Freedom Writers - Nimah Ismail Nawwab

The scribe’s spirit lifts
scenting the perfume of promising openness
taking a deep breath of tangy freshness
freedom of speech hailed in surprised jubilation

When night draws on - al-Khansāʾ

When night draws on, remembering keeps me wakeful 
And hinders my rest with grief upon grief returning 
For Ṣakhr. What a man was he on the day of battle, 
When, snatching their chance, they swiftly exchange the spear-thrusts! 

On a blind girl - Baha al-Din Zuhayr

They called my love a poor blind maid;
I love her more for that, I said;
I love her, for she cannot see 

These grey hairs which disfigure me 

The Ambush - Nimah Ismail Nawwab

He watched the old movie unfold,

The head-covered man bashing his van into a building,

Nodding his head: ‘Yes another one, they are terrorists,’

The calm way he uttered those words

The look in his young eyes,

Made me

           ache.

Jaafer Ben Alba - On the Battle of Sabla

Sabla, thou saw'st th' exulting foe

In fancied triumphs crown'd; 

Thou heard'st their frantic females throw

These galling taunts around:

On avarice - Hatim al-Tai

How frail are riches and their joys? 

Morn builds the heap which eve destroys; 

Yet can they leave one sure delight 

The thought that we've employ'd them right. 

Lament for my Brother - al-Khansāʾ

What have we done to you, death

that you treat us so,

with always another catch

one day a warrior

the next a head of state;

Sways, with her trinkets - Hatim al-Tai

Sways, with her trinkets, she, endowed with splendour

With a waist like the fold of flimsy cloth, slim

And a neck like a cup of silver, adorning it

The blaze of the ruby and the strung beads

Lo, the signs of our Lord are everlasting - Umayyah ibn Abī aṣ-Ṣalt

Lo, the signs of our Lord are everlasting,

None disputes them except the unbeliever.

The Longing - Nimah Ismail Nawwab

Freedom.

How her spirit

Haunts,

Hooks,

Entices us all

May You Be Happy This Morning, Worn Traces! - Imru' al-Qais

How many a day, a night I'd spend
with a woman, stark as a statue outlined,
her face aglow as she turns to her mate
like softly radiant candle light;

On Fatalism - Al-Shafi‘i

Not always wealth, nor always force,
A splendid destiny commands;
The lordly vulture gnaws the corpse
That rots upon the barren sands.

O thou wolf, eager for death - Antar

O thou wolf, eager for death,
I have left thee wallowing in dust, and spoiled of life;

Temper - Nahegat Ben Jaid

Yes, Leila, I swore by the fire of thine eyes
I ne'er could a sweetness unvaried endure;

How frail are riches and their joys - Hatim al-Tai

How frail are riches and their joys?
Morn builds the heap which eve destroys;
Yet can they leave one sure delight—
The thought that we've employ'd them right.

Grey Hair - Ashjan Al Hendi

Jasmine fixed its heart in her braid
a flowering rivulet
touched her hair
the flavor of perfume
slept on her breath

On the Death of his Mistress - Abu Sahet Alhedhily

Dost thou wonder that I flew
Charm'd to meet my LEILA'S view?

Numerical Conjecture - Fawziyah Abu-Khalid

Six
Seven
Nine
These are not numerical symbols

The Mu'allaqat - Baha ad-Din Zuhayr

“Does the blackened ruin, situated in the stony ground
between Durraj and Mutathallam, which did not speak to me,
when addressed, belong to the abode of Ummi Awfa?

The Mu'allaqat - Baha ad-Din Zuhayr

"Does the blackened ruin, situated in the stony ground
between Durraj and Mutathallam, which did not speak to me,
when addressed, belong to the abode of Ummi Awfa?