مِنّا مُسافٍ يُسافي الناسَ ما يَسَروا
في كَفِّهِ أَكعُبٌ أَو أَقدُحٌ عُطُف
Some of us journey on continuously, however far people travel,
Holding a stick or a small waterskin under his arm.
تَتبَعُ أَسلافَنا عينٌ مُخَدَّرَةٌ
مِن تَحتِ دَولَجِهِنَّ الريطُ وَالضَعَف
With a sleepy eye he follows our forefathers’ tracks,
Weak and stumbling beneath his loose robes.
سودٌ غَدائِرُها بُلجٌ مَحاجِرُها
كَأَنَّ أَطرافَها لَمّا اِجتَلى الطَنَف
Jet-black tent walls, bleary, puckered eyes
As though their edges were scorched when the cooking pot boiled over.
وَقَد غَدَوتُ أَمامَ الحَيِّ يَحمِلُني
وَالفَضلَتَينِ وَسَعيي مُحنِقٌ شَسِف
And I have marched ahead of the tribe, who propel me along,
And my toil with the two saddlebags cuts into my shoulders.
مُضَبَّرٌ مِثلُ رُكنِ الطَودِ تَحمِلُهُ
يَدا مَهاةٍ وَرِجلا خاضِبٍ يَجِف
Bent double like a buttress, forced on by
A scrawny hand and a dusty foot gone numb.
أَغَرُّ أَسقَفُ سامي الطَرفِ نَظرَتُهُ
لينٌ أَصابِعُهُ في بَطنِهِ هَيَف
The gaze of the lofty, bright-eyed youth pierces me;
His fingers are gentle as he kneads his belly’s cavity.
فَظَلَّ بَينَ لَخاقيقٍ وَتَنهِيَةٍ
يَخذِمُ أَطرافَ تَنّومٍ وَيَنتَتِف
So he passed his time 'twixt chatter and dozing,
Tending to the edges of slumber and muttering.
حَتّى إِذا غابَ قَرنُ الشَمسِ أَو كَرَبَت
وَظَنَّ أَن سَوفَ يولي بَيضَهُ الغَسَف
Until the new moon of evening declined or his protection waned,
And he thought his companions would soon fold up their tent-cloth,
شالَت ذُناباهُ وَاِهتاجَت ضَبابَتُهُ
في قائِمٍ لا يُريدُ الدَهرَ يَنكَشِف
He shook out his skirts and his slumbering soul revived
In one who does not wish time’s veil to be lifted.
لا الشَدُّ شَدٌ إِذا ما هاجَهُ فَزَعٌ
وَلا الزَفيفِ إِذا ما زَفَّ يَعتَرِف
No firmness is firm when panic seizes him,
Nor any wrath, when it flares, admit the truth.
كَالهَودَجِ الساطِعِ المَحفوفِ يَحمِلُهُ
صَقبانِ مِن عَرعَرٍ ما فَوقَهُ كَنَف
Like a polished lamp carried by hands
Of twig-like forearms; nothing covers their bones.
يَنقَدُّ ذو رِقَّةٍ تَهفو جَوانِبُهُ
كَما هَفا فُروعِ الأَيكَةِ الغَرَف
A delicate creature, whose sides flutter
As branches of the tamarisk flutter in the evening.
كَالأَسودِ الحَبَشِيِّ الحَمشِ يَتبَعُهُ
سودٌ طَماطِمُ في آذانِها النُطَف
Like the Abyssinian lions, bold,
With lynxes around them, their ears tufted.
هابٍ هِبِلٌّ مُدِلٌّ يَعمَلٌ هَزِجٌ
طَفطافُهُ ذو عِفاءٍ نِقنِقٌ جَنِف
Gloomy, apathetic, working listlessly,
Whimpering, with gentle, wheezing breath.
يَروحُ غِلمانُنا دُسماً مَشافِرُهُم
رُقناً بِأَيديهِمُ الأَحرادُ وَالسَدَف
Our lads go about with smooth cheeks, their young chins
Furry with first soft hair and side-whiskers.
يَقولُ وُلدانُنا وَيلاً لِأُمِّكُمُ
كُلُّ اِمرِىءٍ مِنكُمُ يَسعى لَهُ تَلَف
Our children say, ‘Woe to you, your mother!,
Each one of you seeks only his own advantage.’
