Sol 6.1

  1. لِمَنِ الشَوازِبُ كَالنَعامِ الجُفَّلِ

    كُسِيَت حِلالاً مِن غُبارِ القَسطَلِ

    Whose are these lean steeds, like startled, fleeing ostriches,

    clothed in robes of thick battle dust?

  2. يَبرُزنَ في حُلَلِ العَجاجِ عَوابِساً

    يَحمِلنَ كُلَّ مُدَرَّعٍ وَمُسَربَلِ

    They emerge grim-faced in robes of swirling dust,

    bearing every armored and mail-clad warrior.

  3. شِبهَ العَرائِسِ تُجتَلى فَكَأَنَّها

    في الخِدرِ مِن ذَيلِ العَجاجِ المُسبَلِ

    Like brides being unveiled, they seem

    to stand in a bridal chamber of dust's trailing train.

  4. فَعَلَت قَوائِمُهُنَّ عِندَ طِرادِها

    فِعلَ الصَوالِجِ في كُراتِ الجَندَلِ

    In their charge, their legs performed

    the work of polo mallets upon balls of stone.

  5. فَتَظَلُّ تَرقُمُ في الصُخورِ أَهِلَّةً

    بِشَبا حَوافِرِها وَإِن لَم تُنعَلِ

    So they keep inscribing crescents in the rocks

    with their hooves' sharp edges, even when unshod.

  6. يَحمِلنَ مِن آلِ العَريضِ فَوارِساً

    كَالأُسدِ في أَجَمِ الرِماحِ الذُبَّلِ

    They bear horsemen of the house of al-Arid,

    like lions in thickets of slender lances.

  7. تَنشالُ حَولَ مُدَرَّعٍ بِجِنانِهِ

    فَكَأَنَّهُ مِن بَأسِهِ في مَعقِلِ

    Lances rise around a man whose heart is his armor,

    as though his valor kept him in a stronghold.

  8. مازالَ صَدرَ الدِستِ صَدرَ الرُتبَةِ ال

    عَلياءِ صَدرَ الجَيشِ صَدرَ المَحفَلِ

    Ever foremost on the dais, foremost in the rank most

    exalted, foremost in the army, foremost in the assembly.

  9. لَو أَنصَفَتهُ بَنو مَحاسِنَ إِذ مَشَوا

    كانَت رُؤوسُهُمُ مَكانَ الأَرجُلِ

    Had Banu Mahasin given him his due as they walked,

    their heads would have taken the place of feet.

  10. بَينا تَراهُ خَطيبَهُم في مَحفَلٍ

    رَحبٍ تَراهُ زَعيمَهُم في جَحفَلِ

    While you see him their orator in an assembly,

    spacious, you see him their commander in a mighty host.

  11. شاطَرتُهُ حَربَ العُداةِ لِعِلمِهِ

    أَنّي كِنانَتُهُ الَّتي لَم تُنثَلِ

    I shared with him the war against the foes, for he knew

    that I was his quiver, never emptied.

  12. لَمّا دَعَتني لِلنِزاِلِ أَقارِبي

    لَبّاهُمُ عَنّي لِسانُ المُنصُلِ

    When my kinsmen called me to combat,

    the tongue of my blade answered them for me.

  13. وَأَبَيتُ مِن أَنّي أَعيشُ بِعِزِّهِم

    وَأَكونَ عَنهُم في الحُروبِ بِمَعزِلِ

    I refused to live by their glory

    yet stand apart from them in wars.

  14. وافَيتُ في يَومٍ أَغَرَّ مُحَجَّلٍ

    أَغشى الهِياجَ عَلى أَغَرَّ مُحَجَّلِ

    I arrived on a white-blazed, white-footed day,

    entering the fray on a white-blazed, white-footed steed.

  15. ثارَ العَجاجُ فَكُنتُ أَوَّلَ صائِلٍ

    وَعَلا الضِرامُ فَكُنتُ أَوَّلَ مُصطَلِ

    The battle dust rose, and I was first to charge;

    the blaze rose, and I was first to brave its heat.

  16. فَغَدا يَقولُ كَبيرُهُم وَصَغيرُهُم

    لا خَيرَ فيمَن قالَ إِن لَم يَفعَلِ

    Then their elders and their young began to say:

    "There is no good in one who speaks but does not act."

  17. سَل ساكِني الزَوراءَ وَالأُمَمَ الَّتي

    حَضَرَت وَظَلَّلَها رِواقُ القَسطَلِ

    Ask the dwellers of al-Zawra and the peoples who

    were present, shaded by the canopy of battle dust:

  18. مَن كانَ تَمَّمَ نَقصَها بِحُسامِهِ

    إِذ كُلُّ شاكٍ في السِلاحِ كَأَعزَلِ

    who made good their shortfall with his keen sword,

    when every man bristling with arms was as one unarmed?

  19. أَو مَن تَدَرَّعَ بِالعَجاجَةِ عِندَما

    نادى مُنادي القَومِ يا خَيلُ اِحمِلي

    Or who armored himself in the dust cloud when

    the people's herald cried, "O cavalry, charge!"

  20. تُخبِركَ فُرسانُ العَريكَةِ أَنَّني

    كُنتُ المُصَلّي بَعدَ سَبقِ الأَوَّلِ

    The horsemen of the battlefield will tell you that I

    was the second racer, after the first had taken the lead.

  21. ما كانَ يَنفَعُ مَن تَقَدَّمَ سَبقُهُ

    لَو لَم تُتَمِّمها مَضارِبُ مُنصُلي

    The man ahead would have gained nothing from his lead,

    had my blade's striking edges not completed it.

  22. لَكِن تَقاسَمنا عَوامِلَ نَحوِها

    فَالإِسمُ كانَ لَهُ وَكانَ الفِعلُ لي

    Yet we shared the governing agents of its grammar:

    the name was his, and the deed was mine.

  23. وَبَديعَةٍ نَظَرَت إِلَيَّ بِها العِدى

    نَظَرَ الفَقيرُ إِلى الغَنِيِّ المُقبِلِ

    And at many a wondrous utterance my foes regarded me

    as a pauper regards a rich man approaching.

  24. وَاِستَثقَلَت نُطقي بِها فَكَأَنَّما

    لَقِيَت بِثالِثِ سورَةِ المُزَّمِّلِ

    They found my uttering it burdensome, as though

    they had encountered the third verse of Surat al-Muzzammil.

  25. حَتّى اِنثَنَت لَم تَدرِ ما تَتَّقي

    عِندَ الوَقائِعِ صارِمي أَم مِقوَلي

    At last they turned away, not knowing what to ward off

    in battles: my keen sword or my tongue.

  26. حَمَلوا عَلَيَّ الحِقدَ حَتّى أَصبَحَت

    تَغلي صُدورُهُمُ كَغَليِ المِرجَلِ

    They harbored hatred against me, until at last

    their breasts boiled like a cauldron.

  27. إِن يَطلُبوا قَتلي فَلَستُ أَلومُهُم

    دَمُ شَيخِهِم في صارِمي لَم يَنصُلِ

    If they seek my death, I do not blame them:

    their chief's blood has not faded from my sword.

  28. ما لي أُسَتِّرُها وَتِلكَ فَضيلَةٌ

    الفَخرُ في فَصدِ العَدُوِّ بِمِنجَلِ

    Why should I conceal it, when it is a virtue?

    Pride lies in opening the enemy's vein with a sickle.

  29. قَد شاهَدوا مِن قَبلِ ذاكَ تَرَفُّعي

    عَن حَربِهِم وَتَماسُكي وَتَجَمُّلي

    They had already seen, before this, my holding aloof

    from war with them, my restraint and forbearance.

  30. لَمّا أَثاروا الحَربَ قالَت هِمَّتي

    جَهِلَ الزَمانُ عَلَيكَ إِن لَم تَجهَلِ

    When they stirred up war, my resolve said:

    "Time will treat you with insolence unless you are insolent."

  31. فَالآنَ حينَ فَلَيتُ ناصِيَةَ الفَلا

    حَتّى تَعَلَّمَتِ النُجومُ تَنَقُّلي

    So now, after I have combed the desert's forelock,

    until the stars have learned my wanderings,

  32. أَضحى يُحاوِلُني العَدُوُّ وَهِمَّتي

    تَعلو عَلى هامِ السِماكِ الأَعزَلِ

    the enemy tries to assail me, while my resolve

    rises above the crown of al-Simak the Unarmed.

  33. وَيَرومُ إِدراكي وَتِلكَ عَجيبَةٌ

    هَل يُمكِنُ الزَرزورَ صَيدَ الأَجدَلِ

    He seeks to catch me—what a marvel!

    Can a starling hunt a falcon?

  34. قُل لِلَّيالي وَيكِ ما شِئتِ اِصنَعي

    بَعدي وَلِلأَيّامِ ما شِئتِ اِفعَلي

    Tell the nights, "Woe to you! Do as you wish

    after I am gone"; and the days, "Do as you wish."

  35. حَسبُ العَدُوِّ بِأَنَّني أَدرَكتُهُ

    لَمّا وَليتُ وَفُتُّهُ لَمّا وَلي

    Enough for the enemy that I caught him

    when I held power, and eluded him when he held it.

  36. سَأَظَلُّ كُلَّ صَبيحَةٍ في مَهمَهٍ

    وَأَبيتُ كُلَّ عَشِيَّةٍ في مَنزِلِ

    Each morning I shall be in a trackless waste,

    and spend each evening in a lodging.

  37. وَأَسيرُ فَرداً في البِلادِ وَإِنَّني

    مِن حَشدِ جَيشِ عَزائِمي في جَحفَلِ

    I travel alone through the lands, yet I

    am amid a mighty host: the mustered army of my resolves.

  38. أَجفو الدِيارَ فَإِن رَكِبتُ وَضَمَّني

    سَرجُ المُطَهَّمِ قُلتُ هَذا مَنزِلي

    I shun dwellings; when I mount and am embraced by

    a fine steed's saddle, I say, "This is my home."

  39. لا تَسمَعَنَّ بِأَن أُسِرتُ مُسَلَّماً

    وَإِذا سَمِعتَ بِأَن قُتِلتُ فَعَوِّلِ

    Never hear that I was captured without resistance;

    and if you hear that I was killed, then trust the report.

  40. ما الاِعتِذارُ وَصارِمي في عاتِقي

    إِن لَم يَكُن مِن دونِ أَسري مَقتَلي

    What excuse have I, my sword upon my shoulder,

    if my death does not come before my capture?

  41. ما كانَ عُذري إِن صَبَرتُ عَلى الأَذى

    وَرَضيتُ بَعدَ تَدَلُّلي بِتَذَلُّلي

    What excuse would I have if I endured harm

    and accepted abasement after being indulged?

  42. فَإِذا رُميتَ بِحادِثٍ في بَلدَةٍ

    جَرِّد حُسامَكَ صائِلاً أَو فَاِرحَلِ

    So if misfortune strikes you in a town,

    unsheathe your sword and charge—or else depart.

  43. فَلِذاكَ لا أَخشى وُرودَ مَنِيَّتي

    وَأَرى وُرودَ الحَتفِ عَذبَ المَنهَلِ

    That is why I do not fear the coming of my death,

    and find death's watering place sweet to approach.

  44. فَإِذا عَلا جَدّي فَقَلبي جُنَّتي

    وَإِذا دَنا أَجَلي فَدِرعي مَقتَلي

    When my fortune rises, my heart is my shield;

    when my appointed end draws near, my armor is my doom.

  45. ما تِهتُ بِالدُنيا إِذا هِيَ أَقبَلَت

    نَحوي وَلا آسى إِذا لَم تُقبِلِ

    I never swelled with pride when the world turned

    toward me, nor do I grieve when it does not.

  46. وَكَذاكَ ما وَصَلَت فَقُلتُ لَها اِقطَعي

    يَوماً وَلا قَطَعَت فَقُلتُ لَها صِلي

    Likewise, when it kept ties, I never told it, "Sever them";

    nor ever, when it severed them, did I tell it, "Renew them."

  47. صَبراً عَلى كَيدِ العُداةِ لَعَلَّنا

    نَسقي أَخيرَهُمُ بِكَأسِ الأَوَّلِ

    Patience with the enemies' plotting; perhaps we

    shall give their last to drink from the first one's cup.

  48. يا عُصبَةً فَرِحوا بِمَصرَعِ لَيثِنا

    ماذا أَمِنتُم مِن وُثوبِ الأَشبُلِ

    O band who rejoiced at the fall of our lion,

    how could you feel safe from the lion cubs' pounce?

  49. قَومٌ يُعِزّونَ النَزيلَ وَطالَما

    بَخِلَ الحَيا وَأَكُفُّهُم لَم تَبخَلِ

    A people who honor the guest; how often

    the rain has been miserly, while their hands were not!

  50. يَفنى الزَمانُ وَفيهِ رَونَقُ ذِكرِهِم

    يَبلى القَميصُ وَفيهِ عَرفُ المَندَلِ

    Time perishes, yet within it shines their memory's luster;

    a shirt wears out, yet bears the fragrance of aloeswood.