هاتِيكَ دارُهُمُ فقِفْ بمَغَانِها

هاتِيكَ دارُهُمُ فقِفْ بمَغَانِها

تَجِدِ الدُّمُوعَ تَجِدُّ في هَمَلانِها

تَجِدِ الدُّمُوعَ تَجِدُّ في هَمَلانِها

That is their dwelling; halt amid its grounds.

You will find tears flowing in its slopes,

You will find the tears relentless in their flowing.

We spurred our mounts through it, so it stirred up our fervor,

عُجْنَا الرِّكابَ بها فَهَيَّجَ وَجْدَنَا

عُجْنَا الرِّكابَ بها فَهَيَّجَ وَجْدَنَا

دِمَنٌ ذَعَرْنَ السِّرْبَ مِن إِدْمَانِهَا

دِمَنٌ ذَعَرْنَ السِّرْبَ مِن إِدْمَانِهَا

We turned our mounts aside there; our longing was stirred

Blood-red, the flocks scattered in fright from our onslaught,

By ruined traces that frightened the herd from frequenting them.

An abode I knew in my youth as a sanctuary,

دارٌ عَهِدْتُ بها الصّبا لِيَ دَوْحةً

دارٌ عَهِدْتُ بها الصّبا لِيَ دَوْحةً

أَتفيَّأُ الفَرَحاتِ مِن أَفْنَانِهَا

أَتفيَّأُ الفَرَحاتِ مِن أَفْنَانِهَا

A dwelling where I knew youth as a spreading tree for me,

I savored joy in its gardens,

I sheltered in the shade of joys beneath its boughs.

I would graze on the meadows of companionship in its air,

أَرْعى على بَقَرِ الأَنِيسِ بجَوِّها

أَرْعى على بَقَرِ الأَنِيسِ بجَوِّها

وأُحكِّمُ الصَّبَواتِ في غِزْلانِهَا

وأُحكِّمُ الصَّبَواتِ في غِزْلانِهَا

I watched over the human oryx in its open spaces,

And play with gazelles in its thickets,

And gave youthful passions sway over its gazelles.

And when the tender branches swayed gently in the sun,

وإِذا تَهَادَتْ بالشُّمُوسِ نَوَاعِماً

وإِذا تَهَادَتْ بالشُّمُوسِ نَوَاعِماً

فيها الغُصُونُ جَنَيْتُ مِن رُمّانِهَا

فيها الغُصُونُ جَنَيْتُ مِن رُمّانِهَا

And when, bearing suns, they swayed softly—

I would pluck pomegranates from its branches,

The boughs within it—I plucked some of its pomegranates.

Fate destroyed them wrongfully while time supported it,

قَضَتِ النَّوَى بذِيادِ رُجَّحِ عينِهِمْ

قَضَتِ النَّوَى بذِيادِ رُجَّحِ عينِهِمْ

ظُلْماً وكانَ الدَّهْرُ مِن أَعْوَانِهَا

ظُلْماً وكانَ الدَّهْرُ مِن أَعْوَانِهَا

Separation decreed the banishment of their full-hipped, wide-eyed beauties,

They were estranged by the warbling of the separation crows,

Unjustly; and Time was among its accomplices.

So the face of parting appeared to them, cracked,

زَجَرُوا اغْتِراباً مِن نَعِيبِ غُرابِهِمْ

زَجَرُوا اغْتِراباً مِن نَعِيبِ غُرابِهِمْ

وقَضَوا ببَيْنٍ مِن مُغرِّدِ بانِهَا

وقَضَوا ببَيْنٍ مِن مُغرِّدِ بانِهَا

They read exile in the croaking of their raven,

Bringing the news of the bier through its information,

And foretold parting from the warbler in its ban trees.

They shed tears like pearls on the day of parting

فبَدا لهم وَجْهُ الفِرَاقِ مُوَقَّحاً

فبَدا لهم وَجْهُ الفِرَاقِ مُوَقَّحاً

آتٍ على خَبَرِ النَّوَى بعِيانِهَا

آتٍ على خَبَرِ النَّوَى بعِيانِهَا

Then parting's brazen face appeared to them,

From a gathering where grief toyed with its pearls

Replacing news of separation with the sight of it.

I bade them farewell, while the sparks of a goblet

يَقْذِفْنَ دُرَّ الدَّمْعِ في يَوْمِ النَّوَى

يَقْذِفْنَ دُرَّ الدَّمْعِ في يَوْمِ النَّوَى

عن جُمّةٍ لَعِبَ الأَسَى بجُمانِهَا

عن جُمّةٍ لَعِبَ الأَسَى بجُمانِهَا

They cast forth pearls of tears on the day of separation,

Kindled fires beneath my ribs through its flames,

From a brimming pool whose pearls sorrow had played with.

And I let flow the melting of my eyelids as if

وَدَّعْتُهُمْ وزِنَادُ قَدْحٍ في الحَشَا

وَدَّعْتُهُمْ وزِنَادُ قَدْحٍ في الحَشَا

دُونَ الضُّلوعِ يَشُبُّ مِن نِيرانِهَا

دُونَ الضُّلوعِ يَشُبُّ مِن نِيرانِهَا

I bade them farewell, with fire-striking flints within my breast,

They were the hands of Bani Mansur in its outpouring

Blazing beneath the ribs with their fires.

O my two companions, if your camel drivers travel on,

وأَسَلْتُهَا ذَوْبَ الجُفُونِ كَأَنَّهَا

وأَسَلْتُهَا ذَوْبَ الجُفُونِ كَأَنَّهَا

أَيْدِي بَنِي المَنصْور في سَيَلانِهَا

أَيْدِي بَنِي المَنصْور في سَيَلانِهَا

And I poured them out, my eyelids' melted essence, as though they were

Split open by the breaths from its walls,

The hands of the sons of al-Mansur in their outpouring.

And head for the wide plain, perhaps

يا صاحِبَيَّ إِذا وَنَى حادِيكُمَا

يا صاحِبَيَّ إِذا وَنَى حادِيكُمَا

فَتَنَشَّقَا النَّفَحَاتِ مِن ظَيَّانِهَا

فَتَنَشَّقَا النَّفَحَاتِ مِن ظَيَّانِهَا

O my two companions, when your camel-singer grows weary,

Youth will intercede so I become one of its branches,

Then breathe in the fragrant wafts from its wild jasmine.

I recalled living there and what had passed

وخُذَا لِمُرْتَبَع الحِسانِ فرُبَّمَا

وخُذَا لِمُرْتَبَع الحِسانِ فرُبَّمَا

شَفَعَ الشَّبَابُ فصْرتُ مِن أَخدانِهَا

شَفَعَ الشَّبَابُ فصْرتُ مِن أَخدانِهَا

And make for the beauties' spring retreat, for often

Of my youth, and folded away its times,

Youth interceded, and I became one of their intimates.

So I wept for a time whose stages I had crossed

عَاوَدتُ ذِكْرَ العَيْشِ فيه وما انْقَضَى

عَاوَدتُ ذِكْرَ العَيْشِ فيه وما انْقَضَى

مِن صَبْوتِي وطَوَيْتُ مِن أَزْمانِهَا

مِن صَبْوتِي وطَوَيْتُ مِن أَزْمانِهَا

I returned to memories of life there, and what had passed

And a youth I had culled from its prime,

Of my youthful ardor, and the days of it I had folded away.

I would graze on a verdant beloved from the face of the sky,

فَبَكَيْتُ مِن زَمَنٍ قَطَعْتُ مَراحِلاً

فَبَكَيْتُ مِن زَمَنٍ قَطَعْتُ مَراحِلاً

وشَبيبَةٍ أَخْلَقْتُ مِن رَيْعَانِهَا

وشَبيبَةٍ أَخْلَقْتُ مِن رَيْعَانِهَا

So I wept over an age whose stages I had traversed,

When the full moon emerged from its cover,

And a youth whose prime I had worn away.

As if the sprinkling of stars amidst it

ورَعَيْتُ مِن وَجْهِ السَّمَاءِ خَمِيلةً

ورَعَيْتُ مِن وَجْهِ السَّمَاءِ خَمِيلةً

خَضْرَاءَ لاحَ البَدْرُ مِن غُدْرانِهَا

خَضْرَاءَ لاحَ البَدْرُ مِن غُدْرانِهَا

And on the sky's face I watched a lush meadow,

Were sheep being herded by the Great Bear as their shepherd,

Green, from whose pools the full moon gleamed.

As if the Pleiades therein were gems

وكأَنَّ نَثْرَ النَّجْمِ ضَأْنٌ وسْطَهَا

وكأَنَّ نَثْرَ النَّجْمِ ضَأْنٌ وسْطَهَا

وكأَنَّمَا الجَوْزاءُ راعِي ضانِهَا

وكأَنَّمَا الجَوْزاءُ راعِي ضانِهَا

And the scattered stars seemed sheep within it,

Scattered by a hand across its expanse,

And al-Jawza' seemed the shepherd of its sheep.

As if Aldebaran were a noble lady of a tribe

وكأَنَّما فيه الثُّريّا جوْهرٌ

وكأَنَّما فيه الثُّريّا جوْهرٌ

نَثَرتْ فَرَائِدهُ يدا دبرانِهَا

نَثَرتْ فَرَائِدهُ يدا دبرانِهَا

And the Pleiades there seemed jewels,

Who descended upon the top of Al-Nasr from its children,

Whose gems the two hands of its Aldebaran had scattered.

As if the Milky Way were a path

وكأَنَّما الشِّعْرى عقِيلةُ معْشَرٍ

وكأَنَّما الشِّعْرى عقِيلةُ معْشَرٍ

نَزَلَتْ بأَعْلى النَّسْرِ مِن وِلدانِهَا

نَزَلَتْ بأَعْلى النَّسْرِ مِن وِلدانِهَا

And Sirius seemed a tribe's noble lady,

To al-‘Amariyya illuminated from its lanterns

Who alighted atop the Eagle, one of her children.

Those who rush forth with their spears

وكأَنَّما طُرُقُ الْمَجَرَّةِ منْهَجٌ

وكأَنَّما طُرُقُ الْمَجَرَّةِ منْهَجٌ

للعامِريَّة ضاءَ من فينانِهَا

للعامِريَّة ضاءَ من فينانِهَا

And the paths of the Milky Way seemed a road

And place ambition upon their crowns,

For the 'Amiri house, aglow with its luxuriant boughs.

I captured with horses until they imagined

المُعْجِلِين عِداتَهُمْ بِرماحِهِمْ

المُعْجِلِين عِداتَهُمْ بِرماحِهِمْ

والجاعِلِين الْهَام مِن تِيجانِهَا

والجاعِلِين الْهَام مِن تِيجانِهَا

Those who hasten their promises with their spears,

That the mountains had cast them with its missiles,

And make skulls the crowns of their spears.

And the enemy assailed with regiments filling the horizon,

أَسْرى لهم بالخَيْلِ حتَّى خَيَّلُوا

أَسْرى لهم بالخَيْلِ حتَّى خَيَّلُوا

أَنَّ الجِبال رمتْهُمُ برِعانِهَا

أَنَّ الجِبال رمتْهُمُ برِعانِهَا

He rode to them by night with cavalry, until they imagined

Sheathing the blade of dawn in its quivers,

That the mountains had hurled their peaks upon them.

On each swift steed flying with four legs

ورَمى العِدى بكَتَائِبٍ مِلءَ الفَضا

ورَمى العِدى بكَتَائِبٍ مِلءَ الفَضا

أَغْمدْنَ نَصْل الصُّبْحِ في رهَجانِهَا

أَغْمدْنَ نَصْل الصُّبْحِ في رهَجانِهَا

And he hurled at the enemy battalions filling the open expanse,

Whose rear makes you forget the front’s whiteness,

Which sheathed dawn's blade in their clouds of dust.

They were raised in the flowers and water of kings,

مِن كُلِّ سلْهَبةٍ تَطِيرُ بأَرْبعٍ

مِن كُلِّ سلْهَبةٍ تَطِيرُ بأَرْبعٍ

يُنْسِيك مُؤْخَرُهَا الْتِماح لَبانِهَا

يُنْسِيك مُؤْخَرُهَا الْتِماح لَبانِهَا

Of every long-limbed mare that flies on four legs,

As if they were raised on its branches,

Her hindquarters make you forget the glimpse of her breast.

The noble Arabs showed them its swordsmanship,

نَشَأُوا بزاهِرَِة المُلُوكِ ومائِهَا

نَشَأُوا بزاهِرَِة المُلُوكِ ومائِهَا

وكأَنَّهُمْ نَشَأُوا على غَسَّانِهَا

وكأَنَّهُمْ نَشَأُوا على غَسَّانِهَا

They grew up in the kings' Zahira and amid its waters,

So they learned from its striking and stabbing,

Yet seemed to have grown up among its Ghassan.

I am its firmly rooted pillar, so if

وأَرتْهُمُ العُرْبُ الكِرامُ مِصاعَها

وأَرتْهُمُ العُرْبُ الكِرامُ مِصاعَها

فَتَعلَّمُوا مِن ضَرْبِهَا وطِعانِهَا

فَتَعلَّمُوا مِن ضَرْبِهَا وطِعانِهَا

And the noble Arabs showed them their swordplay,

The hands of misfortunes shake it from the heart of its cowardice,

So they learned from their blows and spear-thrusts.

And I have a boundless tendency for beautiful patience

أَنا طَوْدُهَا الرّاسِي إِذا ما زَلْزَلَتْ

أَنا طَوْدُهَا الرّاسِي إِذا ما زَلْزَلَتْ

أَيْدِي الحوادِثِ مِن فُؤادِ جبانِهَا

أَيْدِي الحوادِثِ مِن فُؤادِ جبانِهَا

I am its steadfast mountain whenever

Zaghf, whereby I make the most of its youth before it passes,

The hands of calamities shake the heart of its coward.

As if when I was generous, though troubles exhausted

وعليَّ للصَّبْرِ الجمِيلِ مُفاضةٌ

وعليَّ للصَّبْرِ الجمِيلِ مُفاضةٌ

زَغْفٌ أَفُلُّ بها شَباةَ سِنانِهَا

زَغْفٌ أَفُلُّ بها شَباةَ سِنانِهَا

And I wear an ample coat of noble patience,

My land, I was absent from its events,

Fine-ringed mail, with which I blunt their spearhead's edge.

And the soul is a soul of martyr whose constitution

وكأَنَّنِي لمّا كَرُمْتُ وقد شَكَتْ

وكأَنَّنِي لمّا كَرُمْتُ وقد شَكَتْ

أَرْضِي الحوادِث غِبْتُ مِن حدثانِهَا

أَرْضِي الحوادِث غِبْتُ مِن حدثانِهَا

And, when I was noble, it was as though—although

Is a constitution nurtured by its core,

My land lamented disasters—I stood apart from its upheavals.

No glance of an angry frown turned towards me

والنَّفْسُ نَفْسٌ مِن شُهَيْدٍ سِنْخُها

والنَّفْسُ نَفْسٌ مِن شُهَيْدٍ سِنْخُها

سِنْخٌ غَذَتْ منه العُلا بلِبانِهَا

سِنْخٌ غَذَتْ منه العُلا بلِبانِهَا

And my soul is a soul of Shuhayd; its root

Unless I placed an arrow in its pupil,

Is a root from which glory fed upon its milk.

And if he were to gore the stars with his horn,

ما احْولَّ نَحْوِي لَحْظُ مُقْلَةِ ساخِطٍ

ما احْولَّ نَحْوِي لَحْظُ مُقْلَةِ ساخِطٍ

إِلا وضَعْتُ السَّهْم في إِنْسانِهَا

إِلا وضَعْتُ السَّهْم في إِنْسانِهَا

No angry man's eye ever cast a crooked glance at me

I would be the one to confront him with the bad omen of its counterpart,

Without my planting an arrow in its pupil.

And the glory of my soul, from a generous one, established a sanctuary

ولَوْ انَّهُ نَطَح النُّجُوم بقَرْنِهِ

ولَوْ انَّهُ نَطَح النُّجُوم بقَرْنِهِ

كُنْتُ الزَّعِيمَ له بنَحْسِ قِرانِهَا

كُنْتُ الزَّعِيمَ له بنَحْسِ قِرانِهَا

And even if he butted the stars with his horn,

From which I became one of its branches,

I would guarantee him the ill luck of their conjunction.

O son of jasmine, from Ma'afir, by the One who made

وقَضَتْ بعِزِّ النَّفْسِ مِنِّي دوْحةٌ

وقَضَتْ بعِزِّ النَّفْسِ مِنِّي دوْحةٌ

مِن عامِرٍ أَصْبحْتُ مِن أَغْصانِهَا

مِن عامِرٍ أَصْبحْتُ مِن أَغْصانِهَا

And a spreading tree decreed the dignity of my soul,

Yazeed's palaces grander than its construction,

Of 'Amir; I have become one of its branches.

Your letter is most esteemed to me in my concern,

يا ابْن الأَبالِجِ مِن معافِرَ والَّذِي

يا ابْن الأَبالِجِ مِن معافِرَ والَّذِي

أَرْبى يزِيدُ على عُلا بُنْيانِهَا

أَرْبى يزِيدُ على عُلا بُنْيانِهَا

O son of the radiant men of Ma'afir, and you whom

And your reply is most majestic from the darkness of its deprivation,

Yazid raised above the heights of its edifice,

So surely there will emerge to you from the blossoms of love

أَعْلَى كِتَابُك في مُهِمِّي حُرْمتِي

أَعْلَى كِتَابُك في مُهِمِّي حُرْمتِي

وجلا جوابُك مِن دُجى حِرْمانِهَا

وجلا جوابُك مِن دُجى حِرْمانِهَا

Your letter raised my standing in my urgent affair,

Maidens of pure gratitude, melodious in its display,

And your reply dispelled the gloom of its deprivation.

Poetry's metres are free in its people,

فَلَيطْلُعنَّ إِلَيْك مِن زَهرِ الحِجا

فَلَيطْلُعنَّ إِلَيْك مِن زَهرِ الحِجا

أَبْكَارُ شُكْرٍ لُحْن في إِبّانِهَا

أَبْكَارُ شُكْرٍ لُحْن في إِبّانِهَا

So there shall surely rise toward you, from reason's flowers,

Poetry is a slave among its servants,

Maiden offerings of thanks, shining in their due season.

It praises kings, and was also one of them,

حُرُّ القَوافِي ماجِدٌ في أَهْلِهَا

حُرُّ القَوافِي ماجِدٌ في أَهْلِهَا

الشِّعْرُ عبْدٌ في بنِي عُبْدانِهَا

الشِّعْرُ عبْدٌ في بنِي عُبْدانِهَا

The freeborn master of rhyme is noble among its people;

And it is seen that poetry is one of its wolves,

Poetry is a slave among the sons of its slaves.

Al-Farazdaq became its peer in its kingdom,

مدح المُلُوكَ وكان أَيْضا منهُمُ

مدح المُلُوكَ وكان أَيْضا منهُمُ

ولقد يُرى والشِّعْرُ مِن ذُؤبانِهَا

ولقد يُرى والشِّعْرُ مِن ذُؤبانِهَا

He praised kings, and was himself one of them;

And fate flowed to it upon its paths.

And indeed he is seen while poetry is among its wolves.

أَمْسى الفَرزْدقُ كُفْؤَها في حوْكه

أَمْسى الفَرزْدقُ كُفْؤَها في حوْكه

وَجرى القَضَاءُ لها على صَلَتَانِهَا

وَجرى القَضَاءُ لها على صَلَتَانِهَا

Al-Farazdaq became its equal in his weaving,

And judgment went in its favor against its Salatan.