1. أَتَهجُرُ غانِيَةً أَم تُلِم

    أَمِ الحَبلُ واهٍ بِها مُنجَذِم

    Will you forsake a beautiful woman, or visit her?

    Or is your bond with her weak and severed?

  2. أَمِ الصَبرُ أَحجى فَإِنَّ اِمرَأً

    سَيَنفَعُهُ عِلمُهُ إِن عَلِم

    Or is patience wiser? For a man

    will benefit from his knowledge, if he knows.

  3. كَما راشِدٍ تَجِدَنَّ اِمرَأً

    تَبَيَّنَ ثُمَّ اِنتَهى أَو قَدِم

    You will surely find a man like one rightly guided,

    who sees clearly, then refrains or advances.

  4. عَصى المُشفِقينَ إِلى غَيِّهِ

    وَكُلَّ نَصيحٍ لَهُ يَتَّهِم

    He defied his well-wishers, pursuing his folly,

    and suspected every adviser who counseled him.

  5. وَما كانَ ذَلِكَ إِلّا الصَبى

    وَإِلّا عِقابَ اِمرِئٍ قَد أَثِم

    That was nothing but youthful passion,

    and the punishment of a man who had sinned.

  6. وَنَظرَةَ عَينٍ عَلى غِرَّةٍ

    مَحَلَّ الخَليطِ بِصَحراءِ زُم

    And an unguarded glance of the eye

    at her people's camp in the desert of Zumm,

  7. وَمَبسِمَها عَن شَتيتِ النَبا

    تِ غَيرِ أَكَسٍّ وَلا مُنقَضِم

    and her smile revealing widely spaced teeth,

    neither stunted nor chipped.

  8. فَبانَت وَفي الصَدرِ صَدعٌ لَها

    كَصَدعِ الزُجاجَةِ ما يَلتَإِم

    She departed, leaving a crack in my breast,

    like a crack in glass that will not mend.

  9. فَكَيفَ طِلابُكَها إِذ نَأَت

    وَأَدنى مَزاراً لَها ذو حُسُم

    How can you seek her, now she is far away,

    when Dhu Husum is her nearest visiting-place?

  10. وَصَهباءَ طافَ يَهودِيُّها

    وَأَبرَزَها وَعَلَيها خُتُم

    And tawny wine, whose Jewish keeper went round it,

    and brought it out with seals upon it;

  11. وَقابَلَها الريحُ في دَنِّها

    وَصَلّى عَلى دَنِّها وَاِرتَسَم

    and the wind met it in its jar,

    and he prayed over its jar and invoked protection.

  12. تَمَزَّزتُها غَيرَ مُستَدبِرٍ

    عَنِ الشَربِ أَو مُنكِرٍ ما عُلِم

    I sipped it slowly, not turning away

    from drinking, nor denying what was known.

  13. وَأَبيَضَ كَالسَيفِ يُعطي الجَزي

    لَ يَجودُ وَيَغزو إِذا ما عَدِم

    And a fair man, like a sword, giving lavishly,

    generous, and raiding whenever he lacked means:

  14. تَضَيَّفتُ يَوماً عَلى نارِهِ

    مِنَ الجودِ في مالِهِ أَحتَكِم

    one day I was a guest at his fire,

    freely choosing from his wealth through his generosity.

  15. وَيَهماءَ تَعزِفُ جِنّانُها

    مَناهِلُها آجِناتٌ سُدُم

    And a trackless waste whose jinn make music,

    its watering places stagnant and choked,

  16. قَطَعتُ بِرَسّامَةٍ جَسرَةٍ

    عَذافِرَةٍ كَالفَنيقِ القَطِم

    I crossed on a swift-striding, sturdy she-camel,

    massive as a breeding stallion in rut,

  17. غَضوبٍ مِنَ السَوطِ زَيّافَةٍ

    إِذا ما اِرتَدى بِالسَراةِ الأَكَم

    resentful of the whip, swaggering in her gait,

    when the hills wear her lofty back as a mantle.

  18. كَتومِ الرُغاءِ إِذا هَجَّرَت

    وَكانَت بَقِيَّةَ ذَودٍ كُتُم

    She suppresses her bellow when traveling at noon,

    the last of a small herd of silent camels.

  19. تُفَرِّجُ لِلمَرءِ مِن هَمِّهِ

    وَيُشفى عَلَيها الفُؤادُ السَقِم

    She relieves a man of his cares,

    and on her an ailing heart is healed.

  20. إِلى المَرءِ قَيسٍ أُطيلُ السَرى

    وَآخُذُ مِن كُلِّ حَيٍّ عُصُم

    To the man Qays I prolong my night journey,

    taking pledges of safety from every tribe.

  21. وَكَم دونَ بَيتِكَ مِن مَعشَرٍ

    صُباةِ الحُلومِ عُداةٍ غُشُم

    And how many bands between me and your house,

    immature in judgment, hostile and brutal!

  22. إِذا أَنا حَيَّيتُ لَم يَرجِعوا

    تَحِيَّتَهُم وَهُمُ غَيرُ صُم

    When I greeted them, they did not return

    their greeting, though they were not deaf.

  23. وَإِدلاجِ لَيلٍ عَلى خيفَةٍ

    وَهاجِرَةٍ حَرُّها يَحتَدِم

    And night journeys made in fear,

    and noontides whose heat blazed fiercely.

  24. وَإِنَّ غَزاتَكَ مِن حَضرَمَوتَ

    أَتَتني وَدوني الصَفا وَالرَجَم

    And news of your raid from Hadramawt

    reached me, with al-Safa and al-Rajam in between:

  25. مَقادَكَ بِالخَيلِ أَرضَ العَدو

    وَجُذعانُها كَلَفيظِ العَجَم

    your leading the horses into the enemy's land,

    their young mounts like discarded date stones,

  26. وَجَيشُهُمُ يَنظُرونَ الصَبا

    حَ فَاليَومَ مِن غَزوَةٍ لَم تَخِم

    while their army awaited the morning—

    a day of raiding from which you did not shrink.

  27. وُقوفاً بِما كانَ مِن لَأمَةٍ

    وَهُنَّ صِيامٌ يَلُكنَ اللُجُم

    Standing in whatever armor they had,

    they went unfed, chewing their bits.

  28. فَأَظعَنتَ وِترَكَ مِن دارِهِم

    وَوِترُكَ في دارِهِم لَم يُقِم

    You drove your blood-foe from their home;

    your blood-foe did not remain in their home.

  29. تَؤُمُّ دِيارَ بَني عامِرٍ

    وَأَنتَ بِآلِ عُقَيلٍ فَغِم

    You make for the lands of Banu Amir,

    intent on the house of Uqayl.

  30. أَذاقَتهُمُ الحَربُ أَنفاسَها

    وَقَد تُكرَهُ الحَربُ بَعدَ السَلَم

    War made them taste its breath,

    and war may be hated after peace.

  31. تَعودُ عَلَيهِم وَتُمضيهِمُ

    كَما طافَ بِالرُجمَةِ المُرتَجِم

    It returns upon them and carries them off,

    as a stone-thrower circles a cairn.

  32. وَلَم يودِ مَن كُنتَ تَسعى لَهُ

    كَما قيلَ في الحَيِّ أَودى دَرِم

    He for whom you strove did not perish,

    as the tribe said, 'Darim has perished.'

  33. وَكانَت كَحُبلى غَداةَ الصَبا

    حِ كانَت وِلادَتُها عَن مُتِمّ

    It was like a pregnant woman at daybreak,

    whose delivery brought forth one fully formed:

  34. يَقومُ عَلى الوَغمِ في قَومِهِ

    فَيَعفو إِذا شاءَ أَو يَنتَقِم

    he tends to blood-feuds among his people,

    and pardons if he wishes, or takes revenge.

  35. أَخو الحَربِ لا ضَرَعٌ واهِنٌ

    وَلَم يَنتَعِل بِقِبالٍ خَذِم

    A brother of war, neither submissive nor weak,

    who has not shod himself with a broken sandal-strap.

  36. وَما مُزبِدٌ مِن خَليجِ الفُرا

    تِ جَونٌ غَوارِبُهُ تَلتَطِم

    No foaming surge from a branch of the Euphrates,

    dark, its wave-crests colliding,

  37. يَكُبُّ الخَلِيَّةَ ذاتَ القِلا

    عِ قَد كادَ جُؤجُؤُها يَنحَطِم

    overturning a ship equipped with sails,

    its bow almost shattered,

  38. تَكَأكَأَ مَلّاحُها وَسطَها

    مِنَ الخَوفِ كَوثَلَها يَلتَزِم

    its sailor huddled amidships,

    clutching its stern in fear,

  39. بِأَجوَدَ مِنهُ بِما عِندَهُ

    إِذا ما سَمائُهُم لَم تَغِم

    is more generous with what it holds than he,

    when their sky does not cloud over.

  40. هُوَ الواهِبُ المِئَةَ المُصطَفا

    ةَ كَالنَخلِ طافَ بِها المُجتَرِم

    He gives a hundred choice camels,

    like palms circled by a fruit-gatherer,

  41. وَكُلَّ كُمَيتٍ كَجِذعِ الطَري

    قِ يَردي عَلى سَلِطاتٍ لُثُم

    and every bay horse, like a tall palm's trunk,

    galloping on hard hooves that strike the ground.

  42. سَنابِكُهُ كَمَداري الظِبا

    ءِ أَطرافُهُنَّ عَلى الأَرضِ شُم

    His hooves are like gazelles' horns,

    their tips held high above the earth.

  43. يَصيدُ النَحوصَ وَمِسحَلَها

    وَجَحشَهُما قَبلَ أَن يَستَحِمّ

    He hunts the wild she-ass and her mate,

    and their foal, before he grows hot.

  44. وَيَومٍ إِذا ما رَأَيتُ الصِوَا

    رَ أَدبَرَ كَاللُؤلُؤِ المُنخَرِم

    And on a day when I saw the wild-cattle herd

    turn away like pearls from a broken string,

  45. تَدَلّى حَثيثاً كَأَنَّ الصِوَا

    رَ أَتبَعَهُ أَزرَقِيٌّ لَحِم

    he plunged swiftly down, as though the herd

    were pursued by a blue-eyed hunter hungry for flesh.

  46. فَإِنَّ مُعاوِيَةَ الأَكرَمينَ

    عِظامُ القِبابِ طِوالُ الأُمَم

    For the noblest of Muawiya's people

    have vast pavilions and tall stature.

  47. مَتى تَدعُهُم لِلِقاءِ الحُرو

    بِ تَأتِكَ خَيلٌ لَهُم غَيرُ جُمّ

    Whenever you summon them to face war,

    their cavalry comes to you, not lacking lances.

  48. إِذا ما هُمُ جَلَسوا بِالعَشِي

    يِ فَأَحلامُ عادٍ وَأَيدي هُضُم

    When they sit together in the evening,

    theirs is the wisdom of Ad, and lavishly giving hands.

  49. وَعَوراءَ جاءَت فَجاوَبتُها

    بِشَنعاءَ نافِيَةٍ لِلرَقِم

    An ugly insult came; I answered it

    with a monstrous retort that drives off the venomous serpent,

  50. بِذاتِ نَفِيٍّ لَها سَورَةٌ

    إِذا أُرسِلَت فَهيَ ما تَنتَقِم

    a banishing utterance of furious force;

    when loosed, it exacts revenge.

  51. تَقولُ اِبنَتي حينَ جَدَّ الرَحيلُ

    أَرانا سَواءً وَمَن قَد يَتِم

    My daughter says, when departure becomes imminent,

    'I see us no different from those already orphaned.

  52. أَبانا فَلا رِمتَ مِن عِندِنا

    فَإِنّا بِخَيرٍ إِذا لَم تَرِم

    Our father, never leave our side,

    for we are well as long as you do not depart.

  53. وَيا أَبَتا لا تَزَل عِندَنا

    فَإِنّا نَخافُ بِأَن تُختَرَم

    O father, remain with us,

    for we fear that you will be snatched away.

  54. أَرانا إِذا أَضمَرَتكَ البِلا

    دُ نُجفى وَتُقطَعُ مِنّا الرَحِم

    I see us, when the lands swallow you,

    being shunned, with kinship cut off from us.'

  55. أَفي الطَوفِ خِفتِ عَلَيَّ الرَدى

    وَكَم مِن رَدٍ أَهلَهُ لَم يَرِم

    'Was it in my wandering that you feared death for me?

    How many have died without leaving their people!

  56. وَقَد طُفتُ لِلمالِ آفاقَهُ

    عُمانَ فَحِمصَ فَأوريشَلِم

    I have roamed its horizons in pursuit of wealth:

    Oman, then Homs, then Urishalim.

  57. أَتَيتُ النَجاشِيَّ في أَرضِهِ

    وَأَرضَ النَبيطِ وَأَرضَ العَجَم

    I came to the Negus in his land,

    and the lands of the Nabataeans and the Persians,

  58. فَنَجرانَ فَالسَروَ مِن حِميَرٍ

    فَأَيَّ مَرامٍ لَهُ لَم أَرُم

    then Najran, then al-Sarw of Himyar:

    what goal of wealth did I not pursue?

  59. وَمِن بَعدِ ذاكَ إِلى حَضرَمَوتَ

    فَأَوفَيتُ هَمّي وَحيناً أَهُم

    And after that, to Hadramawt,

    fulfilling my purpose, and at times still aspiring.

  60. أَلَم تَرَيِ الحَضرَ إِذ أَهلُهُ

    بِنُعمى وَهَل خالِدٌ مَن نَعِم

    Have you not seen al-Hadr, when its people

    lived in abundance? Is anyone who prospers immortal?

  61. أَقامَ بِهِ شاهَبورُ الجُنو

    دَ حَولَينِ يَضرِبُ فيهِ القُدُم

    Shahbur stationed the troops there

    for two years, pressing ever onward.

  62. فَما زادَهُ رَبُّهُ قُوَّةً

    وَمِثلُ مُجاوِرِهِ لَم يُقِم

    Its lord added no strength to it,

    nor did he endure like his neighbor.

  63. فَلَمّا رَأى رَبُّهُ فِعلَهُ

    أَتاهُ طُروقاً فَلَم يَنتَقِم

    When its lord saw what he had done,

    he came to him by night, but took no revenge.

  64. وَكانَ دَعا رَهطَهُ دَعوَةً

    هَلُمَّ إِلى أَمرِكُم قَد صُرِم

    He had summoned his kinsmen with a call:

    'Come to your cause—it has been cut short.

  65. فَموتوا كِراماً بِأَسيافِكُم

    وَلِلمَوتِ يَجشَمُهُ مَن جَشِم

    Die nobly by your swords,

    for death is a hardship borne by whoever bears it.

  66. وَلِلمَوتِ خَيرٌ لِمَن نالَهُ

    إِذا المَرءُ أُمَّتُهُ لَم تَدُم

    Death is better for the man it reaches,

    when a man's good estate no longer lasts.'

  67. فَفي ذاكَ لِلمُؤتَسِي أُسوَةٌ

    وَمَأرِبُ قَفّى عَلَيها العَرِم

    In that is an example for one who would take comfort,

    and Marib, overrun by the torrent:

  68. رُخامٌ بَنَتهُ لَهُم حِميَرٌ

    إِذا جاءَهُ ماؤهُم لَم يَرِم

    a marble dam that Himyar built for them,

    when their water reached it, it did not leave,

  69. فَأَروى الزُروعَ وَأَعنابَها

    عَلى سَعَةٍ ماؤهُم إِذ قُسِم

    and watered the crops and their vines,

    their water abundant when apportioned.

  70. فَعاشوا بِذَلِكَ في غِبطَةٍ

    فَجارَ بِهِم جارِفٌ مُنهَزِم

    Thus they lived in glad prosperity,

    until a bursting torrent swept them away.

  71. فَطارَ القُيولُ وَقَيلاتُها

    بِيَهماءَ فيها سَرابٌ يَطِم

    The rulers and their queens took flight

    into a trackless waste where mirage surged high.

  72. فَطاروا سِراعاً وَما يَقدِرو

    نَ مِنهُ لِشُربِ صَبِيٍّ فَطِم

    They fled in haste, unable

    to draw from it even a weaned child's drink.