Sol 6.1

  1. أَلَمَّ بِصُحبَتي وَهُم هُجودٌ

    خَيالٌ طارِق ٌ مِن أُمِّ حصن

    There came to my companions, while they slept,

    a night-visiting phantom of Umm Hisn.

  2. أَلَم تَرَها تُريكَ غَداةَ قامَت

    بِمِلءِ العَينِ مِن كَرَمٍ وَحُسنِ

    Did you not see her show you, the morning she arose,

    an eyeful of nobility and beauty?

  3. سُقَيّت بَينَ أَنهارٍ ووَدورٍ

    وَزَرعٍ ثابِتٍ وَكُرومَ جَفنِ

    She was watered amid rivers and dwellings,

    and firmly rooted crops and vineyards of grapevines.

  4. لَها ما تَشتَهي عَسَلٌ مُصَفّى

    إِذا شاءَت وَحُوّاري بِسَمنِ

    She has whatever she desires: pure honey,

    whenever she wishes, and fine white bread with clarified butter.

  5. فَأَعطَت كُلَّما سُئِلَت شَباباً

    فَانبتها نَباتاً غَيرَ جَحنِ

    So, in her youth, she gave whenever she was asked,

    and he made her grow without stunting.

  6. فَقُلتُ كَيفَ صادَتني سُلَيمى

    وَلَمّا أَرمِها حَتّى رَمَتني

    Then I said, “How did Sulayma ensnare me,

    though I had not shot at her before she shot at me?”

  7. كَنودٌ لا تَمُنُّ وَلا تُفادي

    إِذا عَلِقَت حَبائِلُها بِرَهنِ

    Ungrateful, she neither grants release nor accepts ransom,

    when her snares fasten upon a captive.

  8. وَقُلتُ لِصحبَتي ماذا دَهاها

    إِذا شَعثٍ وَاِنضاءِ يُمني

    And I said to my companions, “What has befallen them,

    when dishevelment and exhaustion [afflict them]?”

  9. خَفِيّاتُ الشُخوصِ وَهُنَّ عيس

    كَأَنَّ جُلودَهُنَّ ثِيابُ مَرنِ

    Their forms are barely visible, and they are pale camels,

    as though their skins were garments of supple leather.

  10. خَرَجنَ مِنَ الخُوارِ وَعُدنَ فيهِ

    وَقَد وازَنَّ مِن أَجلي بَرَعنِ

    They emerged from [weakness] and returned to it,

    having, for my sake, matched a mountain spur.

  11. أَلا يا لَيتَني حَجَرٌ بِوادٍ

    أَقامَ وَلَيتَ أُمي لَم تَلِدني

    Ah, would that I were a stone in a valley,

    remaining there; and would that my mother had not borne me.

  12. أَلا يا حادِ وَيحَكَ لا تَلُمني

    وَنَفسُكَ لا تُضَيِّعُها وَدَعني

    Ah, O camel-driver, alas for you—do not blame me.

    Do not neglect yourself, and leave me be.

  13. فَإِنّي قَد لَبِستُ العيشَ حَتّى

    مَلَلتُ مِنَ الحَياةِ فَقُلتُ قدني

    For I have worn life until

    I tired of living and said, “Enough for me.”

  14. وَلاقَيتُ الخُيورَ وَأَخطَأَتني

    شُرورٌ جَمَّةٌ وَعَلَوتُ قِرني

    And I encountered blessings and escaped

    many evils; and I overcame my rival.

  15. يَلومُ أَخي عَلى إِهلاكِ مالي

    وَما إِن غالَهُ ظَهري وَبَطني

    My brother blames me for exhausting my wealth,

    yet my back and my belly did not consume it.

  16. وَلا ضَيَّعتُهُ فَألام فيها

    فَإِنَّ ضَياعَ مالِكَ غَيرُ مَعنِ

    Nor did I squander it, to deserve blame for that;

    for wasting your wealth is no trifling matter.

  17. وَلَكِن كُلَّ مُختَبِطٍ فَقيرٍ

    يَقولُ أَلا اِستَمِع أُنبِئكَ شَأني

    Rather, it goes to every impoverished petitioner

    who says, “Listen! Let me tell you my plight,”

  18. وَمِسكنٌ وَأَعمى قالَ يوماً

    أَغِثني لِلآلِهِ وَلا تَدَعَني

    and to a destitute man, and a blind man who once said,

    “Help me, for God's sake, and do not abandon me.”

  19. وَإِعطائي ذوي الأَرحامِ مِنهُ

    وَتَوسيعي لِذي عَجزٍ وَضَفنِ

    And I give my relatives a share of it,

    and provide amply for the helpless and simple-minded.

  20. أَقي حَسبي بِهِ وَيَعِزُّ عِرضي

    عَلَيَّ إِذا الحَفيظَةُ أَدرَكَتني

    With it I protect my good name; my honor is dear

    to me when indignation overtakes me.

  21. وَأَعلَمُ أَن سَتُدرِكُني المَنايا

    فَإِن لا اِتَّبَعَها تَتَّبِعني

    And I know the fates of death will overtake me;

    for if I do not pursue them, they will pursue me.

  22. رَأَيتُ المانِعينَ المالَ يَوماً

    مَصيرُهُم لالقاء فَدَفنِ

    I have seen that those who withhold wealth one day

    end by being cast down, then buried.