أَتَعْتُبَنِّي وَالهَوَى ذُو عَتْبِ
لَوّامَةٌ هاجَتْ بِلَوْمٍ سَهْبِ
Do you blame me, though passion is blameworthy,
A fault-finder stirred up with blame, hot as live coal in the darkness?
باتَتْ تُذَكِّي كَاللَّظَى فِي العَطْبِ
لا تَرْفَئِنّ أَبَداً عَنْ رُعْبِ
She spends the night awakening me, like a blaze in the branches.
She will never be done criticizing me, will never let up her clamor.
تَخْشَى عَلَيَّ وَالشَّفِيقُ مُشْبِ
وَالمَوْتُ قِرْنٌ مُولِعٌ بِالْغَصْبِ
You fear for me, yet the passionate lover is bold.
And death is a raging bull, given to assault.
مِنْ سُعْرِها النارَ الَّتِي لا تُخْبِي
وَلا تَحَرَّي بِالرُقَى وَالصَخْبِ
By her fire, which cannot be hidden,
She is not deterred by charms and spells.
قَبْلَكِ أَعْيَا الحارِشِين ضَبِّي
لا تَعْذُلِينِي وَاسْتَحِي بِاِزْبِ
Before you, she exhausted the sleepless; leave off blaming me!
Do not deny me justice; be shy of ignorance!
كَزِّ المُحَيَّا آنحٍ إِرْزَبِّ
وَغْلٍ وَلاَ هَوْهَاءَةٍ نِخَبِّ
Restrain the spying eyes, the prying ears,
The slander, the false imaginings, the prating tongues!
وَلا بِبِرْشاعِ الوِخامِ وَغْبِ
عَلَى الضِجَاعَيْنِ انْضِجاعَ الوَطْبِ
Do not spread out on the two couches where lovers lie
The mantle of propriety, if you tear every veil.
وَيْحَكِ إِنْ وَعَّرْتِ كُلَّ نَقْبِ
فَالْتَمِسِي ضَرْبِي وَأَيْنَ ضَرْبِي
Seek my touch, and where is my touch?
For reckoning, or for a quarrelsome partisan?
لِحَسَبٍ أَو لخَصِيمٍ شَغْبِ
مُقْتَصِد أَوْ فِي اشْتِقَاقٍ لَحْبِ
One who economizes, or in separation pines?
I have enough, left over from the bonds of youth,
أَبْقَى فَعِنْدِي مِنْ زَماعٍ حَسْبِي
وَتَحْتَ كَشْحِي وَرِدَاءِ العَصْبِ
And under my shirt, the mantle of manhood,
A care, firmly braced as the straight sword,
هَمٌّ كَتَصْمِيمِ الحُسَامِ العَضْبِ
عاذِلَ هَلْ قَصْبٌ بِغَيْرِ قَصْبِ
That wards off the necks of the smooth-necked gazelles
And the lions, the violent beasts of prey,
شَافِيك أَوْ لَدْغٌ بِقَوْلٍ لَسْبِ
لَمَّا رَأَتْنِي طَارَ عَنِّي لِعْبِي
With the blade of the fang, the iron tooth,
That drags them down or lays them out before they are pulled.
وَانْعاجَ شَيْطانُ التَّصَابِي المُصْبِي
وَصَارَ فَيْنانُ اللِّمامِ الهُدْبِ
That is so, though the blamer blamed me
And the old man clucked his tongue at the stubble-chinned youth.
قَزْعاً كَمِرْعِزَّى الفِراخِ الزُغْبِ
قُلْتُ أُعَزِّيها وَشَجْبِي شَجْبِي
I have discarded the words of the lying men;
I do not keep late hours, and Bilal is not my comrade.
لا تَحْسِبِينِي حَجَراً مِنْ هَضْبِ
يَكْسِرُ ما يُرْدي بِهِ وَيُنْبِي
I make plain to the prince my manners;
He changed my condition and prolonged my delight—
عَنْ مَتْنِهِ مِرْداةَ كُلِّ صَقْبِ
وَقَدْ تَطَوَّيْتُ انْطِوَاءَ الحِضْبِ
The shooter’s dart, speaking of something hard—
And my honor is not on the road to disgrace.
بَيْنَ قَتادِ رَدْهَةٍ وَشِقْبِ
بَعْدَ مَدِيدِ الجِسْمِ مُصْلَهِبِّ
As for me, I am Hayyan ibn Dhat al-Qanab;
How strange his affair and mine!
كَالرُمْحِ فِي حَدِّ السِنانِ الذِرْبِ
ذاكَ وَإِنْ عَبَّى لِيَ المُعَبِّي
As I make plain to the prince my heart,
Because I care so much, care so deeply,
وَطَحْطَحَ الجِدُّ لِحَاءَ القِشْبِ
أَلْقَيْتُ أَقْوال الرِجَال الكُذْبِ
Advice that met with the minds’ approbation—
So I said, though the words aroused anger—
ولَسْتُ أُضْوِي وَبِلالٌ حِزْبِي
فَأَنَا مُبْدٍ لِلأَمِير أَدْبِي
“By God, by the East and the West,
By the sanctuary of God and the house of seclusion,
غَيَّرَ بالِي وَأَطالَ ذَبِّي
ناجِيَةُ الرَامي بِقَوْلٍ صَعْبِ
Where the circumambulator calls out at Mecca,
I met with wonders that roused my wonder.
وَلَيْسَ عِرْضِي بِطَرِيقِ السَبِّ
وَالعَبْدُ حَيَّانُ بْنُ ذات القُنْبِ
I met with a shining that was like the dog’s drowsiness,
And promises that my friends and I doubted,
يَا عَجَباً مَا خَطْبُهُ وَخَطْبِي
وَأَنَا يُبْدِي لِلأَمِيرِ قَلْبِي
Like bees doubting the fresh sweet water.
Until I feared that my Lord would take me to task for some wrongdoing.
لِفَرْطِ إِشْفاقِي وَفَرْطِ حُبِّي
نَصِيحَةً لاقَتْ لُبابَ اللُبِّ
So I hope that when the bonds are loosened,
Before the farewells and the parting of friends,
فَقُلْتُ وَالأَقْوالُ ذات غِبِّ
إِنِّي وَرَبِّ مَشْرِقٍ وَغَربِ
That you will water me from Sib al-Furat’s channel
When a debt bit me—harsh, painful.
وَحَرَمِ اللَّهِ وَبَيْتِ الحُجْبِ
بِحَيْثُ يَدْعُو الطائِفُ المُلَبِّي
Leaning on a spear, biting with an arrowhead,
As if the veins of a mullein were slapped with clay—
لاَقَيْت أَعْجَاباً فَهِجْنَ عُجْبِي
لَاقَيْتُ مَطْلاً كَنُعَاسِ الكَلْبِ
That taking a debt to repay a debt would fatten me up
And worry my shoulder—evil vermin!
وَعِدَةً عُجْتُ عَلَيْهَا صَحْبِي
كَالنَّحْلِ بِالْماءِ الرُضَابِ العَذْبِ
Though we are noble lions, fierce dragons,
Stripping their enemies after spearing them—
حَتَّى خَشِيت أَنْ يَكُونَ رَبِّي
يَطْلُبُنِي مِنْ عَمَلٍ بِذَنْبِ
Stripping them of the wood’s bark, the wood’s peel—
Until we were left like prey for the wolf.
فَأَنَا أَرْجُو عِنْدَ عَضّ اللّزْبِ
قَبْلَ التَّنَائِي وَافْتِرَاقِ الشَعْبِ
And my jest lighted in a land of scant pasturage,
Cut up between flat land and clefts,
سُقْيَاكَ مِنْ سَيْبِ الفُرَاتِ الثَغْبِ
إِذْ عَضَّ دَيْنٌ مَسَّنِي بِكَرْبِ
Until they cried for help, after lives of scarcity,
From you, who are no mere bag of skin,
مُعْتَمِدُ الحِنْوِ مُلِحُّ القِتْبِ
كَأَنَّ وَسْقَ جَنْدَلٍ وَتُرْبِ
You, to whom the times offer reproach.
One noble when nobility is chosen,
عَلَىَّ مِنْ تَنْحِيبِ ذاكَ النَحْبِ
وَأَخْذِنَا دَيْناً بِدَيْنٍ يُرْبِي
Most generous granter of gifts.
You make some of those who would forbid hang their heads.
وَعَضَّ بِالكاهِلِ شَرُّ جِلْبِ
وَنَحْن أَسْآر السِنِين الجُدْبِ
So do not reject my praise and my elegy,
My desire to join with you, my fuel for your fire.
تَبْرِي مَبَارِيهِنَّ بَعْدَ الشَذْبِ
مِنْ عِضَةِ الخَشْبِ لحَاءَ الخُشْبِ
In your rope I do not cease desiring, longing.
To you belongs the bestowal of regular favor.
حَتَّى تُرِكْنَا جَزَراً لِلذِّئْبِ
وَحَطَّ هَزْلِي منْ بِلادٍ جُرْبِ
Remember matters whose good is in the outcome.
But if you insist on refusing me,
تَقْطَعُ بَيْنَ صَرَدٍ وَشَعْبِ
حَتَّى اسْتَغاثُوا بَعْدَ عَيْشٍ جَشْبِ
If you put out your malice and ill-will,
And the mill wheel of fate turns without stop,
بِمُسْتَغاثٍ مِنْكَ غَيْرِ جَدْبِ
وَأَنْتَ وَالأَزْمانُ ذاتُ عَتْبِ
Your power defeats all powers;
Your well-being defeats all well-being;
ذو نَجَبِ عِنْدَ انْتِجابِ النَجْبِ
أَرْوَعُ وَهّابٌ جَزِيلُ الوَهْبِ
The kindler of the fires of war has come to know
That you reward those you fear and are quick to advance.
تُوري وَبَعضُ القادِحِينَ يُكْبِي
فَلا تَرُدَّنْ مِدْحَتِي وَنَدْبِي
You seize the shoulders of all the smooth-necked kings
Of the Kurum, the black lions, the violent beasts,
وَرَغْبَتِي فِي وَصْلِكُمْ وَحَطْبِي
في حَبْلِكُمْ لا أَئْتَلِي وَرَغْبِي
With the shears of your fangs, your grinding teeth,
Dragging them down or knocking them flat without dragging.
إِلَيْكَ فَارْبُبْ نِعْمَةَ المُرْتَبِّ
وَاذْكُرْ أُمُوراً خَيْرُهَا فِي العَقْبِ
Know that I persist in doing what I must do,
My face not turning from the radiance.
فَإِن أَبَى مِنْ مَنْعِك التَأَبِّي
وَأَخْرَجَ الضِغْنَ ضَغِينَ الخِبِّ
The time has come for me to set out, for my friends
To make ready for the land of my people or the mountain paths.
وَدارَ دَوَّارُ الرَحَى في القُطْبِ
فَإِرْبُكَ الغالِبُ كُلَّ إِرْبِ
I aim to gain the breadth of every plain,
If the Lord of Power wishes.
وَطِبُّكَ الغالِبُ كُلَّ طِبِّ
قَدْ عَلِمَ المُوقِدُ نارَ الحَرْبِ
Either with the necks of the swift steeds, the long-necked,
Though the stallion may bolt after settling down,
أَنَّكَ وَثَّابٌ مَخُوفُ الوَثْبِ
تَعْتَز أَعْناق الرِقاب الرُقْبِ
Or avoid a side, avoid a flank,
Every doe-gazelle with a fawn in her belly,
مِنَ القُرُومِ وَالأُسُودِ الغُلْبِ
بِمِقْصَلِ النابِ حَدِيدِ الخَلْبِ
With a wonderful belly binding to the loin
A sheep hurrying, near to lambing,
يَجْذِب أَوْ يَصْرَعُ قَبْل الجَذْبِ
وَاعْلَمْ بِأَنِّي دائِبٌ لِدأْبِي
A smooth-sided one, nimble, light,
Dusky, with a thick trunk, a thickset foreleg,
وَالوَجْهِ مِن أَبَابَة المُؤْتَبِّ
حَانَ انْطِلاقِي وَأَجَدَّ صَحْبِي
Shooting an arrow with holes for the bowstring,
With a short quiver, round containers,
لأَرْضِ قَوْمِي أَوْ جِبال الدَرْبِ
فأَنَا رامٍ عَرْضَ كُلِّ سَهْبِ
The croups of the camels, the vile hyenas,
The firm, in the despicable burrows.
إِنْ شاءَ رَبُّ القُدْرَة المُسَبِّي
إِمَّا بِأَعْناقِ المَهَارَى الصُهْبِ
And perhaps in the night I will shake my mantle
With the two-handed spears, piercing bosoms,
وَالعِيسُ قَدْ يَنْأَيْنَ بَعْدَ القُرْبِ
أَوْ يَطَّلِعْنَ جانِباً عَنْ جَنْبِ
Coursing like unleashed hounds,
Spearing like straightened spears.
كُلُّ سَرَنْداةٍ نَعُوبِ النَعْبِ
عَيْرَانَةٍ كَالمِسْحَلِ الأَقَبِّ
Until the wealth returns after loss,
Whether profit from selling or gain from my hands,
أَلْحَقَ طَيَّ بَطْنِهِ بِالقُصْبِ
تَعْداؤُهُ مِقْرَاةَ كُلِّ عَلْبِ
From a generous king, more fertile than rain,
Welcoming the guest with spaciousness,
في أَرْبَعٍ مِثْلِ عِجام القَسْبِ
مَعْلاً بِتَقْرِيبٍ وَشَدٍّ نَهْبِ
Broad in manner, gentle with his horses,
Giving generously, not closefisted,
نَهْدٍ كَكَرِّ الأَنْدَرَانِ الشَطبِ
أَجْرَدَ بَصْباصٍ خَفِيفِ الهُلْبِ
Like the Man of Mishrif, shedding rain in heavy drops.
And perhaps in times of hardship,
دُمَالِجِ البُدْنِ جَرِيمِ الشَذْبِ
يَرْمِي جَلاذِيَّ الصُوَى بِوَأْبِ
When safety is feared and ruin dreaded,
You make my sandal stand firm and raise up my heel.
بِمُكْرَبِ القَيْنِ قَرُوعِ القَعْبِ
صُلْبِ الحَوَامِي في دَخِيسِ الجُبِّ
Repair my wing that my strength may be straightened!
No feathers of mine have you ruffled.
وَرُبَّما زَعْزَعْتُ لَيْلاً رَحْبِي
بِشَوْقَبِيَّاتِ الصُدورِ حُقْبِ
Seal my desires with triumph and gain!
I thank you for your bounty and wet my throat,
أَسْحَجْنَ تَسْحِيجَ قِداحِ القُضْبِ
مُنْصَلِتاً كَالأَجْدَلِ المُنْصَبِّ
Immersed and sinking into the trough,
Drinking deep of the fresh, gurgling water.
حَتَّى يَثُوبَ المالُ بَعْدَ النَكْبِ
مِنْ رِبْحِ بَيْع أَوْ يَكُونَ كَسْبِي
He who hoped in your fresh, fertile rainclouds
Was watered from the rainspouts of spring,
مِنْ مَلِك أَزْهَرَ غَيْرِ لِصْبِ
بَلْجٍ يُحْيِّي ضَيْفَهُ بِالرُحْبِ
And misfortunes fell away from him.
مُتَّسِعِ الذَرْعِ رَخِيِّ السَرْبِ
بِالخَيْرِ يُعْطِي وَهوَ غَيْرُ جَأْبِ
كَالمَشْرَفِيِّ المُهرَاقِ الغَرْبِ
وَرُبَّمَا عِنْدَ الأُمُورِ النُصْبِ
مَنْجَاتِهَا وَعِنْدَ خَوْفِ الرَهْبِ
ثَبَّتَّ نَعْلِي ورَفَعْتَ كَعْبِي
فَاجْبُرْ جَنَاحِي يَسْتَقِمْ لِي صُلْبِي
وَلَيْسَ رِيشٌ رِشْتَهُ بِلَغْبِ
وَاخْتِمْ مِطالِي بِنَجَاز وَجْبِ
أشْكُرْ لِنُعْماكَ وَيَكْرَعْ ثِلْبِي
مُنْغَمِسَ العُثْنُونِ فِي مَعَبِّ
فِي غَرِقِ الحَوْضِ رَوِيِّ الشِرْبِ
وَمَنْ تَرَجَّى مِنْ جَدَاكَ الخِصْبِ
أُسْقِيَ بُوقاتِ الرَبِيعِ السَكْبِ
وَانْكَشَفَتْ عَنْهُ نُحُوسُ الشَصْبِ
