1. أَرامَةُ كُنتِ مَألَفَ كُلِّ ريمِ

    لَوِ اِستَمتَعتِ بِالأُنسِ القَديمِ

    O Rāmah, you would be the haunt of every gazelle,

    if you still enjoyed the companionship of old.

  2. أَدارَ البُؤسِ حَسَّنَكِ التَصابي

    إِلَيَّ فَصِرتِ جَنّاتِ النَعيمِ

    O abode of misery, youthful passion made you lovely

    to me, and you became gardens of bliss.

  3. لَئِن أَصبَحتِ مَيدانَ السَوافي

    لَقَد أَصبَحتِ مَيدانَ الهُمومِ

    If indeed you have become an arena for sand-driving winds,

    you have surely become an arena for sorrows.

  4. وَمِمّا ضَرَّمَ البُرَحاءَ أَنّي

    شَكَوتُ فَما شَكَوتُ إِلى رَحيمِ

    And one thing that kindled my anguish was that I

    complained, but did not complain to a merciful soul.

  5. أَظُنُّ الدَمعَ في خَدّي سَيَبقى

    رُسوماً مِن بُكائي في الرُسومِ

    I think the tears upon my cheek will remain

    as traces of my weeping amid the ruins.

  6. وَلَيلٍ بِتُّ أَكلَأُهُ كَأَنّي

    سَليمٌ أَو سَهِرتُ عَلى سَليمِ

    And many a night I spent watching over it, as though I

    were snakebitten, or keeping vigil over one who was.

  7. أُراعي مِن كَواكِبِهِ هِجاناً

    سَواماً ما تَريعُ إِلى المُسيمِ

    Among its stars I watch white camels,

    grazing freely, never returning to the herdsman.

  8. فَأُقسِمُ لَو سَأَلتِ دُجاهُ عَنّي

    لَقَد أَنباكِ عَن وَجدٍ عَظيمِ

    And I swear, if you asked its darkness about me,

    it would surely tell you of profound longing.

  9. أَنَخنا في دِيارِ بَني حَبيبٍ

    بَناتِ السَيرِ تَحتَ بَني العَزيمِ

    We made kneel, in the dwellings of Banū Ḥabīb,

    the daughters of travel beneath the sons of resolve.

  10. وَما إِن زالَ في جَرمِ اِبنِ عَمرٍو

    كَريمٌ مِن بَني عَبدِ الكَريمِ

    And among Jarm ibn ʿAmr there has always been

    a generous man from Banū ʿAbd al-Karīm.

  11. يَكادُ نَداهُ يَترُكُهُ عَديماً

    إِذا هَطَلَت يَداهُ عَلى عَديمِ

    His bounty almost leaves him destitute

    whenever his hands rain down upon a destitute man.

  12. تَراهُ يَذُبُّ عَن حَرَمِ المَعالي

    فَتَحسِبُهُ يُدافِعُ عَن حَريمِ

    You see him defending the sanctuary of high honors,

    and think he is defending the household

  13. غَريمٍ لِلمُلِمِّ بِهِ وَحاشى

    نَداهُ مِن مُماطَلَةِ الغَريمِ

    of a debtor to whoever calls upon him—and far be

    his bounty from putting off a creditor.

  14. سَفيهُ الرُمحِ أُرعِفَتِ العَوالي

    وَلَيسَ المُرعِفاتُ سِوى الكُلومِ

    Reckless with the spear—the spearheads are made to bleed,

    and nothing makes them bleed but wounds.

  15. إِذا ما الضَربُ حَشَّ الحَربَ أَبدى

    أَغَرَّ الرَأيِ في الخَطبِ البَهيمِ

    When blows stoke war, he displays

    radiant judgment amid a pitch-dark crisis.

  16. تُثَفّى الحَربُ مِنهُ حينَ تَغلي

    مَراجِلُها بِشَيطانٍ رَجيمِ

    War finds in him a hearthstone when

    its cauldrons boil—a devil pelted with stones.

  17. فَإِن شَهِدَ المَقامَةَ يَومَ فَصلٍ

    رَأَيتَ نَظيرَ لُقمانِ الحَكيمِ

    And if he attends the assembly on a day of decision,

    you see the equal of Luqmān the Wise.

  18. إِذا نَزَلَ النَزيعُ بِهِم قَرَوهُ

    رِياضَ الريفِ مِن أُنُفٍ جَميمِ

    When a stranger lodges with them, they regale him with

    the countryside's meadows of fresh, luxuriant growth.

  19. فَلَو شاهَدتَهُم وَالزائِريهِم

    لَما مِزتَ البَعيدَ مِنَ الحَميمِ

    And if you saw them together with their visitors,

    you would not distinguish the distant stranger from the close friend.

  20. أُولَئِكَ قَد هُدوا في كُلِّ مَجدٍ

    إِلى نَهجِ الصِراطِ المُستَقيمِ

    Those men have indeed been guided, in every glory,

    to the clear course of the straight path.

  21. أَحَلَّهُمُ النَدى سِطَةَ المَعالي

    إِذا نَزَلَ البَخيلُ عَلى التُخومِ

    Generosity has settled them at the heart of high honors,

    while the miser settles at the boundaries.

  22. فُروعٌ لا تَرِفُّ عَلَيكَ إِلّا

    شَهِدتَ لَها عَلى طيبِ الأَرومِ

    Branches that never sway above you without

    your bearing witness to the goodness of their roots.

  23. وَفي شَرَفِ الحَديثِ دَليلُ صِدقٍ

    لِمُختَبِرٍ عَلى الشَرَفِ القَديمِ

    And in their present honor lies true evidence

    for an examiner, of their ancient honor.

  24. لَهُم غُرَرٌ تُخالُ إِذا اِستَنارَت

    بَواهِرُها ضَرائِرَ لِلنُجومِ

    They have radiant glories that seem, when they shine

    in their dazzling splendor, rival wives to the stars.

  25. قُرومٌ لِلمُجيرِ بِهِم أُسودٌ

    نَكالٌ لِلأُسودِ وَلِلقُرومِ

    Chiefs for whoever seeks their protection; lions—

    a scourge to lions and to chiefs.

  26. إِذا نَزَلوا بِمَحلٍ رَوَّضوهُ

    بآِثارٍ كَآثارِ الغُيومِ

    When they alight in barren land, they turn it into a meadow

    with traces like those of clouds.

  27. لِكُلٍّ مِن بَني حَوّاءَ عُذرٌ

    وَلا عُذرٌ لِطائِيٍّ لَئيمِ

    Every one of Eve's children has an excuse,

    but there is no excuse for an ignoble man of Ṭayyiʾ.

  28. أَحَقُّ الناسِ بِالكَرَمِ اِمرُؤٌ لَم

    يَزَل يَأوي إِلى أَصلٍ كَريمِ

    Of all men, generosity most befits one who has never

    ceased to take refuge in a noble root.