ترَنّحَ منْ بَرْحِ الغَرامِ مَشوقُ

عشيّةَ زُمَّتْ للتّفرُّقِ نُوقُ

The lover sighed from the burning of passion,

On an eve when the camels were gathered for parting.

فَباتَ يُواري دَمْعَهُ برِدائِهِ

وأيَّ دُموعٍ في الرِّداءِ يُريقُ

So he spent the night hiding his tears in his cloak—

And what tears are shed into the cloak's folds!

إذا لاحَظَ الحَيُّ اليَمانُونَ بارِقاً

لهُ تحتَ أذْيالِ الظّلامِ خُفوقُ

When the living discern a flash in the Yemeni,

Gleaming for them beneath the skirts of darkness,

تمطّتْ إِلى حُزْوى بهِمْ غُرْبةُ النّوى

وعَيْشُ اليَماني بالسَّراةِ وَرِيقُ

Longing for the sands clung to their bosoms,

While the Yemeni's life was but milking and sipping.

ولولا الهَوى لمْ أُتْبِعِ الطَّرْفَ بازِغاً

كَما اهْتَزَّ ماضي الشّفْرَتَيْنِ ذَليقُ

Were it not for love, my gaze would not have followed

The piercing flashes of the two eyelids.

وكانَ غُرابُ البَيْنِ يُخْشى نَعيبُهُ

فكيفَ دَهَتْني بالفِراقِ بُروقُ

And I had feared the raven of separation—so how

Could its dire tidings make me quake?

وفي الرَّكْبِ منْ قَيْسٍ رَعابِيبُ عَهْدُها

لديَّ وإنْ شَطَّ المَزارُ وَثيقُ

Among the band are maidens whose pact with me

Is strong, though the camping-grounds are far.

فَيا سَعْدُ كُرَّ اللّحْظَ هلْ تُبْصِرُ الحِمى

فإنْسانُ عَيْني في الدّموعِ غَريقُ

O eyes that dart, can you make out the enclosure?

For my eyes' companion is drowned in tears.

ومَنْ هؤُلَيّاءِ العُريْبُ على اللِّوى

لخَيْلِهِمُ بالوادِيَيْنِ عَنيقُ

Among those parting were noble scions,

Known for their steeds in both valleys.

فثمَّ عَرارٌ يُسْتَطابُ شَميمُهُ

وسِلٌّ كخيطانِ الأراكِ صَفيقُ

There were virtuous fellows, sweet of scent,

And smooth swords that clash like bangles.

أرى السِّبْرَ منهمْ عامِريّاً وكُلُّ مَنْ

ثَوى مِنْ هِلالٍ بالعُذَيْبِ صَديقُ

I see their abodes thriving, and every

New moon that dwelt in al-Udhayb, a friend.

وقد عَلِقَتْني والنّوى مُطْمَئنّةٌ

بِنا مِنْ هَوى أمِّ الوَليدِ عَلوقُ

And she had me in her grasp while the sands were calm,

With a love for Umm al-Walid that clung fast.

ولي نَشَواتٌ تَسْلُبُ المَرْءَ لُبَّهُ

إذا ما التَقَيْنا والمُدامَةُ رِيقُ

I have delights that steal away a man's senses

When we come together, and the wine is sipped.

وقد فرّقَ البَيْنُ المُشتِّتُ بَيْنَنا

فشَطَّ مَزارٌ واسْتَقَلَّ رَفيقُ

But absence, that scatterer, scattered us apart,

So that some shifted camp, and others moved on.

وأشأمَ منْ جيرانِنا إذْ تَزَيّلوا

فَريقٌ وأعْرَقْنا ونحنُ فَريقُ

I was downcast when our neighbors pulled out—

Some groups left while we remained a group.

طَلَعْنا إِلى الزّوْراءِ منْ أيْمَنِ الحِمى

ثَنايا بأخْفافِ المَطيِّ تَضيقُ

We set out for al-Zawra from the right side of the enclosure

On camels with fast pacing feet.

نَزورُ أميرَ المؤمِنينَ ودونَهُ

خَفيُّ الصُّوى مَرْتُ الفِجاجِ عَميقُ

We're visiting the Commander of the Faithful, unmatched

In the hidden pathways of the deep sands.

ولا أرْضَ إلا وهْيَ منْ كلِّ جانبٍ

إِلى بابِهِ للمُعْتَفينَ طَريقُ

No land but has from every side a route

To his gate, for those seeking refuge.

لهُ هزّةٌ في نَدوَةِ الحَيّ للندىً

كَما هَزّ أعْطافَ الخَليعِ رَحيقُ

He has a tremor amid the people's assembly for the dew,

As the pendant necklace of the flirt trembles.

وبِشْرٌ يَلوحُ الجُودُ منه وهَيْبَةٌ

تَروعُ لِحاظَ المُجْتَلي وتَروقُ

A good omen he shows, and awe—

That alarms the gazer—and pleases.

وكَفٌّ كما انْهَلَّ الغَمامُ طَليقَةٌ

ووَجْهٌ كَما لاحَ الهِلالُ طَليقُ

A hand that pours forth like pouring clouds,

And a face that gleams like the crescent moon.

وعِزٌّ بمَرْسى الأخْشَبَيْنِ مُخيِّمٌ

ومجْدٌ لدى البَيْتِ العَتيقِ عَتيقُ

Glory dwells at the Ancient House, and might

Within reach of the two fir trees.

إمامَ الوَرى إنّي بحَبْلِكَ مُعْصِمٌ

ومَسْرَحُ طَرْفي في ذَراكَ أنيقُ

Imam of mankind, I cling to your cause,

My gaze fixed hopefully upon you.

أسيرُ وأسْري للمَعالي وما بِها

لطالِبِها إلا لَدَيْكَ لُحوقُ

I march on, aspiring to great deeds, which for

Their seeker are attained only through you.

وأزْهى على الأيّامِ وهْيَ تَروعُني

وأنْيابُها لا ريعَ جارُكَ رُوقُ

I bloom though time fills me with dread,

While its fangs cannot pierce your bastion's walls.

وقد وَلَدَتْني عُصْبَةٌ ضمَّ جَدَّهُمْ

وجَدَّ بَني ساقي الحَجيجِ عُروقُ

I was born of a clan whose ancestor

Was he of the curly hair—al-Sāq al-Ḥajjāj.

وإني لأبوابِ الخلائِفِ قارِعٌ

بهِمْ ولِساحاتِ المُلوكِ طَروقُ

I knock on the doors of the Caliphs,

Through them, and at the courts of kings.

ولولاكَ ما بلّتْ بدِجْلَةَ غُلّةً

مَطايا لَها تحتَ الرِّحالِ شَهيقُ

Were it not for you, dappled horses would not have reached

Badghis whose stirrups resound beneath the saddle.

وكمْ خَلّفَتْ أنْضاؤُها منْ مَعاشِرٍ

تَساوَى صَهيلٌ عندَهمْ ونَهيقُ

How many companions have they left behind

Whose neighing equals their own!

فإنّي وإنْ ضَجّتْ رِكابي منَ النّوى

بِها حينَ يَلْقَيْنَ الهَوانَ خَليقُ

Though my own steeds stamp in grief for them,

When grief meets me, I endure it calmly.