قِفْ بالدِّيارِ وحَيِّ القومَ عن كَثَبِ
فكم لنا عِندَ ذاكَ الحَيِّ من أَرَبِ
Stand at the dwellings and call, by name, the people who dwell nearby;
How many friends we have in those places whom we befriended long ago.
دارٌ تَرَكتُ بها قَلبي على ثِقَةٍ
من حِفظهِ إِنَّهُ في ذِمَّةِ العَرَبِ
In it, I left a heart of mine, confident
That one who safeguards it is under the protection of Arabs.
أودَعتُهُ مَن يَصُونُ الجارَ مؤْتَمَناً
ولا أَمانَ بكفَّيهِ على الذَهَبِ
I entrusted it to one who treats a neighbor as a trusting friend,
For there is no safety for gold in his grasping hands.
الحافظُ العهدِ تأْبى الغَدرَ شِيمتُهُ
والصَّادِقُ القولِ معصوماً من الكَذِبِ
He who keeps his word disdains treachery;
The truthful one's nature abhors lies.
هوَ الصَّديقُ السَّليمُ القلبِ من وَضرٍ
وَهوَ الأَميرُ الكريمُ النفسِ النَّسبِ
He is the virtuous, pure hearted friend,
The noble prince of lofty lineage.
ما خابَ راجِيهِ في ضيقٍ وفي سَعَةٍ
ومَنْ دعا خالدَ الوهَّابَ لم يَخِبِ
No seeker of his aid was left wanting in ease or distress,
Who called upon the Ever-Giving Lord was not denied.
إنّي عَقَدتُ لهُ عَهداً أَقومُ بهِ
في القُربِ والبُعدِ بينَ الحَرْبِ والحَرَبِ
I pledged to him a covenant I keep
In nearness and distance, between war and war.
يَزُورُني منهُ طَيفٌ عِندَ هِجرَتهِ
فكانَ عنِّي على الحالينِ لم يَغِبِ
When we are apart, his visage appears to me,
As if, in either state, he was never absent from me.
رُوحي إلى اليَمَنِ الميمونِ طائرةٌ
على جَناحٍ من الأَشواقِ مُضطَرِبِ
My soul, on wings of passion, flies to blessed Yemen,
Borne on yearning pinions, fluttering, trembling.
أَستخدِمُ الريحَ في حَملِ السَلامِ لهُ
منِّي فتَخطَفُهُ الأَنواءُ في السُحُبِ
I recruit the wind to convey greetings to him,
Snatched up by the breezes into the clouds.
يا حَبَّذا بُرَقُ الأَعراب من بُرَقٍ
وحبَّذا هضَبُ الأَعرابِ من هِضَبِ
O how wondrous are the lightning bolts in the land of nomads,
And how wondrous the undulating dunes of the nomads!
وحبَّذا كلُّ رَبْعٍ في مَنَازِلِهِمْ
كأنَّما السُمْرُ فيهِ غابةُ القَصَبِ
O how wondrous is every quarter where they make camp,
As though flecked with copses of reeds!
وكلُّ مَرْعىً بهِ الأَنعامُ سائمةٌ
كأَنَّها كُثُبٌ قامتْ على كُثُبِ
And every pasture in which the herds graze, wandering,
As though mounds appeared upon mounds!
وكلُّ دارٍ بها الضِرغامُ مُؤْتلِفٌ
بالظَبيِ بينَ عَرُوض البَيتِ والطُنُبِ
And every abode in which the onagers gather, accustomed
To mingling with the gazelle between the courtyard’s width and firewood!
يأْتونَ من نَحْرِ ذي الدِرعِ المنيعِ دُجَى
ليلٍ إلى نحرِ ذاتِ السَرْجِ والقَتَبِ
Coming from the throat of the strongly girded courser at dusk
To the throat of the destrier caparisoned and armed!
لا تَنطفي نارُهم إلا على وَدكٍ
يجري فيَفصِلُ بينَ النارِ والحَطَبِ
Their fire is not extinguished except on glowing embers
Which separate the flames from the firewood!
بَلَغَتَ يا أَيُّها الوهَّابُ ما بَلَغُوا
وفُقْتَهُم بجَمالِ اللُطفِ والأَدبِ
You have attained, O Giver, the utmost they attained,
And guided them by the beauty of refinement and courtesy.
وَرِثتَ خيرَ أَبٍ في المجدِ مُشتهِرٍ
ولو عَدَاكَ أَبٌ أَورَثْتَ خيرَ أَبِ
You inherited the excellence of a renowned father;
Had another fathered you, you would have inherited the excellence of a father!
هذِهْ صَحيفةُ مُشتاقٍ يُذكِّرُكم
عَهداً لنا عندكم من سالفِ الحِقَبِ
This is a epistle from one who yearns, reminding you
Of a pact between us, from former ages.
إنْ فاتني الكاتبُ المحبوبُ مَنظَرُهُ
فإنَّني اليومَ أرضى منهُ بالكُتُبِ
If the beloved scribe eludes my sight,
Then I find solace in books and manuscripts today.
