لَعَمرُكَ ما طولُ هَذا الزَمَن
عَلى المَرءِ إِلّا عَناءٌ مُعَن
By your life, the length of this time
Is nothing for man but toil and moan.
يَظَلُّ رَجيماً لِرَيبِ المَنونِ
وَلِلسَقمِ في أَهلِهِ وَالحَزَن
He remains fearful of the specter of death,
And of illness among his family and sorrow.
وَهالِكِ أَهلٍ يُجِنّونَهُ
كَآخَرَ في قَفرَةٍ لَم يُجَن
And the destruction of a people who wrong him,
Like the last one in a wasteland who was not wronged.
وَما إِن أَرى الدَهرَ في صَرفِهِ
يُغادِرُ مِن شارِخٍ أَو يَفَن
And I do not see time in its course
Leave a proud or humiliated one.
فَهَل يَمنَعَنّي اِرتِيادي البِلا
دَ مِن حَذَرِ المَوتِ أَن يَأتِيَن
Does my experience of afflictions prevent
Me from fearing the coming of death?
أَلَيسَ أَخو المَوتِ مُستَوثِقاً
عَلَيَّ وَإِن قُلتُ قَد أَنسَأَن
Is not the brother of death firmly tied
To me, even if I say he has been delayed?
عَلَيَّ رَقيبٌ لَهُ حافِظٌ
فَقُل في اِمرِئٍ غَلِقٍ مُرتَهَن
I have a watcher over me who guards me,
So say regarding a chained and indebted man,
أَزالَ أُذَينَةَ عَن مُلكِهِ
وَأَخرَجَ مِن حِصنِهِ ذا يَزَن
He lost the adornment of his kingdom,
And he brought out from his fortress one who commits adultery.
وَخانَ النَعيمُ أَبا مالِكٍ
وَأَيُّ اِمرِئٍ لَم يَخُنهُ الزَمَن
And pleasures betrayed Abu Malik,
And which man was not betrayed by time?
أَزالَ المُلوكَ فَأَفناهُمُ
وَأَخرَجَ مِن بَيتِهِ ذا حَزَن
It deposed the kings and destroyed them,
And brought out from his house one in sorrow.
وَعَهدُ الشَبابِ وَلَذّاتُهُ
فَإِن يَكُ ذَلِكَ قَد نُتَّدَن
And the covenant of youth and its pleasures,
If that has passed, were brought low.
وَطاوَعتُ ذا الحِلمَ فَاِقتادَني
وَقَد كُنتُ أَمنَعُ مِنهُ الرَسَن
And I obeyed one of wisdom, so he led me,
While I used to prevent him from the halter.
وَعاصَيتُ قَلبِيَ بَعدَ الصَبى
وَأَمسى وَما إِن لَهُ مِن شَجَن
And I disobeyed my heart after my prime,
And it became evening, and it has no passion.
فَقَد أَشرَبُ الراحَ قَد تَعلَمي
نَ يَومَ المُقامِ وَيَومَ الظَعَن
So I have drunk wine; you know
The day of staying and the day of packing.
وَأَشرَبُ بِالريفِ حَتّى يُقا
لَ قَد طالَ بِالريفِ ما قَد دَجَن
And I drink in the countryside until it is said,
“He has taken long in the countryside and become debased.”
وَأَقرَرتُ عَيني مِنَ الغَنِيا
تِ إِمّا نِكاحاً وَإِمّا أُزَن
And I delight my eyes with singing girls,
Whether bought for marriage or for temporary union.
مِن كُلِّ بَيضاءَ مَمكورَةٍ
لَها بَشَرٌ ناصِعٌ كَاللَبَن
Every white, plump one,
Who has a radiant complexion like cream.
عَريضَةُ بوصٍ إِذا أَدبَرَت
هَضيمُ الحَشاشَختَةُ المُحتَضَن
Broad of buttocks, when she turns away,
Bearing scratches, pressed together.
إِذا هُنَّ نازَلنَ أَقرانَهُنَّ
وَكانَ المِصاعُ بِما في الجُوَن
When they alight with their peers,
And the wine is within the bowels.
تُعاطي الضَجيعَ إِذا أَقبَلَت
بُعَيدَ الرُقادِ وَعِندَ الوَسَن
She busies the rider when she comes,
After sleeping late and at the mid-morning nap.
صَليفِيَّةً طَيِّباً طَعمُها
لَها زَبَدٌ بَينَ كوبٍ وَدَن
A salifiyya, good is its taste,
It has foam between a cup and a goblet.
يَصُبُّ لَها الساقِيانِ المِزا
جَ مُنتَصَفَ اللَيلِ مِن ماءِ شَن
The two servers pour it for her,
Pure water in the middle of the night from a spring.
وَبَيداءَ قَفرٍ كَبُردِ السَديرِ
مَشارِبُها دائِراتٌ أُجُن
And an open desert, cold as al-Sadir,
Its halting places encircling ponds.
قَطَعتُ إِذا خَبَّ رَيعانُها
بِدَوسَرَةٍ جَسرَةٍ كَالفَدَن
I cut across when its meadows had dried up
With a speedy, sturdy she-camel like a cutting sword.
بِحَقَّتِها حُبِسَت في اللَجي
نِ حَتّى السَديسُ لَها قَد أَسَن
With its saddlecloth it was captured in the mud,
Until the sidestrap had become worn out for it.
وَطالَ السَنامُ عَلى جَبلَةٍ
كَخَلقاءَ مِن هَضَباتِ الضَجَن
And the howdah ropes were long upon Jahla,
Like an unruly she-camel made of plaited ropes.
فَأَفنَيتُها وَتَعالَلتُها
عَلى صَحصَحٍ كَرِداءِ الرَدَن
So I wore it out and put it through its paces
Upon rocky ground, like the gown of one who patches gowns.
تُراقِبُ مِن أَيمَنِ الجانِبَي
نِ بِالكَفِّ مِن مُحصَدٍ قَد مَرَن
It watches from the right side
With its hand, from one who harvests, and is supple.
تَيَمَّمتُ قَيساً وَكَم دونَهُ
مِنَ الأَرضِ مِن مَهمَهٍ ذي شَزَن
I took an oath by Qays, and how many below him
Of people of foolishness and meanness of gift.
وَمِن شانِئٍ كاسِفٍ وَجهُهُ
إِذا ما اِنتَسَبتُ لَهُ أَنكَرَن
And from a reviler whose face is grim
When I affiliate with him, he rejects me.
وَمِن آجِنٍ أَولَجَتهُ الجَنو
بُ دِمنَةَ أَعطانِهِ فَاِندَفَن
And from a censurer whom blindness has entered
Into his opinions and his judgments.
وَجارٍ أُجاوِرُهُ إِذ شَتَو
تُ غَيرِ أَمينٍ وَلا مُؤتَمَن
And a neighbor I neighbor who, when I traveled,
Was not to be trusted or assumed faithful.
وَلَكِنَّ رَبّي كَفى غُربَتي
بِحَمدِ الإِلَهِ فَقَد بَلَّغَن
But my Lord has sufficed my loneliness
With praise to God! He has made me reach
أَخا ثِقَةٍ عالِياً كَعبُهُ
جَزيلَ العَطاءِ كَريمَ المِنَن
A trusted brother, his renown lofty,
Bountiful in gifts, generous in favors.
كَريماً شَمائِلُهُ مِن بَني
مُعاوِيَةَ الأَكرَمينَ السُنَن
Noble in his qualities, of the Banu Mu'awiya,
The most generous of character.
فَإِن يَتبَعوا أَمرَهُ يَرشُدوا
وَإِن يَسأَلوا مالَهُ لا يَضِن
If they follow his order they will have guidance,
And if they ask his wealth he will not stint.
وَإِن يُستَضافوا إِلى حُكمِهِ
يُضافُ إِلى هادِنٍ قَد رَزَن
And if they seek hospitality in his judgment,
He will be hospitable to one who has attained contentment.
وَما إِن عَلى قَلبِهِ غَمرَةٌ
وَما إِن بِعَظمٍ لَهُ مِن وَهَن
And he has no bitterness upon his heart,
Nor weakness in any of his bones.
وَما إِن عَلى جارِهِ تَلفَةٌ
يُساقِطُها كَسِقاطِ الغَبَن
And he has no fault with his neighbor
That he would remove like the removal of ticks.
هُوَ الواهِبُ المِئَةَ المُصطَفا
ةَ كَالنَخلِ زَيَّنَها بِالرَجَن
He is the giver of the hundred selected,
Adorned like palm trees with pollen clusters.
وَكُلَّ كُمَيتٍ كَجِذعِ الخِصا
بِ يَرنو القِناءَ إِذا ما صَفَن
And every pile like the stump of wormwood
That exudes gum when it withers.
تَراهُ إِذا ما عَدا صَحبُهُ
بِجانِبِهِ مِثلَ شاةِ الأَرَن
You see him, when his companions race,
At his side, like a ewe among lambs.
أَضافوا إِلَيهِ فَأَلوى بِهِم
تَقولُ جُنوناً وَلَمّا يُجَنّ
They raced with him, so he bent with them,
You would say they were mad and possessed.
وَلَم يَلحَقوهُ عَلى شَوطِهِ
وَراجَعَ مِن ذِلَّةٍ فَاِطمَأَنّ
And they did not catch up with him in his dash,
And he came back from a humiliation reassured.
سَما بِتَليلٍ كَجِذعِ الخِصا
بِ حُرِّ القَذالِ طَويلِ الغُسَن
By the life of one bent like the stump of wormwood,
Free, long-necked, reddish in color!
فَلَأياً بِلَأيٍ حَمَلنا الغُلا
مَ كَرهاً فَأَرسَلَهُ فَاِمتَهَن
With difficulty we carried the boy,
Loathing him, so he let him go, and he prospered.
كَأَنَّ الغُلامَ نَحا لِلصُوَا
رِ أَزرَقَ ذا مَخلَبٍ قَد دَجَن
As if the boy were shooting for the pleiades,
A blue lion with claws that grasped.
يُسافِعُ وَرقاءَ غورِيَّةً
لِيُدرِكَها في حَمامٍ ثُكَن
He contended with a wild cow,
To overtake her in a dense thicket.
فَثابَرَ بِالرُمحِ حَتّى نَحا
هُ في كَفَلٍ كَسَراةِ المِجَن
He persisted with the spear until he plunged it
Into a shoulder blade, like the cutting edge of a sword.
تَرى اللَحمَ مِن ذابِلٍ قَد ذَوى
وَرَطبٍ يُرَفَّعُ فَوقَ العُنَن
You see the meat wasted away,
And the fresh meat lifted above the cooking pots.
يَطوفُ العُفاةُ بِأَبوابِهِ
كَطَوفِ النَصارى بِبَيتِ الوَثَن
The barefoot circle his gates,
Like the Christians’ circling of the idol’s house.
هُوَ الواهِبُ المُسمِعاتِ الشُرو
بَ بَينَ الحَريرِ وَبَينَ الكَتَن
He is the giver of hearing girls,
Between silk and linen.
وَيُقبِلُ ذو البَثِّ وَالراغِبو
نَ في لَيلَةٍ هِيَ إِحدى اللَزَن
And the petitioner and the hopeful come to him
On a night that is one of affliction.
لِبَيتِكَ إِذ بَعضُهُم بَيتُهُ
مِنَ الشَرِّ ما فيهِ مِن مُستَكَن
By your house - though some of them, his is
A house of evil, containing no dweller.
وَلَم تَسعَ لِلحَربِ سَعيَ اِمرِئٍ
إِذابِطنَةٌ راجَعَتهُ سَكَن
And no man’s effort has encompassed war
When a detested belly counsels him to settle.
تَرى هَمَّهُ نَظَراً خَصرَهُ
وَهَمُّكَ في الغَزوِ لا في السِمَن
You see his care is looking to his waist,
While your care is for raiding, not for fatness.
وَفي كُلِّ عامٍ لَهُ غَزوَةٌ
تَحُتُّ الدَوابِرَ حَتَّ السَفَن
And every year he has a raid
That makes the enemies’ ribs quake, even the ships.
حَجونٌ تُظِلُّ الفَتى جاذِباً
عَلى واسِطِ الكورِ عِندَ الذَقَن
Tents that shade the horsemen on the banks
Of Wasit at the ridge of al-Dhakhn.
تَرى الشَيخَ مِنها لِحُبِّ الإِيا
بِ يَرجُفُ كَالشَرِفِ المُستَحِن
You see in it the old man, out of love for battle,
Trembles like the honor-driven aroused one.
فَلَمّا رَأى القَومُ مِن ساعَةٍ
مِنَ الرَأيِ ما أَبصَروهُ اِكتَمَن
So when the people saw in an instant
An opinion they could discern, they entrusted themselves.
وَما بِالَّذي أَبصَرَتهُ العُيو
نُ مِن قَطعِ يَأسٍ وَلا مِن يَقَن
Not by what the eyes saw
Of despair or certainty did they make their judgment.
تُباري الزِجاجَ مَغاويرُها
شَماطيطَ في رَهَجٍ كَالدَخَن
They contend with glass in its settings,
Agates in a necklace like smoke.
تَدُرُّ عَلى أَسوُقِ المُمتَري
نَ رَكضاً إِذا ما السَرابُ اِرجَحَن
They hurry in the markets of the noble horses
At a run when the mirage quivers.
فَيا عَجَبَ الرَهنِ لِلقائِلا
تِ مِن آخِرِ اللَيلِ ماذا اِحتَجَن
So what a pledge for the saying
Of the last part of night! What was its purpose?
وَما قَد أَخَذنَ وَما قَد تَرَك
نَ في الحَيِّ مِن نِعمَةٍ وَدِمَن
What they took and what they left
In life of blessings and wealth!
وَأَقبَلنَ يُعرِضنَ نَحوَ اِمرِئٍ
إِذا كَسَبَ المالَ لَم يَختَزِن
And they came offering themselves to a man -
When he earns wealth he does not hoard it.
وَلَكِن عَلى الحَمدِ إِنفاقُهُ
وَقَد يَشتَريهِ بِأَغلى الثَمَن
But rather spending it in praise,
He may buy it most precious price.
وَلا يَدَعُ الحَمدَ أَو يَشتَري
هِ بِوَشكِ الفُتورِ وَلا بِالتَوَن
He does not neglect praise or buy it
With reluctance or dawdling.
عَلَيهِ سِلاحُ اِمرِئٍ ماجِدٍ
تَمَهَّلَ في الحَربِ حَتّى اِثَّخَن
He has the weapons of a glorious man
Who took his time in war until he was wounded.
سَلاجِمَ كَالنَحلِ أَنحى لَها
قَضيبَ سَراءٍ قَليلَ الأُبَن
Scale armor like bees which bend
For the rod of a steppe, little in spots.
وَذا هِبَّةٍ غامِضاً كَلمُهُ
وَأَجرَدَ مُطَّرِداً كَالشَطَن
And one who hints, his utterance obscure,
Bare and driving straight ahead like a torrent.
وَبَيضاءَ كَالنَهيِ مَوضونَةً
لَها قَونَسٌ فَوقَ جَيبِ البَدَن
And a white coat, placed as a target,
For it there is a leather bag above the abdomen.
وَقَد يَطعُنُ الفَرجَ يَومَ اللِقا
ءِ بِالرُمحِ يَحبِسُ أولى السُنَن
He may spear the genitals on the day of meeting
With the spear, arresting the vanguard.
فَهَذا الثَناءُ وَإِنّي اِمرُؤٌ
إِلَيكَ بِعَمدٍ قَطَعتُ القَرَن
So this is praise, and I am a man
Who has purposefully cut off from you the tie.
وَكُنتُ اِمرَأً زَمَناً بِالعِراقِ
عَفيفَ المُناخِ طَويلَ التَغَنّ
I was once a man in Iraq
Of modest character, lengthy in singing.
وَحَولِيَ بَكرٌ وَأَشياعُها
وَلَستُ خَلاةَ لِمَن أَوعَدَن
Around me are virgins and their tribes,
And I am no easy prey for whoever promises me.
وَنُبِّئتُ قَيساً وَلَم أَبلُهُ
كَما زَعَموا خَيرَ أَهلِ اليَمَن
And I was told of Qays, but did not attain him
As they claimed, the best of the people of Yemen.
رَفيعَ الوِسادِ طَويلَ النَجا
دِ ضَخمَ الدَسيعَةِ رَحبَ العَطَن
Lofty of pillow, lengthy of ornament,
Huge of arm, spacious in chest.
يَشُقُّ الأُمورَ وَيَجتابُها
كَشَقِّ القَرارِيِّ ثَوبَ الرَدَن
He divides affairs and scrutinizes them
Like the cutting of the silk worker’s gown.
فَجِئتُكَ مُرتادَ ما خَبَّروا
وَلَولا الَّذي خَبَّروا لَم تَرَن
So I have come to you seeking what they told me,
And were it not for what they told me, I would not have seen you.
فَلا تَحرِمَنّي نَداكَ الجَزيلَ
فَإِنّي اِمرُؤٌ قَبلَكُم لَم أُهَن
So do not deprive me of your abundant gifts,
For I am a man, before you I have not been disgraced.
