أصحوت اليوم أم شاقتك هر — Tarafa Ibn Al Abd

أَصَحَوتَ اليَومَ أَم شاقَتكَ هِر

وَمِنَ الحُبِّ جُنونٌ مُستَعِر

Have you come to your senses today, or has Hir stirred your longing?

Love brings a blazing madness.

لا يَكُن حُبُّكِ داءً قاتِلاً

لَيسَ هَذا مِنكِ ماوِيَّ بِحُر

Let your love not become a deadly illness;

this is not noble of you, Mawi.

كَيفَ أَرجو حُبَّها مِن بَعدِ ما

عَلِقَ القَلبُ بِنُصبٍ مُستَسِر

How can I hope for her love after

the heart has become attached to hidden torment?

أَرَّقَ العَينَ خَيالٌ لَم يَقِر

طافَ وَالرَكبُ بِصَحراءِ يُسُر

An unsettled apparition kept my eye sleepless;

it visited while the caravan was in the desert of Yusr.

جازَتِ البيدَ إِلى أَرحُلِنا

آخِرَ اللَيلِ بِيَعفورٍ خَدِر

She crossed the wastelands to our saddles

at night's end, with a fawn sheltered in its thicket.

ثُمَّ زارَتني وَصَحبي هُجَّعٌ

في خَليطٍ بَينَ بُردٍ وَنَمِر

Then she visited me while my companions slept,

in a mixed company between Burd and Namir.

تَخلِسُ الطَرفَ بِعَينَي بَرغَزٍ

وَبِخَدَّي رَشَإٍ آدَمَ غِر

She steals glances with the eyes of a wild calf

and the cheeks of a young, tawny gazelle.

وَلَها كَشحا مَهاةٍ مُطفِلٍ

تَقتَري بِالرَملِ أَفنانَ الزَهَر

She has the flanks of a wild cow with a calf,

seeking flowering boughs among the sands.

وَعَلى المَتنينِ مِنها وارِدٌ

حَسَنُ النَبتِ أَثيثٌ مُسبَطِرّ

Across the two sides of her back flows hair,

fine-growing, thick, long and smooth.

جابَةُ المِدرى لَها ذو جُدَّةٍ

تَنفُضُ الضالَ وَأَفنانَ السَمُر

Thick-horned, she has a striped calf;

she shakes the wild lote trees and acacia boughs

بَينَ أَكنافِ خُفافٍ فَاللِوى

مُخرِفٌ تَحنو لِرَخصِ الظِلفِ حُر

between the fringes of Khufaf and al-Liwa.

Autumn-born, tender-hoofed and purebred, it receives her care.

تَحسِبُ الطَرفَ عَلَيها نَجدَةٌ

يا لِقَومي لِلشَبابِ المُسبَكِر

She counts even a glance an exertion;

O my people, for youth in its full stature!

حَيثُما قاظوا بِنَجدٍ وَشَتَوا

حَولَ ذاتِ الحاذِ مِن ثِنيَي وُقُر

Wherever they summered in Najd and wintered

around Dhat al-Hadh, by the two bends of Wuqur,

فَلَهُ مِنها عَلى أَحيانِها

صَفوَةُ الراحِ بِمَلذوذٍ خَصِر

he has from her, at her chosen times,

the purest wine, mingled with a sweet, cool draught.

إِن تُنَوِّلهُ فَقَد تَمنَعُهُ

وَتُريهِ النَجمَ يَجري بِالظُهُر

If she grants it to him, she may also withhold it,

and make him see stars running at noon.

ظَلَّ في عَسكَرَةٍ مِن حُبِّها

وَنَأَت شَحطَ مَزارِ المُدَّكِر

He remained in hardship through love of her,

while she went far beyond the remembering lover's reach.

فَلَئِن شَطَّت نَواها مَرَّةً

لَعَلى عَهدِ حَبيبٍ مُعتَكِر

Even if her separation grew distant once,

he still returns to a beloved's pledge.

بادِنٌ تَجلو إِذا ما اِبتَسَمَت

عَن شَتيتٍ كَأَقاحِ الرَملِ غُر

Full-bodied, she reveals, whenever she smiles,

gleaming, parted teeth like daisies of the sand.

بَدَّلَتهُ الشَمسُ مِن مَنبَتِهِ

بَرَداً أَبيَضَ مَصقولَ الأُشُر

The sun replaced them, from where they grew,

with white hailstones, polished along their serrations.

وَإِذا تَضحَكُ تُبدي حَبَباً

كَرُضابِ المِسكِ بِالماءِ الخَصِر

When she laughs, she reveals beads of moisture,

like grains of musk in cool water.

صادَفَتهُ حَرجَفٌ في تَلعَةٍ

فَسَجا وَسطَ بِلاطٍ مُسبَطِر

A frigid wind struck it in a watercourse,

and it lay still amid a level stretch of smooth stone.

وَإِذا قامَت تَداعى قاصِفٌ

مالَ مِن أَعلى كَثيبٍ مُنقَعِر

When she rises, a crashing mass gives way,

slanting from the crest of an undercut dune.

تَطرُدُ القُرَّ بِحُرٍّ صادِقٍ

وَعَكيكَ القَيظِ إِن جاءَ بِقُر

She drives off cold with genuine warmth,

and summer's choking heat, when it comes, with coolness.

لا تَلُمني إِنَّها مِن نِسوَةٍ

رُقَّدِ الصَيفِ مَقاليتٍ نُزُر

Do not blame me: she belongs among women

who sleep through summer, whose children seldom survive and are few.

كَبَناتِ المَخرِ يَمأَدنَ كَما

أَنبَتَ الصَيفُ عَساليجَ الخُضَر

Like daughters of the clouds, they sway as

summer makes the tender shoots of greenery grow.

فَجَعوني يَومَ زَمّوا عيرَهُم

بِرَخيمِ الصَوتِ مَلثومٍ عَطِر

They bereaved me, the day they bridled their caravan,

of one soft-voiced, kissed and fragrant.

وَإِذا تَلسُنُني أَلسُنُها

إِنَّني لَستُ بِمَوهونٍ فَقِر

If she rebukes me, I rebuke her;

I am not feeble or broken-backed.

لا كَبيرٌ دالِفٌ مِن هَرَمٍ

أَرهَبُ اللَيلَ وَلا كَلُّ الظُفُر

No old man shuffling from senility,

fearing the night, nor blunt of claw.

وَبِلادٍ زَعِلٍ ظِلمانُها

كَالمَخاضِ الجُربِ في اليَومِ الخَدِر

Many a land whose cock ostriches are restless,

like mangy, pregnant she-camels on an oppressive day,

قَد تَبَطَّنتُ وَتَحتي جَسرَةٌ

تَتَّقي الأَرضَ بِمَلثومٍ مَعِر

have I traversed, with a sturdy she-camel beneath me,

warding off the ground with flattened, hairless pads.

فَتَرى المَروَ إِذا ما هَجَّرَت

عَن يَدَيها كَالفِراشِ المُشفَتِر

You see the flintstones, when she travels at noon,

fly from her forelegs like scattered moths.

ذاكَ عَصرٌ وَعَداني أَنَّني

نابَني العامَ خُطوبٌ غَيرُ سِر

That was a time; what turned me aside was that

this year troubles, not joys, have befallen me:

مِن أُمورٍ حَدَثَت أَمثالُها

تَبتَري عودَ القَويِّ المُستَمِر

happenings whose like

hew down the timber of the strong and steadfast.

وَتَشَكّى النَفسُ ما صابَ بِها

فَاِصبِري إِنَّكِ مِن قَومٍ صُبُر

The soul complains of what has struck it;

be patient: you belong to a steadfast people.

إِن نُصادِف مُنفِساً لا تُلفِنا

فُرُحَ الخَيرِ وَلا نَكبو لِضُر

If we encounter good fortune, you will not find us

exulting in prosperity, nor do we stumble at harm.

أُسدُ غابٍ فَإِذا ما فَزَعوا

غَيرُ أَنكاسٍ وَلا هوجٍ هُذُر

Lions of the thickets, when alarm calls them,

neither base cowards nor reckless babblers.

وَلِيَ الأَصلُ الَّذي في مِثلِهِ

يُصلِحُ الآبِرُ زَرعَ المُؤتَبِر

Mine is the stock in whose like

the pollinator makes the palm-owner's crop flourish.

طَيِّبو الباءَةِ سَهلٌ وَلَهُم

سُبُلٌ إِن شِئتَ في وَحشٍ وَعِر

Pleasant in their homes, gentle, yet they have

paths, if you wish, through desolate, rugged ground.

وَهُمُ ما هُم إِذا ما لَبِسوا

نَسجَ داوُودَ لِبَأسٍ مُحتَضِر

What men they are when they put on

David's weaving for battle close at hand,

وَتَساقى القَومُ كَأساً مُرَّةً

وَعَلا الخَيلَ دِماءٌ كَالشَقِر

and the men pass a bitter cup among themselves,

and blood covers the horses like red anemones.

ثُمَّ زادوا أَنَّهُم في قَومِهِم

غُفُرٌ ذَنبَهُمُ غَيرُ فُخُر

Beyond this, among their people they are

forgiving of their faults, not boastful.

لا تَعِزُّ الخَمرُ إِن طافوا بِها

بِسِباءِ الشَولِ وَالكومِ البُكُر

Wine is never too dear when they pass it round,

bought with dry she-camels and high-humped young ones.

فَإِذا ما شَرِبوها وَاِنتَشوا

وَهَبوا كُلَّ أَمونٍ وَطِمِر

When they drink it and grow merry,

they give away every reliable she-camel and swift steed.

ثُمَّ راحوا عَبَقُ المِسكِ بِهِم

يُلحِفونَ الأَرضَ هُدّابَ الأُزُر

Then they go at evening, musk fragrant upon them,

covering the earth with the fringes of their waist-wraps.

وَرِثوا السُؤدُدَ عَن آبائِهِم

ثُمَّ سادوا سُؤدُداً غَيرَ زَمِر

They inherited lordship from their fathers,

then ruled with no paltry lordship.

نَحنُ في المَشتاةِ نَدعو الجَفَلى

لا تَرى الآدِبَ فينا يَنتَقِر

In winter we invite everyone to the feast;

you never see our feast-inviter selecting guests.

حينَ قالَ الناسُ في مَجلِسِهِم

أَقُتارٌ ذاكَ أَم ريحُ قُطُر

When the people said in their gathering,

"Is that roasting-smoke, or the scent of aloeswood?"

بِجِفانٍ تَعتَري نادِيَنا

مِن سَديفٍ حينَ هاجَ الصِنَّبِر

with great bowls continually arriving at our assembly,

filled with camel hump-fat when the bitter cold raged,

كَالجَوابي لا تَني مُترَعَةً

لِقِرى الأَضيافِ أَو لِلمُحتَضِر

like pools, never ceasing to brim,

to welcome guests or whoever is present.

ثُمَّ لا يَخزُنُ فينا لَحمُها

إِنَّما يَخزُنُ لَحمُ المُدَّخِر

Their meat never spoils among us;

only the hoarder's meat spoils.

وَلَقَد تَعلَمُ بَكرٌ أَنَّنا

آفَةُ الجُزرِ مَساميحٌ يُسُر

Bakr knows well that we are

the ruin of slaughter-camels: generous arrow-gamblers.

وَلَقَد تَعلَمُ بَكرٌ أَنَّنا

واضِحو الأَوجُهِ في الأَزمَةِ غُر

Bakr knows well that we are

clear of face in hardship, radiant.

وَلَقَد تَعلَمُ بَكرٌ أَنَّنا

فاضِلو الرَأيِ وَفي الرَوعِ وُقُر

Bakr knows well that we are

excellent in judgment, and composed in terror.

وَلَقَد تَعلَمُ بَكرٌ أَنَّنا

صادِقو البَأسِ وَفي المَحفِلِ غُر

Bakr knows well that we are

true in battle, and illustrious in assemblies.

يَكشِفونَ الضُرَّ عَن ذي ضُرِّهِم

وَيُبِرّونَ عَلى الآبي المُبِر

They lift distress from their own afflicted,

and outdo the defiant man who seeks to excel.

فُضُلٌ أَحلامُهُم عَن جارِهِم

رُحُبُ الأَذرُعِ بِالخَيرِ أُمُر

Their ample forbearance shields their neighbor;

broad-armed in generosity, they enjoin good.

ذُلُقٌ في غارَةٍ مَسفوحَةٍ

وَلَدى البَأسِ حُماةٌ ما نَفِر

Swift in a wide-spreading raid,

and in battle, defenders who never flee.

نُمسِكُ الخَيلَ عَلى مَكروهِها

حينَ لا يُمسِكُها إِلّا الصُبُر

We hold the horses to what they hate,

when none but the steadfast can hold them.

حينَ نادى الحَيُّ لَمّا فَزَعوا

وَدَعا الداعي وَقَد لَجَّ الذُعُر

When the tribe called out in alarm,

and the summoner cried as terror persisted:

أَيُّها الفِتيانُ في مَجلِسِنا

جَرِّدوا مِنها وِراداً وَشُقُر

"Young men here in our gathering,

bring forth the dark bays and chestnuts,

أَعوَجيّاتٍ طِوالاً شُزَّباً

دوخِلَ الصَنعَةُ فيها وَالضُمُر

tall, lean steeds of A'waj's line,

in whom skilled training and leanness are combined,

مِن يَعابيبَ ذُكورٍ وُقُحٍ

وَهِضَبّاتٍ إِذا اِبتَلَّ العُذُر

great, long-striding stallions, hard of hoof,

and massive mares, when the bridle-straps grow wet,

جافِلاتٍ فَوقَ عوجٍ عُجُلٍ

رُكَّبَت فيها مَلاطيسُ سُمُر

bounding on curved, swift legs,

fitted with brown, hammerlike hooves."

وَأَنافَت بِهَوادٍ تُلُعٍ

كَجُذوعٍ شُذَّبَت عَنها القِشَر

They raise long, lofty necks,

like trunks stripped of their bark.

عَلَتِ الأَيدي بِأَجوازٍ لَها

رُحُبِ الأَجوافِ ما إِن تَنبَهِر

Their forelegs lift their bodies high,

broad-bellied, never short of breath.

فَهيَ تَردي فَإِذا ما أَلهَبَت

طارَ مِن إِحمائِها شَدُّ الأَزُر

They pound along; when they blaze into speed,

their heat sends tight waistbands flying loose.

كائِراتٍ وَتَراها تَنتَحي

مُسلَحِبّاتٍ إِذا جَدَّ الحُضُر

Wheeling, you see them strike out,

stretched straight when the gallop grows earnest.

ذُلُقُ الغارَةِ في إِفزاعِهِم

كَرِعالِ الطَيرِ أَسراباً تَمُر

Swift in the raid at their alarm,

like flocks of birds passing in bands.

نَذَرُ الأَبطالَ صَرعى بَينَها

ما يَني مِنهُم كَمِيٌّ مُنعَفِر

We leave champions fallen among them,

always some armored warrior among them dust-strewn.

فَفِداءٌ لِبَني قَيسٍ عَلى

ما أَصابَ الناسَ مِن سُرٍّ وَضُر

May a ransom for the sons of Qays, through

whatever joy and harm befalls mankind,

خالَتي وَالنَفسُ قِدماً أَنَّهُم

نَعِمَ الساعونَ في القَومِ الشُطُر

be my aunt and my life, as ever; they are

excellent strivers among their people, though far away.

وَهُمُ أَيسارُ لُقمانٍ إِذا

أَغلَتِ الشَتوَةُ أَبداءَ الجُزُر

They are Luqman's arrow-gamblers when

winter makes the choicest camel-cuts dear.

لا يُلِحّونَ عَلى غارِمِهِم

وَعَلى الأَيسارِ تَيسيرُ العَسِر

They do not press their debtor,

and the prosperous must ease hardship.

كُنتُ فيكُم كَالمُغَطّي رَأسَهُ

فَاِنجَلى اليَومَ قِناعي وَخُمُر

Among you I was like one covering his head;

today my veil and head-coverings are lifted.

وَلَقَد كُنتُ عَلَيكُم عاتِباً

فَعَقَبتُم بِذُنوبٍ غَيرِ مُر

I had indeed reproached you,

and you followed with a bucketful free of bitterness.

سادِراً أَحسَبُ غَيِّي رَشَداً

فَتَناهَيتُ وَقَد صابَت بِقُر

Heedless, I thought my error right guidance;

then I desisted, after the cold rain had fallen.