صَحا قَلبُهُ وَأَقصَرَ اليَومَ باطِلُهُ
وَأَنكَرَهُ مِمّا اِستَفَادَ حَلائِلُه
His heart awoke, and the useless part of his day grew short,
And he denied it because of what its situation had brought on him.
يُرَبنَ وَيَعرِفنَ القَوامَ وَشيمَتي
وَأَنكَرنَ زَيغَ الرَأسِ وَالشَيبُ شامِلُه
He would blame and recognize the demeanor and my manner,
And deny the bending of the head and the hoariness that encompassed it.
وَكُنتُ كَما يَعلَمنَ وَالدَهرُ صَالِحٌ
كَصَدرِ اليَماني أَخلَصَتهُ صَياقِلُه
And I was as they knew, and time was good,
As the chest of a Yemeni its scabbards had purified.
وَأَصبَحتُ قَد عَنَّفتُ بِالجَهلِ أَهلَهُ
وَعُرِّيَ أَفراسُ الصِبا وَرَواحِلُه
And I became one who had chastised ignorance and its people,
As the horses of youth grew up and their dams carried them.
قَليلٌ عِناني مَن أَتى مُتَعَمِّداً
سَواءً بِنا أَو خالَفَتني شَمائِلُه
There are few who restrain me, whoever comes to me deliberately,
Whether they were with me or their qualities opposed me.
خَلا أَنَّني قَد لا أَقولُ لِمُدبِرٍ
إِذا اِختارَ صَرمَ الحَبلِ هَل أَنتَ واصِلُه
Except that I may not say to one who turns away,
If he chooses the rope’s edge, “Are you its connector?”
تَبَصَّر خَليلي هَل تَرى مِن ظَعائِنٍ
تَحَمَّلنَ أَمثالَ النِعاجِ عَقائِلُه
Look, my friend - do you see any dirty women
Who have borne the likes of sheep and their pregnant ones?
ظَعائِنُ أَبرَقنَ الخَريفَ وَشِمنَهُ
وَخِفنَ الهُمامَ أَن تُقادَ قَنابِلُه
Dirty women who glisten in autumn and fatten themselves,
And their spirits diminish that they are led by bridles.
عَلى إِثرِ حَيٍّ لا يَرى النَجمَ طالِعاً
مِنَ اللَيلِ إِلّا وَهوَ بادٍ مَنازِلُه
Following a living being who does not see a star rising
From the night, unless it is passing and its stages disappear.
شَرِبنَ بِعُكّاشِ الهَبابيدِ شَربَةً
وَكانَ لَها الأَحفى خَليطاً تُزايِلُه
They drank from the wine-skin of darting gazelles a drink,
And the most delicious to it was its mixture they kept pace with.
فَلَمّا بَدَا دَمخٌ وَأَعرَضَ دونَهُ
عَوازِبُ مِن رَملٍ تَلوحُ شَواكِلُه
So when the darkness appeared and they turned away from it,
Phantoms in the sand, their spears glisten.
وَقُلنَ أَلا البَردِيُّ أَوَّلُ مَشرَبٍ
نَعَم جَيرِ إِن كانَت رِواءً أَسافِلُه
And they said, “Is not the coolness the first drinking place,
Yes, neighbors, if its depths were remedies.”
تَحاثَثنَ وَاِستَعجَلنَ كُلَّ مُواشِكٍ
بِلُؤمَتِهِ لَم يَعدُ أَن شَقَّ بازِلُه
They packed up and hastened every impending one
With his goods, no longer caring if his strap would tear.
فَباكَرنَ جَوناً لِلعَلاجيمِ فَوقَهُ
مَجالِسُ غَرقَى لا يُحَلَّأُ ناهِلُه
They hurried the ignorant before daybreak, and on top of him
Were assemblies of the drowned, which their bucket could not scoop up.
إِذا ما أَتَتهُ الريحُ مِن شَطرِ جانِبٍ
إِلى جانِبٍ حازَ التُرابَ مَجاوِلُه
Whenever the wind came to him from the direction of a side,
To a side, it carried the dust, interfering with it.
قَذَفنَ بِفي مَن ساءَهُنَ بِصَخرَةٍ
وَذُمَّ نَجيلُ الرُمَّتَينِ وَناصِلُه
They threw a rock at whoever of them angered them
And blamed the hurler and its sender.
