دَعاني اِمرُؤٌ أَحمى عَلى الناسِ عِرضَهُ
فَقُلتُ لَهُ لَبَّيكَ لَمّا دَعانِيا
A hot-headed man implored me to protect his honor among the people
So I said to him, "I respond to you whenever you call upon me"
هَجَتهُ يَرابيعُ العِراقِ وَلَم يَجِد
لَها في قَديمِ الدَهرِ إِلّا التَوالِيا
The lands of Iraq rose against him yet in all of ancient history
They found no succession among themselves but calamity
فَإِن تَسعَ يا اِبنَ الكَلبِ تَطلُبُ دارِماً
لِتُدرِكَهُ لا تَفتَأِ الدَهرَ عانِيا
So if you desire, O son of a dog, to gain Darim
Ceaselessly trying throughout time but never attaining your wishes
أَتَطلُبُ عادِياً بَنى اللَهُ بَيتَهُ
عَزيزاً وَلَم يَجعَل لَكَ اللَهُ بانِيا
Do you seek to fight one whose house God has built
As mighty while God did not make you a builder
سَعَيتَ شَبابَ الدَهرِ لَم تَستَطِعهُمُ
أَفَالآنَ لَمّا أَصبَحَ الدَهرُ فانِيا
You struggled in your youth but could not overpower them
Now when time has become fleeting will you prevail?
أَصِخ يا اِبنَ ثَفرِ الكَلبِ عَن آلِ دارِمٍ
فَإِنَّكَ لَن تَسطيعَ تِلكَ الرَوابِيا
Away from the family of Darim, O son of a dog’s womb
For you will never scale those heights
وَإِنَّكَ لَو أَسرَيتَ لَيلَكَ كُلَّهُ
بِقَومِكَ لَم تُصبِح مِنَ القَومِ دانِيا
Even if you marched with your tribe the whole night
You will not greet the morn among the respected of any people
نَخَستَ بِيَربوعٍ لِتُدرِكَ دارِماً
ضَلالاً لِمَن مَنّاكَ تِلكَ الأَمانِيا
With false hopes you charged to gain Darim
Led astray by the delusions granted you
أَتَشتِمُ قَوماً أَثَّلوكَ بِدارِمٍ
وَلَولاهُمُ كُنتُم كَعُكلٍ مُوالِيا
Do you insult a people who ennobled you through Darim?
Without them you would be slaves in servitude melded together
مَوالِيَ حَدّاجي الرَوايا وَساسَةَ ال
حَميرِ وَتَبّاعينَ تِلكَ التَوالِيا
Slaves, camel-drivers, and donkey-leaders joined together
When the people draw near to water, you are driven
إِذا اِحتَضَرَ الناسُ المِياهَ نُفيتُمُ
عَنِ الماءِ حَتّى يُصبِحَ الحَوضُ خالِيا
Away from the water until the pond lies empty
We have never met a warrior in battle
أَجَحّافُ ما مِن كاشِحٍ ذاقَ حَربَنا
فَيُفلِتَ إِلّا اِزدادَ عَنّا تَناهِيا
Who clashed with us and slipped away unscathed
Our enemies are not protected from us by caution
وَما تَمنَعُ الأَعداءَ مِنّا هَوادَةٌ
وَلَكِنَّهُم يَلقَونَ مِنّا الدَواهِيا
Rather they meet devastation and annihilation from us
On the day Bani Samaa clashed, our steeds charged
وَيَومَ بَني الصَمعاءَ خاضَت جِيادُنا
دِماءَ بَني ذَكوانَ رَنقاً وَصافِيا
Into the blood of Bani Thakwan pure and freely flowing
Our warfare left them as carrion for the kites in Hawazin
فَقَد تَرَكَتهُم في هَوازِنَ حَربُنا
وَما يَأخُذونَ الحَقَّ إِلّا تَلافِيا
And they do not take truth but instead find only falsehood
We killed Ghaniyy protected by slaves but we gained
قَتَلنا غَنِيّاً بِالمَوالي فَلَم نَجِد
بِقَتلِ غَنِيٍّ لِلحَرارَةِ شافِيا
No remedy for burning fever by killing a rich man
And it was but reluctance to fight a warrior
وَنَصراً وَلَولا رَغبَةٌ عَن مُحارِبٍ
لَأَشبَعَ قَتلاها الضِباعَ العَوافِيا
Else their slaughter would have sated the hungry jackals
You shielded Bani Abs from their eyes but when
وَغُضّوا بَني عَبسٍ لَها مِن عُيونِكُم
وَلَمّا تُصِبكُم نَفحَةٌ مِن هِجائِيا
A whiff of my scolding hits you it will not miss
You blamed me for outstripping you before
فَقَد كِلتُموني بِالسَوابِقِ قَبلَها
فَبَرَّزتُ مِنها ثانِياً مِن عَنانِيا
Then I flashed my bridle from it second to none
The day at Samaa was but a pretext
وَما كانَتِ الصَمعاءُ إِلّا تَعِلَّةً
لِمَن كانَ يَعتَسُّ الإِماءَ الزَوانِيا
For those who would molest and rape slave girls
Bani Samaa insulted me but the excuse lies beyond them
هَجاني بَنو الصَمعاءِ وَالبيدُ دونَها
وَما كانَ يَلقى غِبطَةً مَن هَجانِيا
One who insults me will find no joy
