ساروا بِقَلبي وَأرض الطف قَد نَزَلوا
ما ضَرَ لَو أَن جسمي عِندَهُم نَقلوا
They journeyed away with my heart and alighted in the land of al-Taff.
What harm would it have done had they carried my body to be with them?
يا طالَما وَصَلوا مِن بَعد ما قَطَعوا
لَكنهم قَطَعوا مِن بَعدِ ما وصَلوا
Ah, how often they renewed ties after severing them,
yet they severed ties after renewing them.
أجيرة سَلَكوا مِن كُل جارحة
مَسالك البرء مِن جسم بِهِ علل
O neighbors who followed, out of every limb,
the paths by which health leaves a body beset by ailments,
وَفتية وَصلت فينا محبتهم
أَعن محبتنا طَوعاً قَد اِنفَصَلوا
and youths whose love has reached us—
have they willingly withdrawn from our love?
وَسادة حكموا فينا وَما ظَلَموا
وَإنَّهم فَعَلوا ما زانهم فعَلَوا
And masters who ruled us without injustice,
and indeed, they did what graced them, and so rose high.
هُم الأَحبة إِن شطوا وَإِن قَربوا
وَهُم عَلى العَهد إِن جاروا وَإِن عدلوا
They are the beloved, whether far away or near,
and they keep the pledge, whether unjust or just.
ما لي أحن لأَرض الطف منزعجاً
وَلَيسَ لي ناقة فيها وَلا جَمَل
Why do I yearn, distraught, for the land of al-Taff,
though I have neither she-camel nor he-camel there,
وَاسأل الرَكب عَنها وَهيَ نازِحَة
وَلَيسَ لي عِندها قَصد وَلا أَمل
and ask the caravan about it, distant as it is,
though I have no purpose there, nor any hope?
يا أَيُّها الرَجل المزجي ركائِبه
بلغ سَلامَك عَني أَيُّها الرَجل
O man who drives his mounts onward,
convey your greeting on my behalf, O man.
وَحي يا سَعد أَقواماً وَجوههم
بيض وَراحتهم كَالغَيث تَنهمل
And salute, O Sa'd, a people whose faces
are white, and whose palms pour down like rain.
فَهُم خفاف إِذا حَل النَزيل بِهم
لَكنها بَينَ أَطراف القنا قلل
For they are swift when a guest alights among them,
yet their palms are peaks amid the spearheads.
وَفيهم شَهم كَالبَحر ملتطم
في كَفهِ خذم في حَدهِ شعل
And among them is a gallant man like the surging sea,
a keen sword in his palm, flames along its edge.
يَحمي مِن اللؤم عرضاً ما بِهِ دنس
وَيَنتَضي مرهفاً ما شانَهُ فلل
He guards from baseness an honor free of stain,
and draws a keen blade unmarred by nicks.
طابَت أرومته حَتّى أَناف عَلى
زَهر الرَبيع فَقَد أَودى بِهِ الخَجل
His lineage is so pure that he has risen above
spring's blossoms, which shame has laid low.
أَبا الفَضائل طالَ العَهد فيكَ وَقَد
تحرك الشَوق وَاستولى بِنا الوجل
O Abu al-Fada'il, long has it been since we saw you, and now
longing has stirred, and dread has seized us.
خلفتنا مثل شاء لا رعاة لَهُم
وَراكب الدو لا رَسم وَلا طلل
You left us like sheep with no shepherds,
and like a rider in the waste, with no trace of a dwelling or ruin.
لَئن نسيت عُهوداً بِالحِمى سلفت
فَلَست أَنسى وَإني ذَلِكَ الرَجل
Even if you have forgotten pledges once made in the sanctuary,
I do not forget—such is the man I am.
تَباً لمحفل شعر لا تَقوم بِه
وَمَنزل لَم تَزره أَيُّها البطل
A curse upon a poetry gathering where you do not stand,
and a dwelling you have not visited, O hero!
فَما حَلا بَعدكُم نظم وَلا أَدَب
وَلا زَها بَعدكُم بَحث وَلا جَدَل
For since you left, neither verse nor letters have been sweet,
nor, since you left, have inquiry or debate shone.
مُذ غبت أرتج باب النظم عَن حنق
فَلا نِظام وَلا علم وَلا عمل
Since you went away, the gate of verse has been locked in anger,
so there is no composition, no learning, and no work.
مِنا السَلام لعبد اللَه ما طلعت
شَمس فأشرق مِنها السَهل وَالجَبَل
From us, peace to Abdullah, as long as there rises
a sun whose light makes the plain and mountain shine.
وَرَدك اللَه مَحروس الجناب عَلى
رَغم الأَعادي فيا بئس الَّذي عملوا
And may God bring you back, your person kept safe, in
defiance of the enemies—how vile was what they did!
Sol 6.1