إِنّي مِنَ القَومِ الَّذينَ إِذا

أَزِمَ الشِتاءُ وَدوخِلَت حُجَرُه

I am of those people, when

Winter intensifies and its cold pierces,

يَوماً وَدونِيَتِ البُيوتُ لَهُ

فَثَنى قُبَيلَ رَبيعِهِم قِرَرُه

And the homes are closed to it for a day,

Their spring has folded its abdomen,

رَفَعوا المَنيحَ وَكانَ رِزقَهُمُ

في المُنقِياتِ يُقيمُهُ يَسَرُه

They raised the camel litters, and their livelihood

Was in the filled waterskins, its ease facilitating it,

شَرطاً قَويماً لَيسَ يَحبِسُهُ

لَمّا تَتابَعَ وِجهَةً عُسُرُه

A strong, upright condition, nothing holding it back

When the course of its hardship continues,

تَلقى الجِفانَ بِكُلِّ صادِقَةٍ

ثُمَّت تُرَدَّدُ بَينَهُم حِيَرُه

It meets with every truthful woman,

Then it waveres between them in confusion,

وَتَرى الجِفانَ لَدى مَجالِسِنا

مُتَحَيَّراتٍ بَينَهُم سُؤُرُه

And you see the camel litters in our sitting places

Perplexed amongst them are its saddle-cloths,

فَكَأَنَّها عَقرى لَدى قُلُبٍ

يَصفَرُّ مِن أَغرابِها صَقَرُه

So it is as if it is a wild animal next to a heart

Whose falcon has yellowed from its strangeness,

إِنّا لَنَعلَمُ أَن سَيُدرِكُنا

غَيثٌ يُصيبُ سَوامَنا مَطَرُه

We know that rain will reach us

Watering our highlands its wetness,

وَإِذا المُغيرَةُ لِلهِياجِ غَدَت

بِسُعارِ مَوتٍ ظاهِرٍ ذُعُرُه

And when the raid for the excited ones goes out

With the rising smoke of evident death,

وَلّوا وَأَعطَونا الَّذي سُئِلوا

مِن بَعدِ مَوتٍ ساقِطٍ أُزُرُه

They turned away and gave us that which they were asked

After the falling of the dead their loincloths,

إِنّا لَنَكسوهُم وَإِن كَرِهوا

ضَرباً يَطيرُ خِلالَهُ شَرَرُه

We will clothe them even if they dislike it

With a strike its sparks fly through it

وَالمَجدُ نَنميهِ وَنُتلِدُهُ

وَالحَمدُ في الأَكفاءِ نَدَّخِرُه

And glory we nurture it and birth it

And praise in the brave ones we hoard it

نَعفو كَما تَعفو الجِيادُ عَلى ال

عِلّاتِ وَالمَخذولُ لا نَذَرُه

We pardon just as the thoroughbreds pardon

Over the defects and we do not neglect the downtrodden

إِن غابَ عَنهُ الأَقرَبونَ وَلَم

يُصبَح بِرَيِّقِ مائِهِ شَجَرُه

If his closest kin are absent from him

And its trees have not awoken with the scent of their water

إِنَّ التَبالِيَ في الحَياةِ وَلا

يُغني نَوائِبَ ماجِدٍ عُذَرُه

Truly recklessness in life does not

Excuse the laments of a glorious man his argument

كُلُّ اِمرِئٍ فيما أَلَمَّ بِهِ

يَوماً يَبينُ مِنَ الغِنى فُقُرُه

Every person one day shows

From prosperity his poverty