Sol 6.1

  1. لِمَن طَلَلٌ ، مِثلُ الكِتابِ المُنمَّقِ

    خلا عهدهُ بين الصُّليبِ فمطرقِ

    Whose is this ruined campsite, like an ornamented book,

    its days long past, between al-Sulayb and Mutriq?

  2. أَكَبَّ علَيهِ كاتِبٌ بدَواتِهِ

    وحادِثُهُ في العَينِ ، جِدَّةُ مُهرَقِ

    A scribe bent over it with his inkpot,

    and its freshness to the eye is that of a new parchment.

  3. لأسماءَ ، إذ تهوى وصالكَ ، إنَّها

    كَذِي جُدَّةٍ ، مِن وَحشِ صاحةَ ، مُرشِقِ

    It was Asma's, when she desired union with you; indeed, she

    was like a slender, striped antelope from Sahah's wild herds.

  4. له بقرانِ الصُّلبِ يقلٌ يلسُّهُ

    وإِنْ يَتَقَدَّمْ بالدَّكادِكِ يأنَقِ

    At Qiran al-Sulb it has herbage to nibble,

    and if it moves farther over the low ridges, it delights.

  5.  وقفتُ بها ، ما إنْ تبينُ لسائلٍ

    وهلْ تفقهُ الصُّمُّ الخوالدُ منطقي

    I stood beside the ruins; they give no answer to a questioner.

    Can the deaf, enduring stones understand my speech?

  6. فبتُّ ، كأنَّ الكأسَ كالَ اعتيادها

    عليَّ ، بصافٍ منْ رحيقٍ ، مروَّقِ

    So I spent the night as though the cup had plied me repeatedly

    with clear, filtered wine.

  7. كرِيحِ ذكيِّ المِسكِ باللّيلِ رِيحُهُ

    يصفَّقُ في إبريقِ جعدٍ منطَّقِ

    Its scent by night is like the scent of fragrant musk;

    it is poured into a stout, girdled ewer.

  8. وماذا تبكّيِ منْ رسومٍ محيلةٍ

    خلاءٍ كسحقِ اليمينةِ المتمزّقِ

    And what makes you weep over timeworn traces,

    deserted, like the torn, threadbare remnants of a Yemeni cloak?

  9. ألاَ ، هل أتتْ أنباؤها أهلَ مأربٍ

    كما قَد أَتَتْ أَهلَ الدَّنا والخَوَرنَقِ

    Have its tidings reached the people of Ma'rib,

    as they have already reached the people of al-Dana and al-Khawarnaq?

  10. بأنَّا منعنا بالفروقِ نساءنا

    ونحن قتلنا منْ أتانا بملزقِ

    That at al-Furuq we protected our women,

    and we killed whoever came against us at Malzaq.

  11. تُبَلِّغُهُمْ عِيسُ الرِّكابِ ، وشُومُها

    فَريقَي مَعَدٍّ : مِن تَهامِ ومُعرِقِ

    Pale riding-camels and their dark ones carry the tidings to them,

    to both branches of Ma'add, those of Tihamah and Iraq,

  12. وموقفنا في غيرِ دارِ تئيَّةٍ

    وملحقنا بالعارض المتألّقِ

    and our stand in a place not meant for delay,

    and our overtaking of the glittering host.

  13. إِذا ما عَلَونا ظَهرَ نشْزٍ ، كأَنَّما

    عَلَى الهامِ مِنَّا قَيضُ بَيضٍ مُفَلَّقِ

    When we mounted the back of a rise, it was as though

    on our heads were shells of split eggs,

  14. من الحُمْسِ ، إِذ جاؤوا إِلينا بِجَمعهِمْ

    غَداةَ لَقِيناهمْ ، بجأواءَ فَيلَقِ

    of the Hums, when they came to us with their host,

    the morning we met them with a vast, dark-armored army.

  15. كأَنَّ النَّعامَ باضَ فَوقَ رُؤوسِهِمْ

    بنهيِ القذافِ أو بنهي مخفّقِ

    It was as though ostriches had laid eggs above their heads

    at the pool of al-Qudhaf or the pool of Mukhaffiq.

  16. ضممنا عليهمْ حافتيهمْ بصادقٍ

    مِنَ الطَّعنِ ، حتّى أزمَعُوا بتَفَرُّقِ

    We pressed both their flanks in upon them with unerring

    spear-thrusts, until they resolved to scatter.

  17. كَأَنَّ مُناخا مِن قُيونٍ ، ومَنزِلاً

    بحيثُ التقينا منْ أكفٍّ ، وأسؤقِ

    It was as though a smiths' camp and dwelling lay

    where we met, amid the hands and shins.

  18. كأنَّهمُ ، كانوا ظباءً بصفصفٍ

    أَفاءَتْ عَليهِم غَبيةٌ ، ذاتُ مَصدَقِ

    As though they had been gazelles on a level plain,

    swept over by a sudden shower true to its promise.

  19. كأنَّ اختلاءَ المشرفيِّ رؤوسهمْ

    هَوِيُّ جَنُوبٍ ، في يَبِيسٍ مُحَرَّقِ

    As though the Mashrafi sword's mowing down their heads

    were a south wind rushing through scorched, dry grass.

  20. لدنْ غدوةً ، حتَّى أنى الليلُ دونهمْ

    ولم ينجُ إلاَّ كلُّ جرداءَ خيفقِ

    From early morning until night came between us and them,

    and none escaped save on a sleek, fleet mare,

  21. ومُستَوعِبٍ في الجَريِ فَضلَ عِنانِهِ

    كَمَرِّ الغَزالِ الشّادِنِ المُتَطلِّقِ

    or a steed that used the full slack of its reins in running,

    like the rush of a young gazelle running free.

  22. فأَلقَوا لَنا أَرسانَ كُلِّ نَجِيبةٍ

    وسابِغةٍ ، كأَنَّها مَتنُ خِرنِقِ

    So they cast to us the halters of every highbred she-camel,

    and a full-length hauberk, like the back of a leveret,

  23. مُداخَلةٍ ، من نَسجِ داودَ ، سَكُّها

    كحبِّ الجنى ، منْ أبلمٍ متفلقِ

    closely interlinked, of David's weaving, its rivets

    like seeds of ripe fruit from a split palm-spathe.

  24. فمنْ يكُ ذا ثوبٍ تنلهُ رماحنا

    ومنْ يكُ عرياناً يوائلْ ، فيسبقِ

    So whoever wears a garment, our spears reach him;

    and whoever is naked seeks escape and gets ahead.

  25. ومنْ يدعوا فينا يعاشُ ببيئسةٍ

    ومَن لا يُغالُوا بالرَّغائبِ نُعْتِقِ

    And whoever calls out among us is kept alive in misery,

    and whoever they will not bid high for with precious gifts, we free.

  26. وأمُّ بحيرٍ في تمارسِ بيننا

    متى تأتها الأنباءُ تخمشْ ، وتحلقِ

    And Buhayr's mother, amid the struggle between us,

    whenever tidings reach her, scratches herself and shaves her head.

  27. تركنا بحيراً ، حيثُ أزحفَ جدُّهُ

    وفينا فراسٌ عانياً ، غيرَ مطلقِ

    We left Buhayr where his fortune failed him,

    and Firas is among us, a captive not released.

  28. ولولا سوادُ الليلِ ، ما آبَ عامرٌ

    إِلى جَعفَرٍ سِربالُهُ لم يُخَرِّقِ

    And but for the darkness of night, 'Amir would not have returned

    to Ja'far with his tunic untorn,

  29. بضربٍ ، تظلُّ الطير فيهِ جوانحاً

    وطعنٍ كأفواهِ المزادِ المفتَّقِ

    amid blows over which birds hover,

    and spear-thrusts like the mouths of ripped waterskins.

  30. فعِزَّتُنا لَيْسَتْ بشِعبٍ بحَرَّةٍ

    ولكنَّها بحرٌ بصحراءَ فيهقِ

    Our might is not a ravine in a lava field,

    but a vast sea amid the desert.

  31. يُقَمِّصُ بالبُوصِيِّ فيهِ غَوارِبٌ

    متى ما يخضها ماهرُ اللُّجِّ يغرقِ

    Its wave-crests toss the boat about;

    whenever a master of the deep enters them, he drowns.

  32. ومَجدُ مَعَدٍّ كانَ فَوقَ عَلايةٍ

    سبقنا به إذ يرتقونَ ، ونرتقي

    And Ma'add's glory stood above a lofty summit;

    we outstripped them in it as they climbed and we climbed.

  33. إِذا الهُندُوانيَّات كُنَّ عُصِيَّنا

    بها نتآيا كلَّ شأنٍ ومفرقِ

    When Indian swords were our staves,

    with them we aimed at every skull-seam and crown.

  34. نجلّي مصاعاً بالسيوفِ وجوهنا

    إذا اعتفرتْ أقدامنا عند مأزقِ

    We kept our faces clear by clashing with swords,

    when our feet became dust-covered at a narrow pass.

  35. فَخَرتُم علَينا أَنْ قَتلتُم فَوارسا

    وقولُ فراسٍ هاجَ فعلي ومنطقي

    You boasted over us that you had killed horsemen,

    and Firas's words roused my deeds and speech.

  36. عجلتمْ علينا حجَّتينِ عليكم

    وما يشاءِ الرحمنُ يعقدْ ويطلقِ

    You rushed against us for two years—against you it turns;

    and whatever the Merciful wills, He binds and looses.

  37. هو الكاسرُ العظمَ الأمينَ ، وما يشأ

    منَ الأَمرِ ، يَجمَعْ بَينَهُ ، ويُفَرّقِ

    He breaks the sturdy bone; and whatever He wills

    of any affair, He brings together and divides.

  38. هو المدخلُ النُّعمانَ بيتاً ، سماؤهُ

    نحورُ الفيولِ ، بعدَ بيتٍ مسدقِ

    He brought al-Nu'man into a house whose roof

    was the throats of elephants, after a windowed house,

  39. وبعدَ مصابِ المزنِ ، كانَ يسوسهُ

    ومالَ مَعَدٍّ ، بَعدَ مالِ مُحَرِّقِ

    and after the lands the clouds water, which he once governed,

    and the wealth of Ma'add, after Muharriq's wealth.

  40. لَهُ فَخمةٌ ذَفْراءُ ، تَنفي عَدُوَّهُ

    كمنكبِ ضاحٍ ، منْ عمايةَ مشرقِ

    He has a mighty, strong-smelling host that drives away his enemy,

    like a bare shoulder of 'Amayah, sunlit.