The Desire of the Four Poets
These couplets are considered to be very old; according to Ḥājj, they are perhaps hundreds of years old. The lines are in the form of short, semistrophic couplets that are similar in form and performability to work songs (ʾahāzīj). Four Mahra living abroad each composed a few lines about what he missed the most about al-Mahra, each one building and expanding on the desire of the previous poet. These couplets refer to the landscape of their native turf deep in the heart of al-Mahra. The dialect is that of the interior bedouin and some dialectal elements may have been lost in Ḥājj’s recitation of these lines.
| Couplets | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1a) sād ḏə-līḥawfed // nḫālī ǧōyef | If only [I were] the one following the tracks // underneath Ǧōyef |
| 1b) ām sēn ḏe-ǧtōma // we-ġyūǧ ḏ-īdōlef | When [if] they are gathering [fem. pl] // and the men are playing the jumping game. |
| 2a) sād ḏə-līḥawfed // nḫālī źālā | If only [I were] the one following the tracks // underneath the wadi’s side walls |
| 2b) yeḥźāź eḥḥəbeybet // tettōba eḫālā | He picks up the traces of his special she-camel // as she goes from tree to tree |
| 3a) sād ḏə-līḥawfed // yermah w-ġellenseh | If only [I were] the one following the tracks // at Wadi Ramāh and of its collected material and debris |
| 3b) yešbeyled ḥōdī // ḏ-mōn ḥellenseh | Getting information at the wadi’s edges // of those who are its inhabitants. |
| 4a) sād ḏə-līḥawfed // nḫālī bir šbōneh | If only [I were] the one following the tracks // beneath Bir Shebōneh |
| 4b) ‘āḳā ḏel-īzōmel // we-ykūn be-mkōneh | A land that doesn’t migrate // and remains in its place. |