يا ظَميَ وَيحَكِ إِنّي ذو مُحافَظَةٍ
أَنمي إِلى مَعشَرٍ شُمُّ الخَراطيمِ
O Zami, woe to you, I am of virtuous character
I yearn for a group whose moustaches are sniffed
مِن كُلِّ أَبلَجَ كَالدينارِ غُرَّتُهُ
مِن آلِ حَنظَلَةَ البيضِ المَطاعيمِ
All of them as bright as golden dinars
From the family of Hanzala, righteous and fair
يا لَيتَ شِعري عَلى قيلِ الوُشاةِ لَنا
أَصَرَّمَت حَبلَنا أَم غَيرَ مَصرومِ
I wish I knew, from the talk of slanderers about us
Whether our rope is firmly tied or still loose
أَم تَنشَحَنَّ عَلى الحَربِ الَّتي جَرَمَت
مِنّي فُؤادَ اِمرِئٍ حَرّانَ مَهيُومِ
Or if they grieve over the war I started
Against the passionate heart of a distressed man
أَهلي فِداؤُكِ مِن جارٍ عَلى عَرَضٍ
مُوَدَّعٍ لِفِراقٍ غَيرَ مَذمومِ
May my family be your ransom, from a neighbor whose honor
Is bid farewell in a separation without blame
يَومَ العَناقَةِإِذ تُبدي نَصيحَتَها
سِرّاً بِمُضطَمِرِ الحاجاتِ مَكتومِ
The day of intimacy, when she gives her advice
Secretly, about concealed desires, veiled
تَقولُ وَالعيسُ قَد كانَت سَوالِفُها
دونَ المَوارِكِ قَد عيجَت بِتَقويمِ
She says, by God, her conversations before
Were improper, now corrected and reformed
أَلا تَرى القَومَ مِمّا في صُدورِهِمُ
كَأَنَّ أَوجُهَهُم تُطلى بِتَنّومِ
Do you not see, because of what is in their chests
Their faces appear as if smeared with dung
إِذا رَأَوكَ أَطالَ اللَهُ غَيرَتَهُم
عَضّوا مِنَ الغَيظِ أَطرافَ الأَباهيمِ
When they see you, may God prolong your glory, their envy makes them
Bite the tips of their fingers in rage
إِنّي بِها وَبِرَأسِ العَينِ مَحضَرُها
وَأَنتَ ناءٍ بِجَنبي رَعنَ مَقرومِ
I swear by it and by my eyes that bear witness, you are blameless next to me
While I am a weaver of broken threads
لا كَيفَ إِلّا عَلى غَلباءَ دَوسَرَةٍ
تَأوي إِلى عَيدَةٍ لِلرَحلِ مَلمومِ
How could it be otherwise, except for mighty warriors
Who take refuge in a place for the doomed caravan
صَهباءَ قَد أَخلَفَت عامَينِ باذِلَها
تَلُطُّ عَن جاذِبِ الأَخلافِ مَعقومِ
A gray-haired woman who has lived two years of her prime
Slipping away from the pull of the loins, fruitless
إِحدى اللَواتي إِذا الحادي تَناوَلَها
مَدَّت لَها شَطَنَ القودِ العَياهيمِ
One of those, when the train takes her
She extends to it the poles of the litters
حَتّى يُرى وَهوَ مَحزومٌ كَأَنَّ بِهِ
حُمّى المَدينَةِ أَو داءَن مِنَ المومِ
Until he is seen, while he is trussed up as if in him
Is the plague of the city, or a disease of maggots
