رحل الفريق فأسرعوا الوخدا

ورمت بهم أجمالهم بعدا

The convoy departed, hastening their camels,

Their camels carried them into the distance.

قطعت بهم بزل الركاب ضحى

أرضا يحار دليلها القصدا

They crossed the sands at dawn,

Traversing a land where even guides lose their bearings.

من كل مقفرة تخال نعامها

متقاطرات نظمت عقدا

From every desolate plain they imagined they saw ostriches,

Their necks entwined like a necklace.

ربداء طامسة الصوايا تأتلي

بالله خلت سرابها وردا

Grayish white sands conceal the valleys as if

They left their mirages and turned to meadows.

أتبعتهم نظري وفرّق بيننا

بعد المدى وجد النوى الوجدا

I watched them leave until we were separated

By the great expanse, and yearning took hold.

فتقاطرت في الخدّ من كلفي بهم

سرب الدموع فخدّت الخدّا

Tears poured from my eyes for their absence,

My cheeks wept for my cheeks.

رحلوا بعاطلة كأن قوامها

غصنٌ نما خضرا وما اشتدّا

They left on she-camels whose bodies

Were like branches, green but not yet firm.

يهتزّ من مرذ النسيم وربّما

هزّت روادف قدّها القدّا

Swaying from the gentle breeze, their Litters

Swaying lightly at their hindquarters.

يتحمّل العبق النسيم لنا بها

عنها فنحسب نشرها ندّا

The breeze carries their fragrance to us,

As if they had scattered perfume.

وكأنما العطار أوسعنا لها

طيبا إذا نشرت قفا جعدا

As if the perfumer had prepared for us

A scent that spread when the braids came undone.

وهي التي وعدتك قبل رحيلهم

وعدا فأخلف نأيها الوعدا

She who promised you before their departure

A promise which distance prevented her from keeping.

يا ظبية الحيّ التي أمّت به

جلل الخطوب مهامها ريدا

O gazelle of the encampment, who led

The procession of the veil caps proudly.

هل أنت سائلةٌ كما أنا سائل

وفد الجزيرة إذ أتوا وفدا

Are you asking about me as I ask

About the delegation when they came as delegates?

أم هل علوت الحقف سائلة

عنّي الجنائب والصبا عمدا

Or have you climbed up the ridge asking

The south wind and the north wind about me on purpose?

كتشوّفي للريح إن شملت

متنسّما بممرّها بردا

Like me glancing hopefully to the wind

To bring me a whiff of your scent.

لا أنزل النشر اليفاع مرجيّا

خيرا وأهبط بعده الوهدا

I will not lower my gaze submissively,

Hoping for the best, then descend into lowliness.

وأعارض الركبان من أمم

ولهان أنشد من رأي دعدا

I will encounter other caravans

And recite to the nobles lines of poetry.

وأقول واكبدي مقالة موجع

لم يبق فقد مواله كبدا

And say, a painful utterance comes to me

When companions are lost and sorrow remains.

ومن العناء وقد تحوّل أبيضا

رأسي أحنّ وكان مسودا

My hair turned white from sadness

Though it used to be dark.

ما للشيوخ وللتصابي والصبا

وهل الزمان يعيد ما أبدا

What are elders, youths and childhood to me

When time never repeats what has passed?

لله ما أنا فيه فقر لازم

وصبابة توهي الصفا الصلدا

God, how impoverished I have become,

A pauper wearing out his rags.

ومعيشة بالحرف قد قرنت

أدعو إليها معشرا نكدا

Making a living from poetry I have taken up,

To which I summon a band ofStarvers.

فإذا دعوتهم مشوا هزؤا

مشيَ النعام أهميف فاجتلدا

When I call them they walk away ridiculing me,

Like ostriches walking, with contempt.

وأشدّ ذلك كله حنف

ينفي السرور ويوهن الزندا

More painful than all of that

Is poverty that drives away cheer and weakens resolve.

فإذا مشيت حكيت في ظلعي

مشي الحضاجر خافت الطرد

When I walk I imagine my gauntness

Walking like a grouse, fearing being chased away.

مالي وللتنجم أذكر أمره

وأشيم فيه النحس والسعدا

Why do I speak of astrology

And interpret good and bad omens in it?

ولطالما عاديته زمنا

أقفو المنى وأنازل الأسدا

For so long I have confronted it,

Seeking my purpose but returning empty handed.

في كل يوم ابتدي سفرا له

وأعود احكي الجزر والمدّا

Each day I set out on a journey for it

And come back narrating ebb and flow.

فرد العزيمة حيث كنت رأيتني

متوحّدا بتحيّتي وحدا

I turned my will back to where I had envisioned myself,

Alone with my solitude.

متنقل طلب الغنى أطوي السرى

وأواصل الإدلاج والكدّا

Traveling in search of wealth, roaming endlessly,

Toiling and struggling continuously.

يا للعشائر من تميم أنحدوا

رجلا أضيم ولم يزل نجدا

O people of Tameem, you have abandoned

A man of peerless virtues, unfailingly generous!

كالسيف لولم يعله صدأ

لفرت مضارب حدّه الغمدا

Like a sword that were it not for the rust

Would have unsheathed itself from its scabbard.

قد خير الرزق الورى فترى الفتى

جزلا خيولا ناهضا جلدا

Livelihood has been apportioned, thus you see

A youth vigorous, with beautiful horses.

لا تستبلّ من الفرات لهاته

حرفا ولم تملك له ردا

Do not ask the Euphrates about them,

It owns not a single letter regarding them.

وترى الغنيّ على الونى أمواله

تزداد بعد بداءة عودا

While the wealthy, continuously accrue riches

Ever increasing after their first gain.

كم ماجد أضحى كما أضحيته

متلدّدا ذا حيرة جهدا

How many glorious men have become like me,

Confused, exhausted, and straining hardships.

متأسّفا أن لو أصيب له غنى

لبذلته متكسّبا حمدا

Regretting that had fortune been attained

It would have been spent generously gathering praise.

وأرى المكارم والمغارم رأي من

لا يستطيع لخرمها سدّا

I see noble acts and virtues in a way

That one incapable of them cannot plug.

ولطالما أبضعت في طلب الغنى

وكسيت فيه الحمد والمحدا

For so long I have wasted effort seeking wealth,

Covering myself in praise and glory for it.

وحملت عن قومي مغارمهم ضحى

وشددت من ذي الأزمة العضدا

I have taken on my people's debts at daybreak

And propped up the arms of the destitute.

وإذا دهت طخياء قد نزلت بنا

نهنهتا وكشفتها نقدا

When clouds of arrogance loomed over us all

I swept them away, dispersing them with cash.

وغذا الصديق هفا غفرت ذنوبه

وصرفت عنه الغل والحقدا

And the sins of a bosom friend I concealed

And warded off from him malice and hatred.

وأسرّ بالإنسان أبغضه

فإذا أمرّ أذقته شهدا

I confide my deepest secrets to my enemies,

And when bitter, make them taste honey.

أغدو وأهل الدهر في قرن معا

وغذا صدرت رأيتني فردا

I face the days and those who live in my time,

Yet when alone, find myself unmatched.

والجار الحفظ فيه حرمة بيته

وغذا أقل منحته رفدا

Protecting the sanctuary of my neighbor’s home,

Even if he provides me no assistance.

عاجمت أيامي وقد عاجمنني

فتركتهنّ عواريا جردا

I have battled my days and they have battled me,

Leaving me stripped bare and defeated.

وتركنني ذا حيرة بمصارعي

لا أشتكي سأما ولا حدا

Leaving me confused in my struggles

Not complaining of boredom or limits.

من عارض الطمع الكذوب ببأسه

وقنا الحيا ما يعتدي عبدا

Whoever confronts greed and false hopes with might

And spears the serpent of desire harms no man.

تستعبد الأطماع قوما طلما

طمع النفوس أذلهم حدّا

Greed enslaves a people unjustly,

The soul’s greed humiliates them utterly.

من لم يجد من فقره هربا

فليهجر الدنيا إذن زهدا

Whoever cannot escape his poverty,

Should renounce the world entirely in asceticism.

من حاد عن سبل الهوى ملك العزا

من جاد صار له الورى جندا

Whoever deviates from the paths of passion rules glory,

Whoever is generous, the world becomes his troops.

ويسود في الناس الذليل بحوده

والجود يمهد للفتى مهدا

The lowly man lords over people in his seclusion,

While generosity paves the way for the youth.