1. أَلَم تَدرِ ما قالَ الظِباءُ السَوانِحُ

    مَرَرنَ أَمامَ الرَكبِ وَالرَكبُ رائِحُ

    Did you not know what the auspiciously crossing gazelles said?

    They passed before the caravan as it departed at evening.

  2. فَسَبَّحَ مَن لَم يَزجُرِ الطَيرَ مِنهُمُ

    وَأَيقَنَ قَلبي أَنَّهُنَّ نَواجِحُ

    Those among them who did not read bird-omens praised God,

    and my heart knew for certain that they foretold success.

  3. فَأَوَّلُ مَن مَرَّت بِهِ الطَيرُ نِعمَةٌ

    لَنا وَمَبيتٌ عِندَ لَهوَةَ صالِحُ

    So the one the birds passed read their omen as a blessing

    for us, and a pleasant night’s lodging at Lahwa.

  4. سَبَتكَ بِعَينَي جُؤذَرٍ حَفَلَتهُما

    رِعاثٌ وَبَرّاقٌ مِنَ اللَونِ واضِحُ

    She captivated you with an oryx calf’s two eyes, adorned

    by pendant earrings and the clear brilliance of her complexion,

  5. وَأَسوَدَ مَيّالٍ عَلى جيدِ مُغزِلٍ

    دَعاها طَلىً أَحوى بِرَمّانَ راشِحُ

    and with black, swaying hair upon a nursing doe’s neck,

    a dark fawn at Rammān calling to her as it learned to walk.

  6. وَعَذبُ الكَرى يَشفي الصَدى بَعدَ هَجعَةٍ

    لَهُ مِن عُروقِ المُستَظِلَّةِ مائِحُ

    And sweet water from a dug well, quenching thirst after sleep,

    with a water-drawer among the sheltering tree’s roots,

  7. غَذاهُ وَحَولِيُّ الثَرى فَوقَ مَتنِهِ

    مَدَبُّ الأَتِيِّ وَالأَراكِ الدَوائِحُ

    which fed it; above its surface lay year-old damp earth,

    the course of floodwater, and spreading arak trees.

  8. فَلَمّا اِنجَلى عَنهُ السُيولُ بَدا لَها

    سَقِيُّ خَريفٍ شُقَّ عَنهُ الأَباطِحُ

    When the torrents receded from it, there appeared to her

    autumn-watered growth, laid bare as the gravel beds opened.

  9. إِذا ذُقتَ فاها قُلتَ طَعمَ مُدامَةٍ

    دَنا الزِقُّ حَتّى مَجَّها وَهوَ جانِحُ

    When you tasted her mouth, you said: the taste of wine,

    the wineskin brought close and tilted until it poured it out.

  10. وَفي العاجِ وَالحِنّاءِ كَفٌّ بَنانُها

    كَشَحمِ النَقا لَم يُعطِها الزَندَ قادِحُ

    And amid ivory and henna, a hand whose fingertips

    were like the dune’s white fat; no kindler had given it a fire-stick.

  11. فَكَيفَ الصِبى بَعدَ المَشيبِ وَبَعدَما

    تَمَدَّحتَ وَاِستَعلى بِمَدحِكَ مادِحُ

    But how can youthful passion remain after gray hair, and after

    you have sought praise, and a praiser has risen through praising you?

  12. وَقَد رابَني أَنَّ الغَيورَ يَوَدُّني

    وَأَنَّ نَدامايَ الكُهولُ الجَحاجِحُ

    It has troubled me that the jealous man now likes me,

    and that my drinking companions are middle-aged, eminent chiefs.

  13. وَصَدَّ ذَواتُ الضِغنِ عَنّي وَقَد أَرى

    كَلامِيَ تَهواهُ النِساءُ الجَوامِحُ

    The women bearing grudges have turned away from me, though I once saw

    headstrong women delighting in my words.

  14. وَهِزَّةَ أَظعانٍ عَلَيهِنَّ بَهجَةٌ

    طَلَبتُ وَرَيعانُ الصِبى فِيَّ جامِحُ

    And the swaying of women in litters, radiant with beauty,

    I pursued while the first bloom of youth ran wild within me,

  15. بِأَسفَلِ ذي بيضٍ كَأَنَّ حُمولَها

    نَخيلُ القُرى وَالأَثأَبُ المُتَناوِحُ

    in lower Dhu Bayd, their laden camels seeming

    like village date-palms and ath’ab trees facing one another.

  16. فَعُجنَ عَلَينا مِن عَلاجيمَ جِلَّةٍ

    لِحاجَتِنا مِنها رَتوكٌ وَفاسِحُ

    They turned toward us on massive, full-grown camels,

    some quick-stepping, some long-striding, to serve our purpose.

  17. يُحَدِّثنَنا بِالمُضمَراتِ وَفَوقَها

    ظِلالُ الخُدورِ وَالمَطِيُّ جَوانِحُ

    They spoke to us of hidden feelings, and above them

    lay the shade of curtained litters, the mounts leaning near.

  18. يُناجينَنا بِالطَرفِ دونَ حَديثِنا

    وَيَقضينَ حاجاتٍ وَهُنَّ مَوازِحُ

    They confided in us with their eyes, beyond our spoken words,

    and granted wishes while they joked.

  19. وَخالَطَنا مِنهُنَّ ريحُ لَطيمَةٍ

    مِنَ المِسكِ أَدّاها إِلى الحَيِّ رابِحُ

    From them there mingled with us the scent of a perfume shipment,

    of musk, brought to the encampment by a trader making profit.

  20. صَلَينَ بِها ذاتَ العِشاءِ وَرَشَّها

    عَلَيهِنَّ في الكَتّانِ رَيطٌ نَصائِحُ

    They perfumed themselves with its incense that evening; it was sprinkled

    over them in linen, in pure, seamless wraps.

  21. فَبِتنا عَلى الأَنماطِ وَالبيضُ كَالدُمى

    تُضيءُ لَنا لَبّاتِهِنَّ المَصابِحُ

    We spent the night upon patterned rugs, the fair women like sculpted figures,

    the lamps lighting the hollows of their throats for us.

  22. إِذا فاطَنَتنا في الحَديثِ تَهَزهَزَت

    إِلَيها قُلوبٌ دونَهُنَّ الجَوانِحُ

    When she matched wits with us in conversation, there quivered

    toward her hearts with ribs between them and the women.

  23. وَظَلَّ الغَيورُ آنِفاً بِبَنانِهِ

    كَما عَضَّ بِرذَونٌ عَلى الفَأسِ جامِحُ

    The jealous man remained indignant, biting his fingertips,

    as a bolting workhorse bites upon the bit,

  24. كَئيباً يَرُدُّ اللَهفَتَينِ لِأُمِّهِ

    وَقَد مَسَّهُ مِنّا وَمِنهُنَّ ناطِحُ

    miserable, repeating his two cries of grief to his mother,

    for a butting blow had struck him from us and from them.

  25. فَلَمّا تَفَرَّقنا شَجينَ بِعَبرَةٍ

    وَزَوَّدنَنا نُصباً وَهُنَّ صَحائِحُ

    When we parted, they grieved with tears,

    and provisioned us with suffering while they remained unhurt.

  26. فَرَفَّعَ أَصحابي المَطِيَّ وَأَبَّنوا

    هُنَيدَةَ فَاِشتاقَ العُيونُ اللَوامِحُ

    My companions urged the mounts onward and spoke admiringly of

    Hunayda, and the glancing eyes grew wistful.

  27. فَوَيلُ اِمِّها مِن خُلَّةٍ لَو تَنَكَّرَت

    لِأَعدائِنا أَو صالَحَت مَن نُصالِحُ

    What a wondrous sweetheart—if only she would turn against

    our enemies, or befriend those we befriend!

  28. وَصَهباءَ مِن حانوتِ رَمّانَ قَد غَدا

    عَلَيَّ وَلَم يَنظُر بِها الشَرقَ صابِحُ

    And tawny wine from a tavern in Rammān: at dawn

    a morning server brought it to me, without waiting for sunrise.

  29. فَساقَيتُها سَمحاً كَأَنَّ نَديمَهُ

    أَخا الدَهرِ إِذ بَعضَ المُساقينَ فاضِحُ

    I shared it with a generous man, as though his drinking companion

    were a lifelong brother, though some drinking partners bring disgrace.

  30. فَقَصَّرَ عَنّي اليَومَ كَأسٌ رَوِيَّةٌ

    وَرَخصُ الشِواءِ وَالقِيانُ الصَوادِحُ

    A brimming cup shortened the day for me,

    along with tender roast meat and singing women raising their voices.

  31. إِذا نَحنُ أَنزَفنا الخَوابِيَ عَلَّنا

    مَعَ اللَيلِ مَلثومٌ بِهِ القارُ ناتِحُ

    Whenever we drained the jars, we received another draught

    at night from a cloth-stoppered vessel, its pitch oozing.

  32. لَدُن غُدوَةً حَتّى نَروحَ عَشِيَّةً

    نُحَيّا وَأَيدينا بِأَيدٍ نُصافِحُ

    From early morning until we departed in the evening,

    we were greeted, our hands clasping other hands.

  33. إِذا ما بَرَزنا لِلفَضاءِ تَقَحَّمَت

    بِأَقدامِنا مِنّا المِتانُ الصَرادِحُ

    Whenever we stepped into the open, there reeled

    away beneath our feet the broad, hard flats.

  34. وَداوِيَّةٍ غَبراءَ أَكثَرُ أَهلِها

    عَزيفٌ وَهامٌ آخِرُ اللَيلِ ضابِحُ

    And many a dusty wilderness, most of whose inhabitants

    were eerie cries and owls calling at the end of night:

  35. أَقَرَّ بِها جَأشي بِأَوَّلِ آيَةٍ

    وَماضٍ حُسامٍ غِمدُهُ مُتَطايِحُ

    my heart grew steady there with the first verse,

    and a keen, severing sword, its scabbard in tatters,

  36. يَمانٍ كَلَونِ المِلحِ يُرعَدُ مَتنُهُ

    إِذا هُزَّ مَطبوعٌ عَلى السَمِّ جارِحُ

    Yemeni, the color of salt, its blade quivering

    when brandished—wrought with poison, a wounder.

  37. يُزيلُ بَناتِ الهامِ عَن سَكَناتِها

    وَما يَلقَهُ مِن ساعِدٍ فَهوَ طائِحُ

    It dislodges the skulls’ daughters from their homes,

    and any forearm that meets it goes flying.

  38. كَأَنَّ بَقايا الأُثرِ فَوقَ عَمودِهِ

    مَدَبُّ الدَبا فَوقَ النَقا وَهوَ سارِحُ

    The remaining patterning upon its central ridge seemed

    like young locusts’ tracks upon a dune as they wander.

  39. وَطَخياءَ مِن لَيلِ التِمامِ مَريضَةٍ

    أَجَنَّ العَماءُ نَجمَها فَهوَ ماصِحُ

    And a dark, ailing night, one of the longest nights:

    clouds hid its star, leaving it faint.

  40. تَعَسَّفتُها لَمّا تَلاوَمَ صُحبَتي

    بِمُشتَبِهِ المَوماةِ وَالماءُ نازِحُ

    I forced my way through it when my companions blamed one another,

    amid the featureless desert, with water far away.

  41. وَعِدٍّ خَلا فَاِخضَرَّ وَاِصفَرَّ ماؤُهُ

    لِكُدرِ القَطا وِردٌ بِهِ مُتَطاوِحُ

    And an abandoned perennial spring, its water grown green and yellow,

    where dusky sandgrouse came to drink, swooping to and fro:

  42. نَشَحتُ بِها عَنساً تَجافى أَظَلُّها

    عَنِ الأُكمِ إِلّا ما وَقَتها السَرائِحُ

    I drove there a sturdy she-camel whose hoof-pads stayed clear

    of the knolls, save where protective leather strips shielded them.

  43. فَسافَت جَباً فيهِ ذُنوبٌ هَراقَهُ

    عَلى قُلُصٍ مِن ضَربِ أَرحَبَ ناشِحُ

    She sniffed a pool where a bucketful had been poured

    by a camel-driver for young she-camels of Arhab stock,

  44. تَريكٍ يَنِشُّ الماءَ في حَجَراتِهِ

    كَما نَشَّ جَزرٌ خَضخَضَتهُ المَجادِحُ

    left behind, with water hissing in its hollows,

    as camel meat sizzles when stirring-sticks churn it.

  45. كَريحِ خُزامى حَرَّكَتها عَشِيَّةً

    شَمالٌ وَبَلَّتها القِطارُ النَواضِحُ

    Like the scent of lavender stirred at evening

    by a north wind and wetted by drenching showers.

  46. فَأَصبَحَتِ الصُهبُ العِتاقُ وَقَد بَدا

    لَهُنَّ المَنارُ وَالجَوادُ اللَوائِحُ

    At dawn the tawny, noble-bred camels found that there had appeared

    before them the waymarks and clearly visible roads.