وَإِنَّكِ عَمري هَل تَرى ضوءَ بارِقٍ

وَإِنَّكِ عَمري هَل تَرى ضوءَ بارِقٍ

عَريضِ السَنا ذي هَيدَبٍ مُتَزَحزِحِ

عَريضِ السَنا ذي هَيدَبٍ مُتَزَحزِحِ

And you are my life—do you see the light of a flashing cloud,

My life, do you see the gleaming light

broad in radiance, with a trailing veil of rain, drifting away?

Of broad front with swaying motion?

قَعَدتُ لَهُ ذاتَ العِشاءِ أَشيمُهُ

قَعَدتُ لَهُ ذاتَ العِشاءِ أَشيمُهُ

بِمَرٍّ وَأَصحابي بِجُبَّةِ أَذرُحِ

بِمَرٍّ وَأَصحابي بِجُبَّةِ أَذرُحِ

I sat at nightfall watching its lightning,

I sat down for it one evening to perceive it

at Marr, while my companions were at Jubbat Adhruḥ.

With bitterness and my friends in coats of mail

وَمِنهُ بِذي دَورانَ لَمعٌ كَأَنَّهُ

وَمِنهُ بِذي دَورانَ لَمعٌ كَأَنَّهُ

بُعيدَ الكَرى كَفّا مُفيضٍ بِأَقداحِ

بُعيدَ الكَرى كَفّا مُفيضٍ بِأَقداحِ

And from it, at Dhū Dawrān, came a flash, as though it were,

And from it, with its revolution, a gleam as though it were

just after slumber, the two hands of a gambler casting arrows.

Far off, a cup overflowing with goblets

فَقُلتُ لَهُم لَمّا رَأَيتُ وَمِيضَهُ

فَقُلتُ لَهُم لَمّا رَأَيتُ وَمِيضَهُ

لِيُروَوا بِهِ أَهلَ الهِجانِ المُكشَّحِ

لِيُروَوا بِهِ أَهلَ الهِجانِ المُكشَّحِ

So I said to them, when I saw its flicker:

So I said to them when I saw its flashing

“May the owners of flank-branded white camels drink their fill from it—

To let the people of commotion quench their thirst

قَبائِلَ مِن كَعبِ بنِ عَمروٍ كَأَنَّهُم

قَبائِلَ مِن كَعبِ بنِ عَمروٍ كَأَنَّهُم

إِذا اِجتَمَعوا يومًا هِضابُ المُضَيَّحِ

إِذا اِجتَمَعوا يومًا هِضابُ المُضَيَّحِ

tribes of Kaʿb ibn ʿAmr, as though they were,

Tribes of Ka’b bin ‘Amr as though they

when they gather on any day, the hills of al-Muḍayyaḥ.

When gathered one day, humps of the rugged valley

تَحُلُّ أَدانِيهِم بِوَدَّانَ فالشَبا

تَحُلُّ أَدانِيهِم بِوَدَّانَ فالشَبا

وَمَسكِنُ أَقصاهُم بِشُهدٍ فَمِنصَحِ

وَمَسكِنُ أَقصاهُم بِشُهدٍ فَمِنصَحِ

Their nearer clans settle at Waddān, then al-Shabā,

Their lower parts girt with valleys, so the youths

and the home of their farthest is at Shuhd, then Minṣaḥ.”

And dwellings of their farthest parts with honey, so clear