Sol 6.1

  1. إِلى مَ أُرَجّي ضُرَّ عَيشٍ مُنَكَّدا

    وَأُغضي عَلى الأَقذاءِ جَفناً مُسَهَّدا

    How long shall I drag out the misery of a troubled life,

    and shut a sleepless eyelid over specks of grit?

  2. وَكَم أَعِدُ النَفسَ المُنى ثُمَّ كُلَّما

    أَتى مَوعِدٌ بِالخُلفِ جَدَّدتُ مَوعِدا

    How often I promise my soul its desires, yet whenever

    an appointed day brings disappointment, I appoint another.

  3. إِذا قُلتُ يَأتي في غَدٍ ما يَسُرُّني

    وَجاءَ غَدٌ قالَ اِتَّئِد وَاِنتَظِر غَدا

    Whenever I say, 'Tomorrow will bring what delights me,'

    and tomorrow comes, it says, 'Be patient; wait for tomorrow.'

  4. فَهَلّا اِنقَضَت تَبّاً لَها مِن مَواعِدٍ

    كَمِثلِ نُعاسِ الكَلبِ ما زالَ سَرمَدا

    Why do they never end—damn these promises—

    like a dog's drowsiness, prolonged forever?

  5. عَدمتُ الفَتى لا يُنكِرُ الضَّيمَ وَالرَّدى

    عَلى خَطأٍ يَغتالهُ أَو تَعَمَّدا

    Away with the youth who will not spurn oppression, when death

    strikes him down by chance or by intent.

  6. وَلا عاشَ مَن يَرضى الدَنايا أَهَل رَأى

    جَباناً عَلى مَرِّ اللَيالي مُخَلَّدا

    May he not live who accepts baseness! Has he ever seen

    a coward made immortal through the passing nights?

  7. وَهَل ماتَ مِن خَوضِ الرَّدى قَبلَ يَومِهِ

    فَتىً لِوَطيسِ الحَربِ ما زالَ مُفئَدا

    Has plunging into death ever killed, before his appointed day,

    a youth forever stoking the furnace of war?

  8. وَهَل سادَ راضٍ مَرتَعَ الذُلِّ مَرتَعاً

    وَهَل فازَ راضٍ مَورِدَ الذُلِّ مَورِدا

    Has anyone risen to mastery who accepts humiliation's pasture for his grazing?

    Has anyone triumphed who accepts humiliation's watering-place for his drink?

  9. وَهَل عَزَّ بِالأَعداءِ مِن قَبلِ تُبَّعٍ

    مَليكٌ تَمَطّى المُلكَ كَهلاً وَأَمرَدا

    Did ever, before Tubbaʿ, grow mighty through enemies

    a king who bestrode dominion in mature years and beardless youth?

  10. وَهَل طابَ عَيشٌ بِالمُداراةِ أَو صَفا

    لَوَ اِنّ المُداري راحَ بِالخُلدِ وَاِغتَدى

    Has life ever grown sweet or clear through appeasement,

    even if the appeaser spent evening and morning in immortality?

  11. فَحَتّى مَ أُبدي لِلموالي تَجَنُّباً

    وَصَدّاً وَأُبدي لِلأعادي تَوَدُّدا

    How long, then, shall I show my allies avoidance

    and coldness, yet show my enemies affection?

  12. وَشَرُّ بِلادِ اللَهِ أَرضٌ تَرى بِها

    كُلَيباً مَسُوداً وَاِبنُ آوى مُسَوَّدا

    The worst of God's lands is a land where you see

    Kulayb ruled over, and a jackal set to rule.

  13. وَأَشقى بَني الدُنيا كَريمٌ يَسوسُهُ

    لَئيمٌ إِذا ما نالَ شبعاً تَمَرَّدا

    The most wretched of worldly men is a nobleman ruled

    by a base man who rebels once he has eaten his fill.

  14. فَيا ذا العُلى وَالمَجدِ وَالمَنصِبِ الَّذي

    سَما فَعَلا حَتّى على النَّجمِ أَتأَدا

    O man of eminence, glory, and rank that

    soared and rose until it rested above the stars,

  15. أُعيذُكَ أَن تَرضى المقامَ بِبَلدَةٍ

    تَراها وَما تَحوي لِأَعدائِها سُدى

    I would shield you from consenting to remain in a town

    you see, with all it holds, abandoned to its enemies.

  16. يَجِلُّ بِها مَن كانَ ذا عُنجُهِيَّةٍ

    خَفيفاً عَلى الأَعداءِ خَلفاً مُلَهَّدا

    There, a swaggering man is held in honor,

    yet is easily handled by enemies, worthless and trampled:

  17. أَخو عَزمَةٍ كَالماءِ بَرداً وَهِمَّةٍ

    هَوَت فَاِحتَوَت مِن هامَةِ الحوتِ مَقعَدا

    his resolve as cold as water, his ambition

    sunk to claim a seat upon the whale's head.

  18. تَرى بابَهُ لا يُهتَدى غَيرَ أَنَّهُ

    تَرى بَينَ أُذنَيهِ طَريقاً مُعَبَّدا

    You see that none can find the way to his door, yet

    between his ears you see a well-trodden road.

  19. فَقُم وَاِلتَمِس داراً سِواها فَإِنَّما

    أَخو العَزمِ مَن قَد رامَ أَمراً تَجَرَّدا

    Rise and seek another home, for only

    he has resolve who, when he seeks a goal, devotes himself wholly.

  20. فَكاسٌ إِذا أُسقي بِها اليَومَ مُكرَهاً

    أَخوكَ سَتُسقى مِن فُضالَتِها غَدا

    For a cup that is forced today upon

    your brother—you will be made to drink its dregs tomorrow.

  21. وَحِلمٌ يُدَنّي الضَيمَ مِنكَ سَفاهَةٌ

    وَجَهلٌ تَرُدُّ الضَيمَ شِرَّتهُ هُدى

    Forbearance that brings oppression close to you is folly;

    rashness whose fury drives oppression back is right guidance.

  22. وَلا خَيرَ في هِلباجَةٍ كُلَّما أَتى

    إلَيهِ الأَذى أَبدى خُضوعاً وَأَسجَدا

    There is no good in a sluggish fool who, whenever

    harm comes to him, shows submission and bows,

  23. وَمالَ إِلى بَردِ الظِلالِ وَراقَهُ

    مَقالُ إِماءِ الحَيِّ لا غالَكَ الرَدى

    and leans toward the cool of shade, delighted

    by the camp's slave-girls saying, 'May death not take you!'

  24. وَلَكِنَّ ذا عَزمٍ إِذا هَمَّ لَم يُبَل

    أَوَسَّدَ ذا الطَعن الثَرى أَم تَوَسَّدا

    But the resolute man, once intent, does not care

    whether he pillows the spearman on dust, or pillows himself there,

  25. كَثيرَ سُهادِ العَينِ لا في مَكيدَةٍ

    يُهينُ بِها الأدنين مَثنىً وَمَوحدا

    often sleepless-eyed, but not devising some plot

    to abase his nearest kin, in pairs or one by one.

  26. فَكَم أَتَحَسّى الضَيمَ مُرّاً وَأَمتَري

    عَقابيلَ خِلفٍ قَد أَزى وَتَجَدَّدا

    How long shall I sip oppression's bitterness, and milk

    the last drops from a teat already shriveled and dry?

  27. وَكَم يَعتَريني بِالأَذى كُلُّ مُقرِفٍ

    إِذا سُئِلَ الحُسنى أَغَدَّ وَعَربَدا

    How often every baseborn wretch assails me with harm,

    who, asked for kindness, flies into rage and blusters!

  28. فَئيدٌ كَعِلّوصِ الأَباءِ لَدى الوَغى

    وَإِمّا مَشى بَينَ البَغايا تَقيّدا

    Timid as a reed-bed jackal in battle,

    yet when he walks among harlots, he struts.

  29. تَراهُ عَلى أَعدائِهِ ماءَ مُزنَةٍ

    وَفي رَهطِهِ الأَدنى حُساماً مُجَرَّدا

    You find him toward his enemies like raincloud water,

    but among his nearest kin, an unsheathed sword.

  30. فَلا تَقعُدَن مُحبَنظِئاً خَوفَ مِيتَةٍ

    سَتَأتي فَما تَلقى جَواداً مُخَلَّدا

    So do not sit puffed up in fear of a death

    that must come; you will find no generous man immortal.

  31. وَلا تَكُ مِئلافاً لِدارِ مَذَلَّةٍ

    وَلَو فاضَ واديها لُجَيناً وَعَسجَدا

    Do not grow attached to a home of humiliation,

    even if its valley overflows with silver and gold.

  32. وَسِر في طِلابِ المَجدِ جِدّاً فَإِنَّني

    رَأَيتُ المَعالي لا يُواتينَ قعدُدا

    Strive earnestly in pursuit of glory, for I

    have seen that high honors do not favor a stay-at-home.

  33. فَلو لَم يُفارِق غِمدَهُ السَيفُ في الوَغى

    لَما راحَ يُدعى المَشرَفيَّ المُهنَّدا

    Had the sword not left its scabbard in battle,

    it would never have been called Mashrafi, Indian-forged.

  34. وَلَولا اِنتقالُ البَدرِ عَن بُرجِهِ الَّذي

    بِهِ النَقصُ لَم يُدرِك كَمالاً وَأَسعدا

    Had the full moon never moved beyond the mansion where

    it wanes, it would never attain fullness and better fortune.

  35. وَلَو نامَ سَيفٌ بِالحُصيبِ وَلَم يَلِج

    عَلى الهَولِ لَم يُدعَ المَليكَ المَمَجَّدا

    Had Sayf slept on in al-Husayb and not ventured into

    terror, he would never have been called the glorified king,

  36. وَلَم يَنشَعِ الأحبوشَ كَأساً مَريرَةً

    وَيَجمَع في غُمدانَ شَملاً مُبَدَّدا

    nor forced the Abyssinians to drink a bitter cup,

    nor gathered in Ghumdan a scattered people.

  37. وَحَسبُكَ أَن تَلقى المَنايا وَقَد رَجَت

    حِباكَ المَوالي وَاِتَّقَت بَأسَكَ العِدى

    Enough for you to meet death with

    your allies hoping for your gifts, your foes fearing your might.

  38. خَليليّ مِن حَيّي نِزارٍ رُعِيتما

    وَجُوزيتُما الحُسنى وَجاوَزتُما المَدى

    My two friends from Nizar's two clans, may you both be guarded,

    and rewarded with good, and may you outstrip all limits.

  39. أَلا فَاِطلُبا غَيري نَديماً فَرُبَّما

    تَشامَختُ قَولاً سِيمَ خَسفاً فَأَبلَدا

    Come, seek a drinking companion other than me, for often

    I have spoken with proud disdain of one abased into dull submission.

  40. فَلي عَن ديارِ الهونِ مَنأىً وَمَرحَلٌ

    إِذا النِّكسُ ظنَّ العَجزَ عَقلاً فَأَفرَدا

    I have a far retreat and a road away from homes of disgrace,

    when the craven thinks impotence wisdom and keeps apart.

  41. وَعِندي عَلى الأَحداثِ رَأيٌ وَعَزمَةٌ

    وَعيسٌ يُبارينَ النَعامَ المُطَرَّدا

    I have counsel and resolve against life's reversals,

    and pale camels that race hard-driven ostriches.

  42. وَخَيرُ جِوارٍ مِن عَدوٍّ مُكاشِحٍ

    جِوارُكَ ضِبعاناً وَسيداً وَخُفدُدا

    Better than living beside a hostile, hate-filled enemy

    is living beside a male hyena, a wolf, and a male ostrich.

  43. وَلَيسَ مَناخُ السوءِ حَتماً مُقَدَّراً

    عَلَيَّ لِأَن أَضحى مَقَرّاً وَمَولِدا

    An evil camping-ground is no binding fate ordained

    for me merely because it became my home and birthplace.

  44. فَكَم فارقَ الأَوطانَ مِن ذي ضَراعَةٍ

    فَأَصبَحَ في كُلِّ النَواحي مُحَسَّدا

    How many a downtrodden man has left his homeland

    and become the envy of men in every region!

  45. وَكَم واتَنَ الأَوطانَ مِن ذي جَلادَةٍ

    فَأَضحى بِها مِن غَيرِ سُقمٍ مُسَخَّدا

    How many a hardy man has stayed in his homeland

    and there become listless without any disease!

  46. فَإِن أَرتحِل عَن دارِ قَومي لِنبوَةٍ

    وَيُصبِحُ رَبعي فيهمُ قَد تَأَبَّدا

    If I depart my people's home because of estrangement,

    and my dwelling among them becomes a wilderness,

  47. فَقَد رَحَلَ المُختارُ عَن خَيرِ مَنزِلٍ

    إِلى يَثرِبٍ تَسري بِهِ العِيسُ مُصعَدا

    the Chosen One too left the finest dwelling,

    for Yathrib, pale camels bearing him by night, heading upland.

  48. وَجاوَرَ في أَبناءِ قَيلَةَ إِذ رَأى

    سَبيل القِلى وَالبُغضِ مِن قَومِهِ بَدا

    He dwelt among Qayla's sons when he saw

    estrangement and hatred openly emerge from his people.

  49. كَذا شِيمُ الحُرِّ الكَريمِ إِذا نَبا

    بِهِ وَطَنٌ زَمَّ المَطايا وَأَحفَدا

    Such is the way of the noble, freeborn man: when

    a homeland shuns him, he bridles his mounts and hastens away.

  50. أَأَقنَعُ بِالحظِّ الخَسيسِ وَلَم أَكُن

    كَهاماً وَلا رَثَّ المَساعي مُزَنَّدا

    Shall I be content with a paltry portion, when I have not been

    dull, shabby in striving, or stunted,

  51. وَلا بَلتعانيّاً إِذا سيمَ خِطَّةً

    تَمَطّى وَناجى عِرسَهُ وَتَلدَّدا

    nor a sluggard who, when charged with an undertaking,

    stretches, whispers to his wife, and dithers?

  52. وَأَلقى المَنايا لَم تُسامَ بِأرجُلي

    نَجائِبُ لَم يَحمِلنَ إِلّا مُنجَّدا

    I face death; my feet have never been matched by

    choice she-camels that have borne none but the valiant.

  53. سَأُمضي عَلى الأَيّامِ عَزمَ اِبنِ حُرَّةٍ

    يَرى العودَ فيما تَكرَهُ النَفسُ أَحمَدا

    I shall carry through the days a freeborn woman's son's resolve,

    who sees a more praiseworthy outcome in what the soul dislikes.

  54. فَإِمّا حَياةً لا تُذَمُّ حَميدَةً

    يُحَدِّثُ عَنها مَن أَغارَ وَأَنجَدا

    Either an honorable life, unblamed and praised,

    told of by those who travel the lowlands and the heights,

  55. أَنالُ المُنى فيها وَإِمّا مَنِيَّةً

    تُريحُ فُؤاداً أَحَّ مِن غُلَّةَ الصَدى

    in which I gain my hopes, or else a death

    that rests a heart groaning from thirst's burning.

  56. وَأَهجُرُ داراً لَو يَحِلُّ اِبنُ قاهِثٍ

    بِها راحَ مَسحوتاً مِنَ المالِ مُجحِدا

    I shall abandon a land where, if Ibn Qahith settled,

    he would leave stripped of wealth, destitute.

  57. يُدَبِّرُها أَوباشُ قَومٍ تَنَكَّبُوا

    عَنِ الرُشدِ حَتّى خِلتُ ذا الغَيَّ أَرشَدا

    It is managed by the rabble of a people who have turned

    away from sound judgment, till I deem the misguided better guided.

  58. إِذا رَضِيَ الأَعداءُ مِنهُم مَهانَةً

    بِأَخذِ الجِزى عَدُّوهُ نَصراً مُؤَيَّدا

    When their enemies accept their abasement

    by taking tribute, they count it an assured victory.

  59. أَقاموا الأَغاني بِالمَغاني وَضَيَّعُوا

    كِرامَ المَساعي وَالثَناءَ المُخَلَّدا

    They set songs ringing through their dwellings, and neglect

    noble endeavors and immortal praise.

  60. فَلَو أُحسِنُ التَصفيقَ وَالرَقصَ فيهِمُ

    وَرَفعَ المَثاني وَالغِناءَ المُهَوَّدا

    If I knew how to clap and dance among them,

    and sound the strings and sing in soft, lilting tones,

  61. لَعِشتُ عَزيزاً فيهمُ وَلما اِجتَرا

    يَمُدُّ إِليَّ الضَّيمَ باعاً وَلا يَدا

    I would live honored among them, and never would

    oppression dare reach toward me with arm-span or hand.

  62. وَلا راحَ شُربُ المُقرِفينَ ذَوي الخَنا

    بِها نَهَلاً عَبّاً وَشُربي مُصَرَّدا

    Nor would the drink of baseborn, obscene men

    be gulped there in full draughts, while mine was grudgingly rationed.

  63. وَلَو أَنَّني كُنتُ اِتَّخَذتُ رَذِيَّةً

    أُوَيطِفَ رَغّاءً لَدى الشَدِّ أَكبَدا

    Had I taken for myself a worn-out beast—

    drooping-lashed, loud-bellowing, heavy-bellied when urged to run—

  64. وَصاحَبتُ مِن أَدنى البَوادي مُكَشَّماً

    ضَعيفَ الأَيادي قاصِرَ الجاهِ مُسنَدا

    and befriended a cropped-nosed man from the nearest desert camps,

    weak in favors, slight in influence, propped up,

  65. لَكانَت سَنِيّاتُ الجَوائِزِ تَرتَمي

    إِلى حَيثُ أَهوى بادِياتٍ وَعُوَّدا

    then splendid gifts would have come hurtling

    wherever I desired, in first grants and repeated ones.

  66. وَلَكِنَّني لَم أَرضَ ذاكَ صِيانَةً

    لِعِرضِيَ أَن أُعطي المُعادينَ مِقوَدا

    But I did not accept that, safeguarding

    my honor, lest I hand my enemies a rein.

  67. وَأَكبَرتُ نَفسي أَن أُجالِسَ قينَةً

    وَدُفّاً وَمِزماراً وَعُوداً وَأَعبُدا

    I held myself too high to sit with a singing-girl,

    a tambourine, a flute, a lute, and slaves,

  68. وَأَن أَجعَلَ الأَنذالَ حِزباً وَشيعَةً

    وَلَو جارَ فِيَّ الدَهرُ ما شاءَ وَاِعتَدى

    or to make the base my faction and following,

    even if time wronged and assaulted me as much as it pleased.

  69. فَلَستُ بِبِدعٍ في الكِرامِ وَهَذِهِ

    سَبيلُ ذَوي الإَفضالِ وَالبَأسِ وَالنَدى

    I am no exception among the noble; this

    is the path of men of bounty, valor, and generosity.