1. ذَكَرتُ عَلى بُعدِها مِن مَنالي

    مَنازِلَ بَينَ قَباً وَالمَطالِ

    I remembered, despite their distance from my reach,

    dwellings between Qaba and al-Matal,

  2. وَمَبنى قِبابِ بَني عامِرٍ

    عَلى الغَورِ أَطنابُهُنَّ العَوالي

    and the site of Banu 'Amir's domed tents,

    whose lofty guy ropes span the lowland.

  3. عَقائِلُ عَلَّمَهُنَّ العَفا

    فُ وَصلَ المَطالِ وَمَطلَ الوِصالِ

    Noble women whom chastity taught

    to prolong delay and delay union.

  4. مَرابِعُ يَشكو بِهِنَّ الجِراحَ

    أُسودُ الشَرى مِن ظِباءِ الرِمالِ

    Spring quarters where wounds are lamented

    by al-Shara's lions, wounds dealt by the gazelles of the sands.

  5. مَضاحِكُهُنَّ عُقودُ العُقودِ

    وَأَجيادُهُنَّ لَآلي اللَآلي

    Their smiling mouths are necklaces of necklaces,

    and their necks are pearls of pearls.

  6. أَبَعدَ الأَسى عادَ عيدُ الغَرامِ

    وَقَرفٌ مِنَ الشَوقِ بَعدَ اِندِمالِ

    Has love's festival returned after sorrow,

    and longing peeled the scab after healing?

  7. هَوى بَينَ مُقتَصِّ إِثرِ الغَزا

    لِ وَلّى وَمُنتَصِّ جيدِ الغَزالِ

    Love lies between one tracing the tracks of a gazelle

    that fled, and one clasping a gazelle's neck.

  8. وَما طَلَبُ البَذلِ مِن باخِلٍ

    بِمَيسورِهِ غَيرُ داءِ عُضالِ

    And seeking gifts from one stingy

    with what he can afford is nothing but an incurable disease.

  9. وَما زالَ يَلوي دُيونَ الهَوى

    وَيُؤيِسُنا مِن قَليلِ النَوالِ

    And he kept putting off the debts of love,

    and making us despair of even a little bounty,

  10. إِلى أَن قَنِعنا بِزَورِ المَزا

    رِ بَعدَ النَوى وَخَيالِ الخَيالِ

    until we were content with a visit to the meeting-place,

    after separation, and a phantom of a phantom.

  11. إِلَيكَ فَقَد قَلَصَت شِرَّتي

    بُعيدَ البَياضِ قُلوصَ الظِلالِ

    Away with you: my ardor has shrunk,

    soon after gray appeared, as shadows shrink.

  12. وَبُدِّلتُ مِمّا يَروقُ الحِسا

    نَ مِن مَنظَرٍ ما يَروعُ العَوالي

    I was given, in place of what delights beautiful women,

    an appearance that strikes terror into lofty spears.

  13. سَوادٌ يُعَجِّلُ زَورَ البَياضِ

    عُلوقَ الضِرامِ بِرَأسِ الذُبالِ

    Blackness hastens the visit of whiteness,

    as flame catches the tips of wicks.

  14. وَمَرَّ عَلى الرَأسِ مَرَّ الغَمامِ

    قَليلَ المُقامِ سَريعَ الزِيالِ

    And it passed over my head as clouds pass,

    brief in its stay, swift to depart.

  15. فَلَيسَ الصِبا اليَومَ مِن أُربَتي

    وَلا ذَلِكَ البالُ يا عَزَّ بالي

    So youthful passion is not my desire today,

    nor, O 'Azz, is that state of mind mine.

  16. حَلَفتُ بِهِنَّ دَوامي الفِجاجِ

    إِلى الخَوفِ يَطلُبنَهُ مِن أُلالِ

    I swore by them, bleeding through the mountain passes,

    toward al-Khawf, which they seek from Ulal,

  17. خِماصاً تُساوِكُ بِالمُجرِمينَ

    بِعُقلِ الوَجا وَقُيودِ الكَلالِ

    lean-bellied, staggering along with sinners,

    in hobbles of hoof-pain and fetters of weariness.

  18. يُماطِلنَ بِالوَخدِ عِندَ الجِذابِ

    كَأَنَّ الزَمامَ مَكانَ العِقالِ

    They delay their trot when their reins are tugged,

    as though the rein were a hobble.

  19. أُطِرنَ مِنَ الأَينِ حَتّى بُري

    نَ أَطرَ القِسيِّ وَبَريَ النِبالِ

    Bent by fatigue, until they were whittled down,

    bent as bows are bent, and whittled as arrows are whittled.

  20. لَقَد رَبَّنا مِن غِياثِ الأَنامِ

    مُقيمُ الصَغا وَدَليلُ الضَلالِ

    Indeed, one of humankind's succorers has nurtured us:

    a straightener of crookedness and a guide of the lost,

  21. حَمولٌ نَهوضٌ بِأَعبائِها

    إِذا البُزلُ جَرجَرنَ تَحتَ الرِحالِ

    a bearer of burdens, rising to carry them

    when mature camels groan beneath their saddles.

  22. فَتىً في النَدى أَخرَقُ الراحَتَينِ

    صَناعُهُما في بِناءِ المَعالي

    A youth whose palms are reckless in generosity,

    but both are deft at building lofty honors.

  23. إِذا ما عَلِقتَ بِهِ في الخُطوبِ

    زَحَمتَ بِكَلكَلِ عَودٍ جُلالِ

    When you cling to him amid calamities,

    you press forward with the breast of a mighty old camel.

  24. عَرَفنا بِكَ اليَومَ عَليا أَبي

    كَ وَالفَحلُ تَعرِفُهُ بِالسِخالِ

    Through you today we have known your father's greatness,

    and you know the sire by his offspring.

  25. هُوَ الغَيثُ أَقلَعَ مُستَخلِفاً

    عَلَينا وَقيعَةَ ماءٍ زُلالِ

    He is the rain that ceased, leaving behind

    for us a pool of clear, sweet water.

  26. لَئِن كُنتَ تاليهِ في ذا الجَلالِ

    فَإِنَّكَ قُدّامَهُ في الكَمالِ

    If you follow him in this grandeur,

    you stand ahead of him in perfection.

  27. وَلَولا الحَياءُ لَجاوَرتَهُ

    وَرُبَّ أَخيرٍ أَمامَ الأَوالي

    But for modesty, you would have stood beside him;

    and many a later one precedes the first.

  28. مُقيمٌ بِحَيٍّ عَلى فارِسٍ

    رِقاقِ البُرودِ رِقاقِ النِعالِ

    He dwells among a clan in Fars,

    with fine, thin cloaks and fine, thin sandals.

  29. أَبَوا أَن يُخِلّوا بِنارِ القِرى

    وَلَو وَقَدوا نارَهُم بِالعَوالي

    They refuse to neglect hospitality's fire,

    even if they kindle their fire with long spears.

  30. يَدُلُّ الضُيوفَ عَلى دارِهِم

    سَنا المَجدِ أَو طيبُ عَرفِ الخِلالِ

    Guests are guided to their house

    by glory's radiance or the sweet scent of their virtues.

  31. بِنارِ المَقاري وَنَقعِ الغُبارِ

    تَشابَهُ أَيّامُهُم وَاللَيالي

    With guest-hearth fires and dust-clouds,

    their days and nights resemble one another.

  32. لَقَد نَطَحَ الجَدُّ أَعداءَهُم

    بِرَأسٍ جَموحٍ وَرَوقٍ طُوالِ

    Fortune has indeed butted their enemies

    with an unyielding head and a long horn.

  33. لَهُم صَفَحاتٌ كَبيضِ الصَفيحِ

    حَلاهُنَّ عَن جَوهَرِ المَجدِ حالِ

    They have faces like bright steel blades,

    decked by an adorner with jewels of glory,

  34. وَأَيدٍ سِجاحٍ كِرامٍ مَعاً

    بِمَجدٍ مَصونٍ وَمالٍ مُذالِ

    and hands both gentle and generous,

    with honor guarded and wealth freely spent.

  35. إِذا اِفتَخَروا ضَعضَعوا الفاخِري

    نَ خَطمَ القُرومِ رِقابَ الإِفالِ

    When they boast, they humble the boasters,

    as great camel-stallions batter young camels' necks.

  36. وَجاؤوا بِأَصلٍ مِنَ الدَيلَمينَ

    أَرسى عُلىً مِن أُصولِ الجِبالِ

    They brought a lineage from the Daylamites,

    more firmly rooted in eminence than mountain-roots.

  37. أَقولُ لِساعٍ عَلى إِثرِهِم

    يُطالِبُ شَأواً بَعيدَ المَنالِ

    I say to one striving in their wake,

    seeking a goal far beyond reach:

  38. حَذارِ فَإِنَّ عَلى الجَلهَتَينِ

    هَموسَ الدُجى مُرصِداً لِلرِعالِ

    Beware: on the two valley-sides

    a silent night-prowler lies in wait for bands of horsemen.

  39. لَهُ هامَةٌ كَرَحى الطاحِناتِ

    تَدورُ عَلى لُبدَةٍ كَالثِفالِ

    His head is like the grinders' millstone,

    turning upon a mane like a mill's leather mat.

  40. يَنوءُ تَحامُلَ ذي رَيثَةٍ

    وَيَقعُدُ إِقعاءَ غَرثانَ صالِ

    He heaves himself up like one slow to move,

    and crouches like a hungry beast ready to attack.

  41. وَما زالَ ساعِدُهُ وَاللَبانُ

    عَلى جَزَرٍ مِن لُحومِ الرِجالِ

    His foreleg and breast have ever been

    over slaughtered bodies of human flesh.

  42. كَسوبٌ إِذا ما اِكتَفى بِالقَني

    صِ لَم يَدَّخِر مَطعَماً لِلعِيالِ

    A keen hunter who, when sated with his prey,

    stores up no food for his brood.

  43. أَلَم يَنهَكُم رَشُّ شُؤبوبِهِ

    بِوابِلِ ذي بَرَدٍ وَاِنسِجالِ

    Has the spray of his rainburst not warned you off,

    with a downpour of hail and torrents?

  44. وَيَحمِكُمُ عَن وُرودِ الحِمامِ

    تَخَمُّطُ قَرمٍ قَديمِ الصِيالِ

    And are you not kept from approaching death

    by the fury of a champion long seasoned in combat,

  45. وَقَودُ الجِيادِ عَلى أَنَّها

    تَصاهَلُ تَحتَ القُنيِّ الطِوالِ

    and the driving of steeds, though they

    neigh beneath long spears?

  46. تُوَقَّعُ يَومَ الوَغى بِالنَجيعِ

    وَتُنعَلُ بَينَ الفَنا بِالقِلالِ

    They are marked with blood on the day of battle,

    and shod amid carnage with skulls.

  47. سَبَقنَ العَجاجَةَ يَحمِلنَها

    أَراقِمُ لامِظَةٌ لِلنِزالِ

    They outstripped the dust-cloud, carrying it,

    mottled vipers licking their lips for combat.

  48. عَلَيهِنَّ كُلُّ اِبنِ أُمِّ الطِعانِ

    رَبِيِّ القَنا أَو رَبيبِ النِصالِ

    Upon them rides each son of the mother of spear-thrusts,

    a foster-child of lances or a nursling of blades.

  49. إِذا ريعَ شَمَّرَ لِلمُحفِظاتِ

    وَجَرَّ ذُيولَ الحَديدِ المُذالِ

    When roused, he girds himself to meet provocations,

    and trails the hems of his flowing iron armor.

  50. نَضَحنَ مِنَ الشَدِّ نَضحَ المَزادِ

    ثُمَّ اِنطَلَقنَ اِنطِلاقَ العَزالي

    From galloping they spurted like waterskins,

    then rushed forth like streams from opened spouts.

  51. يُخَلنَ إِذا بَلَهُنَّ الجَميمُ

    عِقبانَ يَومِ نَدىً أَو ظِلالِ

    When profuse sweat drenches them, they seem

    like eagles on a day of dew or shade.

  52. تَرى كُلَّ مُشتَرِفٍ لِلعَوارِ

    ضَليعَ الأَضالِعِ سامي القَذالِ

    You see each one towering, exposed to wounds,

    broad-ribbed and high of poll.

  53. يَفوتُ مُقَلَّدُهُ وَالعِذا

    رُ مَرمى يَدِ الشَيظَميِّ الطُوالِ

    His neck and cheek-strap lie beyond

    the reach of a very tall, long-limbed man's hand.

  54. كَأَنَّ الطَريدَ إِلى ظُلَّةٍ

    يَمُدُّ بِعَلوٍ لِفاتَ الجِبالِ

    As though the quarry were reaching toward a canopy,

    stretching high to the mountain-crests.

  55. يَنالُ المَدى قَبلَ رَشحِ العِذارِ

    وَما سَوطُ فارِسِهِ غَيرَ هالِ

    He reaches the goal before sweat beads on his cheek-strap,

    and his rider's whip is merely a threat.

  56. إِذا حَرَّكَتهُ عُروقُ السِياقِ

    بَينَ الحِضارِ وَبَينَ الثِقالِ

    When the drive to run stirs in his veins,

    among white camels and heavily laden ones,

  57. مَضى يَثِبُ الدَوَّ وَثبَ التَمامِ

    وَيَنضو المَقاديمَ نَضوَ التَوالي

    he goes bounding across the waste in full bounds,

    and leaves the leaders behind as if they were stragglers.

  58. مَدَدتُم بِباعِيَ بَعدَ القُصورِ

    وَأَلحَقتُمُ عَطَلي بِالحَوالي

    You lengthened my reach after it fell short,

    and joined my unadorned self to the bejeweled.

  59. وَأَطلَعتُمونِيَ فَوقَ الرَجاءِ

    بَعيداً وَفَوقَ مَنالِ اللَيالي

    And you raised me above hope,

    far, and beyond the reach of the nights.

  60. وَأَطلَقتُمُ الحَدَّ مِن مَضرَبي

    وَحادَثتُمُ قائِمي بِالصِقالِ

    And you freed the edge of my striking blade,

    and renewed my hilt with polishing.

  61. وَأَحذَيتُمُ قَدَمي حَذوَةً

    مِنَ المَجدِ غَيرَ جَذيمِ القِبالِ

    And you fitted my foot with a shoe

    of glory, its thong unsevered.

  62. رَمى اللَهُ دَولَتَكُم بِالثَباتِ

    إِذا ما رَمى غَيرَها بِالزَوالِ

    May God cast permanence upon your rule

    when He casts extinction upon others,

  63. وَأَسحَبَكُم صافِناتِ العَلاءِ

    جَرَّ الشَموسِ طِراقَ الجِلالِ

    and let you draw behind you glory's poised steeds,

    as a restive steed drags layered saddlecloths.

  64. جَرَيتُم عَلى الدَهرِ جَريَ الثَقافِ

    رَأبَ اللَثى وَقِيامَ المُمالِ

    You have gone over Time like a spear-straightening clamp,

    mending fractures and straightening what was bent.

  65. زَمانُ عُلىً كَزَمامِ الشَبابِ

    غَضُّ الجَنى أَو زَمانِ الوِصالِ

    An age of eminence, like the reins of youth,

    fresh-fruited, or like the season of union.

  66. لَياليهِ صُبحٌ مِنَ المُغبِطاتِ

    وَأَيّامُهُ مِن سُكونٍ لَيالي

    Its nights are dawn-bright with enviable joys,

    and its days, in their stillness, are nights.