1. وَسارِيَةٍ لا تَمَلُّ البُكا

    جَرى دَمعُها في خُدودِ الثَرى

    And a cloud traveling by night, tireless in weeping,

    its tears ran down the cheeks of the earth.

  2. سَرَت تَقدَحُ الصُبحَ في لَيلِها

    بِبَرقٍ كَهِندِيَّةٍ تُنتَضى

    It traveled, kindling dawn within its night

    with lightning like an Indian sword unsheathed.

  3. فَلَمّا دَنَت جَلجَلَت في السَما

    ءِ رَعداً أَجَشَّ كَجَرِّ الرَحى

    And when it drew near, it resounded in the sky

    with hoarse thunder, like the dragging of a millstone.

  4. ضَمانٌ عَلَيها اِرتِداعُ اليَفا

    عِ بِأَنوارِها وَاِعتِجارُ الرُبى

    It is bound to dye the uplands

    with its blossoms, and to turban the hills.

  5. فَما زالَ مَدمَعُها باكِياً

    عَلى التُربِ حَتّى اِكتَسى ما اِكتَسى

    And its tear-duct never ceased weeping

    upon the soil, until it donned what it donned.

  6. فَأَضحَت سَواءً وُجوهُ البِلادِ

    وَجُنَّ النَباتُ بِها وَاِلتَقى

    Then the faces of the lands became alike,

    and vegetation grew dense through it and intertwined.

  7. وَكَأسٍ سَبَقتُ إِلى شُربِها

    عَذولي كَذَوبِ عَقيقٍ جَرى

    And a cup I hastened to drink before

    my reprover—like molten carnelian flowing.

  8. يَسيرُ بِها غُصُنٌ ناعِمٌ

    مِنَ البانِ مَغرِسَهُ في نَقا

    A supple bough walks with it,

    of the ben-tree, rooted in a sandhill.

  9. إِذا شِئتَ كَلَّمَني بِالجُفو

    نِ مِن مُقلَةٍ كُحِلَت في الهَوى

    If you wish, he speaks to me through the eyelids

    of an eye lined with kohl in love.

  10. لَهُ شَعَرٌ مِثلُ نَسجِ الدُروعِ

    وَطَرفٌ سَقيمٌ إِذا ما رَنا

    He has hair like the weave of coats of mail,

    and a languid gaze whenever he looks.

  11. وَيَضحَكُ عَن أُقحُوانِ الرِيا

    ضِ وَيَغسِلُهُ بِالعَشِيِّ النَدى

    And he smiles, revealing the gardens' daisies,

    and the dew washes them at evening.

  12. وَمِصباحُنا قَمَرٌ مُشرِقٌ

    كَتُرسِ اللُجَينِ يَشُقُّ الدُجى

    And our lamp is a shining moon,

    like a silver shield cleaving the darkness.

  13. سَقى اللَهُ أَهلَ الحِمى وابِلاً

    سَفوحاً وَقَلَّ لِأَهلِ الحِمى

    May God water the people of the protected grounds with a downpour,

    pouring freely—yet little for the people of those grounds.

  14. لَئِن بانَ صَرفُ زَمانٍ بِنا

    لَما زالَ يَفعَلُ ما قَد تَرى

    Even if time's vicissitudes have carried us away,

    they have never ceased doing what you see.

  15. وَمُهلِكَةٍ لامِعٍ آلُها

    قَطَعتُ بِحَرفٍ أَمونِ الخُطا

    And a deadly wilderness, its mirage gleaming,

    I crossed on a lean, hardy she-camel, sure of step.

  16. لَها ذَنَبٌ مِثلُ خَوصِ العَسيبِ

    وَأَربَعَةٌ تَرتَمي بِالحَصى

    Her tail is like the leaflets of a palm frond,

    and she has four feet that fling pebbles.

  17. بَناها الرَبيعُ بِناءَ الكَثيبِ

    تَسوقُ رِياحَ الهَواءِ النَقا

    Spring built her as a sand dune is built;

    the winds of the air sweep the sandhills along.

  18. فَما زالَ يُدئِبُها ماجِدٌ

    عَلى الأَينِ حَتّى اِنطَوَت وَاِنطَوى

    And a noble man kept driving her hard,

    despite weariness, until she grew lean, and he too,

  19. بِأَرضٍ تَأَوَّلَ آياتِها

    عَلى الظَعنِ يَخبِطُ فيها الهَوى

    in a land whose signs he interpreted

    on the journey, while desire groped blindly within it.

  20. صَرَعتُ المَطِيَّ لِأَرقى لَها

    فَما اِعتَذَرَت بَينَها بِالوَجى

    I brought the riding camels down to ascend to it,

    yet she never pleaded sore feet among them.

  21. وَذي كُرَبٍ إِذ دَعاني أَجَبتُ

    فَلَبَّيتُهُ مُسرِعاً إِذ دَعا

    And a man in distress—when he called me, I answered;

    I hastened to his summons when he called,

  22. بِطِرفٍ أَقَبَّ عَريضِ اللِبا

    نِ ضافي السَبيبِ سَليمِ الشَظا

    on a noble steed, lean-bellied and broad-chested,

    with flowing mane and tail and sound leg-bones,

  23. وَفِتيانِ حَربٍ يُجيبونَها

    بِزُرقِ الأَسِنَّةِ فَوقَ القَنا

    and young men of war who answer its call

    with blue spearheads atop their lances,

  24. كَغابٍ تُحَرِّقُ أَطرافُهُ

    عَلى لُجَّةٍ مِن حَديدٍ جَرى

    like a thicket whose tips blaze

    above a flowing sea of iron.

  25. فَكُنتُ لَهُ دونَ ما يَتَّقي

    مِجَنّاً وَمَزَّقتُ عَنهُ العِدا

    So I stood between him and what he feared,

    a shield, and tore his foes away from him.

  26. أَنا اِبنُ الَّذي سائَهُم في الحَياةِ

    وَسادَهُمُ بِيَ تَحتَ الثَرى

    I am the son of him who distressed them in life,

    and ruled them through me from beneath the earth.

  27. وَما لِيَ في أَحَدٍ مَرغَبٌ

    بَلى فِيَّ يَرغَبُ كُلُّ الوَرى

    And I desire no one;

    rather, all mankind desires me.

  28. وَأَسهَرُ لِلمَجدِ وَالمَكرُماتِ

    إِذا اِكتَحَلَت أَعيُنٌ بِالكَرى

    And I keep vigil for glory and noble deeds

    when eyes are painted with the kohl of sleep.