Sol 6

  1. Is it the dwelling among the outskirts of Qaw and Ar'ar?

    I crossed the sandy rise, the valley of al-Safa, then al-Mushaqqar.

  2. Its traces are like lines of writing marked with dots

    when they appear, or like the patterns of an embroidered cloak.

  3. Your eyes shed streaming tears

    like scattered, finely strung pearls.

  4. Yes, these are grounds whose beauty time has changed;

    the turns of time are ever given to change.

  5. Winds settled there, weaving above them

    coverings of swirling, murky dust.

  6. And a sweeping, pouring rain whose roar seemed

    like the bellowing of an agitated herd of great camels.

  7. The first rush of its rain drives the sure-footed mountain goats

    from every rugged refuge toward the gentler slopes.

  8. It left there only dark, crouching remains

    and a blackened, ruined hearth and a scattered trench.

  9. These are the traces of people who chose for their guest

    choice beasts to honor him with a feast and slaughter.

  10. They stayed there for the two months of spring, then began

    to weigh the judgment of a prudent but uncertain mind.

  11. They brought back to the saddles every tall camel,

    high-backed, pale in color, and bright.

  12. A lean one, clothed by the she-camels in a mottled garment

    of spray like reddish, deadly water.

  13. The women were moons within their curtains, and the people agreed

    upon the judgment of a formidable, cautious leader.

  14. The litters departing at evening looked

    like heavily laden palms bearing unripe dates.

  15. Among them was a fair-skinned, tender young woman

    slender at the waist and full at the hips.

  16. A noblewoman among the secluded beauties of Ya'rub,

    they occupied the great crest of Himyar's back.

  17. They grazed what was sweet to graze, then turned

    toward a fair land of palms and rivers.

  18. A reproaching woman rose to blame me;

    one intent on what he seeks lies awake.

  19. She blames me for giving away all my wealth

    and claims generosity is a door to poverty.

  20. And she blames me for outstripping fierce, noble men in battle,

    risking the life of a bold lion.

  21. ُ

    O reproacher, generosity does not destroy a young man,

    nor does hoarding make a mortal live forever.

  22. O reproacher, one who does not perish by the sword

    dies in humiliation like a desert mushroom on bare ground.

  23. Have you not asked, so you might learn of my merits

    and my excellence? Whoever asks about a man is told.

  24. O reproacher, glory is an inheritance among us;

    an elder of ours bequeaths it to another elder.

  25. Ranks of honor rise with towering structure,

    and pride has a source joined to its outlet.

  26. My ancestor Saba took captive the women of tribes;

    I was named for him, so keep your modesty and excuse me.

  27. Our Harith adorned mankind with his bounty

    and subdued kings with his massed numbers.

  28. Haritha the patrician is one of us, and so is Mazin,

    father of goodness, provision for travelers, a treasure for the poor.

  29. And Ibraha, lord of the beacon, and his son,

    brother of the crown, who struck every living foe with terror.

  30. Those are my forefathers, truly themselves,

    the purest core of chosen jewels.

  31. They thrust in battle and fed guests at banquets;

    they relieved the cares of the traveler who came by night.

  32. Their clothing was armor wrought like David's work,

    ample coats that could turn a sharp sword.

  33. We ruled men's necks through valor and generosity;

    every people submitted to us in humility.

  34. We burned Tamim in the fires

    after their tyrannical pride became plain.

  35. We left them in their valley bearing humiliation,

    falling in that blazing fire.

  36. And we tore down the thrones of Taym's horsemen

    with a crushing, fearsome calamity.

  37. At dawn we came upon Sulaym in its dwellings

    with a red cup of death in battle.

  38. Many mighty kings among Nizar

    we crushed like crumbled pieces of bread.

  39. On the day of Badr we gave our spears to drink

    the blood of Quraysh, and of the Jews at Khaybar.

  40. We left the wild beasts to gnaw from them

    wrists that had never stretched out in submission to an assailant.

  41. On the day of Hunayn, God strengthened His religion

    through us as we advanced with spears and armor.

  42. We trampled them with steeds of the A'waj line,

    with mature horses and splintering spears.

  43. We struck Adi with a Yemeni blow,

    mingling their broken men with those still whole.

  44. And there were sons of noble lords and women

    secluded like gazelles of the winding sands and al-Muhajjar.

  45. And horses and camels whose backs seemed

    to rise beneath dark crowds of foreign-speaking men.

  46. We ruled the two gardens at Ma'rib,

    and trampled in defiance of Khosrow and Caesar.

  47. We fell upon them as wolves at evening fall

    upon the goats of the rocky hills in a difficult night raid.

  48. We are builders of glory through our glory;

    ask the descendants of Qaydar: his descendants will tell you.

  49. Whenever we rose to destroy a town,

    we swept away its soil with armies like a fierce wind.

  50. No fugitive escaped us across the wastelands,

    and no pulpit's wooden frame was free of our names.

  51. The sons of Amir, Ma' al-Sama', and Malik

    gave us a house of honor beyond any rival's reach.

  52. And Kaykarib is of us, and the nobleman of Yashjub,

    and Ghassan, wearer of the great jeweled crown.

  53. Ours is the loftiest, most illustrious lineage,

    whose brilliance fills the eyes of every beholder.

  54. We are the generous givers when misfortune bears down

    on people with the harshness of a tyrant.

  55. We are people of great deeds, rank, and eminence,

    of lavish giving and pure ancestry.

  56. Who after me will show generosity, courage, and fidelity,

    and strike at the vitals in a difficult stand?

  57. Who will clear away crushing troubles

    and bring them down upon the arrogant oppressor?

  58. Ours is the upper bough of honor in the stock of a tree

    of glory, nourished by pride as by abundant water.

  59. Kings, kings of Yemen, noble chiefs,

    honorable in their deeds, whose merit cannot be denied.

  60. Lions, mountains, great leaders, and seas,

    warriors who subdued every stubborn foe.

Sol 6