بِحَيثُ اِنعَقَدَ الرَملُ

غَزالٌ دَأبُهُ المَطَلُ

Where the sands have gathered

A gazelle whose habit is yearning

جَرورٌ لِلمَواعيدِ

فَلا مَنعٌ وَلا بَذلُ

Moving on to the trysts

With no refusal or stinginess

وَلَو صَرَّحَ بِاليَأسِ

أَبى وَجدِيَ أَن أَسلو

And if he confesses to despair

My resolve refuses to submit

لَئِن آيَسَني الصَدُّ

لَقَد أَطمَعَني الدَلُّ

If rejection has made me despair

Expectation has made me covet

لَهُ عَينانِ تُبرى بِمَن

هُما لِلأَعيُنِ النَبلُ

He has two eyes that gaze kindly on one

Whose eyes to others are aloof

سَواءٌ بِهِما الإِحيا

ءُ لِلواجِدِ وَالقَتلُ

To him they bestow life

Or administer death

أَمِنكَ الظُعُنُ الغادو

نَ زُمَّت لَهُمُ الإِبِلُ

Are you safe from those who slander

To whom the camels are hobbled?

كَما أَشرَقَتِ الدَومُ

ضُحىً أَو طَلَعَ الرَقلُ

As the dusk spread its glow

Or the early dawn gleamed

جَلا عَنها طِراقُ اللَي

لِ وَاِقلَولى بِها الهَجلُ

The darkness of night departed from it

And the stars twinkled around it

وَفيها القُضُبُ الرَيّان الن

نَدى وَالقُضُبُ الجَذلُ

In it are the moist, dewy branches

And the dry, withered branches

أَلا لِلَّهِ كَم تَرشُ

قُ فينا الأَعيُنُ النُجلُ

Oh how many glances shine upon us

The bright eyes of the young men

وَتُصبينا دِيارُ الحَي

يِ إِن ساروا وَإِن حَلّوا

And the abodes of love make us dizzy

Whether they journey or settle

فَذي الدارُ إِذا تَغنى

وَذي الدارُ إِذا تَخلو

The neighbor, when he is sung to

The neighbor, when he is abandoned

خَلَعنا طاعَةَ الحُبِّ

فَلا عَهدٌ وَلا إِلُّ

We have cast off the obedience of love

No pact, no intimate friend

إِذا ما نَفَعَ الجَهلُ

فَإِنَّ الضائِرَ العَقلُ

When ignorance is of no use

It is reason that harms

فَإِمّا تَرَيَنّي اليَو

مَ يَبلوني الَّذي يَبلو

So you will see me one day

Tested by what tests

صِراعاً لِلزَمانِ العَو

دِ أَغلوهُ كَما يَغلو

Wrestling with fate

Overpowering it as it overpowers

تَقَيتُ الشَوكَ بِالنَعلِ

فَشاكَت قَدَمي النَعلُ

I avoided the thorns with my shoes

But the shoes lacerated my feet

فَقَد أُنهَزُ بِالثِقلِ

إِذا ما عَظُمَ الثِقلُ

I am weighed down by burdens

When the load grows heavy

وَأَنزو نَزوَةَ البازِ

لِ لا يُبرِكُهُ الحَملُ

And I pace the gait of the insolent

So the load does not burden him

فَقَد يَنهَتِكُ الحَيُّ

وَفيهِ البيضُ وَالذُبلُ

The living can be brought to ruin

Though there is eggs and chicks

وَقَد يَنتَصِرُ الواحِدُ

لا مالٌ وَلا أَهلُ

And the lone man can be victorious

With neither money nor family

يُضامُ العَدَدُ الكُثرُ

وَيَأبى العَدَدُ القُلُّ

The large numbers are defeated

And the few refuse

أَخِلّائي بِبَغدادَ

جَنى دونَكُمُ الرَملُ

My friends in Baghdad

The sands have reaped your bounty

وَحالَت دونَ لُقياكُم

زَحاليفُ القَنا الزُلِّ

And the stagnant swamps have prevented

Our meeting

لَقَد كُنتُ شَديدَ الضَن

نِ أَن يَنقَطِعَ الحَبلُ

I was so afraid our bond would break

And our kinship would crack

وَأَن يَنصَدِعَ الشَعبُ ال

لَذي لوئِمَ وَالشَملُ

But I shepherded the land

When the greens were good for me

وَلَكِنّي رَعَيتُ الأَر

ضَ ما طابَ لِيَ البَقلُ

And I hurried the moving

When the blight and sterility spread

وَعَجَّلتُ النَوى لَمّا

فَشا اللَأواءُ وَالأَزلُ

He whom a verdant place made comfortable

A barren place made desolate

وَمَن أَنزَلَهُ خِصبُ الرُ

بى أَظعَنَهُ المَحلُ

No shame to the defeated

That registers have vanquished him

وَلا عارٌ عَلى الماتِ

حِ أَن يَغلِبَهُ السَجلُ

My regret over the worries

That watered your desert

نَدامايَ عَلى الهَمِّ

سَقى عَهدَكُمُ الوَبلُ

I greet you with its fresh radiance

Newly green, lush

وَحَيّاكُم بِرَيّاهُ

جَديدُ النورِ مُخضَلُّ

I remembered you while the tears

Neither flowed nor ceased

تَذَكَّرتُكُمُ وَالدَم

عُ لا وَبلٌ وَلا طَلُّ

No neighbor of yours has reneged

Of those who share your settlement

فَما أَخلَفَكُم جارٌ

مِنَ الماقينَ مُنهَلُّ

There are things in life that console

But where is that which consoles?

وَفي الأَيّامِ ما يُسلي

وَلَكِن أَينَ ما يَسلو

The shining heart and the sharp sword

Refused obedience to oppression

أَبى لي طاعَةَ الضَيمِ

مُضاءُ القَلبِ وَالنَصلُ

And I am from a people

Too proud when subdued

وَإِنّي مِن مَناجيبٍ

لَهُم أَنَفٌ إِذا ذُلّوا

If I return to oppression

There is no breadth or plain

لَئِن عُدتُ إِلى الضَيمِ

فَلا رَحبٌ وَلا سَهلُ

And if I avoid glory

Humility will not diminish me

وَإِن جُزتُ عَنِ العِزِّ

فَلا جاوَزَني الذُلُّ

It is the wilderness, the darkness

The she-camel and the saddlebags

هِيَ البَيداءُ وَالظَلما

ءُ وَالناقَةُ وَالرَحلُ

Buying death through glory

By selling oppression is no injustice

شَراءُ المَوتِ لِلعِزِّ

بِبَيعِ الضَيمِ لا يَغلو

And surely the rugged side

Is smoother for me than the easy side

وَإِنَّ الجانِبَ الوَعرَ

عَلَيَّ الجانِبُ السَهلُ