أَمسَت سُمَيَّةُ صَرَّمَت حَبلي
وَنَأَت وَخالَفَ شَكلُها شَكلي
My rope was cut off by Sumayya after she turned away,
Her ways diverged and her manner differed from mine.
وَعَدا العَوادي عَن زِيارَتِها
إِلّا تَلاقينا عَلى شُغلِ
Except when we met due to work,
The frequent visitors stopped coming to see her.
وَرَجاهُمُ يَومَ الدَوارِ كَما
يَرجو المُقامِرُ نَيِّلَ الخَصلِ
And they hoped on the day of parting as
The gambler hopes to obtain the winning arrows.
وَلَقَد عَرَفتَ لَئِن نَأَت وَتَباعَدَت
أَلّا تُلاقِيَها سِنِيَّ الحِسلِ
And you knew well that if she turned away and grew distant,
You would not meet her, advanced in years.
فيئي إِلَيكِ فَإِنَّني رَجُلٌ
لَم يُخزِني حَسَبي وَلا أَصلي
Return to me, for I am a man
Whom my lineage and origin did not dishonor.
أَدَعُ الفَواحِشَ أَن أُسَبَّ بِها
وَشَريكَها فَكِلَيهِما أَقلي
I avoid outrageous acts by which I would be censured
And I consider both her and her companion the lowest.
وَوَجَدتُ آبائي لَهُم خُلُقٌ
عَفُّ الشَمائِلِ غَيرُ ذي دَخلِ
And I found my forefathers had a moral character
Of virtuous traits, not of intrusiveness.
لَو تَصدُقينَ لَقُلتِ إِنَّهُمُ
صُبُرٌ عَلى النَجَداتِ وَالأَزلِ
If you were to believe me, I would say they are
Patience against calamities and times.
وَعَلى الرَزِيَّةِ مِن نُفوسِهِمِ
وَتَلاتِلَ اللَزباتِ وَالقَتلِ
And against affliction from their souls
And continuous sorrows and killings.
هَلّا سَأَلتِ إِذا هُمُ اِحتَمَلوا
فَتَحَوَّلوا لِخَطيطَةٍ مَحلِ
Why not ask - when they endured
And turned to a plain that has no pasture,
يُعيِي الرِعاءَ بِها مَسارِحُهُم
وَجَفَت مَراتِعُها عَنِ البُزلِ
Which exhausted the shepherds’ camps
And whose pastures dried up lacking plants,
إِذ لا يُدَنِّسُنا الشِتاءُ وَلا
نَطَأُ الضَعيفَ إِرادَةَ الأَكلِ
As neither winter nor summer defiles us
Nor do we trample the weak out of gluttony.
وَيُنَفِّسونَ عَنِ المُضافِ إِذا
نَظَرَ الفَوارِسُ عَورَةَ الرَجلِ
And they give respite from the guest if
The horsemen look upon the weakness of the man,
المُقبِلينَ نُحورَ خَيلِهِمُ
حَدَّ الرِماحِ وَغَبيَةَ النَبلِ
With their spear-points facing the necks of their steeds
And the stupidity of arrows.
