أَلا لَيتَ شِعري هَل أَرى أُمَّ سالِمٍ
بِمُرتَبَعٍ بَينَ العُذَيبِ وَبارِقِ
Alas! I wonder, will I see Umm Salim’s abode,
In the valley between al-Udhayb and Bariq?
وَأَسري إِلَيها وَالهَوى يَستَفِزُّني
بِمُحمَرَّةِ الأَخفافِ فُتلِ المَرافِقِ
I will journey to her, while passion spurs me on,
With the red-dyed forelocks and the quick-pacèd mounts.
مَعي صاحِبٌ مِن سِرِّ عَدنانَ ماجِدٌ
مُضيءُ نَواحي الوَجهِ غَمرُ الخَلائِقِ
My companion is a man of ‘Adnan’s secret, Majid,
Who illuminates the horizons and all creation.
ضَعيفُ وِكاءِ الكيسِ لا جارُهُ أَذٍ
وَلا ضَيفُهُ بِالمَنزِلِ المُتَضايقِ
Of weak constitution, not inclined to harm others,
Nor does his humble abode crowd his guest.
إِذا هَوَّمَ الرَّكبُ الطِّلاحُ حَدا بِهِم
وَلفَّ رَذايا عيسِهِم بِالسَّوابِقِ
When the riders spur on their camels at sunrise
And the masters lead their steeds ahead in the race
كَأَنَّ أَخا عَبْسٍ عَلى الكُورِ أَجدَلٌ
بِمُرتَبأٍ مِن ذي الأَراكَةِ شاهِقِ
He is like Abs’ brother on the sand dunes,
Lofty upon his she-camel descending from Dhu Arrakah.
وَلا عَيبَ فيهِ غَيرَ أَنَّ مَطيَّهُ
عَلى اليأسِ مِن تَغويرِهِ في الوَدائِقِ
He has no fault but that his mount upon the dunes
Despairs of outpacing the others in the valley.
وَأَنَّ كَرى عَينَيْهِ في لَيلَةِ السُّرى
قَليلٌ بِحَيثُ اللَّيلُ جَمُّ البَوائِقِ
And that his eyesight on the night journey was dim,
As the dark night obscures all vision.
وَأَنّي أُعاني في الصَّبابَةِ لَومَهُ
وَما هُوَ عِندي بِالرَّفيقِ المُماذِقِ
And that I bear the blame for his youth,
Though he is no burden, and I am no harsh taskmaster.
وَأَعلَمُ أَنَّ العَذلَ مِنهُ نَصيحَةٌ
وَلَيسَ بِعَدلٍ نُصحُ سالٍ لِعاشِقِ
And I know that his reproach comes from care for me;
It is not just to reprimand a friend for loving.
أَلَم تَرَ عَيني لا تَرى السُّوءَ بِاللِّوى
مُعَرَّسَ طَيفٍ آخِرَ اللَيلِ طارِقِ
Do you not see that my eyes discern no evil in the beloved,
A vision that comes to me late in the blackest night?
لِقَيسيَّةٍ لا ذِكرُها فاضِحٌ أَباً
وَلاوَجهُها نُهبى العيونِ الرَّوامِقِ
A Qaysiyyah whose name does not shame her father,
Nor is her face the plunder of spying eyes.
تَعَلَّقتُها طِفلَينِ وَالدَّهرُ عِندَنا
كَثيرٌ أَياديِهِ قَليلُ العوائِقِ
I clung to her as a child, and fate is with us
Whose hands are generous, unobstructed.
فَما زالَ يَنمى حُبُّها في شَبيبَتي
وَفي الشَّيبِ إِذ أَلقى يَداً في المَفارِقِ
So my love for her kept growing through my youth
And into old age when I enter the farewell.
إِذا ما التَقَينا لاذتِ الأُزرُ بِالتُقى
وَناجى وِشاحَيها النِجادُ بِعاتِقي
When we come together, my cloak clings to her cloak,
And my neckband whispers with her neckband.
وَأَكرَمُ أَخلاقٍ يُدِلُّ بِها الفَتى
عَفافُ مَشوقٍ حينَ يَخلو بِشائِقِ
Noblest manners a man shows are perfect discretion
When he is private with the one he loves.
أَأُصغي إِلى اللاّحي وَبَيني وَبَينها
حَديثٌ كَسِمطِ اللؤلؤِ المُتناسِقِ
Shall I listen to the slanderer while she and I
Share talk that flows like matched pearls?
وَلَو قَدَرَتْ أَترابُها لَخَبَأْنَنِي
عَلى شَغَفٍ بَينَ الطُّلَى وَالمَخانِقِ
If her peers could, they would hide me away from her
For a passion kept secret between the dunes and ravines.
فَما كَذِبُ الواشي بِظَمياءَ نافِعٌ
لَديَّ وَلا وُدِّي لَها غَيرُ صادِقِ
So the fault-finder’s lies bring me no shame;
My love for her is true, no one else’s.
