أثِرْها فلا ماءً أصابَتْ ولا عُشْبا

وقد مُلئَتْ أحْشاءُ رُكْبانِها رُعْبا

Her traces left no water or grass behind,

And her riders' chests were filled with awe.

ونحنُ بحَيْثُ الذِّئْبُ يَشْكو ضَلالَهُ

إِلى النّجْمِ والسّاري يَسوفُ بهِ التُّرْبا

While we are where the wolf complains of his lost way

To the stars, and the one who gets lost wanders in the dust.

نُحاذِرُ منْ حَيَّيْ سُلَيْمٍ وعامِرٍ

أَناسِيَّ لا يَرْضَوْنَ غيرَ الظُّبا صَحْبا

We fear the tribes of Suleym and 'Amir,

Reckless folks who accept only powerful youths as companions.

إذا خَلَّفَتْ بَطْحاءَ نجْدٍ وراءَها

فلسنا بمَنّاعينَ أن تَقفَ الرَّكْبا

If she left behind the sands of Najd,

We are not ones to stand when the caravan stops.

فأينَ ومِثلي لا يَغُشُّكَ ماجِدٌ

نَصولُ بهِ كالعَضْبِ مُحتَضِناً عَضْبا

And where is someone like me, no Glory ever fooled him.

I plunge into it hugging my sword.

لهُ هِمّةٌ غَيْرى على المَجدِ برَّحَتْ

بنَفْسٍ على الأيّامِ منْ تيهِها غَضْبى

He has an ambition unlike mine that spread

With a soul wandering through the days, while my rage remains.

وإنْ يَكُ في نَجْديِّ قَيْسٍ بَسالَةٌ

فإنّي ابنُ أرْضٍ تُنبِتُ البَطَلَ النَّدْبا

And if there is any courage left in the Qays of Najd,

I'm the son of a land that grows heroes and warriors.

يَعُدُّ إباءَ الضّيْمِ كِبْراً وطالما

أبَيْنا فلم نَعثُرْ بأذيالِنا عُجْبا

Counting indignity as pride has long been his way,

We refused and did not trip on our gowns out of conceit.

ولكننا في مَهْمَهٍ تُعْجِلُ الخُطا

على وَجَلٍ هُوجُ الرّياحِ بهِ نُكْبا

But we're in a battle that hastens mistakes

Onto someone horrified, while we move closer.

إذا طالَعَتنا منْ قُرَيْشٍ عِصابَةٌ

وشافَهْنَ من أعلامِ مَكَّتِها هَضْبا

Whenever we're faced by a gang from Quraysh

And see the flags of Mecca looming from afar.

نزَلْنَ منَ الوادي المُقدَّسِ تُرْبُهُ

بآمَنِهِ سِرْباً وأعْذَبِهِ شِرْبا

We descend from the sacred valley, its soil

Is a safe haven, its water the sweetest drink.

وفي الرَّكْبِ مَنْ يَهْوى العُذَيْبَ وماءَهُ

ويُضْمِرُ أحياناً على أهلِهِ عَتبا

Among the caravan are those who love al-Uthaib and its water,

And sometimes silently blame its people.

ويَصْبو إِلى وادِيهِ والرّوْضُ باسِمٌ

يُغازِلُهُ عافي النّسيمِ إذا هَبّا

Yearning for his valley, while the meadow whose name is Basim

Seduces him when the gentle breeze blows.

وواللهِ لولا حُبُّ ظَمْياءَ لم يَعُجْ

عليهِ ولم يَعْرِفْ كِلاباً ولا كَعبا

By God, had he not loved Dhima he wouldn't have suffered

And not known dogs or sorrows.

وما أُمُّ ساجي الطّرْفِ مالَ بهِ الكَرى

على عَذَباتِ الجِزْعِ تَحْسَبُهُ قُلْبا

Nor would Saji's teary-eyed mother think

That the fates had afflicted her with a heart.

تُراعي بإحدى مُقْلَتَيْها كِناسَها

وتَرْمي بأُخْرى نَحوَهُ نَظَراً غَرْبا

She looks at him with one eyelash then

Turns the other's glance away in estrangement.

فَلاحَ لَها مِنْ جانِبِ الرّمْلِ مَرْتَعٌ

كأنّ الرّبيعَ الطَّلْقَ ألْبَسَهُ عَصْبا

A pasture appeared to her from the side of the sand

As if bright spring had clothed it in splendor.

فمالَتْ إليهِ والحَريصُ إذا عَدَتْ

بهِ طَوْرَهُ الأطْماعُ لمْ يَحْمَدِ العُقْبى

So she leaned toward it, and when ambitions return

To the greedy, the future does not praise.

وآنَسَها المرْعى الأنيقُ وصادَفَتْ

مَدى العَيْنِ في أرجائِهِ بَلَداً خِصْبا

She found exquisite grazing land and her eyes met

In its horizons a generous city.

فلمّا قَضَتْ منهُ اللُّبانَةَ راجَعَتْ

طَلاها فألْفَتْهُ قَضى بَعْدَها نَحْبا

When she had her fill she returned

To find her loved one meet misfortune after her.

أُتِيحَ لَها عاري السّواعِدِ لمْ يزَلْ

يَخوضُ إِلى أوْطارِهِ مَطْلَباً صَعْبا

The bare armed one did not stop

Seeking its far reaches for something hard to obtain.

فوَلَّتْ على ذُعْرٍ وبالنَّفْسِ ما بِها

منَ الكَرْبِ لا لُقِّيتَ في حادِثٍ كَرْبا

So she bolted in fright, and in her soul

Is a sorrow you've never met the like of before.

بأَوْجَدَ منّي يومَ عَجَّتْ رِكابُها

لِبَيْنٍ فلمْ تترُكْ لِذي صَبوَةٍ لُبّا

On the day when she hurried away,

She left behind nothing for the brave.

وما أنْسَ لا أنْسَ الوَداعَ وقد بدَتْ

تُغَيِّضُ دَمْعاً فاضَ وابِلُهُ سَكْبا

Nor did she bid farewell - for no farewell is sweeter

Than to shed copious, pouring tears at departure.

مُهَفْهَفَةٌ لم تَرْضَ أتْرابُها لَها

ببَدْرِ الدُّجى شِبْهاً وشَمْسِ الضُّحى تِرْبا

Sobbing, her companions did not find

In the full moons or bright dawns her equal.

تنفَّسُ حتى يُسْلِمَ العِقْدَ سِلْكُهُ

وأكْظِمُ وَجْداً كادَ ينْتَزِعُ الخِلْبا

She sighed until her necklace came undone

And I suppressed passion that almost ripped out my heart.

وتُذْري شَآبيبَ الدّموعِ كأنّما

أذابَتْ بعَيْنَيْها النّوى لُؤلؤاً رَطْبا

She shed teardrops as if

Her eyes had melted pearls into liquid.

وما كُنْتُ أخشى أن أُراعَ لحادِثٍ

منَ الدّهْرِ أو أشْكو إِلى أهلِهِ خَطْبا

I did not fear that I would stand to face

A fateful event or complain to its people of misfortune.

وقد زُرْتُ منْ أفْناءِ سَعْدٍ ومالكٍ

ضَراغِمَةً تُغْرى كِنانِيَّةً غُلْبا

I have visited the homes of Sa‘d and Malik

As a guest, hosted generously with hospitality.

منَ القَوْمِ يُزْجِي الرّاغِبونَ إلَيْهِمُ

على نَصَبِ المَسْرى غُرَيْرِيَّةً صُهْبا

Those who seek them

Walk with pride towards their high abodes.

لهُمْ نَسَبٌ رَفَّتْ عليهمْ فُروعُهُ

وبَوّأَهُمْ منْ خِنْدِفٍ كَنَفاً رَحْبا

They have a lineage whose branches

Shaded them, and Khendif gave them a vast canopy.

إذا ذَكَروهُ أضْمَرَ العُجْمُ إحْنَةً

عليهمْ وأصْلى جَمْرَةَ الحَسَدِ العُرْبا

When they are mentioned, non-Arabs secretly envied them

And Arabs prayed jealous prayers against them.

وإنْ سُئِلوا عمّنْ يُديرُ على العِدا

رَحى الحَرْبِ فيهمْ أو يكونُ لَها قُطْبا

If asked who on the battlefield

Leads the reins of war or is its axis,

أشاروا بأيْديهِمْ إِلى خَيْرِهِمْ أباً

وأطوَلِهِمْ باعاً وأرْحَبِهِمْ شِعَبا

They point with their hands to the best of fathers

And the most generous soul, of the most glorious roots -

إِلى مُدْلجيٍّ رَدّ عن آلِ جَعْفَرٍ

صُدورَ القَنا والجُرْدَ شازِبَةً قُبّا

To Mudliji, who drove away from Ale Ja‘far

The spears of Qana and its horsemen.

وقابَلَ بالحُسْنى إساءَةَ مُجْرِمٍ

فودَّ بَريءُ القَومِ أنّ لهُ ذَنْبا

He reciprocated the injustice of a criminal with good

So the innocent wished they were to blame.

تُراقُ دِماءُ الكُومِ حَولَ قِبابِهِ

إذا راحَ شَوْلُ الحَيِّ مُقْوَرّةً حُدْبا

The blood of eagles is shed around his abodes

When the stallions of the valley return vanquished.

ويَسْتَمْطِرُ العافونَ منهُ أنامِلاً

أبى الجُودُ أن يَستَمطِروا بعْدَها سُحْبا

They squeeze out rivers from him with their fingers

But generosity refused to let them squeeze out rain after that.

رأى عندَهُ الأعداءُ مِلْءَ عُيونِهِمْ

مَناقِبَ لو فازُوا بِها وَطِئوا الشُّهبا

The enemies saw in his eyes virtues that -

Had they attained them - they would have trampled old age.

فوَدّوا منَ البَغْضاءِ أنّ جُفونَهُمْ

عَقَدْنَ بهُدْبٍ دونَ رؤيَتها هُدْبا

So they wished out of hatred that their eyelids

Would seal shut without seeing such sights.

ولم يُتلِعوا أعْناقَهمْ نَحوَهُ هَوًى

ولا عَفّروا تلكَ الجِباهَ لهُ حُبّا

They did not crane their necks toward him in love

Nor brushed their foreheads in dust out of love for him.

ولكنّهمْ هابُوا مَخالِبَ ضَيْغَمٍ

يَجوبُ أديمَ الأرضِ نحوَهُمُ وَثْبا

But they were terrified of the claws of a snarling lion

Pouncing on the ground toward them.

أبا خالدٍ إنّي تَرَكْتُهُمُ سُدًى

وأحْسابُهُمْ فَوضَى وأعْراضُهُمْ نُهْبى

O Father of Khalid - I left them

Perplexed, their reputations in turmoil, and their honor pillaged.

وصَدّقَ قَوْلي فيكَ أفعالُكَ التي

أبَتْ لقَريضي أن أوَشِّحَهُ كِذْبا

Your actions, which I refused to describe falsely in my poem,

Proved my words about you true.

وهزّكَ مَدْحٌ كادَ يُصْبيكَ حُسْنُهُ

وفي الشِّعرِ ما هزَّ الكَريمَ وما أصْبى

And praise that almost strayed you with its beauty -

And poetry has shaken the generous and wandered.

يحدِّثُ عنهُ البَدرُ بالشّرقِ أهلَهُ

ويسألُ عنهُ الشّمسَ مَنْ سَكَن الغَرْبا

The full moon in the east tells his family about you

And the sun asks whoever lives in the west about you.

ومَنْ لم يُراقِبْ رَبَّهُ في رَعيّةٍ

أخِشَّتُهُ تُدْمي عَرانينَهُمْ جَذْبا

He who doesn't watch over his people

Will have their tents collapsed terribly on them.

فإنّكَ أرْضَيْتَ الرّعايا بِسيرَةٍ

تحَلّتْ بها الدُّنيا ولم تُسْخِطِ الرَّبّا

You pleased your subjects with conduct

That adorned the life and did not incur God's wrath.