The Charm of Old Age
ʿĪsā Kedḥayt describes his hopeful pursuit of a young woman whose good looks have attracted a legion of young admirers and who herself is no stranger to coquetry. ʿĪsā begins with a traditional formula: “We left in the late afternoon, at sunset” [1]. Following one solemn formula with another, ʿĪsā goes on to describe his elevated vantage point: in this case, a “lofty castle, like a little mountain” [2]. The tone breaks from the sonorous inflections of tribal-historical poetry at this point. The “lofty castle” is not an isolated mountaintop but the castle “where Beauty lives, sweet and desirable” [3]. Moreover, he is not heading toward Beauty’s castle but away from it, in rejection: “I couldn’t get up and leave, I just wanted to look at her” [6]. The poet’s age disqualifies him from competing for her attention despite the fact that his company is preferable to that of the other young men who surround her “like a circle around a campfire” [8]. ʿĪsā has the benefit of wisdom and cunning (“I could perhaps deceive her” [7]); failing that, he can at least keep her amused, unlike the other young men who tire her with their unceasing attention [11]. In his presence, at least, she is able “to laugh or to joke around” [14]. However, ʿĪsā recognizes that in the end, he is merely “the day’s entertainment until she goes packing [to someone else]” [15]. This poem echoes another poem in this exhibit in terms of its subject matter: “Tea With Milk.”
| Poem | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1) šūǧōśen nḥā // berk eśfēḳ | We left in the late afternoon, // at sunset |
| 2) men ḳāṣer enawf // hīs edwēhēḳ | From the lofty castle, // like a little mountain |
| 3) hēl ǧīd yeḥlūl // ḥōlī w-māśēḳ | Where Beauty lives, // sweet and desireable. |
| 4) eǧēdel erkēz // w-reġb ṭlēḳ | Legs strong and supple, // [above them] a branch that sways |
| 5) ḥaftetsen kel // b-mēken ṭnēḳ | She surpasses all [the other women] // in so many qualities. |
| 6) l-ād śettelk lā // ḥōm ār leġlēḳ | I couldn’t get up and leave, // I just wanted to look at her |
| 7) tē wlū hwāḫār // bērī leġfēḳ | Even if I am an old man, // I could perhaps deceive her |
| 8) hēm mēken hnīs // ḏ-ōd ḥeylēḳ | There are so many with her, // they’ve become like a circle around a campfire |
| 9) yešfedren kel // eḏ-hēm yesbēḳ | They are all jockeying // for who will get to her first. |
| 10) ḥād men enǧūd // w-śī men ḥyēḳ | One of them is from the Najd // and another from the coast |
| 11) hēm bāź le-ttōt // we-mḳalle tfēḳ | Some have come just for pleasure // – how little she enjoys it! |
| 12) w-bāź men hēm // śī lā mrēbēḳ | And for some of them, // there is nothing in common between them [in age] |
| 13) tḥafleh lā // ḫā heh l-ḫeylēḳ | She’s indifferent to him, // as though he had never been created |
| 14) ʾāsē w-ṭeźḥōk // wlē teḥzēḳ | Except perhaps to laugh // or to joke around |
| 15) maġlīl ḏ-waḳt // tē ǧīd yūśēḳ | The day’s entertainment // until she goes packing [to someone else]. |