طَرقَ الخَيالُ وَلا كَلَيلَةِ مُدلِجِ
سَدِكاً بِأَرحُلِنا وَلَم يَتَعَرَّجِ
Imagination knocked, though no night was dark,
Blocking our path without winding about.
أَنّى اِهتَدَيتِ وَكُنتِ غَيرَ رَجيلَةٍ
وَالقَومُ قَد قَطَعوا مِتانَ السَجسَجِ
How did you find your way when you were not a guide,
While the people had cut the ropes of intertwined hemp?
وَالقَومُ قَد آنوا وَكَلَّ مَطِيُّهُم
إِلّا مُواشِكَةَ النَجا بِالهَودَجِ
The people despaired and their riding beasts were spent
Except for nearly escaping with the quilted saddlecloth.
وَمُدامَةٍ قَرَّعتُها بِمُدامَةٍ
وَظِباءِ محنِيَةٍ ذَعَرتُ بِسَمحَجِ
I pelted her with a wineskin, its stitches gaping,
And a bending gazelle I startled with a bramble bush.
فَكَأَنَّهُنَّ لآلِئٌ وَكَأَنَّهُ
صَقرٌ يَلوذُ حَمامَةً لَم تَدرُجِ
As if they were pearls, as if it
Was a falcon seeking refuge with an undefiled dove.
صَقرٌ يَصيدُ بِظُفرِهِ وَجَناحِهِ
فَإِذا أَصابَ حَمامَةً بِالعَوسَجِ
A falcon hunting with its talons and wings—
When it strikes an undefiled dove in the sandy tracts.
وَلَئِن سَأَلتِ إِذا الكَتيبَةُ أَحجَمَت
وَتَبَيَّنَت رُعبَ الجَبانِ الأَهوَجِ
If you ask, when the army lost heart
And the gutless coward’s fright was revealed,
وَسَمِعتَ وَقعَ سُيوفِنا بِرُؤُسِهِم
وَقَعَ السَحابَةِ بِالطَرافِ المُسرَجِ
And you heard the impact of our swords upon their heads
Like the rumble of clouds on outstretched tent ropes,
وَإِذا اللِقاحُ تَرَوَّحَت بِعَشِيَّةٍ
رَتكَ النَعامِ إِلى كَنيفِ العَوسَجِ
And when the meadows breathed easy in the evening,
The ostriches’ necks bent to the hollow of the sandy tract.
أَلفَيتَنا لِلضَيفِ خَيرَ عِمارَةٍ
إِن لَم يَكُن لَبَنٌ فَعَطفُ المُدمَجِ
You made our dwelling the best hospitality for a guest
If there was no milk, then the blessings of a patched waterskin.
وَبَعَثتَ مِن وُلدِ الأَغرِّ مُعَتِّباً
صَقراً يَلوذُ حَمامُهُ بِالعَوسَجِ
You sent, scolding from the lads of Al-Aghr,
A falcon whose dove seeks refuge in the sandy tracts.
فَإِذا طَبَختَ بِنارِهِ نَضَّجتَهُ
وَإِذا طَبَختَ بِغَيرِها لَم يَنضَجِ
When you cook it over its fire, it will be well-done,
When cooked over another’s, it will not be well-done.
