عَذيري مِن عَذارى مِن أُمورِ

سَكَنَّ جَوانِحي بَدَلَ الخُدورِ

My excuse, from the excuses of affairs

Who will accept my plea regarding these maiden-like matters,

That settled my feelings instead of sadness

That have taken my ribs for their dwelling instead of curtained tents?

وَمُبتَسِماتِ هَيجاواتِ عَصرٍ

عَنِ الأَسيافِ لَيسَ عَنِ الثُغورِ

And smiles of aroused beauties of an age

And regarding the smiling battles of this age,

Not from swords but from the frontiers

Which grin to reveal swords, not the white of pearly teeth.

رَكِبتُ مُشَمِّراً قَدَمي إِلَيها

وَكُلَّ عُذافِرٍ قَلِقِ الضُفورِ

I rode determined, my feet towards it

I mounted up, tucking my robes, setting my foot toward them,

And every slender-waisted restless ostrich

Upon every robust camel with restless girths;

أَواناً في بُيوتِ البَدوِ رَحلي

وَآوِنَةً عَلى قَتَدِ البَعيرِ

Sometimes in the houses of nomads is my baggage

At times my saddle rests among the tents of the Bedouin,

And sometimes on the camel's saddle

And at others, it sits atop the camel's wooden frame.

أُعَرِّضُ لِلرِماحِ الصُمِّ نَحري

وَأَنصِبُ حُرَّ وَجهي لِلهَجيرِ

I expose my soft neck to the spears

I expose my throat to the solid, unyielding spears,

And set free my face to the winds

And offer my noble face to the scorching midday heat.

وَأَسري في ظَلامِ اللَيلِ وَحدي

كَأَنّي مِنهُ في قَمَرٍ مُنيرِ

And travel in the darkness of night alone

I journey through the darkness of the night alone,

As if I, because of it, am in an illuminated moon

As though I walked within it under a shining moon.

فَقُل في حاجَةٍ لَم أَقضِ مِنها

عَلى شَغَفي بِها شَروى نَقيرِ

Say about a need I did not fulfill

So speak of a need I have yet to fulfill,

Quenching my passion for it or little sleep

Despite my passion, not even a date-pit's worth is won,

وَنَفسٍ لا تُجيبُ إِلى خَسيسِ

وَعَينٍ لا تُدارُ عَلى نَظيرِ

And a soul that does not respond to a villain

With a soul that refuses to answer to the base,

And an eye that does not glance at a counterpart

And an eye that turns to see no equal anywhere,

وَكَفٍّ لا تُنازِعُ مَن أَتاني

يُنازِعُني سِوى شَرَفي وَخَيري

And a palm that does not dispute he who came to me

And a hand that does not fight with those who come to me,

Disputing me other than my honor and goodness

Contesting nothing but my honor and my virtue.

وَقِلَّةِ ناصِرٍ جوزيتَ عَنّي

بِشَرٍّ مِنكَ يا شَرَّ الدُهورِ

And few supporters, You sufficed me

And regarding the lack of helpers—may you be repaid for my sake,

With evil from You, O evil of eras

With evil from you, O most evil of all ages!

عَدُوّي كُلُّ شَيءٍ فيكَ حَتّى

لَخِلتُ الأُكمَ موغَرَةَ الصُدورِ

My enemy is everything in you, even

Every single thing within you is my enemy, until

If I envied the protected, swollen chests

I imagined even the hills bore grudges in their breasts.

فَلَو أَنّي حُسِدتُ عَلى نَفيسٍ

لَجُدتَ بِهِ لِذي الجَدِّ العَثورِ

If I were envied over my soul

If I were being envied for some precious treasure,

You would find with it the successful finder

You would have tossed it to one with stumbling luck.

وَلَكِنّي حُسِدتُ عَلى حَياتي

وَما خَيرُ الحَياةِ بِلا سُرورِ

But I am envied over my life

But it is for my very life that I am envied,

And what is the good of life without joy

And what is the worth of life without joy?

فَيا اِبنَ كَرَوَّسٍ يا نِصفَ أَعمى

وَإِن تَفخَر فَيا نِصفَ البَصيرِ

So O son of Karawwas, O half blind

So, O Ibn Karawwas—O you who are half-blind,

And if you are proud, O half sighted

Or if you wish to boast, then: O you who are half-seeing!

تُعادينا لِأَنّا غَيرُ لُكنٍ

وَتُبغِضُنا لِأَنّا غَيرُ عورِ

You oppose us because we are not docile

You show us enmity because we do not stammer,

And hate us because we are not one-eyed

And you detest us because we are not one-eyed like you.

فَلَو كُنتَ اِمرَأً يُهجى هَجَونا

وَلَكِن ضاقَ فِترٌ عَن مَسيرِ

If you were a man who was satirized as we satirize

If you were a man worthy of satire, we would have satirized you,

But a coward fell short of proceeding

But a mere hand-span is too narrow for such a stride.