Sol 6.1

  1. وَيَومَ تَلافَيتُ الصِبا أَن يَفوتَني

    بِرَحبِ الفُروجِ ذي مَحالٍ مُوَثَّقِ

    And one day I reclaimed youth before it escaped me,

    on a wide-striding camel with a firmly knit backbone,

  2. سَديسٍ كُبارِيٍّ تَئِطُّ نُسوعُهُ

    أَطيطَ رِتاجٍ ذي مَساميرَ مُغلَقِ

    six-toothed and massive, its saddle-girths creaking

    like a closed, nail-studded gate;

  3. غَليظٍ عَلى مَجذى القُرادِ كَأَنَّما

    بِجانِبِ صَفوانٍ يَزِلُّ وَيَرتَقي

    thick-skinned where the tick settles, as though it

    slipped and climbed along a smooth rock's flank.

  4. وَبَيداءَ تيهٍ تَحرَجُ العَينُ وَسطَها

    مُخَفِّقَةٍ غَبراءَ صَرماءَ سَملَقِ

    And a bewildering desert, where the eye falters in its midst,

    desolate, dust-gray, waterless, bare and level,

  5. بِها مِن فِراخِ الكُدرِ زُغبٌ كَأَنَّها

    جَنى حَنظَلٍ في مِحصَنٍ مُتَفَلِّقِ

    with downy chicks of dusky sandgrouse, as though they were

    colocynth fruit within a split-open casing—

  6. قَطَعتُ إِذا ما الآلُ آضَ كَأَنَّهُ

    سُيوفٌ تَنَحّى نَسفَةً ثُمَّ تَلتَقي

    I crossed it when the mirage became like

    swords drawing a little apart, then meeting.

  7. كَأَنّي وَرِدفي وَالفِتانَ وَنُمرُقي

    عَلى خاضِبِ الساقَينِ أَزعَرَ نِقنِقِ

    As though I, my rear load, the saddle-cover, and my cushion

    rode a red-shanked, scant-feathered male ostrich.

  8. تَراخى بِهِ حُبُّ الضَحاءِ وَقَد رَأى

    سَماوَةَ قَشراءِ الوَظيفَينِ عَوهَقِ

    Love of the late morning held him back, though he had already seen

    the tall form of a long-necked hen with bare shanks,

  9. تَحِنُّ إِلى مِثلِ الحَبابيرِ جُثَّمٍ

    لَدى سَكَنٍ مِن قَيضِها المُتَفَلِّقِ

    yearning for chicks crouched like young bustards

    beside a hearth-like heap of their split eggshells.

  10. تَحَطَّمَ عَنها قَيضُها عَن خَراطِمٍ

    وَعَن حَدَقٍ كَالنَبخِ لَم يَتَفَتَّقِ

    Their shells shattered away from them, revealing beaks

    and eyes like blisters not yet burst.

  11. أَبيتُ فَلا أَهجو الصَديقَ وَمَن يَبِع

    بِعِرضِ أَبيهِ في المَعاشِرِ يُنفِقِ

    I refuse, and do not lampoon a friend; and whoever trades

    on his father's honor among the clans finds ready buyers.

  12. وَمَن لا يُقَدِّم رِجلَهُ مُطمَئِنَّةً

    فَيُثبِتَها في مُستَوى الأَرضِ تَزلِقِ

    And whoever does not advance his foot securely

    and plant it firmly on level ground—his foot will slip.

  13. أَكُفُّ لِساني عَن صَديقي وَإِن أَجَأ

    إِلَيهِ فَإِنّي عارِقٌ كُلَّ مَعرَقِ

    I spare my friend my tongue; but if I am driven

    to it, I gnaw every bone clean,

  14. بِرَجمٍ كَوَقعِ الهُندُوانِيِّ أَخلَصَ ال

    صَياقِلُ مِنهُ عَن حَصيرٍ وَرَونَقِ

    with a pelting like an Indian sword's stroke, burnished by the

    polishers to reveal its patterned face and luster.

  15. إِذا ما دَنا مِنَ الضَريبَةِ لَم يَخِم

    يُقَطِّعُ أَوصالَ الرِجالِ وَيَنتَقي

    When it nears its target, it does not falter;

    it severs men's joints and extracts their marrow.

  16. تَطيحُ أَكُفُّ القَومِ فيها كَأَنَّما

    تَطيحُ بِها في الرَوعِ عيدانُ بَروَقِ

    Men's hands fly off in that stroke, as though

    it sent asphodel stalks flying amid battle's terror.

  17. وَفي الحِلمِ إِدهانٌ وَفي العَفوِ دُربَةٌ

    وَفي الصِدقِ مَنجاةٌ مِنَ الشَرِّ فَاِصدُقِ

    And in forbearance is compromise, and in pardon, practiced skill;

    and in truthfulness is deliverance from evil—so speak truthfully.

  18. وَمَن يَلتَمِس حُسنَ الثَناءِ بِمالِهِ

    يَصُن عِرضَهُ مِن كُلِّ شَنعاءَ موبِقِ

    And whoever seeks fair praise through his wealth

    protects his honor from every ruinous disgrace.

  19. وَمَن لا يَصُن قَبلَ النَوافِذِ عِرضَهُ

    فَيُحرِزَهُ يُعرَر بِهِ وَيُخَرَّقِ

    And whoever does not guard his honor before the piercing attacks

    and keep it safe, will have it besmirched and torn apart.