غدت عذالتاي فقلت مهلا — رقيع الوالبي

غَدَت عَذّالَتايَ فَقُلتُ مَهلاً

أَفي وَجدٍ بِلَيلى تَعذلاني

My two reprovers came in the morning; I said, "Gently!"

Do you two reproach me for my passion for Layla?

أَعاذِلَتَيَّ مَهلاً بَعضَ لَومي

كَفاني مِن عَنائِكُما كَفاني

O my two reprovers, gently—less blame for me!

I have had enough of your torment—enough!

أَقِلا اللَّومَ قَد جَرَّبتُ عَيشي

وَقَد عُلِّمتُ إِن علمٌ نَهاني

Lessen your reproach; I have experienced life,

And I have been taught—if knowledge could restrain me.

إِذا طاوَعتُ عِلمَكُما فَمَن لي

مِنَ الغَيبِ الَّذي لا تَعلَمانِ

If I heed your knowledge, who will stand by me

Against the unseen that you two do not know?

خَليلَيَّ اِنظُرا لَعَلّي

أُقَضّي حاجَتي لَو تربعانِ

My two friends, wait; perhaps I

Can fulfill my need, if you two would linger.

أَلِمّا بي عَلى رَسمٍ قَديمٍ

لِلَيلى بَينَ صارَةَ وَالقَنانِ

Stop with me at an old trace of a dwelling,

Layla's, between Ṣārah and al-Qanān.

وَقَفتُ بِها فَظَلَّ الدَّمعُ يَجري

عَلى خَدَّيَّ أَمثالَ الجُمانِ

I stood there, and tears kept flowing

Over my cheeks like pearls.

نُسائِلُ أَينَ صارَت دارُ لَيلى

فَضَنَّ الرَّبعُ عَنّا بِالبَيانِ

We ask where Layla's dwelling has gone,

But the encampment withheld an answer from us.

نَأَت لَيلى فَلا تَدنو نَواها

وَلَو أشفى بِمَنطِقِها شَفاني

Layla has gone far away; her distance draws no nearer,

And could I be healed by her speech, it would heal me.

وَموماةٍ تَمَلُّ العيسُ حَتَّى

تقطعها به بِغيطانٍ بطانِ

And many a desert where the pale camels grow weary, until

They cross it with him through broad-bottomed hollows;

وَهَمٍّ قَد قَرَيتُ زَماعَ أَمرٍ

إِذا ما الهَمُّ بِالنُّصبِ اِعتَراني

And many a care I have treated to firm resolve in action,

Whenever worry came upon me with weariness—

قَطَعتُ بِناتِحِ الذِّفرى سَبَنتى

سبوح المَشي عَوّامِ الحرانِ

I crossed on a powerful, long-bodied mount sweating behind its ears,

Swimming in its gait, a swimmer through the stony plains.

أَشُجُّ بِهِ رُؤوسَ البيدِ شَجّاً

إِذا ما الآلُ أَلوى بِالرعانِ

With him I gash the heads of the deserts, gash upon gash,

Whenever the mirage twists about the mountain spurs.

إِذا ما القَومُ مَنّوا حادِيَيهِم

دُنُوَّ الشَيءِ لَيسَ لَهُم يَدانِ

Whenever the travelers give their two camel-drivers hope

Of a goal's nearness, though they lack the strength to reach it,

هُناكَ أهينُ راحِلَتي وَرَحلي

وَما لِرَفيقِ رَحلي مِن هَوانِ

There I spare neither my mount nor my saddle,

Yet the companion of my saddle suffers no dishonor.

فَذَر هَذا وَلَكِن غَيرَ هَذا

عَنَيتُ مِن المَقالَةِ أَو عَناني

So leave this; but something other than this

I meant by my words—or it concerned me.

فَإِن كانَ العَداوَةُ مِنكَ حَقّاً

تُجَدِّدُ لي إِذَن حَتّى تراني

So if your enmity is indeed real,

Renew it against me, then, until you see me.

فَنَنظُرُ ما لَدَيكَ إِذا اِلتَقَينا

وَتَنزِعُ إِن جَرَيتَ وَأَنتَ وانِ

Then we shall see what you have when we meet,

And you will withdraw if you race while flagging.

فَإِن تَعجِز فَقَد أَبلَيتَ عَجزاً

وَإِن تَصبِر فَأَنتَ عَلى مَكانِ

So if you fail, you have shown your weakness;

And if you endure, you hold your ground.

تَوارَثَني الغُواةُ فجَرَّبوني

حَفيظَ العَقبِ جَيّاشَ العِنانِ

The reckless inherited me in turn and put me to the test:

Saving strength for another burst, surging against the reins.

لي السَّبقُ المُبَرِّزُ كُلَّ يَومٍ

إِذا صاحَ الجَوالِبُ بِالرِّهانِ

Mine is the commanding lead every day,

When the race-callers cry out for the stakes.

أَصابَ الدَّهرُ مِن جَسَدي وَأَبقى

كَما يَبقى مِنَ السَّيفِ اليَماني

Time has worn down my body, but left a remnant,

Like what remains of a Yemeni sword.

وَقَد ضَحِكَت زُنَيبَةُ مِن شُحوبي

وَشَيبٍ في المَفارِقِ قَد عَلاني

And Zunaybah has laughed at my pallor

And the gray at my hair's partings that has covered me.

وَماذا الشَّيبُ عَن قِدَمٍ ولَكِن

أَشابَ الرَّأسَ رَوعاتُ الزَّمانِ

And this gray is not from old age; rather,

The terrors of time have turned my head gray.

وَهَمٍّ داخِلٍ أَفنى ثَناهُ

سَوادَ اللَحمِ مِنّي فَاِبتَراني

And an inward care—its recurrence consumed

The bulk of my flesh and whittled me away.

وَما قالَت مَقالَتَها بِغِشٍّ

وَلكِن هَوَّلَت مِن أَن تَراني

And she did not speak her words deceitfully,

But she spoke in alarm at seeing me.

وَكانَ لِيَ الشَبابُ خَليلَ صِدقٍ

فَبانَ وَما قَلَيتُ وَلا قَلاني

And youth was a faithful friend to me;

Then it departed, though I did not hate it, nor did it hate me.

كَذَلِكَ كُلُّ نَدمانَي صَفاءٍ

إِلى أَجلٍ هُما مُتَفَرِّقانِ

Likewise, every pair of boon companions in true friendship

Has its allotted time: the two will part.