Sol 6.1

  1. إِنّي حَلَفتُ يَميناً غَيرَ كاذِبَةٍ

    وَقَد حَبا خَلفَها ثَهلانُ فَالنيرُ

    I have sworn an oath that is not false,

    while Thahlan, then al-Nir, crept behind her.

  2. لَولا سَعيدٌ أُرَجّي أَن أُلاقِيَهُ

    ما ضَمَّني في سَوادِ البَصرَةِ الدورُ

    Were it not for Sa'id, whom I hope to meet,

    the houses in Basra's farmlands would not have sheltered me.

  3. شَجعاءُ مُعمَلَةٌ تَدمى مَناسِمُها

    كَأَنَّها حَرَجٌ بِالقِدِّ مَأسورُ

    A bold, hard-driven she-camel, her footpads bleeding,

    as though she were a wooden frame lashed with rawhide.

  4. إِلى الأَكارِمِ أَحساباً وَمَأثُرَةً

    تَبري الإِكامَ وَيَبري ظَهرَها الكورُ

    Toward men noblest in ancestry and glorious achievement,

    she wears down the hillocks, while the saddle wears her back.

  5. أَلواهِبُ البُختَ خُضعاً في أَزِمَّتِها

    وَالبيضَ فَوقَ تَراقيها الدَنانيرُ

    The giver of Bactrian camels, bowed low in their reins,

    and fair-skinned women, with dinars above their collarbones.

  6. فَكَم تَخَطَّت إِلَيكُم مِن ذَوي تِرَةٍ

    كَأَنَّ أَبصارَهُم نَحوي مَساميرُ

    And how many men with grudges she bypassed to reach you,

    as though their eyes were nails pointed toward me.

  7. ما يَدرَأُ اللَهُ عَنّي مِن عَداوَتِهِم

    فَإِنَّ شَرَّهُمُ في الصَدرِ مَحذورُ

    Whatever of their enmity God wards away from me,

    their evil is still feared within my breast.

  8. إِن يَعرِفوني فَمَعروفٌ لِذي بَصَرٍ

    أَو يَنسُبوني فَعالي الذِكرِ مَشهورُ

    If they recognize me, I am known to anyone with discernment;

    or trace my lineage, I am illustrious and renowned.

  9. مَرَّت عَلى أُمِّ أَمهارٍ مُشَمَّرَةٍ

    تَهوي بِها طُرُقٌ أَوساطُها زورُ

    She passed Umm Amhar, fleet-footed,

    paths with crooked middle stretches sweeping her along.

  10. في لاحِبٍ بِرَقاقِ الأَرضِ مُحتَفِلٍ

    هادٍ إِذا عَزَّهُ الأُكمُ الحَدابيرُ

    Along a clear track, broad across the smooth ground,

    a guide even when humpbacked hillocks overpower it.

  11. يَهدي الدَلولَ وَيَنقادُ الدَليلُ بِهِ

    كَأَنَّهُ مُسحَلٌ في النيرِ مَنشورُ

    It guides the expert wayfinder, and the guide follows its lead,

    as though it were white cloth spread upon a loom.

  12. مَصدَرُهُ في فَلاةٍ ثُمَّ مَورِدُهُ

    جُدٌّ تَفارَطَهُ الأَورادُ مَجهورُ

    Its starting point lies in a wilderness; then its watering-place is

    a cleared-out well, visited in turn by watering parties.

  13. يُجاوِبُ البومَ تَهوادُ العَزيفِ بِهِ

    كَما تَحِنُّ لِغَيثٍ جِلَّةٌ خورُ

    There, the low murmur of jinn-cries answers the owls,

    as full-grown, milk-rich she-camels yearn for rain.

  14. ما عَرَّسَت لَيلَةً إِلّا عَلى وَجَلٍ

    حَتّى تَلوحَ مِنَ الصُبحِ التَباشيرُ

    She never halted for a night's rest except in fear,

    until the first gleams of dawn appeared.

  15. أَرمي بِها كُلَّ مَوماةٍ مُوَدِّيَةٍ

    جَدّاءَ غِشيانُها بِالقَومِ تَغريرُ

    I cast her into every deadly wasteland,

    barren, where taking men in means risking their lives,

  16. حَتّى أُنيخَت عَلى ما كانَ مِن وَجَلٍ

    في الدارِ حَيثُ تَلاقى المَجدُ وَالخيرُ

    until she was made to kneel, despite all that fear,

    in the abode where glory and goodness meet.

  17. يا خَيرَ مَأتى أَخي هَمٍّ وَناقَتِهِ

    إِذا اِلتَقى حَقَبٌ مِنها وَتَصديرُ

    O best destination for a careworn man and his she-camel,

    when her rear girth and breast-girth meet.

  18. زَورٌ مُغِبٌّ وَمَسؤولٌ أَخو ثِقَةٍ

    وَسائِرٌ مِن ثَناءِ الصَدرِ مُنشورُ

    An infrequent visitor, and a patron worthy of trust,

    and praise from the heart, travelling and spread abroad.