Sol 6.1

  1. مَنْ رامَ عِزّاً بغَيرِ السَّيفِ لم يَنَلِ

    فارْكَبْ شَبا الهُندُوَانِيَّاتِ والأسَلِ

    Whoever seeks glory without the sword shall not attain it.

    So ride the points of Indian swords and spears.

  2. إنّ العُلا في شِفارِ البِيضِ كامِنَةٌ

    أو في الأسِنَّةِ منْ عَسَّالَةٍ ذُبُلِ

    High honor lies hidden in the edges of bright blades,

    or in the spearheads of slender, swaying shafts.

  3. فَخُضْ غِمارَ الرّدى تَسْلَمْ وثِبْ عَجِلاً

    لِفُرْصَةٍ عَرَضَتْ فالحَزْمُ في العَجَلِ

    Plunge into death's depths to survive, and leap swiftly

    at a chance that presents itself: prudence lies in speed.

  4. ما لِلجَبانِ أَلاَنَ اللهُ جانِبَهُ

    ظَنَّ الشَّجاعَةَ مِرْقاةً إِلى الأجَلِ

    What ails the coward—may God weaken his flank!—

    to think courage a stairway to death?

  5. وكَمْ حَياةٍ جَنَتْها النّفْسُ منْ تَلَفٍ

    ورُبَّ أمْنٍ حَواهُ القَلْبُ منْ وجَلِ

    How many a life the soul has reaped from destruction,

    and how much safety the heart has won from fear!

  6. مَتى أرى مَشْرَفِيَّاتٍ يُضَرِّجُها

    دمٌ رَسَتْ فيهِ أيدي الخَيْلِ والإبِلِ

    When shall I see Mashrafi swords stained

    with blood in which horses' and camels' forelegs stand mired?

  7. يُزيرُها عِصمَةُ الدِّينِ الطُّلَى فَبِها

    يُقامُ ما مَسَّ لِيتَ القِرْنِ منْ مَيَلِ

    Ismat al-Din brings necks to meet them; with them

    any crookedness in an opponent's neck is straightened.

  8. فقَدْ نَزَتْ بِطَنٌ ما تَحتَها فِطَنٌ

    بالعاجِز الوَغْدِ والهَيَّابَةِ الوَكَلِ

    For paunches with no wit beneath them have vaulted up,

    bearing the feeble knave and the craven, helpless weakling.

  9. وطبَّقَ الأرضَ خَوفٌ لا يُزَحْزِحُهُ

    ذو ضَجْعَةٍ لاثَ بُردَيْهِ على فَشَلِ

    Fear has covered the earth; it cannot be dispelled

    by a sluggard wrapping his two cloaks about cowardice.

  10. وخالَفَتْ هاشِماً في مُلكِها عُصَبٌ

    صاروا مُلوكاً وكانوا أرذَلَ الخَوَلِ

    Bands have challenged Hashim for its sovereignty,

    becoming kings, though once the basest servants.

  11. حَنَّتْ إلَيْهِمْ ظُبا الأسْيافِ ظامِئَةً

    حتى أبَتْ صُحْبَةَ الأجْفانِ والخِلَلِ

    The edges of swords yearn for them, athirst,

    until they refuse the company of scabbards and coverings.

  12. إذا جَرى ذِكرُهُمْ باتَتْ على طَرَبٍ

    مُتونُهُنَّ إِلى الأعْناقِ والقُلَلِ

    Whenever they are mentioned, they spend the night in rapture,

    their broad backs yearning toward necks and crowns.

  13. ودونَ ما طَلَبوهُ عِزّةٌ عَقَدَتْ

    أيْدي المَلائِكِ فيها حُبْوَةُ الرُّسُلِ

    But before what they seek stands a majesty where

    angels' hands have tied the messengers' knee-wrap.

  14. ومُرْهَفٌ أنحَلَ الهَيجاءُ مَضرِبَهُ

    لا يَألَفُ الدَّهرَ إلا هامَةَ البَطَلِ

    And a keen blade whose striking edge war has worn thin,

    knowing no home, through all time, but the warrior's skull.

  15. وذابِلٌ يَنثَني نَشوانَ منْ عَلَقٍ

    كالأيْمِ رَفَّعَ عِطْفَيهِ منَ البَلَلِ

    And a slender spear bends, drunken with clotted blood,

    like a serpent raising its two flanks clear of the wet.

  16. بِكَفِّ أرْوَعَ يُرخي مِن ذَوائِبِهِ

    جِنُّ المِراحِ فَيَمْشي مِشْيَةَ الثَّمِلِ

    In the grasp of a gallant whose locks are let loose

    by the jinn of high spirits, he walks with a drunkard's gait.

  17. يَهيمُ بالطَّعَناتِ النُّجْلِ في ثُغَرٍ

    تُطْوى على الغِلِّ لا بالأعْيُنِ النُّجُلِ

    He loves gaping spear-thrusts into the hollows of throats

    that close over rancor—not wide, lovely eyes.

  18. فلَيْتَ شِعري أحَقٌّ ما نَطَقْتُ بهِ

    أم مُنْيَةُ النّفْسِ والإنسانُ ذو أمَلِ

    Would that I knew: is what I have spoken true,

    or the soul's wish—for man has hopes?

  19. يبدو ليَ البَرْقُ أحياناً وبي ظَمَأٌ

    فَلا أُبالي بصَوْبِ العارِضِ الهَطِلِ

    Lightning sometimes appears to me while I am thirsty,

    yet I heed not the downpour of the pouring cloud.

  20. وفي ابتِسامَةِ سُعْدى عنهُ لي عِوَضٌ

    فلَمْ أشِمْ بارِقاً إلا مِن الكِلَلِ

    In Su'da's smile I have recompense for it,

    so I have watched for no lightning save behind bed-curtains.

  21. هَيفاءُ تَشْكو إِلى دَمعي إذا ابتَسَمَتْ

    عُقودُها الثَّغْرَ شَكوى الخَصْرِ لِلْكَفَلِ

    Slender-waisted—when she smiles, to my tears

    her necklaces complain of her teeth, as her waist of her hips.

  22. يُغْضي لها الرّيمُ عَينَيهِ على خَفَرٍ

    ولا يَمُدُّ إليها الجِيدَ مِنْ خَجَلِ

    The white gazelle lowers its eyes before her in bashfulness,

    and will not stretch its neck toward her for shame.

  23. طَرَقْتُها وسَناها عادَ يَغدِرُ بي

    لو لَم يُجِرْني ذِمامُ الفاحِمِ الرَّجِلِ

    I visited her by night; her radiance would again have betrayed me,

    had the shelter of her coal-black, wavy hair not saved me.

  24. وإنْ سَرَتْ نَمَّ بالمَسْرى تَبَرُّجُها

    فالمِسْكُ في أرَجٍ والحَلْيُ في زَجَلِ

    If she journeys by night, her adornment betrays her passage:

    the musk wafts fragrance, and the jewelry rings.

  25. أشكو إِلى الحَجْلِ ما يأتي الوِشاحُ بهِ

    وأُلزِمُ الرّيحَ ذَنْبَ العَنْبَرِ الشَّمِلِ

    I complain to her anklet of her sash's deeds,

    and lay the fragrant ambergris's guilt upon the wind.

  26. إذْ لِمَّتي كَجَناحِ النَّسْرِ داجِيَةٌ

    والعَيْشُ رَقَّتْ حَواشي رَوضِهِ الخَضِلِ

    When my locks were dark as an eagle's wing,

    and the borders of life's dew-lush garden were tender.

  27. واهاً لذلكَ مِن عَصْرٍ مَلَكْتُ بِها

    على الجَآذِرِ فيهِ طاعَةَ المُقَلِ

    Ah for that age, when through those locks I won

    the obedience of the young oryxes' eyes!

  28. لوْ رُمْتُ بابْنِ أبي الفِتْيانِ رَجعَتَهُ

    لَعادَتِ البيضُ مِنْ أيَّامِهِ الأُوَلِ

    Had I sought its return through Ibn Abi al-Fityan,

    the bright days of its beginnings would have returned.

  29. فَفي الشَّبيبَةِ عَمَّا فاتَنا بَدَلٌ

    وليسَ عَنها سِوى نُعْماهُ منْ بَدَلِ

    For youth can replace whatever we have lost,

    but nothing replaces youth except his bounty.

  30. رَحْبُ الذِّراعِ بكَشْفِ الخَطْبِ في فِتَنٍ

    كأنَّنا مِنْ غَواشيهِنَّ في ظُلَلِ

    Broad of arm in lifting calamity amid tumults,

    whose engulfing darkness seems to enclose us in canopies.

  31. أضْحَتْ بها الدَّولَةُ الغَرَّاءُ شاحِبَةً

    كالشّمْسِ غَطّتْ مُحَيَّاها يَدُ الطَّفَلِ

    The radiant dynasty had grown pale amid them,

    like the sun whose face the hand of dusk has veiled.

  32. فَصالَ والقَلْبُ كَظَّتْهُ حَفيظَتُهُ

    تَوَثُّبَ اللّيْثِ لمْ يَهلَعْ إِلى الوَهَلِ

    Then he charged, his heart choked with protective zeal,

    springing like a lion, without giving way to fear.

  33. وأغمَدَ السَّيْفَ مَذْروبَ الشَّبا ونَضَا

    رأْياً أَبَى الحَزمُ أن يُؤتَى مِنَ الزَّلَلِ

    He sheathed the sword, its edge keen-sharpened, and drew

    a judgment that prudence forbade error to assail.

  34. ومهَّدَ الأمرَ حتى هزَّ مِنْ طَرَبٍ

    إليهِ عِطْفَيهِ ما ولَّى مِنَ الدُّوَلِ

    He set affairs in order, till, in joy,

    departed fortunes swayed their flanks toward him.

  35. ساسَ الوَرى وهَجيرُ الظُّلمِ يَلفَحُهُمْ

    فأعْقَبَ العَدْلُ فِيهمْ رِقَّةَ الأُصُلِ

    He governed mankind while tyranny's noonday heat scorched them;

    then justice brought them the gentleness of late afternoon.

  36. أغَرُّ تَنشُرُ جَدْواهُ أنامِلُهُ

    وقَد طَوى الناسُ أيديهمْ علَى البَخَلِ

    Radiant-browed, his fingertips spread his bounty,

    while men had folded their hands in miserliness.

  37. مُقَبَّلٌ تُرْبُ نادِيهِ بكُلِّ فَمٍ

    لا يَلفِظُ القَوْلَ إلا غَيرَ ذي خَطَلِ

    The dust of his assembly is kissed by every mouth

    that speaks only words free of folly.

  38. كأنّهُ والمُلوكُ الصِّيدُ تَلثِمُهُ

    خَدٌّ تَقاسَمَهُ الأفْواهُ بالقُبَلِ

    As proud kings kiss it, it seems

    a cheek shared out by mouths in kisses.

  39. ورُبَّ مُعتَرَكٍ ضَنْكٍ فَرَغْتَ لهُ

    حتى تَرَكْتَ بهِ الأرواحَ في شُغُلِ

    Many a cramped battlefield you gave yourself to,

    until you left its souls absorbed in their own plight.

  40. تَرنو خِلالَ القَنا حَيْرى غَزالتُهُ

    عن ناظِرٍ بِمُثارِ النّقْعِ مُكتَحِلِ

    Its gazelle gazes bewildered through the lances,

    with an eye kohl-rimmed by the rising dust,

  41. بحَيثُ لا يَملِكُ الغَيرانُ عَبْرَتَهُ

    حتى مَشَيْتَ بِها في مَسْلَكٍ وَحِلِ

    where the jealous man cannot hold back his tears,

    until you led her along a muddy path.

  42. والأعوَجِيّةُ مُرخاةٌ أعِنَّتُها

    تَسْتَنُّ في لَهَواتِ السَّهْلِ والجَبَلِ

    While the A'waji steeds, their reins let slack,

    race through the gullets of plain and mountain.

  43. والبِيضُ تَبْسِمُ والأبطالُ عابِسَةٌ

    ما بَينَ مُودٍ ومَكْلومٍ ومعتَقَلِ

    Bright blades smile while warriors scowl,

    some dead, some wounded, some captive.

  44. حتى تَرَكْتَ بهِ كِسْرى وأُسرَتَهُ

    أتباعَ راعِيَةِ الحَوْذانِ والنَّفَلِ

    Until you left Kisra and his household there,

    followers of a flock grazing buttercups and clover.

  45. وانْصاعَ بَأْسُكَ بابْنِ الغابِ تُجْشِمُهُ

    أن يَستَجيرَ حِذاراً بِابْنَةِ الوَعِلِ

    Your might drove the forest's son away, compelling him

    to seek shelter, in fear, with the ibex's daughter.

  46. وأيُّ يَومَيْكَ مِن نارَيْ قِرًى وَوَغىً

    في السِّلْمِ والحَربِ لمْ يَفتَرَّ عنْ شُعَلِ

    Which of your two days—with hospitality's fire and battle's—

    in peace and war, has not smiled to reveal flames?

  47. نَماكَ من غالِبٍ بِيضٌ غَطارِفَةٌ

    بَثُّوا الندىً فإلَيهِمْ مُنتَهى السُّبُلِ

    Radiant lords of Ghalib's line begot you;

    they spread bounty, and all roads end with them.

  48. لا يَشْتَكي نَأْيَ مَسْراهُ أخو سَفَرٍ

    تُدنِيهِ مِنهُمْ خُطا المَهْريَّةِ الذُلُلِ

    No traveler complains of his night journey's distance

    when docile Mahri camels' strides bring him near them.

  49. مِنْ كلِّ أبلَجَ مَيمونٍ تَفيئَتُهُ

    يَغشى حِياضَ المَنايا غيرَ مُحتَفِلِ

    Each bright-browed, auspicious in his return,

    entering the pools of death without a care.

  50. فلَيسَ يَرضى بغَيرِ السَّيفِ منْ وَزَرٍ

    ولا يُعِدُّ سِوى الماذيِّ مِنْ حُلَلِ

    He accepts no refuge but the sword,

    and readies no robe but fine chain mail.

  51. يُصغي إِلى الحَمدِ يَقْريهِ مَواهبَهُ

    بمَسمَعٍ ضاقَ فيه مَسرَحُ العَذَلِ

    He listens to praise, feasting it upon his gifts,

    with an ear that leaves scant room for blame to roam.

  52. فَشِدْتَ ما أَسَّسَ الآباءُ مِن شَرَفٍ

    حتى تحَلَّتْ بهِ الأيّامُ مِنْ عَطَلِ

    You raised high the honor your forefathers founded,

    till the days, once unadorned, wore it as jewels.

  53. فُقْتَ الثَّناءَ فلمْ أبْلُغْ مَداكَ بهِ

    حتى توهَّمْتُ أنَّ العَجْزَ منْ قِبَلي

    You surpassed praise; with it I could not reach your height,

    until I imagined the failure lay with me.

  54. والعِيُّ أن يَصِفَ الوَرْقاءَ مادِحُها

    بالطَّوْقِ أو يَمدَحَ الأدْماءَ بالكَحَلِ

    It is ineptness for the ringdove's praiser to describe it

    by its collar, or praise the white gazelle for its kohl-dark eyes.

  55. تَبَلَّجَ العِيدُ عنْ سَعدٍ يُصافِحُهُ

    جَدٌّ عَواقِبُهُ تُفْضي إِلى الجَذَلِ

    The festival has dawned on happiness, greeted

    by fortune whose outcomes lead to joy.

  56. فانْحَرْ ذوي إحَنٍ تَشْجى أضالِعُهُمْ

    بهِنَّ نَحْرَ هَدايا مَكَّةَ الهَمَلِ

    So slaughter men of rancor, whose ribs are choked

    with it, as Mecca's untended sacrificial beasts are slain.

  57. وَفُرَّ عَنْها بأطرافِ الرِّماحِ تَشُبْ

    دِماءَهُمْ بدِماءِ الأيْنُقِ البُزُلِ

    Lay them bare with spearpoints, and mingle

    their blood with that of full-grown she-camels.

  58. وأصْدِرِ البِيض حُمراً عَنْ جَماجِمِهمْ

    إذا رَوِيْنَ بِها عَلاً على نَهَلِ

    Send the bright blades back red from their skulls,

    once sated there with a second draught after the first.

  59. وامْشِ الضَّراءَ تَنَلْ ما شِئْتَ من فُرَصٍ

    ولا تَمُدَّ لمَنْ عاداكَ في الطِّوَلِ

    Walk under cover, and win whatever chances you desire;

    give no long tether to those who oppose you.

  60. فالدَّهْرُ مُنتَظِرٌ أمْراً تُشيرُ بهِ

    فمُرْ بما يَقْتَضيهِ الرَّأيُ يَمْتَثِلِ

    For time awaits a command you signal;

    command what judgment dictates, and it will obey.