لَضْمَ يِتْلَمَّعْ لِمَاعَهْ
As to Abū Shādūf, God preserve his youth
And make him our shaykh, to rule to our gain,
Like his father mounted, and may his army
Troop after troop after troop contain,
And may he buck like a donkey and set off around noon
And lounge about pompously and sit in the shirāʿah.16
Thus we end our words, and God alone endures,
And death’s a cup from which none may abstain!
And I’m a smart guy and all my life a poet,
And I string together verses that shimmer and shine.
٤،١١،١٠
| جَعَلْتُو فِيهِ يَحْزَنْ مَنْ يَشُوفُو | وَوَدَّعْتُو بِقَوْلِي ٱلْيَوْمْ وَدَاعَهْ |
| وَٱضَالْ عَالزَّيْنْ أُصَلِّي طُولَ عُمْرِي | نَبِيِّ ٱللهْ وَأَطْلُبْ لِي شَفَاعَهْ |
| وَمِنْ بَعْدَ ٱلصَّلَاةِ اسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِي١ | وَضَرْبَةْ دَمِّ تَكْتَمْ دِي ٱلْجَمَاعَهْ |
١ الأصل: قولي.
These I’ve made so all who behold them may mourn,
And today with my words I’ve sent him off fine,
And for the rest of my days I’ll praise the Beauteous,
God’s Prophet, and pray his intercession to gain.
Now the blessing’s done, so hear what I say:
I hope you’re all snuffed by a clot on the brain!
١٢،١٠
قال فلمّا فرغ العزا وراق الزمان * وأخذ خاطر أبو شادوف المشايخ والجدعان * وتصدّق على والده بالفطير * المعمول بالنخالة والشعير * وليّس قبره بالوحل والجلّه * وعمل بجانبه مدود العجله * سحب النَبّوت * وتمشّى كالنُعوت * واتمشيخ على الكفر * وأطاعه زيد وعمرو * وجلس على ركبة ونصف مورّط * وعيّط واتنطّط * وغنّا وقال * وافتخر بهذا المقال * وأنشد وجعل يقول شعر [وافر]
And when the wake was over and the dust had settled and Abū Shādūf had received the condolences of the shaykhs and the brave lads, and he had distributed bran-and-barley pastries as alms for the repose of his father’s soul and had plastered his grave with mud and dung, and built the calf’s trough next to it, he put his cudgel over his shoulder and stepped out like a fine steed, and played the shaykh over the hamlet, and every Zayd and ʿAmr17 obeyed, and he sat on his ass with one knee up and one knee on the ground, and shouted and jumped, both up and down, and sang and made up poetry, of which he was proud, declaiming and saying out loud:
١،١٢،١٠
| أَبُو شَادُوفِ عُمْرِي يَا سَلَامَهْ | أَقُولُ ٱلْقَوْلْ وَٱنَا صَاحِبْ فَهَامَهْ |
| وَلَوْلَا أَنْ أَبُويَهْ فِي تُرَابُو | أَنَا فِي ٱلْكَفْرِ شَيْخُ بِلَا مَلَامَهْ |
| وَأَحْكُمْ عَٱلْمُشَاهْ وَٱسْرَحْ وَٱرَوِّحْ | وَٱخُوضُ ٱلْبَحْرْ إِلَى حَدِّ ٱلْحِزَامَهْ |
| وَٱشِدُّ عَلَى ٱلْحِمَارْ وَٱرْكَبْ وَحَوْلِي | جَمَاعَهْ شِبْهُ شَمْعَهْ فِي ضَلَامَهْ |
| أَبُو عُنْطُوزْ وَٱبُو بُزْبُوزْ وَعَفْلَقْ | وَدَمْ إِلْحَسْ قَفَاكْ وَأَبُو عِمَامَهْ |
Me, Abū Shādūf—O Salāmah18—
All my life I’ve made up verses and I’m a bright guy,
And now my father’s in his grave19
I’m shaykh of the hamlet, which none can decry!
And I rule the foot soldiers and come and go,
And I wade in the river up to my thigh,
And I saddle my donkey and mount, around me
A company like to a candle in the night sky,
With Abū ʿUntūz and Abū Buzbūz20 and ʿAflaq,
While Blood-Lick-the-Back-of-Your-Neck and Abū ʿimāmah21 are nigh.
٢،١٢،١٠
| وَٱنَا مَا عَادَ كَيْفِي ٱلْيَوْمَ وَاحِدْ | وَٱضَالْ إنِّي مُجَعْمِصْ فِي شَهَامَهْ |
| وَأَطْحَنْ قَرْنَ مِنْ خَالَفْ كَلَامِي | بِنَبُّوتِي وَأكْسِرْ بُو عِضَامَهْ |
| أَبُويَهْ كَانَ قَبْلِي شَيْخْ عَلَيْكُمْ |
فَخَلُّونِي وَرُوحُوا بِالسَّلَامَهْ
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