Sol 6.1

  1. أُلَوّي حَيازيمي عَلَيكَ تَحَرُّقا

    وَأَشكو قُصورَ الدَمعِ فيكَ وما رَقا

    I twist my ribs in burning grief for you,

    and lament that my tears fall short for you, though they have not ceased.

  2. فَيا شَملَ لُبّي لا تَزالُ مُبَدَّداً

    وَيا جَفنَ عَيني لا تَزالُ مُؤَرَّقا

    O unity of my mind, may you remain forever scattered,

    and O eyelid of my eye, may you remain sleepless.

  3. فَقَد كُنتُ أَستَسقي الدُموعَ لِمِثلِها

    وَما جَمَّ دَمعُ العَينِ إِلّا لِيُهرَقا

    For I used to call forth tears for sorrows like this,

    and the eye's tears gather only to be shed.

  4. أَعايَنتَ هَذا الدَهرَ إِن سَرَّ مَرَّةً

    أَساءَ وَإِن صَفى لَنا الوُدَّ رَنَّقا

    Have you observed this Time? If it gladdens once,

    it harms; and if it clears our affection, it muddies it.

  5. كَأَنّي أُنادي مِنهُ صَمّاءَ صَلدَةً

    وَصِلَّ فَلاةٍ لا يَلينُ عَلى الرُقى

    It is as though I address in it a deaf, unyielding rock,

    and a desert viper that will not yield to charms.

  6. إِذا غَفِلَ الحادونَ ثارَ مُساوِراً

    وَإِن روجِعَ النَجوى أَرَمَّ وَأَطرَقا

    When the camel-drivers grow heedless, it rises to attack,

    and if addressed with whispered counsel, it falls silent and lowers its head.

  7. طَلوعُ الثَنايا يَنفُذُ اللَيلَ لَحظُهُ

    إِذا ما رَنا جَوّابُ أَرضٍ وَحَملَقا

    A climber of mountain passes, its glance pierces the night,

    when this earth-roamer gazes and stares wide-eyed.

  8. لَهُ المَنظَرُ العاري وَكُلُّ هُنَيهَةٍ

    تُغاوِرُ بِالأَنقاءِ بُرداً مُشَرِّقا

    Its form is bare, and every little while

    it exchanges a gleaming cloak among the dunes.

  9. كَأَنَّ زِماماً ضاعَ مِن أَرحَبِيَّةٍ

    تَلَوّى بِأَقوازِ النَقا وَتَعَلَّقا

    As though a rein lost from an Arhab-bred she-camel

    had coiled among the mounds of sand and clung there.

  10. تَلَمَّظَ شَيئاً كَالجَبابِ وَغامَرَت

    بِهِ وَثبَةٌ مِنَ اللَيثِ مَصدَقا

    It licked something like foam, and there ventured

    against it a lion's leap, in earnest.

  11. رِشاءُ الرَدى لَو عَضَّ بِالطَودِ هاضَهُ

    وَلَو شَمَّ ما لاقى عَلى الأَرضِ أَحرَقا

    Death's well-rope: if it bit a mountain, it would shatter it,

    and if it sniffed whatever it met on earth, it would scorch it.

  12. دُوَيهِيَةٌ يَحمي الطَريقَ مَجَرُّهُ

    إِذا نَفَخَ الرُكبانُ نامَ وَأَرَّقا

    A little calamity, whose trail bars the road:

    when the riders blow, it sleeps and keeps them awake.

  13. وَما العَيشُ إِلّا غُمَّةٌ وَاِرتِياحَةٌ

    وَمُفتَرَقٌ بَعدَ الدُنوِّ وَمُلتَقى

    Life is nothing but distress and respite,

    and a parting after nearness, and a meeting.

  14. هُوَ الدَهرُ يُبلي جِدَّةً بَعدَ جِدَّةٍ

    فَيا لابِساً أَبلى طَويلاً وَأَخلَقا

    It is Time, wearing out newness after newness:

    O wearer, long have you worn things out and made them threadbare!

  15. فَكَم مِن عَليٍّ فيكَ حَلَّقَ وَاِنهَوى

    وَكَم مِن غَنيٍّ نالَ مِنكَ وَأَملَقا

    How many a lofty man has soared in you and fallen,

    and how many a rich man has gained from you and become destitute!

  16. وَمِن قَبلَ ما أَردى جُذاماً وَحِميراً

    وَأَطرَقَ زَورُ المَوتِ عوجاً وَعَملَقا

    And long before, it destroyed Judham and Himyar,

    and death's visitation bowed 'Uj and 'Amalaq.

  17. وَأَبقى عَلى دارِ السَمَوأَلِ بَركَهُ

    وَقادَ إِلى وِردِ المَنونِ مُحَرِّقا

    It left its kneeling breast upon al-Samaw'al's house,

    and led Muharriq to death's watering-place.

  18. فَفارَقَ هَذا الأَبلَقَ الفَردَ بَغتَةً

    وَوَدَّعَ ذا بَعدَ النَعيمِ الخَوَرنَقا

    So this one suddenly departed al-Ablaq al-Fard,

    and that one, after luxury, bade al-Khawarnaq farewell.

  19. فَما البَأسُ وَالإِقدامُ نَجّى عُتَيبَةً

    وَلا الجودُ وَالإِعطاءُ أَبقى المُحَلَّقا

    Neither valor nor boldness saved 'Utayba,

    nor did generosity and giving preserve al-Muhallaq.

  20. أَراهُ سِناناً لِلقَريبِ مُسَدَّداً

    وَسَهماً إِلى النَأيِ البَعيدِ مُفَوَّقا

    I see it as a spearhead aimed at the near,

    and an arrow nocked toward the farthest distance.

  21. إِذا ما عَدا لَم تُبصِرِ البيضَ قُطَّعاً

    وَلا الزَغفَ مَنّاعاً وَلا الجُردَ سُبَّقا

    When it attacks, you find no bright swords that can cut,

    nor mail that can defend, nor sleek steeds that can outstrip it,

  22. وَلا في مَهاوي الأَرضِ إِن رُمتَ مَهبَطاً

    وَلا في مَراقي الجَوِّ إِن رُمتَ مُرتَقى

    nor refuge in the earth's abysses, if you seek to descend,

    nor in the sky's heights, if you seek to climb.

  23. وَلا الحوتُ إِن شَقَّ البِحارَ بِفائِتٍ

    وَلا الطَيرُ إِن مَدَّ الجَناحَ وَحَلَّقا

    Nor can the whale escape it, though it cleaves the seas,

    nor the bird, though it spreads its wing and soars.

  24. وَلِلعُمرِ نَهجٌ إِن تَسَنَّمَهُ الفَتى

    إِلى الغايَةِ القُصوى أَزَلَّ وَأَزلَقا

    Life has a path: if a young man mounts it

    to its farthest end, it trips him and makes him slip.

  25. أَلا قاتَلَ اللَهُ الَّذي جاءَ غازِياً

    فَقارَعَنا عَن مُخَّةِ الساقِ وَاِنتَقى

    Ah, may God smite the one who came invading,

    then contended with us for the marrow of the leg, choosing the best.

  26. وَكَم مِن عَليلٍ قَد شَرِقتُ بِيَومِهِ

    جَوىً بَعدَ ما قالوا أَبَلَّ وَأَفرَقا

    How many an ailing man's day has made me choke

    with heartache, after they said, 'He has recovered and rallied.'

  27. وَآخَرَ طَلَّقتُ السُرورَ لِفَقدِهِ

    وَقَد راحَ لِلدُنيا النُشوزِ مُطَلِّقا

    And for another's loss I divorced joy,

    while he departed divorcing the rebellious world.

  28. بِنَفسِيَ مَن أَفقَدتُ داراً أَنيقَةً

    مِنَ العَيشِ وَاِستَودَعتُ بَيداءَ سَملَقا

    My life as ransom for him whom I deprived of a delightful home

    in life, and consigned to a flat, barren wilderness.

  29. وَأَبدَلتُهُ مِن ظِلِّ فَينانَ ناضِرٍ

    ظِلالَ صَفيحٍ كَالغَمامِ مُطَبِّقا

    I replaced for him the shade of a lush, leafy tree

    with the shade of stone slabs closing over him like clouds.

  30. وَخَفَّفتُ عَن أَيدي الأَقارِبِ ثِقلَهُ

    وَحَمَّلتُهُ ثِقلَ الجَنادِلِ وَالنَقا

    I relieved his relatives' hands of his weight,

    and burdened him with the weight of boulders and sand.

  31. جَلَستُ عَلَيهِ طامِعاً ثُمَّ جاءَني

    مِنَ اليَأسِ أَمرٌ أَن أَخُبَّ وَأُعنِقا

    I sat watching over him in hope; then there came to me

    from despair a command to trot and hasten on.

  32. وَما مِن هَوانٍ خَطَّأَ التُربَ فَوقَهُ

    وَخَطَّ لَهُ بَيتاً مِنَ الأَمرِ ضَيِّقا

    It was not from contempt that earth was laid above him,

    and a narrow house marked out for him by decree.

  33. وَقَد كانَ فَوقَ الأَرضِ يُسحِقُ نَأيُهُ

    فَصارَ وَراءَ الأَرضِ أَنأى وَأَسحَقا

    Above the earth, his distance had already put him far away;

    now beneath it he has become farther and more remote.

  34. خَليلَيَّ زُمّا لي مِنَ العيسِ جَسرَةً

    مُضَبَّرَةَ الأَضلاعِ أَدماءَ سَهوَقا

    My two friends, halter me a sturdy she-camel from the pale herd,

    thick-ribbed, dusky-white, and towering.

  35. تَمُرُّ كَما مَرَّت أَوائِلُ بارِقٍ

    يَشُقُّ الدُجى وَالعارِضَ المُتَأَلِّقا

    She passes as the first flashes of lightning pass,

    cleaving the dark and the glittering cloudbank.

  36. كَأَنَّ يَدَ القَسطارِ بَينَ فُروجِها

    يُقَلِّبُ في الكَفِّ اللُجَينَ المُطَرَّقا

    As though a money-changer's hand were between her legs,

    turning beaten silver in his palm.

  37. وَحُطّا لِجامي في قَذالِ طِمِرَّةٍ

    كَأَنَّ بِها مِن مَيعَةِ الشَدِّ أَولَقا

    And set my bridle on the nape of a fleet mare,

    as though the ardor of her gallop had put madness in her.

  38. تُعيرُ الفَتى ظَهراً قَصيراً كَأَنَّهُ

    قَرا النِقنِقِ الطاوي وَعُنقاً عَشَنَّقا

    She lends the young man a short back, as though it were

    the back of a lean male ostrich, and a long, slender neck.

  39. لَعَلّي أَفوتُ المَوتَ إِن جَدَّ جَدُّهُ

    وَأَعظَمُ ظَنّي أَن يَنالَ وَيَلحَقا

    Perhaps I may escape death when its pursuit grows earnest,

    but my strongest expectation is that it will reach and overtake me.

  40. وَهَل يَأمَنُ الإِنسانُ مِن فَجأَتِهِ

    وَإِن حَثَّ بِالبَيداءِ خَيلاً وَأَينُقا

    Can anyone feel safe from its sudden coming,

    even if he urges horses and she-camels across the wilderness?

  41. لَقَد سَلَّ هَذا الرُزءُ مِن عَينِيَ الكَرى

    وَغَصَّصَ بِالماءِ الزُلالِ وَأَشرَقا

    This bereavement has indeed drawn sleep from my eye,

    and made me gag and choke on limpid water.

  42. وَمِمّا يُعَزّي المَرءَ ما شاءَ أَنَّهُ

    يَرى نَفسَهُ في المَيِّتينَ مُعَرَّقا

    And something that consoles a man, as much as he wishes, is that

    he sees himself rooted among the dead.

  43. وَلَو غَيرَ هَذا المَوتِ نالَكَ ظُفرُهُ

    وَوَلّاكَ غَرباً لِلمَنايا مُذَلَّقا

    Had the claw of any foe but this death reached you,

    and turned against you death's sharpened point,

  44. لَكانَ وَراءَ الثَأرِ مِنّا وَدونَهُ

    عَصائِبُ تَختارُ المَنونَ عَلى البَقا

    behind vengeance and before it there would have stood, from us,

    bands who choose death over survival.

  45. إِذا ضَرَبوا رَدّوا الحَديدَ مُثَلَّماً

    وَإِن طَعَنوا رَدّوا الوَشيجَ مُدَقَّقا

    When they strike, they bring back the iron notched,

    and when they thrust, they bring back spearshafts splintered,

  46. بِكُلِّ قَصيرٍ يَفلِقُ الهامَ أَبيَضٍ

    وَكُلِّ طَويلٍ يَهتِكُ السَردَ أَورَقا

    with every short, bright sword that cleaves skulls,

    and every long, gray spear that rends the rings of mail.

  47. إِذا اِهتَزَّ مِن خَلفِ السَنانِ حَسِبتَهُ

    بِأَعلى النِجادِ الأَرقَمَ المُتَشَدِّقا

    When it quivers behind the spearhead, you would think it,

    atop the ridges, a speckled serpent gaping wide.

  48. وَلَكِنَّهُ القِرنُ الَّذي لا نَرُدُّهُ

    وَهَل لِاِمرِىءٍ رَدٌّ إِذا اللَيثُ حَقَّقا

    But it is the adversary we cannot repel;

    can any man resist when the lion attacks in earnest?

  49. يَقودُ الفَتى ما زُمَّ بِالضَيمِ أَنفُهُ

    وَقَد قادَ أَبطالاً وَقَد جَرَّ فَيلَقا

    It leads a man whose nose was never haltered in humiliation,

    who had led heroes and drawn a great host behind him.

  50. مُشَقِّقُ أَعرافِ الخَطابَةِ صامِتٌ

    وَلاقي صُدورِ الخَيلِ يَومَ الوَغى لَقا

    He who cleft the heights of oratory is silent,

    and he who met the horses' chests on battle-day lies cast aside.

  51. وَلَم تُغنِ عَنهُ السُمرُ قَوَّمَ دَرؤُها

    وَلا البيضُ أَجرى القَينُ فيهِنَّ رَونَقا

    The brown spears, their bends set straight, did not avail him,

    nor the bright swords in which the smith had brought forth a sheen.

  52. سَقاهُ وَإِن لَم تُروَ لِلقَلبِ غُلَّةٌ

    وَما كانَ ظَنّي أَن أَقولَ لَهُ سَقا

    May rain water him, though the heart's thirst remains unquenched;

    I had never thought to say for him, 'May rain fall!'

  53. وَلا زالَتِ الأَنواءُ تَحبوهُ مُرعِداً

    مِنَ المُزنِ مَلآنَ الحَيازيمِ مُبرِقا

    May the rain-bearing stars never cease to bestow on him a thundering

    raincloud, full-breasted and flashing lightning.

  54. إِذا قيلَ وَلّى عادَ يَحدو عِشارَهُ

    وَإِن قيلَ أَرقا دَمعَةَ القَطرِ أَغدَقا

    Whenever they say, 'It has gone,' it returns, driving its pregnant camels;

    and if they say, 'It has stilled rain's tear,' it pours in torrents.

  55. وَأَعلَمُ أَن لا يَنفَعُ الغَيثُ هالِكاً

    وَلا يَشعُرُ المَندوبُ بِالهامِ إِن زَقا

    I know that rain does not benefit one who has died,

    nor does the mourned one sense the owls when they cry.

  56. وَلَو كانَ بِالسُقيا يَعودُ أَنا لَهُ

    كَما لَو سُقي عاري القَضيبِ لَأَورَقا

    If watering could bring him back, I would undertake it for him,

    as a bare-branched tree, if watered, would put forth leaves.

  57. وَلَكِن أُداري خاطِراً مُتَلَهِّفاً

    وَقَلباً بِما خَلفَ التُرابِ مُعَلَّقا

    But I soothe a yearning mind,

    and a heart bound to what lies beneath the dust.