رَماكَ بشَوْقٍ فالمَدامِعُ ذُرَّفُ

حَنينُ المَطايا أو حَمائِمُ هُتَّفُ

You shot me with yearning, so my tears poured down

Like the longing of mature she-camels or twittering doves

أجَلْ عاوَدَ القَلْبَ المُعَنّى خَبالُهُ

عشيّةَ صَحْبي عنْدَ يَبْرينَ وُقَّفُ

Yes, weariness has returned to my heart after

Spending the evening with my companions at Yabrin's stop

فللهِ ما يَطْوي عليهِ ضُلوعَهُ

رَمِيٌّ بِذِكْرِ الغانِياتِ مُكَلَّفُ

By God, whatever it conceals in its depths—

A censurer censuring the singing girls affectedly

يُهَيّجُهُ نَوحُ الحَمامِ وناسِمٌ

تَرِقُّ حَواشيه منَ الرّيحِ مُدْنَفُ

The moaning of doves provokes it and a soft wind

That blows upon its edges from the gentle breeze

ويُذْكي لهُ الغَيْرانُ عَيناً إذا رأى

أَجارِعَ منْ حُزْوى بسَمْراءَ تُسْعِفُ

And al-Ghayran's waters kindle in it an eye when it sees

The bending branches of Huzwa with the slender and pliant

أيُوعِدُني الحَيُّ اليَماني وصارِمي

كهَمِّكَ مَفْتوقُ الغِرارَيْنِ مُرْهَفُ

Does the living Yemeni promise and threaten me

Like your frowning with knit brows is impassioned?

وأفْرِشُ سَمْعي للوَعيدِ فحُبُّها

إذا جَمَحَتْ بي نَخوَةٌ يتلطَّفُ

I lay out my hearing for his threat since my love for her

When she winked slyly at me was gentle

وحَوليَ منْ عُلْيا خُزَيْمَةَ عُصْبَةٌ

إذا غَضِبَتْ ظلّتْ لها الأرضُ تَرجُفُ

And around me is a band of warriors

When they grew angry, the earth quaked beneath them

يجُرّونَ أذيالَ الدُّروعِ إِلى الوَغى

فأقْوَى ويَعْروني هَواها فأضْعُفُ

They drag the trains of their coats of mail into battle

So I strengthen them while their love for her weakens me

أما وجَلالِ اللهِ لولا اتّقاؤُهُ

لَباتَ يُوارينا الرِّداءُ المُقَوَّفُ

But by God's majesty, were it not for fearing Him

The well-woven cloak would conceal us both

وفضَّ خِتامَ السِّرّ بَيني وبينَها

كَلامٌ يؤَدّيهِ البَنانُ المُطَرَّفُ

And the secret is broken between me and her

By words the eloquent conveyer relates artfully

ونازَعَني شَكْوى الصّبابَةِ شادِنٌ

منَ الغيدِ مَجْدولُ الموَشَّحِ أهْيَفُ

And a complaining young lover disputed with me

From behind the curtain, his girdled garment fluttering

بِرابِيَةٍ مَيْثاءَ أضْحَكَ رَوْضَها

غَمامٌ بَكى منْ آخِرِ الليلِ أوْطَفُ

About a girl of Maytha's, whose garden was delighted

By a clouds that wept from late night, gently dripping

ورَكْبٍ على الأكْوارِ غيدٍ منَ الكَرى

تَداوَلَهُمْ سَيْرٌ حَثيثٌ ونَفْنَفُ

And a band riding the sand dunes of Al-Kara

Successive journeys jostled them to and fro

تَرى العِتْقَ منهُمْ في وُجوهٍ شَواحِبٍ

يُرَدِّدُ فيها لحظَهُ المُتقَوِّفُ

You see the signs of slavery on their pallid faces

On which their glances reflect pensively

وتَخْدي بهِمْ خُوصٌ تَخايَلُ في البُرى

إذا اقْتادَهُنّ المَهْمَهُ المُتعَسَّفُ

And Khuza'a's women they lead, swaying in the expanse

When the insistent driver hurried them on

ويَثْني هَواديها إذا طَمِحَتْ بِها

منَ القِدِّ مَلْوِيُّ المَرائِرِ مُحْصَفُ

It bends its valleys when they rise up through them

Bent over from old age, its poles well constructed

سَرَوْا وفُضولُ الرَّيْطِ تَضْرِبُها الصَّبا

إِلى أنْ يَمَسَّ الأرضَ منهُنَّ رَفْرَفُ

Cypresses and the commoners’ boughs, struck by the breeze

Until their fluttering touches the ground beneath them

وعاتَبَني عَمْرٌو على السّيرِ والسُّرى

ولمْ يَدْرِ أنّي للمَعالي أُطَوِّفُ

‘Amr blamed me for travels and nocturnal journeys

Not knowing that I circle the heights

وما الصَّقْرُ يَسْتَذْكي الطّوى لحَظاتِهِ

بأصْدَقَ منّي نَظْرَةً حينَ يَخْطِفُ

No falcon surveys its hunting grounds more loyally

Than I when I glimpse her litter from afar

أُخادِعُ ظنّي عنْ أمورٍ خفيَّةٍ

إِلى أن أرى تلكَ العَمايَةِ تُكْشَفُ

I distract my suspicions from covert matters

Until I see that cloud withdraw

وأهْزَأُ بالأنْوارِ والصُّبْحُ طالِعٌ

ولا أهْتَدي بالنّجْمِ والليلُ مُسْدِفُ

I jest about lights though dawn is rising

Unable to find my way by the stars and the night is murky

وقَولٍ أتاني والحوادِثُ جمّةٌ

ودونيَ منْ ذاتِ الأراكَةِ صَفْصَفُ

And words came to me while disasters pressed round

With an army from Dhat al-Arakah approaching

أغُضُّ لهُ طَرْفي حَياءً منَ العُلا

وعَطفاً عليكُمْ والأواصِرُ تُعْطِفُ

I lower my gaze from them in shame at glory

And affinity for you, while relationships grow tender

أعَتْباً وقد سَيَّرْتُ فيكُمْ مَدائِحاً

كَما خالَطَتْ ماءَ الغَمامَةِ قَرْقَفُ

Complaining though I circulated praises among you

As the croaking of frogs mingles with rainwater

بَني عمِّنا لا تَنْسِبونا إِلى الخَنى

فلَم يترَدَّدْ في كِنانَةَ مُقْرِفُ

My cousins, do not attribute us to perfidy

For no habitual transgressor lingers among Kinana

أأشْتُمُ شَيْخاً لفّ عِرْقي بعِرْقِهِ

مَناسِبُ تَزْكو في قُرَيشٍ وتَشْرُفُ

Should I insult an old man who wrapped my forearms with his

A counterpart whose nobility in Quraysh is paramount?

وأهْجو رِجالاً في العَشيرةِ سادةً

وبي من بَقايا الجاهِليّةِ عَجْرَفُ

And blame men in my tribe who are its nobles

When the remnants of paganism live on in my impudence?

وإنّي إذا ما لَجْلَجَ القوْلَ فاخِرٌ

يؤنِّبُ في أقوالِهِ ويُعَنِّفُ

When discourse grows turbulent, I am a competitor

Whose words rebuke and threaten punishment

أُدافِعُ عن أحْسابِكُمْ بقَصائِدٍ

غَدا المَجْدُ في أثْنائِها يتصرَّفُ

I defend your reputations with poems

In which glory moves unchecked during their composition

ولم أختَرِعْها رَغْبَةً في نَوالِكُمْ

وإنْ كانَ مَشْمولاً بهِ المُتَضَيِّفُ

I did not invent them out of desire for your bounty

Even if the host partakes of it

ولكنْ عُرَيْقٌ فيَّ مِنْ عَرَبيّةٍ

يُحامي وراءَ ابنَيْ نِزارٍ ويأْنَفُ

Rather, the spirit of pure Arabness in me

Protects the sons of Nizar and disdains

فنحنُ بني دودانَ فَرْعَ خُزَيْمَةٍ

يَذِلُّ لنا ذو السَّوْرَةِ المُتَغَطْرِفُ

We are the Banu Dudan, a branch of Khuza’a

Before whom even the Lord of High Rank bows

وأنتمْ ذَوو المَجْدِ القَديمِ يضُمُّنا

أبٌ خِندِفيُّ فيه للفَخْرِ مأْلَفُ

While you, possessing ancient glory, embrace us

A laughing father in whom glory finds intimacy

وتَقْرونَ والآفاقُ يَمْري نَجيعَها

شَآميّةٌ تَستَجْمِعُ الشَّوْلَ حَرْجَفُ

Your abodes tower while caravans from all horizons

Pass by below, the foolish babbler astonished

فِناؤُكُمُ مأوى الصّريخِ إذا انْثَنى

بأيدي الكُماةِ السّمْهَريُّ المُثَقَّفُ

Your glory is refuge for the shriek

When twisted by the tyranny of unjust oppressors

وواديكُمُ للمَكْرُماتِ مُعَرَّسٌ

رَحيبٌ بطُلاّبِ الندىً مُتَكَنَّفُ

Your valley is prepared for generous deeds

Spacious, welcoming the seekers of bounty gathered there

بأرجائِهِ مما اقْتَنَيْتُمْ نَزائِعٌ

يُباحُ عليهنّ الحِمى المُتَخَوَّفُ

In its corners are tempting glimpses

Permitted to them though violations were feared

تَرودُ بأبوابِ القِبابِ وأهلُها

عليها بألْبانِ القَلائِصِ عُكَّفُ

Wandering by the gates of domed pavilions whose households—

Were busied with the milking of ewes

وأمّاتُها أوْدَتْ بحُجْرٍ وأدْرَكَتْ

عُتَيْبَةَ والأبْطالُ بالبِيضِ تَدْلِفُ

And their mothers concluded pacts and attained

The heights, while the heroes in white enter familiarly

وكمْ مَلِكٍ أدْمَيْنَ بالقَيْدِ ساقَهُ

فظلَّ يُداني مِنْ خُطاهُ ويَرْسُفُ

How many kings have we fettered by his legs

Who remained collapsing into his footsteps confused

فَيا لَنِزارٍ دعْوَةً مُضَريَّةً

بحيثُ الرُّدَيْنِيّاتُ بالدّمِ تَرْعُفُ

So O Nizar, a hostile call

Where blood gurgles in the jugular veins

لنا في المعالي غايةٌ لا يَرومُها

سِوى أسَديٍّ عرَّقَتْ فيهِ خِنْدِفُ

For the heights we have a goal sought by none

Save an Asadi in whom Khindif took pride