قفا فاسألا الدمنة الماصحه — Al Tirimmah

قِفا فَاِسأَلا الدِمنَةَ الماصِحَه

وَهَل هِيَ إِن سُئِلَت بائِحَه

Stop, you two, and question the effaced campsite.

But will it disclose anything if questioned?

نَعَم كالقَريحِ وُشؤمِ الصَناع

تَلوحُ مَعالِمُها اللائِحَه

Yes—like the fresh tattooing of a skilled woman,

its visible traces shine forth.

مَحاهُنَّ صَيّبُ نَوءِ الرَبيع

مِنَ الأَنجُمِ العَزلِ وَالرامِحَه

The spring star-season's downpour erased them,

from the Unarmed and the Lance-Bearing stars,

وَتَجرمُ أَمسِ وَما قَبلَهُ

وَمُختَلَفُ اليَومِ وَالبارِحَه

along with the passing of yesterday and what preceded it,

and the coming and going of today and last night.

خَلا أَنَّ كُلفاً بِتَخريجِها

سَفاسِقُ حَولَ بِثىً جانِحَه

Except for dark patches in its mottled markings—

streaks around tilted hearthstones,

لَدى مُلقِحٍ أَخدَجَ المُصلِدون

صِناهُ بِأَيديهِمُ القادِحَه

beside a fire-kindler whose embers the failed strikers

left stillborn with their spark-striking hands;

وَذي عَذرَةٍ بَعضُ شَجِّ الصَلا

ءِ خَيرٌ لَهُ مِن يَدٍ ماسِحَه

and a tuft-headed peg, for which some stone-battering

is better than a stroking hand,

مُقيمٍ بِمَركَزِهِ بِالفَناء

صَبورٍ عَلى الصَكَّةِ الكائِحَه

standing fixed in its socket in the courtyard,

patient beneath the crushing blow.

سَما لَكَ شَوقٌ عَلى آلَةٍ

مِنَ الدَهرِ أَسبابُها نازِحَه

Longing rose within you amid circumstances

of time whose ties lie far away,

لِذِكرى هَوىً أَضمَرَتهُ القُلو

بُ بَينَ النَوائِط وَالجانِحَه

at the memory of a love the hearts concealed

between their connecting vessels and the enclosing rib.

ظَعائِنُ شِمنَ قَريحَ الخَريف

مِنَ الأَنجُمِ الفَرغِ وَالذابِحَه

Women in howdahs watched autumn's first rain,

from the stars al-Fargh and al-Dhabih.

فَأَبرَقنَ بَرقاً فَحَنَّ المَطِيُّ

لِرَمزِ عَوارِضِهِ اللامِحَه

Then they flashed like lightning, and the riding-camels yearned

for the signal of its gleaming rain-clouds.

وَأَزعَجَهُنَّ اِهتَزامُ الحُداة

كَجَلجَلَةِ القَينَةِ الصادِحَه

The camel-drivers' loud calls set them moving,

like the ringing voice of a singing slave-girl.

عَلى العيسِ يَمرُطنَ مَرطَ السَفي

نِ صاحَت نَواتِيُّهُ الصائِحَه

On pale camels they sped like ships

whose shouting sailors cried out.

إِذا ما وَنَت أَو وَنى الحادِيان

تَعَلَّلنَ بِالدُبُلِ السائِحَه

When the camels slackened, or the two drivers flagged,

they sustained themselves with flowing mouthfuls of cud,

وَزَجرٍ وَنيرٍ يُنَسّي الكَلال

بِمَجدولَةٍ طُوِيَت بارِحَه

and shouts and strokes that banished fatigue,

with a braided whip twisted last night:

مَوارِنُ لا بِضِعافِ المُتون

وَلا بِالمُجَرَّمَةِ القاسِحَه

supple lashes, neither weak-backed

nor cut-short and stiff.

وَخَرقٍ بِهِ البومُ تَرثي الصَدى

كَما رَثَتِ الفاجِع النائِحَه

And a vast desert where owls lament the male owl,

as a wailing woman mourns the stricken man—

تَجاوَزتُ بَعدَ سُقوطِ النَدى

سَوانِحَ أَهوالِهِ السانِحَه

I passed, after the dew had fallen,

the terrors that crossed my path,

بِأَغبَسَ إِيّاكَ مِنهُ إِذا

بَدا ثَبجُ أَعطافِهِ الناتِحَه

on a dusky mount—beware of it when

the bulk of its sweating flanks appears.

تُطيرُ حَصى القَصرِ أَخفاقَهُ

كَما طارَ شَيءُ نَوى الراضِحَه

Its pounding hoofbeats scatter the stony ground's pebbles,

as bits of date-stones fly from a woman's pounding.

كَأَعيَنَ ذَبِّ رِيادِ العَشِيِّ

إِذا وَرَّكَت شَمسُهُ جانِحَه

Like a wide-eyed bull, restlessly foraging at evening,

when its sun inclines toward setting,

يَذيلُ إِذا نَسَمَ الأَبرَدان

وَيُخدِرُ بِالصَرَّةِ الصامِحَه

he moves freely when the two cool hours breathe,

and takes cover from the fiercely scorching heat.

يُراعي النِعاجَ وَتَحنو لَهُ

كَما حَنَتِ الهَجمَةُ اللاقحَه

He watches over the wild cows, who bend affectionately toward him,

as a pregnant camel herd bends.

تُراقِبُهُ مُستَشِبّاتُها

وَسُخلانُها حَولَهُ سارِحَه

Its newly grown females watch him,

and their calves graze around him.

يَسَفُّ خُراطَةَ مَكرِ الجَنا

بِ حَتّى تُرى نَفسُهُ قافِحَه

He gobbles the fallen leaves of the surrounding makr-plants,

until he is visibly surfeited.

أَحَمُّ بِأَطرافِهِ حُوَّةٌ

وَسائِرُ أَجلادِهِ واضِحَه

Dark-marked, with blackness at his extremities,

the rest of his hide is white.

وَيُصبِحُ يَنفُضُ عَنهُ النَدى

كَما هَمَتِ الشَنَّةُ الناضِحَه

At dawn he shakes off the dew,

as a leaky, worn waterskin drips.

فَبَينا لَهُ ذاكَ هاجَت لَهُ

مُخالِجَةً أَكلُبٌ جارِحَه

While he was thus, there sprang up against him

hunting hounds, lunging and contending,

غَوامِضُ في النَقعِ سُجعُ الخُدود

مُشايِحَةٌ في الوَغى كالِحَه

obscured by dust, with straight cheeks,

racing fiercely into battle, baring their teeth.

فَجالَ وَلَم تَصرِهِ قَبلَها

بِعَقوَتِهِ نِيَّةٌ فادِحَه

He wheeled; before this, he had not been confined

within his grounds by any crushing concern.

تَزِلُّ عَن الأَرضِ أَزلامُهُ

كَما زَلَّتِ القَدَمُ الآزِحَه

His arrow-like legs skim the earth,

as a foot slips when drawing backward.

يُبَربِرُ بَربَرَةَ الهِبرِقِي

بِأُخرى خَواذِلِها الآنِحَه

He bellows with a smith's rumbling cry

at the last of their panting stragglers.

إِذاكَ عَلى الأَينِ أَم ذاكُمُ

إِذا نامَتِ الأَكلُبُ النابِحَه

Is it that one, despite weariness, or that other one,

when the barking dogs have fallen asleep,

وَهَزَّ السُرى كُلَّ ذي حاجَةٍ

وَقَرقَرَتِ البومَةُ الصائِحَه

and night travel rouses everyone with a need,

and the calling owl hoots?

تَبيتُ إِذا ما دَعاها النُهام

تَجِدُّ وَتَحسَبُها مازِحَه

She spends the night, whenever the loud-voiced driver calls,

working hard, though you think her merely playing.

إِلَيكَ اِبنَ قَحطانَ نَطوي بِها

مَفاوِزَ أَخماسُها نازِحَه

Toward you, son of Qahtan, on her we traverse

wastes whose five-day watering stages lie far apart,

إِذا أَلجَأَ الحَرُّ عُفرَ الظِباء

بِلفحِ سَمائِمِهِ اللافِحَه

when the heat drives the pale gazelles into shelter

with the scorching blast of its hot winds.

إِلَيكَ اِبنَ قَحطانَ تَسمو المُنى

مِنَ الناسِ وَالأَعيُنُ الطامِحَه

Toward you, son of Qahtan, hopes rise

from people, along with their eagerly lifted eyes.

إِذا بَهَظَ الحِملُ صيدَ الرِجال

فَأَضحَت بِأَثقالِها بالِحَه

When the burden weighs down the proudest men,

and they stand exhausted beneath their loads,

وَجَدناكَ أَولاهُمُ بِالفعا

لِ قِدماً وَبِالقُحَمِ القاسِحَه

we find you foremost among them in noble deeds

of old, and in meeting harsh ordeals.

أُؤَمِّلُ مِنكَ أَيادي نَدىً

منَ الجُودِ ناحِلَةً مانِحَه

I hope from you for generous favors,

freely gifting and bestowing out of liberality.

وَوُدُّكَ إِن نَحنُ فُزنا بِهِ

لَنا وَلَكُم رِحلَةٌ رابِحَه

And your friendship, if we gain it,

makes a profitable journey for us and for you.

فَبَيتُ اِبنَ قَحطانَ خَيرُ البُيوت

عَلى حَسَدِ الأَنفُسِ الكاشِحَه

The house of the son of Qahtan is the best of houses,

despite the envy of spiteful souls.

أَشَمُّ كَثيرُ بَوادي النَوال

قَليلُ المَثالِبِ وَالقادِحَه

Lofty, lavish in the first offerings of bounty,

with few faults or grounds for reproach.

خَطيبُ المَقالَةِ حامي الذِمار

إِذا خيفَتِ السَوءَةُ الفاضِحَة

An eloquent speaker, a defender of honor,

when a shameful disgrace is feared.

هُوَ الغَيثُ لِلمُعتَفينَ المُغيث

بِفَضلِ مَوائِدِهِ الرادِحَه

He is the rain that brings relief to those seeking bounty,

through the abundance of his ample tables,

إِذا القَرمُ بادَرَ دِفءَ الكَنيف

وَراحَت طَروقَتُهُ رازِحَه

when the breeding camel hastens to the enclosure's warmth,

and his mate returns exhausted.

وَما نيلُ مِصرَ قُبَيلَ الشَفى

إِذا نَفَحَت ريحُهُ النافحَه

Nor is Egypt's Nile, just before the brink,

when its gusting wind blows,

وَراحَ تَناجِخُ أَمواجهُ

وَتَطفَحُ أَثباجُهُ الطافِحَه

and its waves begin to clash together,

and its swelling crests overflow,

بِأَجوَدَ مِنكَ وَلا مُدجِنٌ

تَدَلَّت غَياطِلُهُ الدالِحَه

more generous than you, nor a rain-laden cloud

whose heavy masses hang low,

وَبَقَّقَ في الأَرضِ غَيداقُهُ

وَساحَت سَوائِلُهُ السائِحَه

whose copious rain gushes onto the earth,

and whose flowing streams spread abroad.

وَشِعبٍ تُكَفِّئُ فيهِ السَماء

أَفاوِقَ غابِقَةً صابِحَه

And many a valley where the sky pours down

successive showers, evening and morning,

شَديد ملازِمِ غِزلانِهِ

غَزيرِ المُرَوَّحِ وَالسارِحَه

with secure haunts for its gazelles,

rich in returning herds and grazing beasts,

صَبَحتَ مَعَ الطَيرِ إِذ صَبَّحَت

بِشَعواءَ مُشعَلَةٍ سافِحَه

you attacked at dawn, with the birds as they greeted morning,

with a raging, widespread, sweeping raid,

عَلى الجُردِ تَهوي هُوِيَّ الدِلا

ءِ خانَت بِها الأَذرُعُ الماتِحَه

on short-haired steeds, plunging as buckets plunge

when the drawing arms have let them fall,

بِكُلِّ اَشَقَّ كَظِلِّ الخَيال

وَشَقّاءَ كَاللَقوَةِ الجانِحَه

on every long-striding stallion, like a phantom's shadow,

and long-striding mare, like a swooping eagle.

إِذا اِستُعجِلَت بِالوَحى خِلتَها

بِأَجوازِها قَدَمٌ طارِحَه

When hurried on with cries of haste, you would think her

a foot flinging her middle forward.

إِذا ما اِنطَوى أَيطَلا بِطنِها

تَبارَت قَوائِمُها السابِحَه

When her belly's two flanks fold,

her swimming legs race one another.

يَداكَ يَدٌ عِصمَةٌ في الوَغى

وَأُخرى لِمَن نابَها مانِحَه

Of your two hands, one is a safeguard in battle,

the other gives to whoever comes to it.

غَشومٌ إِذا طَلَبَت حاجَةً

مَعَ الغَشمِ آسِيَةٌ جارِحَه

Ruthless whenever it seeks an aim,

yet, with its ruthlessness, healing as well as wounding.

فَتىً لَيسَ يَنقُصُ مَعروفَهُ

تَداوُلُ نَزحِ الدِلا النازِحَه

A young man whose bounty is not diminished

by the repeated drawing of draining buckets.

وَكَيفَ تُعَرّيهِ مِن سَيبِكُم

مَواطِنُ غادِيَةٌ رائِحَه

And how could they strip him of your largesse—

the occasions that come morning and evening?

أَبى لَكَ رَبُّكَ إِلّا العُلُوَّ

وَلَو جُدَّتِ الأَرؤُسُ الناطِحَه

Your Lord has willed nothing for you but eminence,

even though the butting heads be severed.

بِمِثلِ ثَنائِكَ يَخلو القَريض

وَتَستَبحِرُ الأَلسُنُ المادِحَه

Poetry is given over to praise such as yours,

and praising tongues grow boundless.

وَمِثلُك ناحَت عَلَيهِ النِسا

ءُ مِن بَينِ بَكرٍ إِلى ناكِحَه

And over one like you women wail,

from maidens to married women,

وَحَتّى نَفَعَت بِلا نَعمَةٍ

لَهُم وَبِلا أَنفُسٍ ناصِحَه

and even when you brought benefit without kindness

to them, and without well-wishing hearts;

وَحَتّى صَبَّحتَ عَلى غِرَّةٍ

مَعَ الصُبحِ بِالصَليمِ الجائِحَه

and even when you came upon them unawares

at dawn with the devastating host.