Oh, how prolonged my yearning when between us is
An obscuring mirage, and the shoulder-belt of a leather waterskin.
كَأَن لَم يُوافِقُ حِجَّ عزَّةَ حَجُّنا
وَلَم يَلقَ رَكبًا بِالمحصَّبِ أَركَبُ
As though my pilgrimage failed to coincide with Azra's pilgrimage,
And my band did not encounter a band at al-Muhassab encamped.
حَلَفتُ لها بالرَاقِصاتِ إلى مِنَىً
تُغِذُّ السُرى كَلبٌ بِهِنَّ وَتَغلِبُ
I swore by the female dancers on the Minâ plain
Whose eyes feed hounds unleashed and enrapture them.
وَرَبِّ الجِيادِ السابِحاتِ عَشِيةً
مَعَ العَصرِ إِذ مَرَّت عَلى الحَبلِ تَلحَبُ
And by the mares on the evening they swam to cross the canal,
Streaming along the rope with the late afternoon.
لَعَزَّةُ هَمُّ النَفسِ مِنهُنَّ لَو تَرى
إليها سَبيلاً أَو تُلِمُّ فَتُصقِبُ
Azra, they are the soul's concern — if only you could see
Some way to reach them, or overcome them and lead them captive!
أُلامُ عَلى أُمِّ الوَلِيدِ وَحُبُّها
جَوىً داخِلٌ تحت الشّراسيفِ مُلهَبُ
I am consumed for Umm al-Walid and my love of her
Is an inner fire beneath the coat of mail burning hot.
وَلوَ بَذَلَت أُمُّ الوَليدِ حَديثَها
لِعُصمٍ بِرَضوى أَصبَحَت تَتَقَرَّبُ
If only Umm al-Walid would speak her tale
To bring about consent, she would come courting favor in the morning.
تَهَبَّطنَ مِن أَكنافِ ضَأسٍ وَأيلَةٍ
إِلَيها وَلَو أَغرى بهِنَّ المُكَلِّبُ
We would swoop down to her from the environs of Dhû'l-Jass and Ayla
Even if the watchman there drove us away with stones.
تَلَعَّبُ بالعِزهاةِ لَم يَدرِ ما الصِّبا
وَيَيأَس مِن أُمِّ الوَليدِ المُجَرِّبُ
She plays fast and loose with lovers — the youth doesn't know
And despairs of Umm al-Walid after trying his luck.
ألا لَيتَنا يا عَزّ كُنّا لِذي غِنىً
بِعَيرينِي نَرعى في الخَلاءِ وَنَعزُبُ
Oh would that we, O Azra, possessed the wealth
To pasture our she-camel in the wilderness and live alone!
كِلانا به عرٌ فَمَن يَرَنا يَقُلُ
عَلى حُسنِها جَرباء تُعدي وَأَجرَبُ
We would both mount her, a noble camel, so if any saw us,
He would say, gazing on your beauty, "A bereft man with a hired camel!"
إِذا ما وَرَدنا مَنهَلاً صَاح أَهلُهُ
عَلينا فما نَنفَكُّ نُرمَى وَنُضرَبُ
When we arrived at a watering-place, its people would shout at us,
And we would not stop being pelted and beaten.
نَكونُ بَعيري ذِي غِنىً فَيُضِيعُنا
فَلا هُوَ يَرعانا وَلا نَحنُ نُطلَبُ
We would belong to the wealthy man, and he would abandon us,
Neither tending us himself, nor we seeking him out.
يُطرِدُنا الرُعيانُ عَن كُلِّ تِلعَةٍ
وَيَمنَعُ مِنا أَن نَرى فِيهِ نَشرَبُ
The herdsmen would chase us away from every pasturage
And prevent us from finding anything there to drink.
وَدَدتُ وَبَيتِ الله أَنَّكِ بَكرَةٌ
هِجانٌ وَأَني مُصعَبٌ ثُمَّ نَهرُبُ
I wish, O House of God, that you were an unwedded girl,
Buxom, and I were Mus'ab, and then we would elope!
