خَلا الدهرُ من خطبٍ يضيقُ لَهُ ذَرْعِي

ومن طارقٍ للهمِّ يعيا بِهِ وُسْعِي

My time lacked troubles that strained my endurance,

And knockers at the door of anxiety to occupy my leisure;

ومن مُؤْيِدٍ صَمَّاءَ تَقصُرُ من يدِي

ومعضلةٍ دهياءَ تكبُرُ عن دفعِي

And supporters, though they be deaf, whose hands fall short of my hands',

And difficult problems that are too big for me to solve,

ومن فزعٍ ينزُو لروعتِهِ دَمِي

ومن نَبْأَةٍ يستَكُّ من ذكرِها سمعِي

And sudden panic to make my blood run cold,

And news at the hearing of which my hearing grows numb.

وكيف ودوني سيفُ يحيى بن منذِرٍ

بعيدُ المدى ماضِي الشَّبا ساطعُ اللَّمْعِ

How not, when I had, protecting me, the sword of Yaḥyā ibn Manẓūr,

Of wide renown, glittering blade, and polished sharpness,

إِذا انهلَّ فِي الإِسلامِ أَرْغَدَ بالحَيا

وإِن حَلَّ فِي الأَعداءِ أَرْعَدَ بالصَّقْعِ

Who, when the battle is joined, waxes fat on booty

And, when raiding the foe, thunders like a roaring cloud,

سناً لَوْ عدانا منه أَن يَجْلُوَ العَمى

لأَشرقَ فِي النَّجْوى وأُبْصِرَ بالسَّمْعِ

A flashing blade that would make the blind see, were its lightening to shine on us,

And the deaf hear, when its gleaming brightness appears.

تخَلَّلْتُهُ من ليلِ هَمٍّ كأنَّما

بِهِ تمَّ ليل التِّمِّ قِطْعاً إِلَى قِطعِ

I slipped away from a night of anxiety, which was as though

It completed the night of darkness with a second darkness.

وشِمْتُ وراءَ الموتِ بارقَةَ الحَيا

وآنستُ من نارِ الوغى يانِعَ النَّبْعِ

And I sensed the glimmering of life behind death

And took comfort, from the burning battle, in a softly flowing spring.

وَقَدْ نَفَقَتْ بي سُوقُ موتٍ يقودُها

سنا البارِقَاتِ الصُّمِّ والأَسَلِ الصُّمْعِ

Up to now, the markets of death, which are driven on by

The bright swords and sturdy, polished lances, have spared me.

أُغالي بأَثمانِ النَّوى بائعَ الرَّدى

وأُضْعِفُ صَرْفِي ناجِزَ الدَّمِ بالدَّمْعِ

I offer high prices to the seller of corruption

And redouble my expenditure of blood for blood with tears.

لخطبٍ أَبوهُ البغيُ والحربُ أُمُّهُ

ودرَّتْ عَلَيْهِ فِتْنَةٌ حافِلُ الضَّرْعِ

For troubles — begotten by rebellion and warfare was their mother —

Which have overwhelmed me, and which copiously flow.

فَوَشْكَانَ مَا شدَّدتُ حيزومَ حازِمٍ

عَلَى كِبدٍ للبينِ بائِنَةِ الصَّدْعِ

So I tightened the saddle‐girth for the resolute one, Ḥāzim,

Upon a camel too distant in kinship and split openly in the breast.

وقلتُ لمغنى الدَّارِ ربعَكِ والبِلى

وللمُورِ والإِعصارِ شَأْنَكِ بالرَّبْعِ

And I said to the one who sang to raise our spirits: “Do your singing

In my dwellings out at pasture, and ply your art in the spring camp!” —

لعلكما أَن تخلُفا فِي معاهِدِي

زوافِرَ صدرِي والسَّواكِبَ من دَمْعِي

Hoping that you two may leave behind among my covenant‐tokens

Some of my spendings and planets of my tears.

وأَنْ تؤنِسا مَا أَوْحَشَتْ مِنِّيَ النَّوى

وأَن ترفعا مَا مَزَّقَ الدهرُ من جَمْعِي

And that you may gladden what the turning of Fate has desolated in me

And may uplift what time has torn apart in my unity.

ولا زادَ من دارِ الغنى غَيْرُ حَسْرَةٍ

تَجَرُّعُها حسبي وكَظْمِي لَهَا شَرْعِي

I brought nothing away from the house of wealth save sorrow

Which I quaff in accordance with my status; and that is my allotted portion.

بلاغاً لأَقصى مَا لعُمْرِي من مَدىً

ومَبْلَغُ أَنْأَى مَا عَلَى الأَرْضِ من صُقْعِ

Until I attain the utmost reach of my term of life,

And until the furthest point that is upon the earth's broad surface; —

طوارِقُ لَمْ أُغْمِضْ لَهُنَّ عَلَى القَذَى

جفوني وَلَمْ أَرْبَعْ لَهُنَّ عَلَى ضِلْعِ

Misfortunes under which I did not close my eyes in sleep,

Nor fail to brace myself against them propped upon my side.

مددْتُ بِهَا فِي البِيدِ ضَبْعَيْ شِمِلَّةٍ

تُبارِي زماناً لا أَمُدُّ بِهِ ضَبْعي

I endured them with a she‐camel strong enough to match a time

I cannot equal with her in stretching out her stride.

ولا مِثْلها فِي مثلِ هَمِّي رَكُوبَةٌ

رَدَعْتُ المنايا إِذ رَكِبْتُ بِهَا رَدْعِي

When I rode her, I checked the onslaught of deaths —

Never was one like her for me to mount in my gravest need.

سَمامَةُ ليلٍ بات مُرْتَبِكَ الخُطى

ونكباءُ يومٍ ظلَّ منقَطِعَ الشِّسْعِ

The stumblings of a night that tossed and turned in its course,

And the wayward wanderings of a day that wholly lost its path.

ومُدْرَجَتي فِي طَيِّ كلِّ صحيفةٍ

من المُوثِقَاتِ الفَجْرَ فِي خاتمِ الطَّبْعِ

My steps led down into every leaf

Of writings held in pledge, just as the seal stamps the letter's close.

إِذَا العقربُ العوجاءُ أَمْسَتْ كأنما

أَثارَتْ عليها ثَأْرَ عادِيَةِ اللَّسْعِ

When the Scorpion crooked her bendings, it was as though

She summoned up against her the curses of virgins broken in her embrace.

وراقَبَها نجمُ الثُّريَّا بِمَطْلَعٍ

كَمَا انْفَرَقَتْ فِي العِذْقِ ناجِمَةُ الطَّلْعِ

And she was watched by the star of the Pleiades, from a rising place

Where she appeared, scattered in the boughs of the grape‐laden tree.

وأَبْرَزَتِ الجوزاءُ صدرَ زُمُرُّدٍ

مُحَلَّى بأَفذاذٍ من الدُّرِّ والوَدْعِ

And the Goat Star revealed a breast of emerald

Adorned with chrysolites and pearls all strung in line.

يُشاكِهُ زَهْرَ الروضِ فِي ماتِعِ الضُّحى

عَلَى بَوْنِ مَا بَيْنَ التَّرَفُّعِ والوَضْعِ

She made the blossoms of the garden smile, at the beauty‐charming dawn,

Between prudery and freedom, coyness and surrender.

سَرَيْتُ دُجى هذِي وجُبْتَ هجِيرَ ذَا

بأَغْوَلَ من غُولٍ وأَسْمَعَ من سِمْعِ

I traveled a night whose darkness was confusing; and you came frightened by

A ghoul loud‐voiced and quick of hearing.

نجيبةُ هَوْلِ القَفْرِ فِي مُطبِقِ الدُّجى

وصَفْوَةُ لمعِ الآلِ فِي القُنَنِ الصُّلْعِ

The choice part of the fearful solitude in the blackness of night,

And the elect of the shining of the tribe's fires that pierce the deepest dark!

فَلأْياً حططتُ الرَّحْلَ عن مثلِ جَفْنِهِ

وأَطلَقْتُ عَقْدَ النِّسْعِ عن شَبَهِ النِّسْعِ

Would that I had never there unloaded my mount of the like of his eyelids!

Would that I had never loosed the necklace's line from his fawn‐like form!

فإِنْ تُؤْوِ منها يَا مُظَفَّرُ غربةً

فنازِحَةُ الأَوطانِ مُؤْيِسَةَ الرَّجْعِ

Then if, O Victorious One, a yearning for home assails him in your land,

A yearning that spurns dwelling among the tribes and drives away returning —

وإِن أَعلقَتْ فِي حبلِ مُلْكِكَ حَبْلَها

فحبلٌ من الأَحبابِ مُنْصَرِمُ القَطْعِ

And if his rope clings in the confines of your kingdom:

Well, a rope of loved ones is one that snaps its threads!

وإِن أَخصَبَتْ فِي زَرْعِ نعماكَ رَعْيَها

فكَمْ قَدْ تخَطَّتْ وداِياً غَيْرَ ذي زَرْعِ

And if she waxes fat in the meadows of your favors with her pasturage:

Well, how often has she crossed wilderness having no meadows!

وإِن أرفَهَتْ فِي بحرِ جودِكَ شِرْبَها

فَمِنْ ظِمْءِ عَشْرٍ فِي الهجيرِ إِلَى تِسْعِ

And if she quenches her thirst to the full in the sea of your bounty:

Why, once with the tribe she endured nineteen days of thirst in ten!

وإِنْ تُحْيِ يَا يَحْيَى حُشاشَةَ نفسِها

فَنُغْبَةُ حَسْوِ الموتِ موشِكَةُ الجَزْعِ

And if you bring her, O Yaḥyā, back from the death she faces:

Well, how near is the ugly smack of death's taste to causing anguish!

أَيادي مليكٍ كلُّها بِكْرُ مَفْزَعِي

وَلَيْسَت بِبِكْرٍ فِي الأَنامِ ولا بِدْعِ

Hands of a king, every one of which was for me a place of last resort —

No, among mankind they have no match, and nothing resembles them!

لفرعٍ سما ثُمَّ انثنى دانيَ الجَنى

لأَصلٍ زَكَا ثُمَّ اعتلى باسِقَ الفَرْعِ

For a branch that grew high, then bent over with the ripeness of its fruit;

For a stock that flourished, then towered up, lifting its boughs;

فأَوْدَقَ بالحُسنى وأَغدقَ بالمُنى

وأَثمر بالنُّعمى وأجزلَ بالصُّنْعِ

Which brought blessings, and lavished bounties,

And produced gifts, and poured forth benefits;

وساقَ إِلَيْهِ الملكُ ميراثَ تُبَّعٍ

بما قادَ من جيشٍ وأتبَعَ من جَمْعِ

And there came down to it a kingdom inherited from Tubba`,

Together with what it led of armies and brought up in the rear of armies;

وتَوَّجَ من تاجٍ وأَلْبَسَ من حُلىً

وقَلَّدَ من سيفٍ ودَرَّعَ من دِرْعِ

And it was crowned with a crown, and clothed in robes,

And invested with a sword, and covered with a coat of mail;

وصفوةُ طيٍّ والسَّكونِ ومَذْحِجٍ

وكِندةَ والأَنصارِ والأَزْدِ والنَّخْعِ

And all choicest of Ṭayyi' and both tribes of Kinda — their quiescence, Mazḥij,

And Kinda, and both groups of the Allies, and Anṣār, and ʿAbd Shams:

ووَتْرُ مثاني المكرُماتِ وَمَا لَهُ

سوى سيفِهِ فِي مقدَمِ الرَّوْعِ من شَفْعِ

The unique pearl of priceless things; besides its sword

Thrusting in the van of flight, most worthy of the singular!

وذو قلمٍ يُنسِيكَ فِي صدرِ مُهْرَقٍ

صدورَ العذارَى فِي القلائِدِ والرَّدْعِ

Its pen makes you forget, upon the breast of parchment,

Breasts of virgins in necklaces and coats of mail.

وإِنْ لَقِيَ الأَقْران خَطَّ صدورَها

بأَقلامِ خَطِّيٍّ وأَتْرَبَ بالنَّقْعِ

And if it meets peers, it traces on their breasts

Calligraphy with pens, and spots them with droplets of ink.

وكم أَعْجَمَتْ بالخفْضِ فِي العُجْمِ أَوْجُهاً

وبالكَسْرِ والإِسلامَ بالفتحِ والرَّفْعِ

And how many a face from non‐Arabic stock has it rendered mute

With omission in non‐Arabic letters; and made steeped in Islam with opening and raising!

وكائِنْ لَهَا فِي كلِّ مُلكٍ من العدى

وإِنْ جَلَّ من فَتْقٍ يجلُّ عن الرَّقْعِ

And ever opposed to it, in every possessing tyrant,

Even if he is too strong in cleavage for sewing together! —

ومن معقِلٍ أُشْرِعْنَ حولَيْهِ فاغتدى

أَذَلَّ لوطْءِ المُقْرَباتِ من الفَقْعِ

And one who took refuge in a hold, whose outskirts

Became too straitened by the trampling of those brought near for stamping with heels!

قرعتَ ذُرَاهُ يَا مُظَفَّرُ قرعةً

أَصمَّ صداها كلَّ مسترِقِ السَّمْعِ

You smashed his household goods, O Victorious One, with a smashing

That deafened, by its noise, all with sharpness of hearing.

وصبَّحْتَهُ أُسْداً عَلَى مَضْرَحِيَّةٍ

ترَكْنَ صفاةَ الشركِ صدعاً عَلَى صَدْعِ

And you left him a lion strewn over a campsite

Which the champions of idolatry with rupture upon rupture abandoned.

وويلٌ لهم من وقعةٍ لَكَ خَيَّلَتْ

عَلَيْهِمْ سماءَ اللهِ دانيةَ الوَقْعِ

And woe to them from an encounter which made it seem to them

As though God's sky were falling down on them with direct hit! —

فمن عُقْرِ دارٍ غيرِ محميَّةِ الحِمى

ومَصْرَعِ قِرْنٍ غيرِ منتعِش الصَّرْعِ

By virtue of the destruction of an abode left without defenders,

And the overthrowing of authority losing resurgence of its strength;

وأَشلاءِ قفرٍ شاكَهَتْ فِيهِ مَا عَفَتْ

خيولُكَ من معنىً لَهُنَّ ومن رَبْعِ

And the carcasses of a wilderness in which horses

Fulfilled their purpose for them, to the loss of the horses' spring encampment!

بهامٍ إِلَى هامٍ كَأَنَّ جُثُومَها

بأَطلالِها مثوى أَثافِيِّها السُّفْعِ

With swaying haunches — as though, when they collapsed, their recumbent forms

Became the dwelling place of their fatigue, the lofty hill of their weariness: —

فلا عدِمَ الإِسلامُ رعْيَكَ لا يَني

ولا أَمِنَ الإِشراكُ بأْسَكَ لا يُرْعِ

Never may Islam lack your guardianship — it will not fail;

Never may paganism feel secure from your might — it will not be tranquil.

ولا زالَت الأَعيادُ عائِدَةً لَنَا

بمُلكِكَ مَا عادَ الحَمامُ إِلَى السَّجْعِ

Our feast days will be restored to us, returning

Through your regime — like the dove's return to billing;

ولا أُخلِيَتْ منكَ المُصَلَّى بمشهَدٍ

شهيدٍ عَلَى مَا أَتقنَ اللهُ من صُنْعِ

Never may your name in the pulpit be made lonesome on a Friday,

Without one praying for you, so complete is God's workmanship in you!

ولا أَوْحَشَتْ ذكراكَ أَعوادَ منبَرٍ

بداعٍ لَكَ الرحمنَ فِيهَا ومُسْتَدْعِ

Nor may gatherings for your mention destitute of loving friends

One who calls down God's mercy upon you, so due is His summoning you!

ولا رَدَّ مَنْ أَعلاكَ لي فيكَ دعوةً

تجلَّى إِلَيْها من سَموَاتِهِ السَّبْعِ

Nor will He who has exalted you above me refuse any prayer

In which the heavens' seven spheres are disclosed unto.

بما رِشْتَ من سهمِي وأَيَّدْتَ من يدي

وجلَّيْتَ من ضَرِّي وأَدْنَيْتَ من نَفْعِي

By what you have granted me of my arrow's flight; what you have strengthened of my hand;

What you have warded off for me of my misfortune; what you have brought near to me of my advantage —

فأًصبحَ حَمدِي فيكَ ملتحِمَ السَّدى

كَمَا راح شملي فيك ملتئِمَ الجَمْعِ

My praise of you has become inseparable from loss of consciousness,

Even as my well‐being in you has grown inseparable from reunitedness.