Yemeni Poetry and Historical Themes

Jamal in the press. Whoever attacks Himyar's descendants

and provokes Saba's descendants, we will burn him in red fire.

Though we are cut by the heat, when we enter battles

we inflict pain on the blind. We storm a fortress's front.

He dies in a frenzy, like piercing chests.

We meet you on the battlefield, from its claws upon

its fingers, O graveyard. The blaze of war has flared.

Akka, and we tightened the reins. From us poured forth

Hamdah, if she became bold. Our valiant army

and the people charge with belts, determined for the homeland.

A covenant of its forefathers until the end. Yemen, how it once

gave birth in the past to a medal. Ask about

its history, ask what it gave birth to, and you will see. It recorded

courage, our history, a light on the summit. Before the

pyramids spoke of a pure present civilization. From

the roots of Aws and Khazraj, descendants of the noble.

Islam spread, and they sacrificed, bringing us pride.

From the soil of Dhu Yazan and King Sayf the valiant.

He built history and laid the foundations of its pulpit.

Hey, I told you, son of Yemen's prostration, after

Dhab. It was not humiliated, it became aware, and now there is

mockery in it. Winter without its bows, and the clouds' masses.

And the mountains, have you seen the ribs, the arm of this

roar? Three years have passed, perhaps not fifty.

A year. Fayda, whose life has been long, is beauty in

a press. Whoever attacks the descendants of Himyar and enrages

the descendants of Saba, we roast him in red-hot fire

and sever him in the heat. When we enter painful

battles for the blind, we storm the forecourt of a fortress

where Bahrara dies, like piercing chests.

We meet you amid the heat, from its claws upon

its fingers, O graveyard. The furnace of war flared

in Akka, and we tightened the khuzam. From us poured

Hamda when it became bold. Our valiant army

and the people charge with belts. The homeland has resolved

to keep the covenant of its fathers to the very end. Yemen has

borne many a medal in the past. Ask about

its history, and you will see what it has borne. It recorded

courage in our history as the light of a summit, before

the pyramids spoke of a civilized reality. From

the roots of Aws and Khazraj, descendants of the noble.

Islam spread, and they sacrificed, a source of pride to us.

From the soil of Dhu Yazan and King Sayf the valiant.

He built history and laid the foundations of its platform.

Hey, I told you, son of Yemen's prostration, after

Dhab. It has not become easy, and now there is in it

a farce. Winter without bows, and the sizes

of the clouds. And the mountains, you saw the ribs and arm of this

growling.