خليليَّ مُرَّا بالرُّسومِ الدَّوائرِ

لموذيةٍ بين العَقيقِ فحاِجرِ

My two companions, pass by the effaced traces—

the traces of Muḍayya, between al-ʿAqīq and Ḥājir.

قِفا نبكِ بعدَ البَينِ عَلَّ بكاءَنا

يبُرّدُ تبريحَ الغرامِ المخامر

Halt; let us weep after parting—perhaps our tears

will cool the searing anguish of love steeped in the heart.

وإن لم يكن إلا طُلولاً هَوَامِداً

صوامتَ لم تردُدْ جوابَ المحادِرِ

Though nothing remains but lifeless ruins,

mute, returning no answer to one who speaks,

وقفنا فسلَّمنا جميعاً وإنما

من العِيّ تكليمُ الَموامي القَوافر

we halted and all of us offered greetings—yet

to address barren dwellings is helpless speech.

وعامرةٍ بالجنّ بَيداءَ صَفصفٍ

قطعتُ بحُرجوجٍ من البُزْل فاطر

Many a wilderness peopled by jinn—a level waste—

I crossed on a towering, broad she-camel, newly mature among the full-grown:

أموِن السُّرى وهم ذَقونٍ هَطلَعٍ

أروفٍ زَفوفٍ من صميمِ الأباعرِ

sure-footed by night, stout-chinned and high-necked,

supple and swift, from the purest camel stock.

كأني على رَبْدَاءَ من رُبد حَوْمَلٍ

تَرامى ببيضٍ باللّوى متحاورِ

I seemed to ride a dun-colored one from Ḥawmal’s dark herd,

grazing with white camels at al-Liwā, calling back and forth.

فأفزعها رِكْزُ الأنيس فأدبرت

تجوب الفيافي جوبَ سارٍ محاذرِ

The low voices of men startled her, and she turned away,

traversing the open wastes like a wary night traveler—

وسيجاً وإيضاعاً ووَخْداً وهَزَّةً

ذَميلاً وإيجافاً بفرطِ التَّعاورِ

now smooth-running, now racing headlong, now trotting swiftly, now jolting,

ambling evenly and galloping, the gaits ceaselessly alternating.

أنا الملكُ القَرْمُ الذي تعرفونه

هُمامٌ قديم العيصِ جَمُّ المفاخرِ

I am the king, the champion whom you know,

a resolute man of ancient sovereignty, abounding in glories.

أنا ابن الأزْدِ غَسّان أنتمي

لهودٍ إذا الأنسابُ عُدَّت لعابرِ

I am a son of al-Azd; to Ghassān I trace my line,

and to Hūd, when genealogies are reckoned by one who knows the past.

ليَ الشرفُ الوَّضاحُ والسُّؤدد الذي

علا وسما فوقَ النجومِ الزواهرِ

Mine are radiant honor and manifest lordship,

rising and soaring above the shining stars.

ملكت رقابَ الناسِ بالبأس والنَّدى

وسُدت ملوكاً بالعُلى والمفاخر

Through courage and generosity I mastered the necks of men

and rose above kings in eminence and glory.

فجدّيَ نبهانُ الهُماُم ووالدي

سليمانُ موْلى كلِّ بادِ وحاضرِ

My grandfather is Nabhān, the valiant leader, and my father

Sulaymān, lord of every nomad and settled man.

وكم قُدْت من جيشٍ أزَبَّ لمثله

وكم قُدت من طِرفَ جَواَدٍ لشاعرِ

How many a vast, bristling army have I led, with none its equal—

and how many a noble, fine-bred horse have I led for a poet.

وكم خُضت بحراً موجه البيضُ والقَنا

وكلُّ ربيطِ الجأش كالليل ثائرِ

How many a sea have I plunged into, its waves flashing swords and lances,

while every stout-hearted warrior surged, night-like, in fury.

وأكرمُ من مَعْنٍ وفضلٍ وحاتمٍ

وأشجعُ من عَمْرٍ وعمرو وعامرِ

More generous am I than Maʿn, Faḍl, and Ḥātim,

and braver than ʿAmr, ʿUmar, and ʿĀmir;

وأكبرُ عقلاً من ثَبيرٍ وباسلٍ

وأقْطَعُ من ماضي الغِرارين بِاترِ

greater in judgment than Thabīr, and more valiant,

more decisive than a keen, double-edged, severing sword.

وحسبي من الأموال شقَّاءُ سابحٌ

ووَجناء حرفٌ من بناتِ العصاِفرِ

Of wealth, enough for me is a fleet chestnut steed,

and a big-cheeked, lean she-camel of the stock of al-ʿAḍāfir;

وموضونة سَرْد وعَضْب مُهَنَّد

وأسمرُ فيه لَهْذم غير قاصر

a close-woven coat of mail and a sharp Indian blade,

and a brown spear with a full-length point;

وصفراء مِرنانٌ وزرقا مخيفة

محددَّة مبعوثُها غير حائرِ

a ringing yellow bow and a fearsome blue-tipped arrow,

keen-pointed—when loosed, its missile never strays.

أبى الله إلا أننا آلَ تُبَّعٍ

ملوكُ ملوكِ الأرضِ من عهدِ عابرِ

God has willed only that we are the house of Tubbaʿ,

kings over the kings of the earth since a bygone age.

لنا العِزُّ والتيجانُ والمجدُ والعُلى

وسَائلْ بنا حَيِّيْ مَعَدّ ٍوعامِرِ

Ours are might, crowns, glory, and eminence—

ask the two peoples, Maʿadd and ʿĀmir, about us.