ألا حي أطلالا بهن دثور — Abu Hayya Al Numeiri

ألا حَيِّ أطلالاً بهنَّ دُثورُ

كأنَّ بقايا عهدِهنَّ سطورُ

Ah, salute the ruins, overtaken by decay,

as though the remnants of their former life were lines of writing:

مِدادُ يهوديَّيْنِ مَجْمَجهُ البِلى

وفي الوحيَ من آيِ الكتابِ زَبورُ

the ink of two Jews, blurred by time,

and in the writing, a text from the verses of the Book.

ديارُ التي قالتْ لوَ انكَّ زُرتَنا

وُصِلتَ ولكنْ لا نراكَ تزورُ

The dwellings of her who said, 'If you visited us,

you would be granted union—but we never see you visit.'

فقلتُ عداني أنَّ أهلَكِ ظَنَّةٌ

عليَّ وأنّي قد علمْتُ شهيرُ

I said, 'Your family's suspicion kept me away—

suspicion of me—and I know that I am well known.

صددْتِ ولَجَّ الهجرُ منكِ وإنّني

لمثلِكِ عن غيرِ القِلى لهَجورُ

You turned away, and your estrangement persisted; yet I

will surely forsake one like you, though not from hatred.

أعَرْتُكِ وُدِّي أمَّ عثمانَ فارجِعي

ودائعَ لم يبخلْ بهنَّ مُعيرُ

I lent you my affection, Umm Uthman; return

the deposits whose lender did not withhold them.

حياءٌ نهى عمّا عهدْتِ منَ الصِّبا

ويأساً ومَثْلي بالحياءِ جديرُ

Modesty forbade the youthful passion you once knew,

and despair did too; one like me should be modest.'

ألا حبّذا الماءُ الذي قابلَ النَّقا

ومُرتَبَعٌ من أهلِنا ومصيرُ

Ah, how lovely the water facing the sand dune,

and our people's spring encampment and place of return,

وأيامُنا عامَ الخبِيَّيْنِ إنّني

لهنَّ على العهدِ القديمِ ذَكورُ

and our days in the year of al-Khubayyin! I

remember them well, faithful to the old bond,

إذِ الرأسُ أحوى حالِكُ اللونِ يرتدي

جناحَيْهِ إذْ غصنُ الشبابِ نَضيرُ

when my head was dark, jet-black in color, cloaking itself

in its two wings, when youth's branch was fresh.

وقدْ كانَ لي إذ ذاكَ منهنَّ مجلِسٌ

قريبٌ ومنْ أسرارِهنَّ ضميرُ

In those days I had among them a seat

close by, and inward knowledge of their secrets.

فأعرضْنَ إعراضاً هوَ الصُّرْمُ عَينُهُ

كأنْ لم يكنْ لي عندَهنَّ نَقيرُ

Then they turned away with a turning that was estrangement itself,

as though I had never had with them even a date-stone's speck.

ألا طرقَتْنا أمُّ عثمانَ ليلةً

مِدرى وقدْ كادَ السِّماكُ يَغورُ

Ah, Umm Uthman visited us by night,

at Midra, when al-Simak was almost setting.

ألمَّتْ بنَشوانَيْ كرىً صرعْتُهما

بإحدى الفيافي غَرْبةٌ وفُتورُ

She came upon two drunk with sleep, laid low

in a wilderness by estrangement and exhaustion.

بعيدَيْنِ من مَهواهُما أدركَتهما

وفاةٌ لها تَحليلةٌ فَنُشورُ

Far from what they longed for, they were overtaken

by a death with a brief respite, then resurrection.

أناخا ولا الأرضُ التي يطلبانِها

قريبٌ ولا ليلُ التِّمامِ قصيرُ

They made their mounts kneel; neither the land they sought

was near, nor the full-length night short.

فقلتُ لها حُيِّيتِ من زائرٍ طوى

مفاوزَ لا يُزجى بهنَّ حَسيرُ

I told her, 'Welcome, visitor who crossed

wastes no exhausted beast can be urged across.'

وما خِلتُها كانتْ رَؤُوداً ولا سرَتْ

إلى الركْبِ مِيلافُ الحِجالِ خَدورُ

Yet I did not think her a wanderer, nor had she traveled by night

to the riders—that secluded lover of curtained chambers.

أتتْكَ بها تَهويمةٌ غمَّضتْ بها

معَ الصبحِ عينٌ لا تنامُ سَهورُ

A brief doze brought her to you, during which

at dawn a sleepless, wakeful eye closed.

وما أنتَ أمْ ما أمُّ عثمانَ بعدَما

حبا لكَ من رملِ الغناءِ حَدورُ

What have you—or what has Umm Uthman—now that

a slope of al-Ghana's sands has crept into view before you?

عراقيّةٌ لمْ تبدُ يوماً ولم تكنْ

شَطيرَ النَّوى لكنْ نَواكَ شَطيرُ

An Iraqi woman who never went into the desert, nor was

remote in her dwelling—but your dwelling is remote.

نَؤومُ الضحى لم نأْوِ إلاّ وتحتَها

قَباطِيُّ ريشٍ تحتَهنَّ سريرُ

A sleeper through late morning; whenever we took shelter, beneath her lay

fine Coptic linens and soft furnishings, with a bed beneath them.

وبِتنا كأنّنا بَيَّتَتْنا لَطيمةٌ

أتتْنا بها من سوقِ أبْيَنَ عِيرُ

We spent the night as though a perfume-train had visited us,

brought to us by a caravan from the market of Abyan.

شَراها بما اقتالوا شَمومٌ لمثلِها

بشُمّاتِهِ الرِّبْحُ العظيمُ بصيرُ

An expert scent-tester bought it at their asking price, one who

knew by his sniffings where great profit lay in such wares.

ولمّا احتواها إحتواها غنيمةً

مُخاطرُ أرباحِ الألوفِ جَسورُ

When he acquired it, he acquired it as a prize—

a daring risk-taker for profits in the thousands.

تمطَّتْ بهِ غُلْبٌ كأنَّ قُفِيَّها

بهنَّ وأقْراءُ الأخادعِ قِيرُ

Thick-necked beasts stretched onward with him, as though their napes

and the ridges along their neck-veins were pitch.

ولمّا أنيختْ بعدَما آبَ قبلَها

ليومَيْنِ بالغُنْمِ العظيمِ يُشيرُ

When they were made to kneel, after he had returned ahead of them

by two days, pointing to his great gain,

تحكَّمَ فيها بالعراقِ كأنّهُ

على الناسِ طُرّاً بالعراقِ أميرُ

he dealt with it in Iraq as though he were

prince over all the people of Iraq.

وقيلَ هنيئاً ما رُزقتَ فإنّهُ

على اللهِ رزّاقِ العبادِ يسيرُ

He was told, 'Enjoy what you have been given, for it

is easy for God, the Provider of His servants.'

وما أطلقَ الأعباءَ حتى تضوَّعتْ

بها سِكَكٌ ممّا لديهِ ودُورُ

He had not unpacked the loads before fragrance spread

through streets and houses from what he had with him.

وتِيهٍ تخطّتْها صُحبَتي

نواهزُ في أعناقِهنَّ نُذورُ

And many a trackless waste my companions crossed,

on straining mounts, vows about their necks:

رِكابُ نوىً أسآرُ هَمٍّ كأنّها

جَوازٍ منَ الشِّيزى لهنَّ صَريرُ

mounts for distant journeys, remnants worn by care, as though

they were bowls of shiza wood, creaking.

طوَتْهُنَّ والبِيدَ الليالي فقدْ ذوتْ

بطونٌ لها مُقورَّةٌ وظهورُ

The nights folded them and the wastes away; withered were

their hollow bellies and their backs.

وجُرِّدنَ واسْمَهْرَرْنَ حتى كأنّها

قَناً طارَ عنها باليدَيْنِ شَكيرُ

Stripped bare and grown rigid, they seemed

like spear-shafts whose shoots two hands had stripped away.

وبينَ القُوى والرحْلِ منهنَّ وهْمةٌ

بها وهْيَ حرفٌ جُرأةٌ وضريرُ

Among them, between the cords and the saddle, was a great she-camel,

blade-like, filled with boldness and endurance.

تَغالى بها فُتْلٌ مَطاويحٌ ينتحي

بهنَّ حِذاءٌ بالفلاةِ جَميرُ

Strong, far-flinging limbs raise her high; she advances

upon them, swift-footed and vigorous in the wilderness.

وأتْلَعُ نَهّاضٌ أَنِيفٌ يقودُهُ

مُلَملم جُلمودِ الدماغِ ذَكيرُ

And a long, uprearing, lofty neck is guided

by a rounded, boulder-hard skull, stout as a male's.

تراها إذا لجَّتْ وقُدّامَ عينِها

خِشاشٌ وفوقَ الناظرَيْنِ حَريرُ

You see her pressing onward, with before her eye

a nose-peg, and above her two eyes a twisted cord.

وفي الحلْقةِ الصُّفْرِ التي خُشمتْ بها

مُطيرٌ لشَغْبِ الأخدعَيْنِ قَهورُ

And in the brass ring with which her nose is pierced,

a lifting rein masters her neck-veins' rebelliousness.

كذي رُمَلٍ فرْدٍ رمتْهُ عشيّةٌ

لها سبَلٌ مُستقبِلٌ وصَبيرُ

Like a lone dweller in the sands, whom an evening hurled,

with approaching rain-trails and a heaped cloud,

بأسحمَ نثّارٍ أجشَّ جرتْ لهُ

صَباً رادَةٌ لم تجرِ فيهِ دَبورُ

a black, scattering, hoarse-voiced cloud driven by

a roaming east wind, no west wind blowing through it,

إلى دفءِ أرطاةٍ إلى جَنبِ عجْمةٍ

بها الشاةُ مَحبورُ المكانِ غَريرُ

toward the warmth of an arta bush beside a sand mound,

where the wild bull was content with his place, unsuspecting.

لها واكفٌ يجري عليها كأنّهُ

حصىً شِيفَ خانتْهُ السلوكُ قَشيرُ

Its dripping rain flowed over the bush, like

polished white pebbles betrayed by their strings.

فلمّا انجلَتْ عنهُ غياطلُ ليلةٍ

منَ الدَّجنِ فيها حَثّةٌ وفُتورُ

When the dense tangles of a night cleared from him,

a night of cloud-darkness, with bursts and lulls,

غدا غدَوِيٌّ فوقَ عينَيْهِ شِكّةٌ

كِلا مِغولَيْهِ اللَّهْذَمَيْنِ ضريرُ

he went out at dawn, an early riser, armed above his eyes,

both his sharp-bladed daggers hard and forceful.

منَ العينِ تدعوهُ الرياحُ كأنّهُ

فَتيقٌ بهِ مما ألمَّ فُدورُ

One of the wide-eyed wild cattle, summoned by the winds, as though

he were a full-bodied bull, weary from what had befallen him.

وغاداهُ من جِلاّنَ ذئبُ مجاعةٍ

شقيٌّ بهِ ضارورةٌ وفُقورُ

At dawn a famine-wolf from Jillan confronted him,

a wretch afflicted by desperate need and poverty.

لهُ طلّةٌ شابَتْ وما مس جيبَها

ولا راحتَيْها الشَّثْنَتَيْنِ عبيرُ

He had a wife grown gray, whose neckline had never been touched,

nor her two rough palms, by perfume,

لَدُنْ فُطمتْ حتى علا كلَّ مَفرِقٍ

لها من سِنِيها الأربعينَ قَتيرُ

ever since she was weaned, until every parting of her hair was covered

with the gray speckles of her forty years.

كأنَّ ذراعَيْها وظِيفا نعامةٍ

ووجهٌ لها لا ماءَ فيهِ نَكيرُ

Her two forearms were like the two shanks of an ostrich,

and her face was forbidding, with no freshness in it.

ولَحْيانِ لا ينفكُّ في ناجِذَيْهِما

أنِيضٌ شَوتْهُ شهوةً وقديرُ

And jaws whose two back molars always held

underdone meat she roasted out of craving, and pot-cooked meat.

إذا غابَ أو لم يغْدُ يوماً فإنّها

بكلبَيْهِ مِغباشُ الغُدوِّ بَكورُ

If he was absent, or failed to go out one day, she

went with his two dogs before dawn, an early riser.

ولمّا انجلى قبلَ الغُطاطِ انبرَتْ لهُ

مَراريخُ في أعناقِهنَّ سُيورُ

When he emerged before the sandgrouse, there darted toward him

long, lean hounds, thongs about their necks.

فلمّا رأى ذاكَ الشقيُّ الذي غدا

بغُضْفٍ لهُ زُرقٌ لهنَّ جَفيرُ

When that wretch, who had gone out

with his droop-eared, blue-eyed dogs that barked,

هِجاناً رأى منهُ على الشمسِ نُقْبةً

تكادُ وإنْ جَنَّ الظلامُ تُنيرُ

saw a pure-white beast, he saw on him in the sun a coat

that almost shone even when darkness fell.

وقاهُ بأمثالِ المَغالي كأنّها

بأجنحةٍ فيها إليهِ تطيرُ

He warded him off with arrow-like creatures, as though

they flew toward him on wings they carried.

جلا عن مآقيها وعن حَجَباتِها

خراطيمُ فيها دِقّةٌ وخصورُ

Beyond their eye-corners and their brows stood clear

muzzles, fine and tapering.

فدَأَبْنَهُ مِيلَيْنِ ثمَّ نزعْنَهُ

إليهنَّ إذْ شُؤبوبهنَّ مَطيرُ

They harried him for two miles, then drew him

toward them, their rain-burst rush pouring down,

ليأخذْنَهُ أخذاً عنيفاً وأخْذُهُ

عليهنَّ إلاّ أن يحينَ عسيرُ

to seize him violently; but seizing him

was hard for them unless his hour had come.

إذا كُنَّ جَنبَيْهِ وكنَّ أمامَهُ

ودُرْنَ بهِ لمْ يعيَ كيفَ يدورُ

When they were at his sides and in front of him,

and wheeled around him, he never faltered in how to turn.

يكُرُّ فيحمي عورةً لا يُضِيعُها

وذو النجدةِ الحامي الكريم كَرورُ

He charged back, defending a vulnerable spot he would not leave exposed,

and the noble, valiant defender charges back.

يُخرِّقُ في آباطِهنَّ بلَهذمٍ

يَطِرُّ إذا أمكَنَّهُ فيَغورُ

He tore into their armpits with a sharp blade

that slashed when he found an opening, then plunged deep.

وبالكُرهِ ما يحنو لهنَّ وإنّهُ

لمُستهزَمٌ لو يستطيعُ فَرورُ

Only unwillingly did he bend toward them; indeed

he sought escape, and would flee if he could.

لهُ في خَبارِ الهُبْرِ وثْبٌ إذا أتى

عليهِ ونقْعٌ بالرَّقاقِ ذَميرُ

He bounds through the soft soil of broken ground when he comes

upon it, with roaring dust upon the hard flats.

فتلكَ التي شبَّهتُ ذاكَ وقد جرتْ

على سررٍ هِيفٍ لهنَّ ضُفورُ

That is the she-camel I likened to him, as she ran

on slender tracks, braided into strands.

نجاةٌ برى عنها عتيقٌ أثارَهُ

سُرىً ورواحٌ مُغبِطٌ وبُكورُ

A swift she-camel, her old fat pared away, worked loose by

night travel, unrelenting evening marches, and early starts.

وأبلحَ عاتٍ لا يؤدّي أمانةً

عليهِ ولاقاهُ عليهِ أميرُ

And a foolish rebel who would not fulfill a trust

laid upon him, though a commander confronted him over it—

أقمتُ الصَّغا وأخدعَيْهِ بضربةٍ

لها تحتَ بينِ المنكِبَيْنِ هديرُ

I straightened his crookedness and his two neck-veins with a blow

whose rumble sounded beneath the space between his shoulders.