1. سَقى مَحَلاً قَد دَثر

    بَينَ زَرُودٍ وَهَجَر

    May a dwelling-place now effaced be watered,

    between Zarud and Hajar,

  2. أَو طَفُ وَسْمِيّ البُكر

    كَأَنَّهُ إِذا اِنعَصَر

    by a heavy-fringed cloud of the first seasonal rains.

    As though, when it is squeezed

  3. مِنَ الحَبِيِّ أَو قَطَر

    ما دَقَّ مِن روسِ الإِبَر

    from piled clouds, or falls in drops,

    it were the fine points of needles.

  4. هَبَّت لَهُ مَعَ السَمَر

    صِرُّ شِمالٌ فَاِنتَشَر

    At the hour of night-talk, there blew upon it

    a bitter north wind, and it spread;

  5. ثُمَّ تَلالا وَهَدَر

    هَدرَ خَطاطيفِ البكَر

    then it flashed and roared,

    with the roar of pulley-hooks,

  6. بِكُلِّ مَشزُورٍ مُمَر

    في كَفِّ أَلوى ذي أَشَر

    with every left-twisted, tightly wound rope

    in a strong, high-spirited man's hand:

  7. حَزَوّرٍ حينَ جَفَر

    يَنثِرُهُ إِذا اِنتَثَر

    a sturdy youth, grown stout,

    who shakes it out as it falls loose;

  8. فَيَقدَحُ القَفوُ الشَرَر

    قَدحَكَ بِالمرخِ العُشُر

    so the pulley support strikes sparks,

    as you strike ʿushar with markh wood,

  9. لَدى القَليبِ المُحتَفَر

    نَوَّخَ حَولَيهِ العَكَر

    beside the dug-out well.

    He has made the great herds kneel around it,

  10. غِبَّ رَبيعٍ وَصَفَر

    يَنفِضُ أَهدابَ الوَبَر

    after spring and Safar,

    shaking the fringes of camel-hair

  11. عَنِ الهَوادي وَالسُرُر

    فَهُنَّ أَمثالُ الزُبُر

    from their necks and navels.

    So they are like blocks of iron,

  12. هِيمٌ يُقَلِّبنَ النَظَر

    إِلى حِياضٍ وَجُرَر

    thirst-maddened, turning their gaze

    toward troughs and jars.

  13. يَسنى لَها عَذبٌ خَصِر

    حَتّى إِذا الماءُ اِحتُكِر

    Sweet, cold water is drawn for them,

    until, when the water has been gathered,

  14. أَورَدَها ثُمَّ صَدَر

    يُرى عَلى وَجهِ العفَر

    he brings them to drink, then leaves the water.

    Upon the face of the dust are seen,

  15. مِن وَبلِهِ إِذا اِنحَدَر

    إِمّا غَديرٌ أَو نَهَر

    from its downpour as it descends,

    either a pool or a river,

  16. أَوِ الثَمادُ في النُقَر

    أَمثالُ أَحداقِ البَقَر

    or shallow pools in hollows,

    like the pupils of cattle's eyes.

  17. كَأَنَّما ذاكَ المَطَر

    لَمّا اِستَهَلَّ وَاِنهَمَر

    As though that rain,

    when it began pouring and fell in torrents,

  18. يَدُ المُعزِّ المُشتَهر

    رَبيعِ قَيسٍ وَمُضَر

    were the hand of the renowned al-Muʿizz,

    the springtime of Qays and Mudar.

  19. بَل هُوَ أَندى وَأَدَرّ

    وَمَهمَهٍ جَمِّ الخَطَر

    Yet he is more generous and more bountiful.

    And many a wilderness, fraught with danger,

  20. ما فيهِ لِلأَنسِ أَثَر

    ظَليمُهُ تَحتَ الخَمَر

    where no trace of human company exists:

    its male ostrich beneath the brush

  21. يَحضُنُ دُرماً كَالأُكَر

    كَأَنَّهُ إِذا وَكَر

    broods on smooth eggs like balls.

    As though, when it settles in its nest,

  22. شَيخٌ حَبا مِنَ الكِبَر

    أَو قَسُّ دَيرٍ قَد نَشَر

    it were an old man crawling from age,

    or a monastery priest who has spread

  23. مَسابِجاً مِنَ الشَعر

    حَتّى إِذا جاعَ اِبتَكَر

    robes woven from hair.

    Until, when hungry, it sets out early

  24. إِلى هَبيدٍ في عُجَر

    مُفَوَّفاتِ كَالحَبَر

    for colocynth seeds inside swollen fruits,

    striped like patterned cloth,

  25. يَقتاتُ مِنها ما اِنتَثَر

    بَينَ السَفيرِ وَالشَجَر

    feeding on whatever falls from them

    among fallen leaves and trees.

  26. قَفرٌ تَعَدَّيتُ الغَرَر

    فيهِ بِحُدبٍ كَالمِرَر

    A wasteland whose perils I crossed

    on humped camels like twisted ropes,

  27. أَشباهُ ما فَوقَ النُخُر

    قَد ذُبنَ مِن فَرطِ السَفَر

    like what lies above the nostrils,

    wasted away by excessive travel,

  28. إِلى فَتىً سادَ البَشَر

    وَساءَ مُذ شَبَّ وَسَرّ

    toward a young man who became lord of mankind,

    and since coming of age has saddened and gladdened,

  29. إِمّا بِنَفعٍ أَو بِضُرّ

    كَالسَيفِ لانَ وَبَتَر

    whether by benefit or harm,

    like a sword, pliant yet cutting:

  30. أَفَخرِ مَخلوقٍ فَخَر

    مِن نَفَرٍ خَيرِ نَفَر

    the proudest creature ever to take pride,

    from a band, the finest of bands,

  31. جَمالِ بَدوٍ وَحَضَر

    أَهلِ عُمودٍ وَمَدَر

    the adornment of nomads and townsfolk,

    of tent-pole folk and clay-wall folk.

  32. زُرهُ تَزُر نِعمَ الوَزَر

    وَعُذ بِهِ مِنَ الغِيَر

    Visit him: you visit the finest refuge.

    Seek shelter with him from fortune's changes;

  33. تَعُذ بِخَرقٍ لَو نَظَر

    إِلى فَقيرٍ ما اِفتَقَر

    you find refuge with a noble giver who, if he looked

    upon a poor man, would leave him poor no more.

  34. يُعطى اللُهى بِلا ضَجَر

    كَأَنَّما عادى البِدَر

    He gives lavish gifts without impatience,

    as though he were the enemy of money-bags:

  35. فَلَم يَدَع وَلَم يَذَر

    وَلا اِقتَنى وَلا ادَّخَر

    so he leaves nothing and spares nothing,

    and neither acquires nor stores

  36. شَيئاً سِوى حُسنِ الخَبَر

    ذاكَ وَشُكرِ مَن شَكَر

    anything but a good name,

    that, and the thanks of those who give thanks.

  37. يا اِبنَ الطَراخينِ الغُرَر

    وَالطاعِنينَ لِلثُغُر

    O son of illustrious tarkhans,

    and of those who thrust at throats,

  38. وَالتارِكينَ في الحُفَر

    مَنافِباً مِلءَ السِيَر

    and of those who leave in the pits

    exploits that fill the chronicles.

  39. وَصلُكَ فَضلٌ قَد بَهَر

    شِعري وَشِعرَ مَن شَعَر

    Your favor is a bounty that has outshone

    my poetry and every poet's poetry.

  40. فَلَو سَكَتنا لَم تُضَر

    وَالصُبحَ يُغنيهِ النَظَر

    So, were we silent, you would suffer no harm;

    and seeing the dawn frees it

  41. عَن شاهِدٍ إِذا اِنفَجَر

    يا مَن بِهِ شِعري اِفتَخَر

    from needing a witness when it breaks.

    O you through whom my poetry takes pride,

  42. عِش أَبَدَاً حِلفَ الظَفَر

    وَاسعَد بِأَعيادٍ أُخَر

    live forever, allied with victory,

    and rejoice in other festivals.

  43. وَاعذُر وَلِيّاً ما حَضَر

    فَلَو مَشى عَلى البَصَر

    And excuse a loyal friend who did not attend:

    for even had he walked upon his eyes

  44. نَحوَكَ لَم يَشكُ الضَرَر

    وَأَنتَ أَولى مَن عَذَر

    toward you, he would not complain of harm.

    And you are the worthiest to grant pardon.

  45. وَاصبِغ لَها بِيضاً غُرَر

    مَنحوتَةً تَحتَ الحَجَر

    And lend color to these white, radiant verses,

    carved beneath the stone,

  46. بِناتِ لَيلٍ وَسَهَر

    قَوَّمتُهُنَّ مِن صَعَر

    daughters of night and sleeplessness.

    I straightened them out of crookedness

  47. وَمِن سِنادٍ يُعتَبَر

    فَهُنَّ أَمثالُ الدُرَر

    and of any recognized rhyme-discord;

    so they are like pearls,

  48. غاصَت عَلَيهِنَّ الفِكَر

    في لُجِّ بَحرٍ قَد زَخَر

    for which thoughts dived

    into the depths of a surging sea:

  49. مَدائِحاً لَم تُستَعَر

    وَلَم يَقَع فيها الحَصَر

    praises never borrowed,

    and no faltering occurs in them,

  50. صافِيَةً مِن الكَدَر

    تُنسيكَ في دَهرٍ غَبَر

    clear of all murk,

    making you forget, from an age gone by,

  51. مَدحَ القُطاميّ زُفَر

    وَبَلدَةً فيها زَوَر

    al-Qutami's praise of Zufar,

    and a land with winding terrain.