Sol 6.1

  1. إذا ما عُقْيلٌ باهلت يوم فخرها

    تأرَّج ناديها وطابَ نسيمُها

    Whenever ʿUqayl vies in pride on its day of boasting,

    Its gathering grows fragrant, and its breeze turns sweet.

  2. هُمُ يردون الخيل مُلْساً إلى الوغى

    ويثنونها بالطَّعن تدْمى كلُومها

    They lead their horses unscarred into battle,

    And bring them back from spear-fighting, their wounds bleeding.

  3. ليوثٌ إذا الجأواءُ خامَتْ كماتُها

    غيوثٌ إذا الشهباء أكدت غُيومُها

    Lions when the dark-armored host's champions falter,

    Life-giving rains when the drought year's clouds yield nothing.

  4. تخُفُّ إلى داعي الوغى عزماتُها

    وترزنُ إذ تهفو الحُلومُ حلومها

    Their resolves hasten to the caller of battle,

    And their minds stand firm when other minds grow flighty.

  5. وموضعُ علْياءِ الشنينةِ منهُمُ

    ذوائبها من مجدها وصميمُها

    And al-Shaninah's lofty standing among them

    Is the crown of their glory and its very core.

  6. أنافوا على العلياء بابن مُهارشٍ

    فردَّ حديثاً من عُلاهُ قديمها

    They towered above high glory through Ibn Muharish,

    And through his eminence he made their ancient glory new.

  7. سريعاً إلى صوت الصَّريخ ومانعاً

    إذا السُّرْبةِ الحمساء ذلَّ حريمها

    Swift to the voice crying for help, and a protector

    When the fierce band's dependents stand defenseless.

  8. مُسوَّدُها يوم الوغى وأميرُها

    ومرجوُّها يوم النَّدى وكريمُها

    Their acknowledged chief on battle day, and their commander,

    And their hope on the day of bounty, their generous lord.

  9. تودُّ رماحُ الخطِّ أيْسَرَ فتْكه

    ويحسده من الرجال حَليمُها

    The spears of al-Khatt long for his slightest deadly stroke,

    And the forbearing among men envy him.

  10. وتمشي بمعبوط السَّديف إماؤُهُ

    إذا الليلة الطَّخْياء ضلَّتْ نجومها

    And his slave women go about bearing freshly cut camel-hump fat,

    When the stars are lost in the pitch-dark night.

  11. ومسودَّةٍ ضاقت لها الأرض كثرةً

    ورُعْبِلَ من طول الطراد أديمها

    And many a dark host, whose numbers cramped the earth,

    Its hide shredded by long, running combat,

  12. غماميَّةٌ فيها ائْتلاقٌ قِطارهُ

    دمُ الهامِ إمَّا رامها من يشكيمُها

    Cloudlike, with a flash whose falling rain

    Is blood from heads, should anyone seek to bridle it.

  13. غدتْ بأداحي النَّعامِ وهدَّمتْ

    كِناسَ المَلا حتى تعفَّر ريمُها

    At dawn it swept through ostrich nests and destroyed

    The desert's lairs, till its white gazelles were dust-stained.

  14. بها السابحات الجرد خُزرٌ كأنها

    ذئابُ الغضا ينحو عزيباً صؤومُها

    Within it, sleek, swimming steeds glare sidelong, like

    Wolves of the ghada scrub, their fierce one seeking a distant herd.

  15. تخوض نجيع القِرن من قبل مورد

    ويدمى قناها قبل يَدْمي شيمُها

    They wade through a rival's fresh blood before reaching water,

    And their lances bleed before their swords do.

  16. يُناقلن غُلْباً في الدِّلاص كأنها

    مواردُ جِنَّانٍ تجشُ صريمها

    They carry thick-necked warriors in gleaming mail, as though they were

    Watering places of jinn, their thickets roaring.

  17. بخعن الدجى بالقوم حتى تبلَّج ال

    صَّباح وبانتْ من وجوهٍ وسومها

    They slew the darkness with their riders, until there shone the

    Morning, and faces' distinguishing marks came into view.

  18. وغادرْن بالدَّهْناءِ ضرباً كأنه

    شُدوق هِجانٍ مدَّ صوتاً بَغومُها

    And they left in al-Dahna gashes like

    White camels' gaping mouths, their lowing ones prolonging their cries.

  19. رماها سُليمانٌ برايع بأسِه

    فأثبُتها تحت العجاجِ هزيمها

    Sulayman assailed it with the terror of his might,

    So even its staunchest beneath the battle-dust was routed.

  20. كأنَّ على أعْطافهِ بابليَّةَ

    تغلَّظَ ساقيها ورقَّ نديمُها

    As though Babylonian wine lay upon his shoulders,

    Whose cupbearer grew coarse, while its drinking companion grew tender.