تَكاثَرُ يَربوعٌ عَلَيكَ وَمالِكٌ

عَلى آلِ يَربوعٍ فَما لَكَ مَسرَحُ

The throngs of Jarbu increase against you, and Malik has supremacy

Over the family of Jarbu, yet you have no stage left.

إِذا اِقتَسَمَ الناسُ الفَعالَ وَجَدتَنا

لَنا مِقدَحا مَجدٍ وَلِلناسِ مِقدَحُ

If people were to divide up actions, you would find us

Having a chalice of glorious deeds, and the people a chalice.

فَأَغضِ بِشُفرَيكَ الذَليلَينِ وَاِجتَدِح

شَرابَكَ ذا الغَيلِ الَّذي كُنتَ تَجدَحُ

So disdain the two abject ones with your sword blades and draw

Your drink with pride, that drink you used to gulp down.

وَرَدَّ عَلَيكُم مُردَفاتٍ نِساءَكُم

بِنا يَومَ ذي بيضٍ صَلادِمُ قُرَّحُ

And rebutting you were unveiled women, your wives,

With us on a white day, long-necked bustards gashed.

وَكُلُّ طَويلُ الساعِدَينِ كَأَنَّهُ

قَريعُ هِجانٍ يَخبِطُ الناسَ شَرمَحُ

And every long-armed one was as though

He were a noisy bell, clanging at people a meaningless clang.

فَأَنزَلَهُنَّ الضَربُ وَالطَعنُ بِالقَنا

وَبيضٌ بِأَيمانِ المُغيرَةِ تَجرَحُ

So killing and stabbing them with spears brought them down,

And white swords in the hands of Mughirah bled them.

وَرَدنا عَلى سودِ الوُجوهِ كَأَنَّهُم

ظَرابِيُّ أَو هُم في القَراميصِ أَقبَحُ

And we attacked the black-faced ones as though they were

Crows, or uglier than they in their shirts.

إِذا سَأَلوهُنَّ العِناقَ مَنَعنَهُم

وَفَدَّينَ حَيَّي مالِكٍ حينَ أَصبَحوا

When they asked them for an embrace, they refused them

And ransomed the lives of Malik's horsemen when they woke up,

جَريرٌ وَقَيسٍ مِثلُ كَلبٍ وَثُلَّةٍ

يَبيتُ حَوالَيها يَطوفُ وَيَنبَحُ

While Jarir and Qays were like a dog and a company of them

That spends the night prowling around it, circling and barking,

وَما هُوَ مِنها غَيرَ أَنَّ نِباحَهُ

لِيونِعَ في أَلبانِها حينَ يُصبِحُ

And it is nothing to it but that its barking

Keeps it awake in their milk when dawn breaks,

وَعانَقَ مِنّا الحَوفَزانَ فَرَدَّهُ

إِلى الحَيِّ ذو رِدءٍ عَنِ الأَصلِ مِزرَحُ

And one of us embraced the cowardly poltroons and repelled him

Back to the tribe, someone far removed from the origin, a spineless wretch.