لا خَيلَ عِندَكَ تُهديها وَلا مالُ

فَليُسعِدِ النُطقُ إِن لَم تُسعِدِ الحالُ

You have no horses to gift nor wealth,

No horses have you to offer, nor wealth to hand,

So let your speech bring joy if your circumstances do not.

So let speech bring succor if fortune does not stand.

وَاِجزِ الأَميرَ الَّذي نُعماهُ فاجِئَةٌ

بِغَيرِ قَولِ وَنُعمى الناسِ أَقوالُ

Reward the prince whose sudden favor

And repay the Prince whose bounties strike like surprise,

Came with no words - the speech of people is but words.

Unlike mere talk—though others' gifts are but words in disguise.

فَرُبَّما جَزِيَ الإِحسانَ مولِيَهُ

خَريدَةٌ مِن عَذارى الحَيِّ مِكسالُ

Sometimes kindness is rewarded by its patron

For perchance a benefactor is repaid for his grace

With a maid of the Hey tribe, lazy and plump.

By a shy, pampered maiden of the tribe’s noble race.

وَإِن تَكُن مُحكَماتُ الشُكلِ تَمنَعُني

ظُهورَ جَريٍ فَلي فيهِنَّ تَصهالُ

And if tightly-wrapped dresses prevent me

And if tightening hobbles prevent me the course

From the appearance of open admiration, I have for them a modest gaze.

Of showing my stride, yet within them neighs my force.

وَما شَكَرتُ لِأَنَّ المالَ فَرَّحَني

سِيّانَ عِندِيَ إِكثارٌ وَإِقلالُ

I did not thank you because wealth made me happy -

I offered not thanks just because wealth brought me glee,

To me abundance and paucity are the same.

For abundance and lack are but equal to me.

لَكِن رَأَيتُ قَبيحاً أَن يُجادَلَنا

وَأَنَّنا بِقَضاءِ الحَقِّ بُخّالُ

But I saw it as ugly to dispute with one

But I deemed it shameful to be outdone in the deed,

Who judges fairly, even if he is tightfisted.

And that we be misers when paying duty’s need.

فَكُنتُ مَنبِتَ رَوضِ الحُزنِ باكَرَهُ

غَيثٌ بِغَيرِ سِباخِ الأَرضِ هَطّالُ

So I became a bud in the garden of sorrow blooming early -

I was like the hard soil of a garden, blessed at dawn

Rain without clouds bursting onto the ground.

By a rain that pours not where the salt-marsh is drawn;

غَيثٌ يُبَيِّنُ لِلنُظّارِ مَوقِعُهُ

أَنَّ الغُيوثَ بِما تَأتيهِ جُهّالُ

Rain making clear to onlookers where it falls

A rain whose distinct fall reveals to the eyes

That rain comes to the ignorant and the wise alike.

That common rains know naught of the gifts he supplies.

لا يُدرِكُ المَجدَ إِلّا سَيِّدٌ فَطِنٌ

لِما يَشُقُّ عَلى الساداتِ فَعّالُ

None attains glory but the shrewd leader

None grasps true glory but a master astute and keen,

For whom what is difficult for men to bear is habit.

Who enacts the great deeds that too hard for chiefs have been.

لا وارِثٌ جَهِلَت يُمناهُ ما وَهَبَت

وَلا كَسوبٌ بِغَيرِ السَيفِ سَئالُ

No ignorant heir appreciates the gift he is granted

Not an heir whose hand gives without knowing the cost,

Nor is there gain without the sword’s request.

Nor an earner sans sword, who by begging is tossed.

قالَ الزَمانُ لَهُ قَولاً فَأَفهَمَهُ

إِنَّ الزَمانَ عَلى الإِمساكِ عَذّالُ

Time said to him in words he understood:

Time spoke to him a word, and made him comprehend

“Time is stingy in all it brings.”

That Time itself censures those who hoard and defend.

تَدري القَناةُ إِذا اِهتَزَّت بِراحَتِهِ

أَنَّ الشَقِيَّ بِها خَيلٌ وَأَبطالُ

The canal knows when its banks shake under his hand

The spear-shaft knows well, when it shakes in his hold,

That the miserable find in it horses and heroes.

That doomed by its strike are the heroes and steeds bold.

كَفاتِكٍ وَدُخولُ الكافِ مَنقَصَةٌ

كَالشَمسِ قُلتُ وَما لِلشَمسِ أَمثالُ

Your perfections, with kaaf entering, are diminished -

Like Fatik—though 'Like' does his stature a wrong,

I said “like the sun” but nothing compares to the sun.

As when I say 'Like the Sun,' though the Sun has no throng.

القائِدِ الأُسدَ غَذَّتها بَراثِنُهُ

بِمِثلِها مِن عِداهُ وَهيَ أَشبالُ

The lion leader feeds on its prey with his fangs -

Leader of lions, whom his own claws have fed

The like of them from his enemies are only cubs.

With the flesh of his foes, since the time they were bred.

القاتِلِ السَيفَ في جِسمِ القَتيلِ بِهِ

وَلِلسُيوفِ كَما لِلناسِ آجالُ

The killing sword in the killer’s hand kills his victim -

Who slays the sword itself in the victim he slays,

Swords like men have appointed terms.

For swords, like mankind, have their numbered days.

تُغيرُ عَنهُ عَلى الغاراتِ هَيبَتُهُ

وَمالُهُ بِأَقاصي الأَرضِ أَهمالُ

Raiding changes not his awe,

His aura alone raids the raids in his stead,

His wealth reaches earth’s far corners.

While his unguarded wealth to the earth's ends is spread.

لَهُ مِنَ الوَحشِ ما اِختارَت أَسِنَّتُهُ

عَيرٌ وَهَيقٌ وَخَنساءٌ وَذَيّالُ

Of beasts he owns what his tongue chose -

He claims of the wild game what his spear-points select:

Caravans, zebras, rabbits, and foxes.

The onager, ostrich, and gazelle with neck erect.

تُمسي الضُيوفُ مُشَهّاةً بِعَقوَتِهِ

كَأَنَّ أَوقاتَها في الطيبِ آصالُ

Guests spend evenings sated by his hospitality,

Guests spend their evening in his court with delight,

As if their times were pierced with aromatic spices.

As though all their hours were soft twilights and bright.

لَوِ اِشتَهَت لَحمَ قاريها لَبادَرَها

خَرادِلٌ مِنهُ في الشيزى وَأَوصالُ

If his hunting falcon craved his carrier’s flesh,

Should they crave the host's flesh, there would rush to the feast

Morsels of it would serve the bird raw portions.

His own joints and cuts, minced in bowls, to say the least.

لا يَعرِفُ الرُزءَ في مالٍ وَلا وَلَدٍ

إِلّا إِذا حَفَزَ الأَضيافَ تَرحالُ

He knows no stinginess with wealth or children -

He knows no calamity in wealth or in kin,

Only when guests begin to depart does sorrow visit him.

Save when guests make to leave and the partings begin.

يُروي صَدى الأَرضِ مِن فَضلاتِ ما شَرِبوا

مَحضُ اللِقاحِ وَصافي اللَونِ سَلسالُ

The echo of the land relates from his leftovers only

He waters the earth with the dregs of their wine,

Pure, clear honey wine in cascades.

Pure milk of the camels, and cool drafts divine.

تَقري صَوارِمُهُ الساعاتِ عَبطَ دَمٍ

كَأَنَّما الساعُ نُزّالٌ وَقُفّالُ

His swords time the hours with spilt blood,

His sharp swords feed the Hours with blood fresh and red,

As if the hour were booty taken captive.

As if Time’s very hours were guests to be fed.

تَجري النُفوسُ حَوالَيهِ مُخَلَّطَةً

مِنها عُداةٌ وَأَغنامٌ وَآبالُ

Souls circle around him mixed -

Souls swirl all around him in a chaotic train,

Among them foes, sheep, and camels.

Of enemies, sheep, and camels slain on the plain.

لا يَحرِمُ البُعدُ أَهلَ البُعدِ نائِلَهُ

وَغَيرُ عاجِزَةٍ عَنهُ الأُطَيفالُ

Distance does not deprive those far from their share of him,

Distance denies not the distant his grace,

Nor are messages unable to reach him.

Nor are children too weak to reach his embrace.

أَمضى الفَريقَينِ في أَقرانِهِ ظُبَةً

وَالبيضُ هادِيَةً وَالسُمرُ ضُلّالُ

He led both parties among their peers -

His blade is the sharpest of all in the fight,

The whites guided, the browns misguided.

While swords guide the way, spears stray from the light.

يُريكَ مَخبَرُهُ أَضعافَ مَنظَرِهِ

بَينَ الرِجالِ وَفيها الماءُ وَالآلُ

His reports show multiples of his appearance:

His substance reveals more than sight can descry,

Among men, there is water, family, and wealth.

For men are like deserts: some true, some a lie.

وَقَد يُلَقِّبُهُ المَجنونَ حاسِدُهُ

إِذا اِختَلَطنَ وَبَعضُ العَقلِ عُقّالُ

Though his envious enemy calls him mad

His envier calls him 'The Madman' in scorn,

When minds mix and some intellect is trammeled.

When swords clash—for prudence is but a chain worn.

يَرمي بِها الجَيشَ لا بُدٌّ لَهُ وَلَها

مِن شَقِّهِ وَلَوَ أَنَّ الجَيشَ أَجبالُ

With them he routs the army, he and they must

He hurls his soul at the host, come what may,

Split it open, even were the army mountains.

To cleave through their ranks, though like mountains they stay.

إِذا العِدى نَشِبَت فيهِم مَخالِبُهُ

لَم يَجتَمِع لَهُمُ حِلمٌ وَرِئبالُ

When enmity extends its claws in them

When his claws sink deep in the flesh of the foe,

Neither patience nor dignity can unite them.

No mercy meet they, but a lion's fell blow.

يَروعُهُم مِنهُ دَهرٌ صَرفُهُ أَبَداً

مُجاهِرٌ وَصُروفُ الدَهرِ تَغتالُ

Endless open defiance makes him their terror -

They are struck by a Fate that he wields in his hand,

The turns of fate are treacherous.

He strikes in the open, while Time steals by stealth through the land.

أَنالَهُ الشَرَفَ الأَعلى تَقَدُّمُهُ

فَما الَّذي بِتَوَقّي ما أَتى نالوا

He attained the highest glory by his precedence -

His daring advance gained him honor supreme,

So what was attained by the caution of those who came after?

What gain those who shrink from the perilous stream?

إِذا المُلوكُ تَحَلَّت كانَ حِليَتَهُ

مُهَنَّدٌ وَأَضَمُّ الكَعبِ عَسّالُ

When kings are adorned, his adornment

When kings don their jewels and trinkets of gold,

Is smooth Yemeni shoes, heels stacked.

He dons but his sword and a spear rigid and cold.

أَبو شُجاعٍ أَبو الشُجعانِ قاطِبَةً

هَولٌ نَمَتهُ مِنَ الهَيجاءِ أَهوالُ

Abu Shuja’, Abu al-Shuj’an altogether!

Abu Shuja’—true Sire of the Brave, all and one,

He is an awe growing from terrors, awes.

A Terror whom War’s very terrors call son.

تَمَلَّكَ الحَمدَ حَتّى ما لِمُفتَخِرٍ

في الحَمدِ حاءٌ وَلا ميمٌ وَلا دالُ

He has taken ownership of praise until no boaster has

He conquered all Praise, leaving nothing for claims,

Any ha or meem or daal in praise.

Of Praise: not a Haa, nor a Meem, nor a Daal remains.

عَلَيهِ مِنهُ سَرابيلٌ مُضاعَفَةٌ

وَقَد كَفاهُ مِنَ الماذِيِّ سِربالُ

Upon it he wears double garments -

Clad in double coats woven of glory and praise,

A single Sirbal sufficed him.

Though a single steel mesh serves him all of his days.

وَكَيفَ أَستُرُ ما أولَيتَ مِن حَسَنٍ

وَقَد غَمَرتَ نَوالاً أَيُّها النالُ

How can I conceal the favor you have shown me

How can I conceal the great good you have shown,

When you have poured out attainment in streams?

When your bounty has flooded the world I have known?

لَطَّفتَ رَأيَكَ في بِرّي وَتَكرِمَتي

إِنَّ الكَريمَ عَلى العَلياءِ يَحتالُ

You refined your view of my filial devotion and honored me -

You devised a kind scheme to bestow and to bless,

The generous contrive ways to favor the exalted.

For the noble use craft to achieve nobleness.

حَتّى غَدَوتَ وَلِلأَخبارِ تَجوالُ

وَلِلكَواكِبِ في كَفَّيكَ آمالُ

Until you became the means for news to wander

Till you became legend, and news roamed the lands,

And the stars to hope in your palms.

And the stars placed their hopes in the palms of your hands.

وَقَد أَطالَ ثَنائي طولُ لابِسِهِ

إِنَّ الثَناءَ عَلى التِنبالِ تِنبالُ

My praise of you grew long as your mantle -

My praise is made tall by the tall one who wears it,

Praise of the excellent is more excellence.

For praise on a dwarf is but dwarfed when he bears it.

إِن كُنتَ تَكبُرُ أَن تَختالَ في بَشَرٍ

فَإِنَّ قَدرَكَ في الأَقدارِ يَختالُ

If you disdain to strut among mortals,

If you are too grand to show pride among men,

Your ordainment among ordainments contends.

Your fate struts proudly 'midst fates within ken.

كَأَنَّ نَفسَكَ لا تَرضاكَ صاحِبَها

إِلّا وَأَنتَ عَلى المِفضالِ مِفضالُ

As if your soul will not satisfy you, its companion,

As if your own soul deems you scarce fit to lead,

Unless you excel the excellent.

Unless you surpass all who excel in the deed.

وَلا تَعُدُّكَ صَوّاناً لِمُهجَتِها

إِلّا وَأَنتَ لَها في الرَوعِ بَذّالُ

Do not think to protect its essence

It counts you no guardian of life or of breath,

Unless for it you are formidable in awe.

Save when you spend it freely in the face of death.

لَولا المَشَقَّةُ سادَ الناسُ كُلُّهُمُ

الجودُ يُفقِرُ وَالإِقدامُ قَتّالُ

If not for hardship all people would master

Were it not for the hardship, all men would be chiefs;

Generosity, though courage kills.

For giving brings want, and bold courage is lethal.

وَإِنَّما يَبلُغُ الإِنسانُ طاقَتُهُ

ما كُلُّ ماشِيَةٍ بِالرَحلِ شِملالُ

A man achieves only his capacity -

A man but attains what his strength can avail,

Not every beast bears burdens.

Not every mount bearing a saddle is hale.

إِنّا لَفي زَمَنٍ تَركُ القَبيحِ بِهِ

مِن أَكثَرِ الناسِ إِحسانٌ وَإِجمالُ

We are in a time when most people forsake

We live in an age where to shun the profane

Goodness and favor overall.

Is the utmost of virtue that most men attain.

ذِكرُ الفَتى عُمرُهُ الثاني وَحاجَتُهُ

ما قاتَهُ وَفُضولُ العَيشِ أَشغالُ

Talk of the youth is his second life, his need

A man's fame is his second life, and his need

What he fought, and the excess of life is work.

Is mere sustenance; all else is burden and greed.