Claude 2

  1. مِثلَ عَدَّاءٍ بِرَوضاتِ القَطَا

    قَلَصَت عَنهُ ثِمَادٌ وَغُدُرْ

    Like a smooth-skinned doe in lush gardens

    Whose buds and blossoms have parted from her

  2. فَحْلِ قُبٍّ ضُمَّرٍ أَقرَابُها

    يَنهَسُ الأَكفَالَ مِنها وَيَزُرّْ

    In the hollow of a humped, rounded hill, her kinsfolk

    Gnaw the arbutus berries off her and pluck them clear

  3. خَبطَ الأَرواثَ حَتّى هاجَهُ

    مِن يَدِ الجَوزاءِ يَومٌ مُصمَقِرّْ

    She thrashed her feet about until roused to fury

    By a tawny lynx on a fateful morn

  4. لَهَبانٌ وَقَدَت حِزَّانُهُ

    يَرمَضُ الجُندُبُ مِنهُ فَيَصِرّْ

    Ablaze, her yearning kindled

    While the wild cat writhed and twisted in the heat

  5. ظَلَّ فِي أَعلَى يَفَاعٍ جَاذِلاً

    يَقْسِمُ الأَمْرَ كَقَسْمِ المُؤتَمِرْ

    Perched atop a towering cliff, resolute

    Dividing fortune as if he were its arbiter

  6. أَلِسُمنَانٍ فَيَسقِيها بِهِ

    أَمْ لِقُلْبٍ مِن لُغَاطٍ يَسْتَمِرّْ

    Does he mean to give her water from his whip

    Or a heart brimming with piercing mockery?

  7. وَهْوَ يَفلِي شُعُثاً أَعرَافُهَا

    شُخُصَ الأَبصارِ لِلوَحشِ نُظُرْ

    As her tangled hair fluttered on the hilltops

    Eyes peered into the wilderness, keeping watch

  8. وَدَخَلت البابَ لا أُعطِي الرُّشى

    فَحَباني مَلِكٌ غَيرُ زَمِرْ

    And she entered the gate without granting favors

    So a king other than the lion took her in

  9. كَم تَرى مِن شانِئٍ يَحسُدُنِي

    قَد وَراهُ الغَيظُ في صَدرٍ وَغِرْ

    How many enviers look on me with hatred

    As rancor smolders in their breasts?

  10. وَحَشَوتُ الغَيظَ فِي أَضلاعِهِ

    فَهوَ يَمشِي حَظَلاناً كَالنَّقِرْ

    I stoked their spite within their ribs

    And they walk bent over like the dibble stick

  11. لَمْ يَضِرني وَلَقَد بَلَّعتُهُ

    قِطَعَ الغَيظِ بِصَابٍ وَصَبِرْ

    They did me no harm, though I made them swallow it

    Cutting short their rage with patience and calm

  12. فَهْوَ لا يَبْرَأُ ما في نَفسِهِ

    مِثلَ ما لا يَبْرَأ العِرقُ النَّعِرْ

    This sickness in their souls does not abate

    Like the sweat of a terrified she-camel’s neck

  13. وَعَظيمِ المُلكِ قَد أَوعَدَنِي

    وَأَتَتنِي دُونَهُ مِنهُ النُّذُرْ

    The mighty king has made me promises

    And warnings have come to me ahead of him

  14. حَنِق قَد وَقَدَتْ عَينَاهُ لِي

    مِثلَ ما وَقَّدَ عَينَيهِ النَّمِرْ

    His eyes were lit with anger against me

    As the leopard’s eyes flare against his prey

  15. وَيَرى دُوني فَلا يَسْطِيعُنِي

    خَرْطَ شَوْكٍ مِن قَتَادٍ مُسمَهِرّْ

    And he sees me yet cannot reach me

    Not a shred of a thornbush whipped by the drunk

  16. أَنَا مِنْ خِندِفَ في صُيَّابِهَا

    حَيثُ طابَ القِبْصُ مِنهُ وَكَثُرْ

    I am from Khindif among its ravines

    Where the aroma of wormwood grows thick