وَمَعينُ ماءِ البِشرِ أَبرَقَ هَشَّةً
فَكَرَعتُ مِن صَفَحاتِهِ في مَشرَبِ
The wellspring of mankind's water sparkled softly,
So I drank from its pages in my drinking-trough
مُتَهَلِّلٌ يَندى حَياءً وَجهَهُ
فَتراهُ بَينَ مُفَضَّضٍ وَمُذَهَّبِ
Gleaming modestly, its face dewy with shyness
You’d see it amid embroidered cloths and gold-plated wares
أَضنى الحُسامَ حَسادَةً فَفِرِندُهُ
دَمعٌ تَرَقرَقَ فَوقَهُ لَم يَسكُبِ
The swords were envious and very eager for it
A teardrop trembled over it but did not spill
خَيَّمتُ مِنهُ بَينَ طَودٍ باذِخٍ
نالَ السِماكَ وَبَينَ وادٍ مُعشِبِ
I camped near it between a lofty mountain
It reached the summits and between a meadow
تَهفو بِهِ نارُ القِرى فَكَأَنَّها
مَهما عَشا ضَيفٌ لِسانُ المُعرِبِ
The fires of the villages blaze for it, as though
However long a guest lived, the tongue of the Arab was eloquent
حَمراءُ نازَعَتِ الرِياحَ رِداءَها
وَهناً وَزاحَمَتِ السَماءَ بِمَنكِبِ
A red mountain disputed the winds her cloak
Bending over and crowding the sky with her shoulder
ضَرَبَت سَماءً مِن دُخانٍ فَوقَها
لَم يُدرَ فيها شُعلَةٌ مِن كَوكَبِ
She struck a firmament of smoke above her
In which no shining star was visible
وَتَنَفَّسَت عَن كُلِّ نَفحَةِ جَمرَةٍ
باتَت لَها ريحُ الجَنوبِ بِمَرقَبِ
And breathed out with every spark’s breath
The south wind kept watch for her
قَد أُلهِبَت فَتَذَهَّبَت فَكَأَنَّها
لِسُكونِ شَرِّ شِرارِها لَم تَلهَبِ
She was set ablaze and turned to ashes, as though
To still the evil of her burning sparks, she did not ignite
تَذكو وَراءَ رَمادِها فَكَأَنَّها
شَقراءُ تَمرَحُ في عَجاجٍ أَكهَبِ
She smolders behind her ashes, as though
A blond disporting herself in a bleached thicket
وَاللَيلُ قَد وَلّى يُقَلِّصُ بُردَهُ
كَدّاً وَيَسحَبُ ذَيلَهُ في المَغرِبِ
And the night has turned away, shrinking its chill
Relentlessly, dragging its hem into the sunset
وَكَأَنَّما نَجمُ الثُرَيّا سَحرَةً
كَفٌّ تُمَسِّحُ عَن مَعاطِفِ أَشهَبِ
As though the Pleiades' star in the dark before dawn
Were a hand wiping cloaks of gray hair
