يا نَسيمَ الشَمالِ أدِّ رِسَالا
تي وبَلِّغْ تحيَّتي وسَلامي
O breeze of the north, deliver thou my message
And convey my greetings and peace
واحْتَقِبْ عِبءَ ما أبثُّكَ من فَرْ
طِ اشتياقٍ ولَوعَةٍ وغَرَامِ
And bear the burden of the passion I impart to thee
Of yearning, anguish and love
لِفتَى هَاشِمٍ أخي السُّؤدَدِ الْعو
دِ وربِّ الهِبَاتِ والإِنْعَامِ
To the youth of Hashim, my noble brother
The generous lord of gifts and favours
إنَّ دهراً قَضَى بِبُعديَ عن نَا
ديهِ أولى مُقَصِّرٍ بِملاَمِ
For fate has decreed my separation from
My companion, though blameless he remains
وحَشاً أَلْهَبَ الفِراقُ حَوَاشِي
ها لأَحْرَى حَشاً بِبَلِّ الأُوَامِ
Solitude has set his lands ablaze
With more intense fires than the valley’s basalt
ومُحِبٍّ عانَى الفِراقَ ولم يَقْ
ضِ لأقْوى امرئٍ على الآلامِ
And a lover who has suffered separation but gained no respite
However mighty a man against pain he be
أشْخَصَتْنِي عنهُ النوى بعد ما طا
لَ ثَوَائي بِجَوِّهِ ومَقَامِ
It has torn me away from him after I had spent
My days reveling in his affection and company
زحْزَحَتْنِي عن غابِهِ والعَفَرْنَى
ذِلَّةٌ في مَزَابِلِ الآجامِ
It has dragged me far from his thickets where partridges sing
Degraded, amid the barren valley’s cliffs
خَرَطتني من سِلكِهِ ويتيما
تُ اللآلي جمالُها بالنِّظَامِ
It has steered me off his path, leaving me bereft
Like a lone orphan, though orderly in demeanour
حَلأَتني عن وردِهِ فاقضِ بالكتْ
فِ لملقًى دونَ الشريعةِ ظامي
It has diverted me from his roses, so render thy judgment by the book
Against one discarded, beyond law, in darkness
وصلتني بغيرِهِ وأخو الصِّحْ
حَةِ يدري ما قدرُها في السَّقَامِ
And joined me to another, though my brother of high morals knows
What esteem is worthy in time of ill health
يا أخا هاشمِ بنِ عبدِ منافٍ
دعوةٌ من أخي رجالٍ كِرَامِ
O brother of Hashim son of Abd Manaf
A plea from a brother of honourable men
أيُّ عَينٍ تَراهُ لي غيرُ مُكْثي
بينَ قَومٍ لا يفهمونَ كَلاَمي
What eye beholds me except as bewildered
Amongst a people who grasp not my words
ما مُقاميَ فيهم وحَاشَاكَ إلاّ
كمقامِ اليقظانِ بينَ النيامِ
How out of place is my sojourn with them, but far be it from you
Like the vigil of sleepers among the sleeping throng
تَجتَلي العينُ منهُمُ صُوَرَ الأُنْ
سِ وهم من هَوَامِلِ الأنْعَامِ
Eyes wander over their forms, mere beasts of burden they remain
Would that I had bartered them, despicable white faces
ليتَ أَنّي بَدَّلتُهم وهُمُ البِي
ضُ لسَامٍ بالسُودِ من نَسْلِ حَامِ
For noble pitch-black men of Ham’s descent
Boors who cannot distinguish midst their hands
من غَبيٍّ لا يملكُ الفرقَ فيما
بينَ وُسْطَى يَدَيهِ والإِبْهَامِ
Between thumb and forefinger, between honour and insult
Scoundrels, emasculate, who see no difference between
ولئيمٍ واهيْ المُرُوءةِ لا يَفْ
رُقُ بين الإكرامِ والإيْلامِ
Grace and humiliation, respect and degradation
Except that the elite of ferocious Hashim
غَيرَ أنَّ السَّراةَ من هاشمِ الغُرْ
رِ رَعَوْا حُرْمَتي وحَاطُوا ذِمامي
Have guarded my honour and controlled their reins
They have indulged me, treating me as one of them
أوسعونِي كرامةً ألحقَتْني
بِهِمُ مَعْ تباينِ الأَرْحَامِ
Despite our lack of family ties
A people who prefer generosity over wealth
معشرٌ آثروا السَّماحَ على الما
لِ وحاطُوا أغراضَهم بالحُطَامِ
And value only what is intangible and sublime
Such are their ways, can you offer any objection
تلكَ أبياتُهم فَلِجْها فهل تُبْ
صِرُ فيها سوى عِيَابِ اللئامِ
Other than the curses of the base and vile?
They are accustomed to the pliant temper of the ignoble
أَلِفُوا بذلةَ النّفائِسِ في السِّلْ
مِ وبذلَ النفوسِ في الإقدامِ
And to sacrificing themselves when duty calls
They offer food when famine rages; they refuse
فهُمُ المطعمون والعامُ حامٍ
وهُمُ المانعون واليومُ دامي
When all are sated; they give when asked; they restrain when wealth abounds
They inherited this from their forebears, who recoiled
أخذوا عن عليِّهِمْ حين تنبوا الْ
بِيضُ قَطَّ الطلا وقدَّ الهامِ
When the cowards quailed and slackened their reins
Perchance sensing dishonour in flight
رَفَضُوا الخيلَ ربّما استشعرُوا فِي
ها لدى الكَرِّ عَارِضَ الإحْجامِ
Before the enemy, they spurned their mounts
So faster than their arrows in deceit are they
فَهُمُ في المَكَرِّ أسرعُ منهنْ
نَ وُثُوباً ومن مُرُوقِ السِّهامِ
And swifter than the lightning bolts they unleash
Like Abd al-Hamid, when the blood is spilt
مَنْ كعبد الحميدِ إنْ نَأَصَ الدَمْ
مُ وجُرَّتْ مواطئُ الأقدامِ
And feet trample the battleground
A hero who sets ablaze with his blows the cool
بطلٌ يُسخِنُ العيونَ القريرا
تِ بضربٍ يقرُّ عينَ الحِمَامِ
Eyes until even the pigeons' eyes flare up
He who makes each empty braggart’s neck swell
يُوجِرُ القِرْنَ كلَّ فوهاءَ تُبدي
لكَ ما خلفَ ظَهْرِهِ من أَمَامِ
To reveal the cowardice behind the bravado
Since the day he saw decline in control of wealth
مُذْ رَأى النقصَ في السيادةِ بالما
لِ قَلاهُ وسَادَ بالإعْدَامِ
He has refused it, preferring death and oblivion
Yet no apologies for that abode, nor those folk
غيرَ أنْ لا سُلُوَّ عن تِلكُمُ الدا
رِ ولا عَنْ أولئِكَ الأَقْوامِ
O brother of excellence, brilliance, munificence
And fame and mighty deeds
يا أخا الفضلِ والنَّبَاهَةِ والسّؤ
ددِ والذكرِ والأيادِي الجِسَامِ
Do not abandon me to leave and reside amongst
People other than you, unfit for me
لا تكِلْني إلى انتقالي ومكثِي
في أُنَاسٍ سواكُمُ ومُقامِي
My spirit clings to you if the abode should turn
Away, as our souls cling to their bodies
فعلُوقِي بكم إنْ نأتِ الدا
رُ علوقُ الأرواحِ بالأجسامِ
Blame only the turn of fate
And pardon the failings of the days
إنّها خُطّةٌ أجَاءَ لها الحظْ
ظُ فعُفّوا عَنْ زَلَّةِ الأيّامِ
