وَمَوقِدِ نارٍ حَتّى كَأَنَّما

يَشِبُّ النَدى فيهِ لِساري الدُجى نَدّا

By a firebrand that seems as though

dew is boiling in it for the night visitor's cooking pot,

فَأَطلَعَ مِن داجي دُخانٍ بَنَفسَجاً

جَنِيّاً وَمِن قاني شُواظٍ لَهُ وَردا

There emerged from its smoke a violet vapor

and from its live coals red embers.

وَضاحَكَ غُرّاً مِن وُجوهٍ وَضيئَةٍ

فَلَم أَدرِ أَيَّ كانَ أَذكاهُما وَقدا

It laughed sparks from radiant faces,

and I could not tell which of the two was more ablaze.

إِذا بَسَطَت كَفُّ الهَياجِ إِلى العِدى

أَنامِلَ سُمرِ الخَطِّ كانوا لَها زَندا

When the pale fingers of daybreak reach for the foe,

dawn finds their sword-blades bared.

فَظَلَّت وَكُلٌّ في مَضاءِ حُسامِهِ

فُؤاداً وَفي إِشرافِ خَطَّيهِ قَدّا

So they remained, while in each one’s shining sword

there was a heart and on each keen edge a bold soul.

أَرى خَيرَ نارٍ حَولَها خَيرُ فِتيَةٍ

أَنافَت لَهُم جيداً وَحَفّوا بِها عِقدا

I see good fire surrounded by good lads

who offered it their cheeks and encircled it with a necklace.

إِذا الريحُ هَبَّت مِن سَوادِ دُخانِها

عِذاراً وَمِن مُحمَرِّ جاحِمِها خَدّا

When the wind blew from the blackness of its smoke,

perfume, and from its red-hot blaze, a tattoo on the cheek,

أَثارَت قَتاماً يَملَأُ العَينَ أَكهَباً

وَجالَت جَواداً في عِنانِ الصَبا وَردا

It stirred up a darkness brimming with motes

and sent forth steeds bridled by the zephyr bearing perfume.

رَأَيتُ جُفونَ الريحِ وَاللَيلُ إِثمِدٌ

تُقَلِّبُ مِن حُمرِ الجُذى أَعيُناً رُمدا

I saw the eyelids of the wind as night held back,

rolling red embers in the live coals from which sparks leapt.

وَبِالجَمرِ مِن أَكنافِها مَسَّ رِعدَةٍ

تَئِنُّ وَحامي الجَمرِ عَن حَرِّهِ بَردا

By the embers that touched one of its sides, lightning flashed

that moaned, while the guardian of the embers sought refuge from its heat in coolness.