Sol 6.1

  1. Whose are the dwellings at Burqat al-Rawhan,

    From when we would not trade our days for any others?

  2. If I visit your people, they pay no heed to my need;

    And if I forsake you, my separation wastes me away.

  3. Has the valley of Suwayqatayn moved from its place,

    Or did al-Burdan settle there after our encampment?

  4. After forgetting them, I returned to ardent longing,

    And recognized traces of dwellings that made me weep.

  5. After the bliss of a delightful life, they became

    Desolate, after tender, intimate companions.

  6. A receding hairline and spreading gray have troubled me,

    After youth and its luxuriant days.

  7. They enthralled hearts, though no desire was fulfilled—

    Like oryx on the isolated sand ridge of al-Hawman.

  8. Gray hair descended upon youth and alarmed me,

    And I recognized its lodging upon my companions.

  9. Bright-eyed beauties sway without rough strides,

    Like the south wind swaying supple branches.

  10. And when they promise you a gift, they break their promise;

    And when you dispense with them, they have no need of you.

  11. Has your heart sobered—at what moment, what hour?

    Or did the neighbors' dispersal not alarm you?

  12. Spring missed their land, so they headed toward Yemen;

    And for love of them, I loved every Yemeni.

  13. A sorrowful dove of a grove went out early,

    Calling to the male dove, and stirred my sorrows.

  14. May you ever dwell amid abundant streams that delight you,

    And the shade of a green tree with tender branches.

  15. And I have spent nights beside every henna-dyed beloved,

    Soft-fingered, with sweet-scented sleeves,

  16. Clothes fragrant with perfume, a robe trailing,

    Walking slowly, with a drunkard's gait.

  17. The traveling women, the day they departed, shattered his heart,

    As glass shatters, with no joining it again.

  18. Do you two discern, with Arwa's monastery between us,

    The early-departing camel litters at al-A'zalayn?

  19. I urged on a she-camel with swaying flanks, worn out by

    Long trotting despite soreness in her two forelegs.

  20. A lean she-camel, harmed by travel, as though she were

    A scabbard in which you folded a Yemeni sword's baldric.

  21. And if you meet Mujashi at Zarud,

    They have left Zarud with foul watering places.

  22. They killed al-Zubayr, and it was said that Mujashi

    Were present with a host of hulking, unarmed men,

  23. Each with a swollen jugular vein, as though he were

    A mule leaning backward beneath two saddlebags.

  24. O seeker of Mujashi's protection, fearing death,

    Never trust Mujashi, even under a pledge of safety.

  25. Indeed, the son of Shi'ra, al-Qarin, and Dawtar

    Were wretched horsemen on the night of calamities.

  26. O little son of Shi'ra, Sa'd never bore

    A smith with smoke crusted on both sides of his neck.

  27. Did you equate Mujashi, the sons of Khadaf, with us,

    And equate your maternal uncle with the mighty Sinan?

  28. Mujashi were present on the evening of Rahrahan,

    With scoops for porridge bowls, their bellies swollen.

  29. The hooves of Qays's horses trampled men of yours,

    Dead, struck down at the watering places.

  30. And you forgot A'yan, al-Rabab, and your neighbor,

    And Nawar, where the two anklets rattled.

  31. When you met horsemen from Amir,

    They drew their swords from their sheaths.

  32. You filled the saddle pads as though you were

    Weak cattle grazing qarmal and afan shrubs.

  33. How admirable was Yazid the day he summoned you,

    As the cavalry swept across Halaban!

  34. They met horsemen who stabbed their backs,

    As falcons tear the shoulders of male bustards.

  35. Let it not be hidden from you that Muhammad

    Is descended from every squat, potbellied man.

  36. If you seek our might among the sons of Usayda,

    Then move the shoulders of Yadhbul and Dhiqan.

  37. We certainly know: your father is no Hajib;

    So join your original stock among the sons of Duhman.

  38. When you fled, a brave man defended the exposed fronts—

    One of us, no coward, on the morning you turned craven.

  39. Shabath—I boasted of him over you—and Ma'qil,

    And of Malik and the horseman of al-Alhan.

  40. Why did you not stab the cavalry the day you met them,

    As the horsemen of the sons of Uqfan thrust?

  41. Throw your weapons to me, house of Utarid,

    And puff yourselves up, farting on the platform.

  42. O wearer of the cloak, Bishr has ruled

    That a drunken man's judgment shall not stand.

  43. So leave judgment: you are not qualified for it;

    Judgment belongs among the sons of Shayban.

  44. Bakr are more entitled to be a trusted authority,

    Or to fulfill their neighbors' rightful claims.

  45. They killed your Kulayb for their neighbor's milch camel;

    O squint-eyed men of Taghlib, you are not purebred!

  46. Al-Akhuytil lied: among my people are

    The crown of kings and the banner of al-Nu'man.

  47. Among them are Utayba, al-Muhill, and Qa'nab,

    And the two Hantafs; among them are the two royal deputies.

  48. My place is surely known in the pavilion,

    With kings and at every contest.

  49. The rootstock of the sons of Kulayb has always stood in a preserve,

    Dense and tangled, where thick groves grow.

  50. They strike when armored champions meet in combat,

    With blows that cleave bodies at the shoulders.

  51. And what protected the horsemen of Ghudana was that

    They were excellent defenders on the evening of wailing.

  52. We certainly strip tyrants of their crown;

    Qabus knows that, and the two Jawns.

  53. And they gave you satisfaction over the man with the branded flank,

    And God placed him in an abode of humiliation.

  54. You raced a rising champion of the course, strong of fang,

    His youth in bloom, while your life fades.

  55. Ever since the stakes grew great, I have kept

    Amassing hundreds and winning every contest.

  56. Our standing has always prevailed over Taghlib,

    And God raised my building above them.

  57. So withdraw your hands: I am in a lofty stronghold,

    Its heights difficult, its sides unassailable.

  58. I have gone ahead, with no pursuer behind me,

    From the outset, my reins let loose upon the course.

  59. Al-Akhuytil withdrew when our racing became serious,

    With shattered limbs and broken teeth.

  60. Tell the insinuator who makes himself a disgrace:

    Whoever wishes may measure his rein against mine.

  61. Deliberately I slashed Taghlib's noses, just as

    Branding-irons slashed the noses of smiths.

  62. And I have indeed branded Mujashi; for Taghlib

    I have a race in store, and lasting humiliation.

  63. Qays follow the clear road, while Taghlib

    Lead one another as blind men do.

  64. The son of a female worshipper of the cross will not desist

    Until he drinks from the cup of those who opposed me.

  65. Indeed, the poems, O Akhuytil—admit it—

    Have headed straight for you, their halters trailing.

  66. And you were fastened, a fourth, to the tether of the three,

    Like young she-camels pressed together in paired tethers.

  67. Al-Namir is a tribe whose ancient glory is beyond reach;

    They outstripped you when the two tribes contended for stakes.

  68. All the horsemen of Rabi'a

    Would be content to attain al-Dahyan's reach.

  69. Whatever calamity comes, none will surrender me—

    My Amr, my Hanzala, nor the two Sa'ds.

  70. And when the sons of Asad rally protectively around me,

    The sons of Asad rise against whoever opposes me.

  71. The illustrious men of my forebears, Kinana, indeed

    Hold their heads high, mighty in authority.

  72. The mountains of Tihama's lowland bore down upon you,

    And you drowned where the two seas collided.

  73. You met the banner of the house of Qays; before it stood

    Men like camels smeared with tar.

  74. They shook their swords, then leveled them into you,

    And slender lances swaying like well-ropes.

  75. They left them as carcasses for beasts, while your routed survivors

    Fall like small ticks.

  76. Al-Hudhayl—Hudhayl of Qays—left men of yours

    Dead, their souls reviled by the two angels.

  77. So slink back: Sulaym are none of yours,

    Nor the two Amirs, nor the sons of Dhubyan.

  78. A people whose spear you encountered with its point intact,

    While they encountered your spear without a point.

  79. O slave of Khindif, you will ever remain enslaved;

    So sit in an abode of abasement and humiliation.

  80. When my Khindif strides proudly behind me,

    My heart does not shudder at threats.

  81. Keep to your alliance in Quda'a, for

    Qays and Khindif are two brothers against you.

  82. They have shut you out, so you cannot pass a watering place

    Between Egypt and the palaces of Oman.

  83. A Taghlibi upon a fine horse is booty;

    Wretched defenders on the evening of wailing!

  84. The Taghlibi is vanquished, held down by

    His ambition—a slave in every place.

  85. Drive the sheep on: Taghlib may not occupy

    The level sands and the ground where damran grows.

  86. May God curse whoever has the cross for his god,

    And those who wear the monks' hooded cloaks,

  87. And those who slaughter, when their Easter draws near,

    Gray-skinned beasts of paltry price,

  88. Each dull-eyed beast whose tusk is crooked,

    With two hoof-halves upon each of its legs.

  89. The noble angels attend our death,

    While a Taghlibi is a corpse for Satan to carry.

  90. He is given the book of his reckoning in his left hand,

    While our book is in our right palms.

  91. Do you believe in Saint Sergius and his son,

    And disbelieve Muhammad of the Criterion?

  92. There is no mosque in the lands where Taghlib dwell,

    And you see broken glazed jars and wine-vats.

  93. When you weigh Taghlib against the glory of Qays,

    They outweigh you, and you rise in the balance.

  94. The cross and Saint Sergius deceived Taghlib,

    Until the two banks tossed Taghlib to and fro.

  95. You find noble women costly when sought in marriage,

    While a Taghlibi woman's dowry is two fils.

  96. May God disgrace Taghlib's mustaches, for they

    Have been struck by every sputtering, droning fart.

Sol 6.1