لَعَمرُ أَبي عَمروٍ لَقَد ساقَهُ المَنا
إِلى جَدَثٍ يوزى لَهُ بِالأَهاضِبِ
By the life of Abi 'Amr, truly fate has led him
To a grave covered with fighters' corpses,
لِحَيَّةِ جُحرٍ في وِجارٍ مُقيمَةٍ
تَنَمّى بِها سَوقُ المَنا وَالجَوالِبِ
To the lair of a lion in a permanent den
Where merchants exchange their goods,
أَخي لا أَخا لي بَعدَهُ سَبَقَت بِهِ
مُنَيَّتُهُ جَمعَ الرُقى وَالطَبائِبِ
O brother who has no brother after him, his death
Has gathered all the doctors and healers
فَعَينَيَّ لا يَبقى عَلى الدَهرِ فادِرٌ
بِتَيهورَةٍ تَحتَ الطِخافِ العَصائِبِ
So my eyes will not stay moist in this life
With tears under dusty lids,
تَمَلّى بِها طولَ الحَياةِ فَقَرنُهُ
لَهُ حِيَدٌ أَشرافُها كَالرَواجِبِ
I have become accustomed to it for all of my life, so his loss
Is like the loss of a great towering building,
يَبيتُ إِذا ما آنَسَ اللَيلَ كانِساً
مَبيتَ الغَريبِ ذي الكَساءِ المُحارِبِ
He stays up at night in solitude
Like a stranger covered in his cloak,
مَبيتَ الكَبيرِ يَشتَكي غَيرَ مُعتَبٍ
شَفيفَ عُقوقٍ مِن بَنيِهِ الأَقارِبِ
Like an elderly man complaining without fault
Of the cruelty of his close relatives,
بِها كانَ طِفلاً ثُمَّ أَسدَسَ فَاِستَوى
فَأَصبَحَ لِهماً في لُهومٍ قَراهِبِ
As a child he was raised here and became a young man
And a protector against attacking enemies,
يُرَوَّعُ مِن صَوتِ الغُرابِ فَيُنتِحي
مَسامَ الصُخورِ فَهُوَ أَهرَبُ هارِبِ
He is startled by the cawing of the raven so he takes cover
In the crevices of the rocks - what an escaping fugitive!
أُتيحَ لَهُ يَوماً وَقَد طالَ عُمرُهُ
جَريمَةُ شَيخٍ قَد تَحَنَّبَ ساغِبِ
One day, when he had grown old
An old man's crime presented itself to the rider
يُحامي عَلَيهِ في الشِتاءِ إِذا شَتا
وَفي الصَيفِ يَبغيهِ الجَنى كَالمُناجِبِ
In winter, he would protect him from the cold
And in summer, he would shade him from the heat
فَلَمّا رَآهُ قالَ لِلَّهِ مَن رَأى
مِنَ العُصمِ شاةً مِثلَ ذا بِالعَواقِبِ
When the old man saw him, he said - By God, who sees
A sheep like this in the end - what a protector!
أَطافَ بِهِ حَتّى رَماهُ وَقَد دَنا
بِأَسمَرَ مَفتوقٍ مِنَ النَبلِ صائِبِ
He circled around him until he shot him when he drew near
With a brown arrow - his shooter did not miss
فَنادى أَخاهُ ثُمَّ طارَ بِشَفرَةِ
إِلَيهِ اِجتِزارَ الفَعفَعِيِّ المُناهِبِ
He called to his brother, then flew down swiftly
To skin it with his sharp knife
وَلِلَّهِ فَتخاءُ الجَناحَينِ لِقوَةٌ
تُوَسِّدُ فَرخَيها لُحومَ الأَرانِبِ
By God, the flapping of wings - what strength
To carry the meat of rabbits!
كَأَنَّ قُلوبَ الطَيرِ في جَوفِ وَكرِها
نَوى القَسبِ يُلقى عِندَ بَعضِ المَآدِبِ
As if the hearts of birds in their dens
Were seeds thrown down at some feasts
فَخاتَت غَزالاً جاثِماً بَصُرَت بِهِ
لَدى سَمُراتٍ عِندَ أَدماءَ سارِبِ
So it noticed a gazelle lying down, spotted by
Some women near an enemy tribe
فَمَرَّت عَلى رَيدٍ فَأَعنَتَ بَعضَها
فَخَرَّت عَلى الرِجلَينِ أَخيَبَ خائِبِ
Then it passed over some wire and got entangled
Falling on its legs - failing fate!
تَصيحُ وَقَد بانَ الجَناحُ كَأَنَّهُ
إِذا نَهَضَت في الجَوِّ مِخراقُ لاعِبِ
It cried out as its wing appeared as though
It were an excited kite flying in the air
وَقَد تُرِكَ الفَرخانُ في جَوفِ وَكرِها
بِبَلدَةِ لا مَولىً وَلا عِندَ كاسِبِ
And the two chicks were left in its den
In a land with no guardian or earning breadwinner
فُرَيخانُ يَنضاعانُ في الفَجرِ كُلَّما
أَحَسّا دَوِيَّ الريحِ أَو صَوتَ ناعِبِ
Two fledglings twittering at dawn whenever
They sense the wind blowing or a mourner wailing
فَلَم يَرَها الفَرخانِ عِندَ مَسائِها
وَلَم يَهدَآ في عُشِّها مِن تَجاوُبِ
But the chicks did not see their mother by evening
Nor was there peace in the nest from their calling out
فَذلِكَ مِمّا يُحدِثُ الدَهرَ إِنَّهُ
لَهُ كُلُّ مَطلوبٍ حَثيثٍ وَطالِبِ
For this is what fate does - it has
Every sought pleasure and seeking lover
