عَفا واسِطٌ مِن آلِ رَضوى فَنَبتَلُ
فَمُجتَمَعُ الحُرَّينِ فَالصَبرُ أَجمَلُ
A mediator from the virtuous family of Raddwa has appeared, so let us put him to the test
When the free and enslaved come together, patience is most beautiful
فَرابِيَةُ السَكرانِ قَفرٌ فَما بِها
لَهُم شَبَحٌ إِلّا سَلامٌ وَحَرمَلُ
The dwelling of a drunkard is empty, containing nothing
Except apparitions, greetings, and the soft sand
صَحا القَلبُ إِلّا مِن ظَعائِنَ فاتَني
بِهِنَّ اِبنُ خَلّاسٍ طُفَيلٌ وَعَزهَلُ
My heart recovered, except from the charms of maidens
Among them the son of Khallas and Tufayl and 'Azzahal
كَأَنّي غَداةَ اِنصَعنَ لِلبَينِ مُسلَمٌ
بِضَربَةِ عُنقٍ أَو غَوِيٌّ مُعَذَّلُ
It was as if one morning I surrendered to separation as a Muslim
With a stroke to the neck or as an enslaved convict
صَريعُ مُدامٍ يَرفَعُ الشَربُ رَأسَهُ
لِيَحيا وَقَد ماتَت عِظامٌ وَمَفصِلُ
A drunkard’s corpse raises its head to live though its bones and joints are dead
We drag him at times and take care of him at others, and he barely retains his senses
نُهاديهِ أَحياناً وَحيناً نَجُرُّهُ
وَما كادَ إِلّا بِالحُشاشَةِ يَعقِلُ
When they lifted up a bone, his chest struggled
While another, from what he obtained from it, is smeared
إِذا رَفَعوا عَظماً تَحامَلَ صَدرُهُ
وَآخَرُ مِمّا نالَ مِنها مُخَبَّلُ
I drank until a train came to me from Palestine, heavily laden
With goats from Ma’zra loaded, taken up and lowered
شَرِبتُ وَلاقاني لِحَلِّ أَلِيَّتي
قِطارٌ تَرَوّى مِن فَلَسطينَ مُثقَلُ
It stops at times so singing or roasting meat comes between us
Pleasant to one resting, delicious to one drinking, it sends me into reverie
عَلَيهِ مِنَ المِعزى مُسوكٌ رَوِيَّةٌ
مُمَلَّأَةٌ يُعلى بِها وَتُعَدَّلُ
An intoxication that came upon us was followed by things
That we take pride in and from which we drink
فَقُلتُ اِصبَحوني لا أَبا لِأَبيكُمُ
وَما وَضَعوا الأَثقالَ إِلّا لِيَفعَلوا
It crept through the bones as if it were the creeping
Of ants in a valley meandering
أَناخوا فَجَرّوا شاصِياتٍ كَأَنَّها
رِجالٌ مِنَ السودانِ لَم يَتَسَربَلوا
So I said, “Kill it, unpleasant though it is,
And make it most fragrant when killed”
وَجاؤوا بِبَيسانِيَّةٍ هِيَ بَعدَما
يَعُلُّ بِها الساقي أَلَذُّ وَأَسهَلُ
The son of a city grew up in her lap, living in her touch
If he feared sparse rain upon her, he would channel a brook that trickles
تَمُرُّ بِها الأَيدي سَنيحاً وَبارِحاً
وَتوضَعُ بِاللَهُمَّ حَيِّ وَتُحمَلُ
I have no fault in you except that you shorten your blame of me
I will leave you and do what I was doing
فَتوقَفُ أَحياناً فَيَفصِلُ بَينَنا
غِناءُ مُغَنٍّ أَو شِواءٌ مُرَعبَلُ
And shun you beautifully, and the first of our passionate nights will avoid us
When the folly of a lover had passed from me
فَلَذَّت لِمُرتاحٍ وَطابَت لِشارِبٍ
وَراجَعَني مِنها مِراحٌ وَأَخيَلُ
The deliberated of my needs appeared
To a obsessive thought from the family of Thumayya, the one
فَما لَبَّثَتنا نَشوَةٌ لَحِقَت بِنا
تَوابِعُها مِمّا نُعَلُّ وَنُنهَلُ
Whose abode has a locked gate and a staff with bells
And a desolate place where its ostriches seem to be,
تَدِبُّ دَبيباً في العِظامِ كَأَنَّهُ
دَبيبُ نِمالٍ في نَقاً يَتَهَيَّلُ
In its furthest parts, a disheveled hummal
You see the gleaming sand in it as if it were
فَقُلتُ اِقتُلوها عَنكُمُ بِمِزاجِها
وَأَطيِب بِها مَقتولَةً حينَ تُقتَلُ
Men who sometimes don clothes and sometimes go naked
And a frightening wasteland where its hyenas do not wink
رَبَت وَرَبا في حَجرِها اِبنُ مَدينَةٍ
يَظَلُّ عَلى مِسحاتِهِ يَتَرَكَّلُ
Nor do the eyes of its guide neglect it out of fear
In every distant, frightful place, there are no known paths
إِذا خافَ مِن نَجمٍ عَلَيها ظَماءَةً
أَدَبَّ إِلَيها جَدوَلاً يَتَسَلسَلُ
Or signs, and no watering place in it
Sporting places of jinn, as if their soil,
أَعاذِلَ إِلّا تُقصِري عَن مَلامَتي
أَدَعكِ وَأَعمِد لِلَّذي كُنتُ أَفعَلُ
When the winds blow through it, is sifted
I endured when al-Hirba’ was closer, as if it were
وَأَهجُركِ هِجراناً جَميلاً وَيَنتَحي
لَنا مِن لَيالينا العَوارِمِ أَوَّلُ
A Yemeni pilgrim or a shackled prisoner
To the son of Asid Khalid—empty plateaus of Ta’ruwiyy carried us
فَلَمّا اِنجَلَت عَنّي صَبابَةُ عاشِقٍ
بَدا لِيَ مِن حاجاتِيَ المُتَأَمَّلُ
Through which fierce wastelands crawl
You see the fox on it as if it were,
إِلى هاجِسٍ مِن آلِ ظَمياءَ وَالَّتي
أَتى دونَها بابٌ بِصِرّينَ مُقفَلُ
When rising alert, a fully caparisoned steed
You see the red-necked bustard striking its boundary,
وَبَيداءَ مِمحالٍ كَأَنَّ نَعامَها
بِأَرجائِها القُصوى أَباعِرُ هُمَّلُ
Feeble as a chick emerging from an egg
Cleaving the smoothness of the slopes from their fetus,
تَرى لامِعاتِ الآلِ فيها كَأَنَّها
رِجالٌ تَعَرّى تارَةً وَتَسَربَلُ
A brother of barren stupidity and most vile
The journey did not stop until her dwellings stooped
وَجَوزِ فَلاةٍ ما يُغَمَّضُ رَكبُها
وَلا عَينُ هاديها مِنَ الخَوفِ تَغفُلُ
However packed and unpacked they were
And entrusting them to every departing dwelling
بِكُلِّ بَعيدِ الغَولِ لا يُهتَدى لَهُ
بِعِرفانِ أَعلامٍ وَما فيهِ مَنهَلُ
Whose flight saw that her ruins swayed
Until they were obscured, as if their eyes
مَلاعِبُ جِنّانٍ كَأَنَّ تُرابَها
إِذا اِطَّرَدَت فيهِ الرِياحُ مُغَربَلُ
Were remnants of a leather waterbag or a patched waterskin
And the gazelles’ eyes met, so they are stripped
أَجَزتُ إِذا الحِرباءُ أَوفى كَأَنَّهُ
مُصَلٍّ يَمانٍ أَو أَسيرٌ مُكَبَّلُ
By misery and exhaustion, and made to dwindle
Their remnants went to every barren land
إِلى اِبنِ أَسيدٍ خالِدٍ أَرقَلَت بِنا
مَسانيفُ تَعرَوري فَلاةً تَغَوَّلُ
That, after resettling, has open space and knee room
They fell upon it as birds do, and it contains
تَرى الثَعلَبَ الحَولِيَّ فيها كَأَنَّهُ
إِذا ما عَلا نَشزاً حِصانٌ مُجَلَّلُ
Nothing but a barn returned to by one limping
Unless there were camels moaning in their resting places
تَرى العِرمِسَ الوَجناءَ يَضرِبُ حاذَها
ضَئيلٌ كَفَرّوجِ الدَجاجَةِ مُعجَلُ
And pregnant ones like folded up crates, shriveled
Bearing heavy needs that drive them back
يَشُقُّ سَماحيقَ السَلا عَن جَنينِها
أَخو قَفرَةٍ بادي السَغابَةِ أَطحَلُ
To the best dwelling, urged by one emaciated
Until I arrived, arriving at Khalid’s side—
فَما زالَ عَنها السَيرُ حَتّى تَواضَعَت
عَرائِكُها مِمّا تُحَلُّ وَتُرحَلُ
So the best hoped for youth and the most expected!
O Khalid, your spacious refuge for those who have descended
وَتَكليفُناها كُلَّ نازِحَةِ الصُوى
شَطونٍ تَرى حَرباءَها يَتَمَلمَلُ
And your rain has sufficed the vagabonds unleashed
He is the auspicious leader and the one sought
وَقَد ضَمَرَت حَتّى كَأَنَّ عُيونَها
بَقايا قِلاتٍ أَو رَكِيٌّ مُمَكَّلُ
To steady a millstone that was shaking
Your strong, seasoned wood refused anything but firmness
وَغارَت عُيونُ العيسِ وَاِلتَقَتِ العُرى
فَهُنَّ مِنَ الضَرّاءِ وَالجَهدِ نُحَّلُ
And sufficed you only as one who attains his request
O you who strives to reach Khalid—be gentle with him
وَصارَت بَقاياها إِلى كُلِّ حُرَّةٍ
لَها بَعدَ إِسآدٍ مِراحٌ وَأَفكَلُ
And limit some of what you are doing!
For if the distance were great for you, would Khalid
وَقَعنَ وُقوعَ الطَيرِ فيها وَما بِها
سِوى جِرَّةٍ يَرجِعنَها مُتَعَلَّلُ
Be your equal or bear what is carried?
It refuses you to overpower or attain him
وَإِلّا مَبالٌ آجِنٌ في مُناخِها
وَمُضطَمِراتٌ كَالفَلافِلِ ذُبَّلُ
A narrative whose truth the people doubt and interpret
Umayya, al-'Asi—though Khalid calls them,
حَوامِلُ حاجاتٍ ثِقالٍ تَرُدُّها
إِلى حَسَنِ النُعمى سَواهِمُ نُسَّلُ
Hisham answers them with action and resolve
They are the eye of water; with them and in their presence
إِلى خالِدٍ حَتّى أَنَخنَ بِخالِدٍ
فَنِعمَ الفَتى يُرجى وَنِعمَ المُؤَمَّلُ
Is deliverance and transformation from fear
Allah watered a land—Khalid, best of its people,
أَخالِدُ مَأواكُم لِمَن حَلَّ واسِعٌ
وَكَفّاكَ غَيثٌ لِلصَعاليكِ مُرسَلُ
With a downpour whose isolation caused it to erode
When the north wind stabbed its valleys,
هُوَ القائِدُ المَيمونُ وَالمُبتَغى بِهِ
ثَباتُ رَحىً كانَت قَديماً تَزَلزَلُ
The irrigation of the lowlands was most sweet
When the wind shook it, it dragged its train
أَبى عودُكَ المَعجومُ إِلّا صَلابَةً
وَكَفّاكَ إِلّا نائِلاً حينَ تُسأَلُ
As a heavy crocodile creeps
Salty, as if the lightning in its rooms
أَلا أَيُّها الساعي لِيُدرِكَ خالِداً
تَناهَ وَأَقصِر بَعضَ ما أَنتَ تَفعَلُ
Were lamps or bundles of blazing kindling
So when he headed towards Yamaama, intending it,
فَهَل أَنتَ إِن مَدَّ المَدى لَكَ خالِدٌ
مُوازِنُهُ أَو حامِلٌ ما يُحَمَّلُ
The south wind called him, so he turned, writhing
He watered La’la’ and the two Qurnas, but could barely stand
أَبى لَكَ أَن تَسطيعَهُ أَو تَنالَهُ
حَديثٌ شَآكَ القَومُ فيهِ وَأَوَّلُ
The weight of him on La’la’
And he left Ukum al-Hazn floating as if
أُمَيَّةُ وَالعاصي وَإِن يَدعُ خالِدٌ
يُجِبهُ هِشامٌ لِلفَعالِ وَنَوفَلُ
With what it drew from him, kneading bowls bubbled
And there rose for ad-Dahna’ a salty ground as if
أولَئِكَ عَينُ الماءِ فيهِم وَعِندَهُم
مِنَ الخيفَةِ المَنجاةُ وَالمُتَحَوَّلُ
It were laden with fragrant gum, heavy
And he arrived at Ma’rasaniyaat, so gazelles frolicked
سَقى اللَهُ أَرضاً خالِدٌ خَيرُ أَهلِها
بِمُستَفرِغٍ باتَت عَزاليهِ تَسحَلُ
In its meadow, made fat by him
Indeed, al-Jihaaf has committed against people a crime
إِذا طَعَنَت ريحُ الصَبا في فُروجِهِ
تَحَلَّبَ رَيّانُ الأَسافِلِ أَنجَلُ
For which the complaint and hopes are to Allah
Ask the family of Marwan—what of a pact
إِذا زَعزَعَتهُ الريحُ جَرَّ ذُيولَهُ
كَما زَحَفَت عوذٌ ثِقالٌ تُطَفِّلُ
And weak rope that does not cease to be connected?
With the caprice of a bandit after Mus'ab has passed,
مُلِحٌّ كَأَنَّ البَرقَ في حَجَراتِهِ
مَصابيحُ أَو أَقرابُ بُلقٍ تَجَفَّلُ
Disheveled, never ransomed or washed
Al-Jihaaf brought him to you, then ordered him
فَلَمّا اِنتَحى نَحوَ اليَمامَةِ قاصِداً
دَعَتهُ الجَنوبُ فَاِنثَنى يَتَخَزَّلُ
To kill your neighbors midst the houses
Your neighbors had what, had you invited them to it,
سَقى لَعلَعاً وَالقُرنَتَينِ فَلَم يَكَد
بِأَثقالِهِ عَن لَعلَعٍ يَتَحَمَّلُ
Would have brought you the most rational of mankind
So change it, O Quraysh, or your rule
وَغادَرَ أُكمَ الحَزنِ تَطفو كَأَنَّها
بِما اِحتَفَلَت مِنهُ رَواجِنُ قُفَّلُ
Will become disgusting and rejected by Quraysh!
And we will shame some naked people who dislike it,
وَشَرَّقَ لِلدَهنا مُلِثٌّ كَأَنَّهُ
مُحَمَّلُ بَزٍّ ذو جَلاجِلَ مُثقَلُ
And live nobly or die and be killed
And if you tolerate them, there is no tolerance,
وَبِالمَعرَسانِيّات حَلَّ وَأَرزَمَت
بِرَوضِ القَطا مِنهُ مَطافِلُ حُفَّلُ
However heavy, except the people's blood is heavier
And if you turn away from us in this matter of right, we will not
لَقَد أَوقَعَ الجَحّافُ بِالبِشرِ وَقعَةٌ
إِلى اللَهِ مِنها المُشتَكى وَالمُعَوَّلُ
Be blind to truth! Rather, we ask about the right!
We can descend on the fearful and dreadful gap
فَسائِل بَني مَروانَ ما بالُ ذِمَّةٍ
وَحَبلٍ ضَعيفٍ لا يَزالُ يُوَصَّلُ
With might—and the day at hand is most serious
بِنَزوَةِ لِصٍّ بَعدَ ما مَرَ مُصعَبٌ
بِأَشعَثَ لا يُفلى وَلا هُوَ يُغسَلُ
أَتاكَ بِهِ الجَحّافُ ثُمَّ أَمَرتَهُ
بِجيرانِكُم وَسطَ البُيوتِ تُقَتَّلُ
لَقَد كانَ لِلجيرانِ ما لَو دَعَوتُمُ
بِهِ عاقِلَ الأَروى أَتَتكُم تَنَزَّلُ
فَإِلّا تُغَيِّرها قُرَيشٌ بِمُلكِها
يَكُن عَن قُرَيشٍ مُستَمازٌ وَمَزحَلُ
وَنَعرُر أُناساً عَرَّةً يَكرَهونَها
وَنَحيا كِراماً أَو نَموتَ فَنُقتَلُ
وَإِن تَحمِلوا عَنهُم فَما مِن حَمالَةٍ
وَإِن ثَقُلَت إِلّا دَمُ القَومِ أَثقَلُ
وَإِن تَعرِضوا فيها لَنا الحَقَّ لا نَكُن
عَنِ الحَقِّ عُمياناً بَلِ الحَقَّ نَسأَلُ
وَقَد نَنزِلُ الثَغرَ المَخوفَ وَيُتَّقى
بِنا البَأسُ وَاليَومُ الأَغَرُّ المُحَجَّلُ
