أَلا يا اِسلَمي حُيِّيتِ أُختَ بَني بَكرِ
تَحِيَّةَ مَن صَلّى فُؤادَكِ بِالجَمرِ
Be greeted, O Muslim woman of the clan of Bakr
With the regards of one whose heart was seared by embers
بِآيَةِ ما لاقَيتِ مِن كُلِّ حَسرَةٍ
وَما قَد أَذَقناكِ الهَوانَ عَلى صُغرِ
By the sign of all the sorrow you have known
And the disgrace we made you suffer in your youth
فَكائِن رَأَيتِ مِن حَميمٍ تَجُرُّهُ
صُدورُ العَوالي وَالجِيادُ بِنا تَجري
Whatever sincere affection you have seen
Whose ardour the resolute souls and steeds with us felt
وَما ذِكرُهُ بِكرِيَّةً جُشَمِيَّةً
بِدارِ ذَوي الأَوتارِ وَالأَعيُنِ الخُزرِ
Whenever it was recalled with pride, boastfully
In the abode of the stringed instrument and the green eyes
فَلَن تَشرَبي إِلّا بِرَنقٍ وَلَن تَرَي
سَواماً وَحَيّاً بِالقُصَيبَةِ فَالبِشرِ
You shall drink only from a goblet, and you shall see
No plain water or milk in the drinking bowl, so rejoice
أَبا مالِكٍ لا تَنطُقِ الشِعرَ بَعدَها
وَأَعطِ القِيادَ القائِدينَ عَلى كَسرِ
O Abā Mālik, do not recite poetry after this
And give the leadership to the two victorious commanders
فَلَن يَنشُرَ المَوتى وَلَن يُذهِبَ الجِزى
هَوِيُّ القَوافي بَينَ أَنيابِكَ الخُضرِ
The dead shall not be revived, nor the punishment removed
By the fanciful rhymes between your green fangs
وَلَو كُنتَ في الحامينَ أَحسابَ وائِلٍ
غَداةَ الطِعانِ لَاِجتُرِرتَ إِلى القَبرِ
Had you been the noblest of the clan of Wā’il
The morning after the piercing, you would have crawled to the grave
وَلَولا الفِرارُ كُلَّ يَومِ وَقيعَةٍ
لَنالَتكَ زُرقٌ مِن مَطارِدِنا الحُمرِ
Were it not for fleeing every day at the attack
You would have been stained red by our pursuing brown swords
وَما حارَبَتنا مِن مَعَدٍّ قَبيلَةٌ
فَنَترُكَها حَتّى تُقِرّوا عَلى وِترِ
No tribe ever battled us
And we left them until you were pacified and plucked
وَكُنتَ كَكَلبٍ قَتَّلَ الجَيشُ رَهطَهُ
فَأَصبَحَ يَعوي في دِيارِهِمُ الغُبرِ
You were like a dog whose kin the army killed
So it howled in their ruined and dusty abodes
بِمَلحَمَةٍ لا يَستَقِلُّ غُرابُها
دَفيفاً وَيُمسي الذِئبُ فيها مَعَ النِسرِ
With a battle in which its ravens cannot manage a mouthful
And the wolf in it becomes food for the eagles
وَنَحنُ تَرَكنا تَغلِبَ اِبنَةَ وائِلٍ
كَمُنكَسِرِ الأَنيابِ مُنقَطِعِ الظَهرِ
While we left Tughlib, daughter of Wā’il
Like one whose fangs are broken and back is severed
وَكانوا كَذي كَفَّينِ أَصبَحَ راضِياً
بِواحِدَةٍ شَلّاءَ مِن قَصَبٍ عَشرِ
And they became like the one whose two palms
Were content with a single split reed out of ten
أَلَم يَأتِ عَمرواً وَالمَفاوِزُ دونَهُ
مَصارِعُ ساداتِ الأَراقِطِ وَالنَمرِ
Did ‘Amr not come, while the expanses were his
The killing-places of the lords of Iraq and the tigers
تَدورُ رَحانا كُلَّ يَومٍ عَلَيهِمُ
بِواقِدِ حَربٍ لا عَوانٍ وَلا بِكرِ
Whose spears circle them every day
With war having neither supporter nor reinforcements
وَنَحنُ قَتَلنا مِن جَلالِكَ وائِلاً
وَنَحنُ بَكَينا بِالسُيوفِ عَلى عَمروِ
And we, it was we who killed Wā’il for you in vengeance
And we, it was we who lamented ‘Amr with our swords
