حمامَ اللِّوَى رفقاً به فهو لُبُّهُ

حمامَ اللِّوَى رفقاً به فهو لُبُّهُ

جوادَا رِهانٍ نوحُكنّ ونَحْبُهُ

جوادَا رِهانٍ نوحُكنّ ونَحْبُهُ

O doves of al-Liwā, be gentle with him, for he is its very heart.

Doves of al-Liwa, be gentle with it, for it is his heart.

Two steeds contend in his wager: your lamentation and his doom.

Your mourning and his sobbing are two racehorses.

قَرَاكُنّ من لا يَنقَعُ الطير ماؤه

قَرَاكُنّ من لا يَنقَعُ الطير ماؤه

ولا يُشبعُ النُّوقَ السواغبَ عُشْبُهُ

ولا يُشبعُ النُّوقَ السواغبَ عُشْبُهُ

He who offers you hospitality has water that cannot quench the birds,

One whose water cannot quench the birds has hosted you,

and grass that cannot fill the famished she-camels.

nor can his grass satisfy the starving she-camels.

وطِرتنَّ حيث القانصُ أمتدّ حَبلُهُ

وطِرتنَّ حيث القانصُ أمتدّ حَبلُهُ

وطالت فلم تعدُ القوادمَ قضْبُهُ

وطالت فلم تعدُ القوادمَ قضْبُهُ

Yet you fly where the hunter has stretched his snare,

You flew where the hunter's snare stretched out,

drawn so long that even the pinion feathers do not pass its reach.

and his rods grew long, yet never reached beyond the foremost flight feathers.

أعمداً تُهيِّجْن أمرأً بان أنسُه

أعمداً تُهيِّجْن أمرأً بان أنسُه

وأسلَمهُ حتى أخوه وصَحْبُهُ

وأسلَمهُ حتى أخوه وصَحْبُهُ

Do you deliberately rouse a man whose comforting companions have gone,

Do you deliberately stir a man whose solace has departed,

abandoned even by his brother and his friends?

and whom even his brother and companions have abandoned?

أمرّ ومُهرى مُغرَمَيْنِ على اللِّوى

أمرّ ومُهرى مُغرَمَيْنِ على اللِّوى

فأسأله أو كاد ينطق تُربُهُ

فأسأله أو كاد ينطق تُربُهُ

I pass al-Liwā, my colt and I both lovesick,

I pass over al-Liwa, my colt and I both enamored,

and question it—or rather, its very dust almost speaks:

and question it—or its soil almost speaks:

من الحيّ تشتقُّ العِرَضْنَةَ عِيسُهُ

من الحيّ تشتقُّ العِرَضْنَةَ عِيسُهُ

إزاءك حتى أمتدّ كالسطر رَكبُهُ

إزاءك حتى أمتدّ كالسطر رَكبُهُ

“What tribe are those white camels cleaving al-ʿAraḍana,

What tribe is this, whose pale camels carve a swaying course

facing you, their caravan stretching like a written line?”

before you, until its caravan stretches out like a written line?

وفي الظُّعْنِ محسودُ الحواضر مُترَفٌ

وفي الظُّعْنِ محسودُ الحواضر مُترَفٌ

ُتلا ثعلى خدّ الغزالة نُقْبُهُ

ُتلا ثعلى خدّ الغزالة نُقْبُهُ

Among the departing litters is a pampered beauty, envied by those at home;

Among the departing riders is a pampered one whom town-dwellers envy;

a Thaʿlī veil drapes the gazelle-like cheek beneath her face-covering.

his veils are wrapped over the cheek of a gazelle.

تطولُ على الصَّوَّاغِ حين يمدّها

تطولُ على الصَّوَّاغِ حين يمدّها

خَلا خيلُهُ الَمْلأَى وتقصُرُ حُقْبُهُ

خَلا خيلُهُ الَمْلأَى وتقصُرُ حُقْبُهُ

She towers above the high, unyielding peaks when they lift her,

The goldsmith finds them long when he stretches them—

save for his full-fed horses; even his saddle-girths fall short.

his full anklets—while his girdles are short.

جَهِدنا فلم نُدرِك على أنَّ خيلَنا

جَهِدنا فلم نُدرِك على أنَّ خيلَنا

سواءٌ عليها سهلُ سيرٍ وصَعْبُهُ

سواءٌ عليها سهلُ سيرٍ وصَعْبُهُ

We strove but could not overtake them, though our horses

We strove, yet did not catch up, although our horses

find easy and arduous going alike.

find easy going and hard going alike.

وقد فَطِنتْ للشوق فهي تسرّعا

وقد فَطِنتْ للشوق فهي تسرّعا

تكاد تعدّ السير يومَ بغِبُّهُ

تكاد تعدّ السير يومَ بغِبُّهُ

They have sensed our longing, and so race onward,

They have sensed the longing, so in their haste

almost counting a day’s journey again on the morrow.

they almost count a day's march and its morrow as one.

أكلُّ ظَمائي غائضٌ ما يَبُلُّه

أكلُّ ظَمائي غائضٌ ما يَبُلُّه

وكلّ سَقامي مُعوِزٌ مَنْ يَطُبُّهُ

وكلّ سَقامي مُعوِزٌ مَنْ يَطُبُّهُ

Must every thirst drain away whatever would moisten it,

Must what would quench all my thirst ebb away,

and every sickness of mine lack someone to cure it?

and must all my sickness lack a healer?

تلاعبتَ بي يا دهرُ حتى تركتني

تلاعبتَ بي يا دهرُ حتى تركتني

وسيّانِ عندي جِدّ خطبٍ ولِعْبُهُ

وسيّانِ عندي جِدّ خطبٍ ولِعْبُهُ

Time, you toyed with me until you left

Time, you have toyed with me until you left me

grave calamity and playful sport alike in my eyes.

counting a calamity's earnestness and its jest alike.

وأبعدتَ مَنْ أهوَى فإن كنتَ مزمعا

وأبعدتَ مَنْ أهوَى فإن كنتَ مزمعا

لتسلبني عنهم فسعد وقربُهُ

لتسلبني عنهم فسعد وقربُهُ

You have put far away those I love; yet if you are resolved

You have sent those I love far away; if you are resolved

to wrench me from them, then Saʿd and nearness to him

to tear me away from them, then Sa'd and nearness to him

بودِّي وهل يغني عن المرء ودُّه

بودِّي وهل يغني عن المرء ودُّه

وأشياعُهث فيما يحاول حِزبُهُ

وأشياعُهث فيما يحاول حِزبُهُ

are my desire—though what can a man’s desire avail him,

are my desire—but can a man's desire avail him,

or its allies, his whole party, in anything he attempts?

and can his followers, his party, help in what he attempts?

سلكتُ مجازَ العزّ بيني وبينه

سلكتُ مجازَ العزّ بيني وبينه

تُحَطُّ روابيه وتُهْتَكُ حُجْبُهُ

تُحَطُّ روابيه وتُهْتَكُ حُجْبُهُ

I have taken the passage of glory between myself and him,

I took the road to honor between him and me,

leveling its mountains and tearing through its veils.

its hills brought low and its veils torn away.

ولو أنّ أرضا مَهلكا هان قطعُها

ولو أنّ أرضا مَهلكا هان قطعُها

ولو أنّ ماءً من دمٍ ساغ شربُهُ

ولو أنّ ماءً من دمٍ ساغ شربُهُ

Were it a deadly land, crossing it would become easy;

Even if the land were deadly, crossing it would be easy;

were its water blood, drinking it would go down sweetly—

even if the water were blood, it would be easy to drink,

إلى قمرٍ طرفي تعلَّلَ دونه

إلى قمرٍ طرفي تعلَّلَ دونه

وكم قمرٍ غطَّته دونِيَ سُحْبُهُ

وكم قمرٍ غطَّته دونِيَ سُحْبُهُ

to reach a moon before whom my gaze consoles itself from afar.

toward a moon, my gaze having consoled itself without him—

How many a moon have its clouds concealed from me!

and how many a moon its clouds have hidden from me!

أبا القاسم المَرْعَى مَريرٌ نباتُهُ

أبا القاسم المَرْعَى مَريرٌ نباتُهُ

يَبِيسٌ وحلوُ العيش عندك رَطْبُهُ

يَبِيسٌ وحلوُ العيش عندك رَطْبُهُ

Abū al-Qāsim, where the protected pasture’s bitter herbage

Abu al-Qasim, the pasture's growth is bitter,

dries up, while the sweetness of life beside you stays fresh—

dry; with you lies life's sweet, fresh growth.

أقول وما داجتك زُوراً محبّتي

أقول وما داجتك زُوراً محبّتي

وقد يُفرطَ الإنسانُ فيمن يُحبّهُ

وقد يُفرطَ الإنسانُ فيمن يُحبّهُ

I speak, though no falsehood has ever clouded my love for you;

I say this, and my affection has not flattered you falsely;

yet a man may fail even someone he loves.

though a man may go too far concerning someone he loves.

زكا غُصُنٌ من آل ضبَّة أصلُهُ

زكا غُصُنٌ من آل ضبَّة أصلُهُ

أبوك له فرعٌ وإنك عَقْبُهُ

أبوك له فرعٌ وإنك عَقْبُهُ

A branch has flourished, rooted in the house of Ḍabba:

A branch has flourished, its root in the house of Dabba;

your father is its bough, and you indeed its true scion—

your father is its bough, and you his offspring.

علاءٌ تملَّتْ منه بالودّ عُجْمُهُ

علاءٌ تملَّتْ منه بالودّ عُجْمُهُ

لصحبها وأستبقتِ العزَّ عُرْبُهُ

لصحبها وأستبقتِ العزَّ عُرْبُهُ

a loftiness in whose affection its non-Arabs delighted

An eminence whose non-Arabs have long enjoyed his affection

and whose company they enjoyed, while its Arabs raced to claim its glory.

for their fellowship, while his Arabs have preserved his glory.

رأي بك ما أنسى أبنَ غيلٍ شُبولَهُ

رأي بك ما أنسى أبنَ غيلٍ شُبولَهُ

فخيرا بخيرٍ أو فشرّا يذبُّهُ

فخيرا بخيرٍ أو فشرّا يذبُّهُ

In you he saw what would make the lion, son of the thicket, forget his cubs:

He saw in you what made the lion of the thicket forget his cubs—

goodness repaid with goodness, or evil that he wards away.

good met with good, or evil that he repels.

قليلا على حكم النجابة شِبهُهُ

قليلا على حكم النجابة شِبهُهُ

كثيرا على ما توجب السنُّ تِرْبُهُ

كثيرا على ما توجب السنُّ تِرْبُهُ

By nobility’s judgment, few indeed are his like,

Rare is his like by the measure of noble excellence;

though age alone would give him many peers.

many are his peers by the reckoning of age.

لئن أخَّرتْني عن فِنائكما التي

لئن أخَّرتْني عن فِنائكما التي

عتبتُ لها دهري فلم يُجْدِ عَتْبُهُ

عتبتُ لها دهري فلم يُجْدِ عَتْبُهُ

If what kept me back from your two courts

If that misfortune has delayed me from the courtyard of you both—

made me blame my fate, though blame availed nothing,

for which I reproached Time, though reproach did no good—

وسوّفني رؤياكما فألطَّ بي

وسوّفني رؤياكما فألطَّ بي

فعادتُهُ في أخذ حقِّيَ غصبُهُ

فعادتُهُ في أخذ حقِّيَ غصبُهُ

and the hope of seeing you kept promising “soon” and clung to me,

and Time put off my seeing you both, persisting against me,

until fate’s habit was to seize my rightful due by force,

for its way of taking my due is to seize it by force,

فياليته أدنَى مَزارِيَ منكما

فياليته أدنَى مَزارِيَ منكما

وأهليَ مَرعاه وداريَ نَهبُهُ

وأهليَ مَرعاه وداريَ نَهبُهُ

then would that it were the nearer of my two places of visitation—one of you—

if only it would bring me nearer to visit you both,

while my family is its pasture and my home its spoil.

even with my family its pasture and my house its plunder!

وما أنا من تُصبيه أوطانُ بيته

وما أنا من تُصبيه أوطانُ بيته

لعاجلِ أمرٍ سَرَّ والعارُ غِبُّهُ

لعاجلِ أمرٍ سَرَّ والعارُ غِبُّهُ

I am not one whom the homelands of his house can beguile

I am not one whom his native home entices

for some immediate pleasure whose aftermath is shame.

for some immediate pleasure whose aftermath is disgrace.

إذا أنا أبغضتُ الهوانَ ودارَه

إذا أنا أبغضتُ الهوانَ ودارَه

فأهوَنُ ما فارقتُه مَن أُحبّهُ

فأهوَنُ ما فارقتُه مَن أُحبّهُ

If I hate humiliation and its abode,

When I loathe humiliation and its abode,

then the easiest thing to leave is even one I love.

the easiest thing I leave behind is the one I love.

صِلونا فإنا مُجدِبون بمنزلٍ

صِلونا فإنا مُجدِبون بمنزلٍ

يضيق على الأيام بالحُرّ رَحبُهُ

يضيق على الأيام بالحُرّ رَحبُهُ

Visit us, for drought has struck us at a campsite

Extend your favor to us: we are drought-stricken in a dwelling

whose vastness, for all its breadth, constricts the hills with heat.

whose spaciousness grows narrow for a free man as days pass.

سواءٌ به يا آل ضّة ليثُهُ

سواءٌ به يا آل ضّة ليثُهُ

إذا سار يبغي فيه وضَبُّهُ

إذا سار يبغي فيه وضَبُّهُ

There, O house of Ḍabba, its lion is on a par

In it, O house of Dabba, its lion is no different,

with its lizard when each roams there seeking sustenance.

when it goes seeking there, from its lizard.

وكانوا عِيَاراً ربما جاد بعضهم

وكانوا عِيَاراً ربما جاد بعضهم

فأعدَى صحاحَ السَّرْحِ يا سعد جُرْبُهُ

فأعدَى صحاحَ السَّرْحِ يا سعد جُرْبُهُ

They were fickle men; though one of them might prove generous,

They were a touchstone; some perhaps proved good,

his mange would infect the sound, free-grazing herd, O Saʿd.

so the herd's mangy beasts, Sa'd, infected its healthy ones.

يعزّ عليكم كيف يَرجِعُ مُرمِلا

يعزّ عليكم كيف يَرجِعُ مُرمِلا

غلامٌ من الآداب والمجد كسبُهُ

غلامٌ من الآداب والمجد كسبُهُ

Does it not grieve you that he should return empty-handed—

It would pain you: how can he return penniless—

a young man whose only gains are refinement and glory?

a youth whose earnings come from letters and glory?

تقدّمني قومٌ وما ذاك ضائري

تقدّمني قومٌ وما ذاك ضائري

لديكم إذا ما أخلص الزُّبدَ وَطْبُهُ

لديكم إذا ما أخلص الزُّبدَ وَطْبُهُ

You have advanced some men before me, but that does not harm me

Some people preceded me, but that does me no harm

in your eyes, once butter is purified from the skin that churned it.

in your eyes, once his milk-skin has yielded pure butter.

أبانُهمُ تلفيقُ جهلٍ يَرُبُّهم

أبانُهمُ تلفيقُ جهلٍ يَرُبُّهم

وأخملني تحقيقُ فضلٍ أرُبُّهُ

وأخملني تحقيقُ فضلٍ أرُبُّهُ

A patchwork of ignorance distinguished and raised them,

Their patched-up ignorance has made them prominent and sustains them;

while proven merit and intelligence left me obscure.

while my pursuit of true excellence, which I cultivate, has left me obscure.

تحلَّ بها يا سعد فهي قلادةٌ

تحلَّ بها يا سعد فهي قلادةٌ

يُزّيِّنُ فيها فاخرَ الدرّ ثَقْبُهُ

يُزّيِّنُ فيها فاخرَ الدرّ ثَقْبُهُ

Adorn yourself with it, O Saʿd, for it is a necklace

Adorn yourself with it, Sa'd: it is a necklace

in which even its piercing adorns the finest pearl:

in which piercing beautifies the choicest pearls.

هديّةُ خِلٍّ إن جعلتَ ودادك ال

هديّةُ خِلٍّ إن جعلتَ ودادك ال

صَّداقَ لها مع فقره فهو حسبُهُ

صَّداقَ لها مع فقره فهو حسبُهُ

a friend’s gift—if you make your affection the

A friend's gift—if you make your affection the

friendship due it despite his poverty; that alone is his lineage.

dower for it, despite his poverty, that is enough for him.

يرفِّعهُ عن بذلة البعد عتبُهُ

يرفِّعهُ عن بذلة البعد عتبُهُ

وهمّته العليا إلى الناس ذنبُهُ

وهمّته العليا إلى الناس ذنبُهُ

His reproach raises him above the humiliation of distance,

His reproach lifts him above the abasement of distance;

and his lofty ambition among mankind is his only fault.

and his lofty ambition is his offense in people's eyes.

ولي أختُها عند الوزير تلوح في

ولي أختُها عند الوزير تلوح في

دجى الليل أو تبدو فتَخجَلُ شُهبُهُ

دجى الليل أو تبدو فتَخجَلُ شُهبُهُ

I have its sister with the vizier, gleaming in

And I have its sister with the vizier, shining in

the darkness of night—or appearing while its meteors blush.

the darkness of night—or appearing and shaming its stars.

يلذُّ لها مَدُّ النشيد ولينُه

يلذُّ لها مَدُّ النشيد ولينُه

ويُزَهَي بها رفعٌ الكلامِ ونصبُهُ

ويُزَهَي بها رفعٌ الكلامِ ونصبُهُ

She delights in the drawn-out softness of recitation,

The length and softness of its chanting give delight,

and speech’s nominative and accusative alike glory in her.

and the nominative and accusative of speech glory in it.

لها حُسْنُها لكن أريدك شافعاً

لها حُسْنُها لكن أريدك شافعاً

وخيرُ شفيعٍ لي إلى الجسم قلبُهُ

وخيرُ شفيعٍ لي إلى الجسم قلبُهُ

She has her own beauty, but I want you as her intercessor,

It has beauty of its own, but I want you as an intercessor;

for the body’s best intercessor with me is its heart.

and my best intercessor with the body is its heart.