Sol 6.1

  1. أَمِنْ آلِ أَسماءَ الطُّلُولُ الدَّوارِسُ

    يُخَطِّطُ فيها الطَّيْرُ قَفْرٌ بَسابِسُ

    Do these weathered ruins belong to Asma’s folk?

    Birds trace lines through them—empty, barren wastes.

  2. ذَكَرْتُ بها أسماءَ لو أَنْ وَلْيَها

    قَرِيبٌ ولكنْ حَبَّستْنِي الحَوابِسُ

    There I remembered Asma—if only nearness to her

    were within reach! But hindrances held me back.

  3. ومَنْزِلِ ضَنْكٍ لا أُرِيدُ مَبِيتَهُ

    كأنِّي بِهِ من شِدَّةِ الرَّوْعِ آنِسُ

    And many a cramped lodging where I would not wish to spend the night,

    as though sheer terror made me feel at home there.

  4. لِتُبْصِرَ عَيْني أَنْ رَأَتْنِي مَكانَها

    وفي النَّفْس إنْ خُلَّي الطَّريقُ الكَوادِسُ

    So that my eye might see that it had seen me in its place,

    and in the soul, if the road is cleared, are ill omens.

  5. وَجِيفٌ وإِبْساسٌ ونَقْرٌ وهِزَّةُ

    إلى أَن تَكِلَّ العِيسُ والمرْءُ حادِسُ

    A swift trot, coaxing cries, tapping, and shaking,

    until the pale camels tire, while the man feels his way.

  6. ودَوِّيَّةٍ غَبْراءَ قد طالَ عَهْدُها

    تَهالَكُ فيها الوِرْدُ والمَرْءُ ناعِسُ

    And a vast, dust-gray wilderness, long unvisited,

    where the water-seeking herd falters while the man is drowsy.

  7. قَطَعْتُ إلى مَعْرُوفها مُنْكَراتِها

    بِعَيْهامَةٍ تَنْسَلُّ واللَّيْلُ دامِسُ

    I crossed its unfamiliar reaches toward its familiar ones,

    on a mighty she-camel speeding along through pitch-dark night.

  8. ترَكْتُ بها لَيْلاً طَويلاً ومَنْزِلاً

    ومُوقَدَ نارٍ لَم تَرُمْهُ القَوابِسُ

    Riding her, I left behind a long night and a campsite,

    and a hearth no seekers of firebrands had approached.

  9. وتَسْمعُ تَزْقاءً منَ البومِ حَولَنا

    كما ضُربتْ بعدَ الهُدُوءِ النَّواقِسُ

    And you hear screeching from the owls around us,

    like bells struck after the stillness.

  10. فيُصْبِحُ مُلْقى رَحْلِها حيثُ عَرَّستْ

    من الأَرضِ قد دَبَّتْ عليهِ الرَّوامِسُ

    By morning, where she halted, the spot where her saddle lay

    is ground over which dust-bearing winds have crept.

  11. وتُصْبِحُ كالدَّوْداةِ ناطَ زِمامَها

    إلى شُعَب فيها الجَواري العَوانِسُ

    And by morning she is like a swing, its cord fastened

    to branches where grown, unmarried maidens are.

  12. وقدْرٍ تَرى شُمْطَ الرِّجالِ عِيالَها

    لها قَيِّمٌ سَهْلُ الخَلِيفَة آنِسُ

    And a cauldron whose dependents, you see, are gray-haired men,

    has a friendly keeper, easy in temperament,

  13. ضَحُوكٌ إذا ما الصَّحْبُ لم يَجْتَوُوا لَهُ

    ولا هو مِضْبابٌ عَلى الزادِ عابِسُ

    quick to laugh when his companions feel no aversion to him;

    nor is he a scowling hoarder of provisions.

  14. ولمَّا أَضأْنا النَّارَ عِنْدَ شِوائِنا

    عَرانا عليها أَطْلَسُ اللَّونِ بائِسُ

    And when we lit the fire beside our roast meat,

    a wretched, dusty-gray creature came to us beside it.

  15. نَبَذْتُ إليهِ حُزَّةً من شِوائِنا

    حَياءً ومَا فُحْشِي عَلى مَنْ أُجالِسُ

    I tossed him a slice of our roast meat,

    out of decency—I am not rude to those I sit with.

  16. فَتآضَ بها جَذْلانَ يَنْفُضُ رَأْسَهُ

    كما آبَ بالنَّهْبِ الكَمِيُّ المُحالِسُ

    So he returned with it, delighted, shaking his head,

    as a steadfast, armored warrior returns with plunder.

  17. وأَعْرَضَ أَعْلامٌ كأَنَّ رُؤُوسَها

    رُؤُوسُ جبالٍ في خَليجٍ تَغامَسُ

    And landmarks appeared, as though their summits

    were mountain peaks plunging into a gulf.

  18. إذا عَلَمٌ خَلَّفْتُهُ يُهْتَدى بِهِ

    بدا عَلَمٌ في الآلِ أَغْبَرُ طامِسُ

    Whenever I left behind a landmark by which one could find the way,

    a dust-gray, indistinct landmark appeared in the mirage.

  19. تَعالَلْتُها ولَيْسَ طِبِّي بدَرِّها

    وكَيْفَ الْتماسُ الدِّرِّ والضَّرْعُ يابسُ

    I coaxed her last reserves—her milk was not my aim,

    and how could milk be sought when the udder was dry?—

  20. بأَسْمَر عارٍ صَدْرُهُ من جِلازهِ

    وسائِرُهُ مِنَ العِلاقَةِ نائِسُ

    with a brown whip, its forepart bare of its binding,

    and the rest of it dangling from its strap.