عوجوا فَحَيّوا أَيُّها السَفرُ

أَم كَيفَ يَنطِقُ مَنزِلٌ قَفرُ

Turn away, and greet the journey, O travels!

Or how can an abandoned dwelling speak?

خَلَدَ الجُبَيبُ وَبادَ حاضِرُهُ

إِلّا مَنازِلَ كُلُّها قَفرُ

The loved ones vanished, and only the ruins remain

All dwellings, they are but abandoned ruins

لَعِبَت بِها هوجٌ يَمانِيَةٌ

فَتَرى مَعارِفَها وَله تَدري

Played with by Yemeni winds

You see its landmarks though you don't know them

وَلَهِت عَلَيها كُلُّ مُعصِفَةٍ

هَوجاءُ لَيسَ لِلُبِّها زَبرُ

Every violent wind assailed it

Winds not for their strength to be proud of

عَشواءُ رَعبَلَةُ الرَواحِ خَجَو

جاةُ الغُدُوِّ رَواحُها شَهرُ

Evening winds, wandering winds blow

Winds of morning raid, their month long

خَرقاءُ تَلتَهِمُ الجِبالَ وَأَج

وازَ الفَلاةِ وَبَطنُها صِفرُ

Kharaqa, devouring mountains and expanses

Its belly empty, and pale yellow

وَالقوفُ تَنسُجُهُ الدَبورُ وَأَت

لالٌ مُلَمَّعَةُ القَرا شَقرُ

Al-Quf weaves it, showered by rain

Smooth dome glittering white

وَتَقنَّعَ الحِرباءُ أَرنَتَهُ

مُتَشاوِساً لِوَريدِهِ نَقرُ

Al-Hirba cloaked itself, grunting

As it gnaws its veins and scrapes

وَعَرَفتُ مِن شُرُفاتِ مَسجِدِها

حَجَرَينِ طالَ عَلَيهِما الدَهرُ

And from its mosque’s balconies I knew

Two stones, so long they've been by time wore

بَكَيا الخَلاءَ فَقُلتُ إِذ بَكَيا

ما بَعدَ مِثلِ بُكاكُما صَبرُ

Crying for the emptiness, I said as they cried

After your crying, what more patience

إِن تَغدُ مِن عَدَنٍ فَأَبينَةٍ

فَمَقيلُها الحُوّارُ وَالبِشرُ

If you come from Aden, so remote

Its talk polite, its people kind

تَضَعُ الحَديثَ عَلى مَواضِعِهِ

وَكَلامُها مِن بَعدِهِ نَزرُ

Putting words in their right places

And their speech after it, so sparse

عوجي اِبنَةَ البَلَسِ الظَنونِ فَقَد

يَربو الصَغيرُ وَيُجبَرُ الكَسرُ

Divert, O doubter, the youth may grow

The broken is mended, the little becomes more

بانَ الشَبابُ وَأَخلَفَ العَمرُ

وَتَغَيَّرَ الإِخوانُ وَالدَهرُ

Youth is gone, and old age comes

Brothers changed, and time too

وَلَقَد غَدَوتُ وَما يُفَزِّعُني

خَوفٌ أُحاذِرُهُ وَلا ذُعرُ

And I went out fearing nothing

No dread to be cautious of, no fright

رُؤدُ الشَبابِ كَأَنَّني غُصنٌ

بِحَرامِ مَكَةَ ناعِمٌ نَضرُ

The shedding of youth as if I were a branch

In holy Mecca, smooth and green

كَشَرابِ قيلٍ عَن مَطِيَّتِهِ

وَلِكُلِّ اَمرٍ واقِعٍ قَدرُ

Like a draft of wine, its trouble forgotten

To each destined matter, its fate

مُذِ النَهارُ لَهُ وَطالَ عَلَيهِ ال

لَيلُ وَاِستَنعَت بِهِ الخَمرُ

Since daybreak it has had its time and night lingered on it

And wine was forbidden it

وَمُسِفَّةٌ دَهماءُ داجِنَةٌ

رَكَدَت وَأُسبِلَ دونَها السَترُ

A gallant she-camel, covering it a cloak

Below which a screen was lowered

مِن دونِهِم غِن جِئتَهُم سَمَراً

عَزفُ القِيانِ وَمَجلِسُ غَمرُ

If you visit them by night, there is

The music of lutes, and a drunken gathering

وَجَرادَتانِ تُغَنِّيانِهِم

وَعَليهِما الياقوتُ وَالشَذرُ

And two crickets singing for them

On them pearls and beads

وَمُجَلجَلٌ دانٍ زَبَرجَدُهُ

حَدِبٌ كَما يَتَحَدَّبُ الدُبرُ

And a sparkling wine skin, its leather

Curved like a bear's back

وَنّانِ حَنّانانِ بَينَهُما

وَتَرٌ أَجَشُّ غِناؤُهُ زَمرُ

And two singers, chanting between them

The melody of the strings is jarring

وَبَعيرُهُم ساجٍ بِجَرَّتِهِ

لَم يُؤذِهِ غَرثٌ وَلا نَفرُ

And their camel, saddled, with bells

Hurt neither by dirt nor fleas

فَإِذا تَجَرَّرَ شَقَّ بازِلَهُ

وَإِذا أَصاخَ فَإِنَّهُ بِكرُ

If it groans, it splits its lip

If it brays, it is still a virgin

خَلّوا طَريقَ الديدَبونِ فَقَد

وَلّى الصِبا وَتَفاوَتَ النَجرُ

Leave the path free, for the Didban have

Faded away, and the suite dispersed

وَاِسلَم بِراووقٍ حُبيتَ بِهِ

وَاِنعِم صَباحاً أَيُّها الجَبرُ

Give yourself to dusk brought you peace

And enjoy the morning, O Fate

لا تَقتَفي بِهِمُ الشَمالُ إِذا

هَبَّت وَلا آفاقُها الغُبرُ

Do not follow them when the north wind blows

Nor its dusty horizons

هُضُمٌ إِذا حُبَّ القُتارُ وَهُم

نُصُرُّ إِذا ما اِستُبطِئَ النَصرُ

Brave if the war drums beat, and they

Victorious if victory delayed

ما كُنتُ مِن قَومي بِدالِهَةٍ

لَو أَنَّ مَعصِيّاً لَهُ أَمرُ

I was no spy among my people

Even if a disobeyer, his affair is ordained

كَلَّفتَني مُخَّ البَعوضِ فَقَد

أَقصَرتُ لا نُجحٌ وَلا عُذرُ

You tasked me with the gnat's brain

So I fell short, no success, no excuse