لهذي النوق تنحط كلالا — Abdul Ghafar Al Akhras

لهذي النُّوقِ تنحَطُّ كَلالا

وتَجوبُ البيد حِلاًّ وارتحالا

These she-camels sink down in exhaustion,

And roam the deserts, halting and journeying.

نَحِلَتْ حتَّى انبرت أعظُمُها

والهوى يُنْقِبُ أهليه نكالا

They grew lean until their bones were worn down,

And love wears down its devotees as punishment.

كلَّما شامتْ سناً من بارق

قذفت لوعتها دمعاً مذالا

Whenever they glimpse radiance from lightning,

Their anguish pours forth freely flowing tears.

أَصبحَتْ تفري فَيافيها سُرًى

وتحاكي باقتحام الآل رالا

Now they cleave their deserts on night journeys,

And, plunging through mirages, resemble an ostrich chick.

فتَرَفَّقْ أيُّها الحادي بها

فلَقَدْ أوْرَثَها الوجدُ خبالا

So be gentle with them, O singing camel-driver;

For longing has bequeathed them madness.

لستُ أنسَى وقفةً في رامة

لم يدع منها النوى إلاَّ خيالا

I do not forget a halt at Rāmah,

Of which separation left nothing but a phantom.

ووَشَتْ عن كلّ صبٍّ عبرةٌ

فكَفَتْ عَبْرَته الواشي المقالا

And a tear betrayed every lovesick lover,

So his tear spared the tale-bearer any words.

وأساة لحشًى مكلومةٍ

جَرَحَتْها حَدَقُ الغيد نصالا

And healers for a wounded heart,

Pierced by graceful maidens' eyes like arrowheads.

يا مهاةَ الجزع أنتنَّ له

سالباتٌ قَلْبَه المضنى جمالا

O oryx of the valley bend, to him you are

Stealers, through beauty, of his anguished heart.

يا أخلاّئي تناءى زمن

مرَّ لي فيكم وصالاً وانفصالا

O my dear friends, a time has grown distant

That passed for me among you, in union and parting.

وليالٍ ما أُحَيْلى أُنْسِها

أصبَحَتْ في وجنة الأَيَّام خالا

And nights—how sweet their companionship!—

Have become a beauty mark on the cheek of days.

نقلَ الواشي إليكم خبراً

لك يكنْ يقبل ما قالَ احتمالا

The tale-bearer carried you a report;

What he said [could not] be considered plausible.

يتمنَّى سَلْوَتي لكنَّه

يتمنَّى وأبي أمراً محالا

He wishes that I might forget my love, yet he

Wishes, by my father, for something impossible.

لا تلمني لائمي في صَبْوَتي

فالهوى ما زال للعقل عقالا

Do not blame me for my passion, my reproacher;

For love has always been a fetter on reason.

فاتركاني والهوى إنِّي فتًى

غالني دونكمُ الوجد اغتيالا

So leave me to love, you two, for I am a youth

Whom longing has slain by stealth, far from you.

من ظِباءِ الرَّمل ظبيٌ إنْ رنا

سَلَّ من جَفْنَيْهِ صمصاماً وصالا

Among the gazelles of the sands is one who, if he gazes,

Draws a keen sword from his two eyelids and attacks.

ظبيةُ الخِدْر الَّتي لمَّا جفتْ

أَدَلالاً كانَ منها أَمْ ملالا

The gazelle of the inner chamber—when she turned cold,

Was it coyness on her part, or weariness?

هلْ وَفَتْ مديونها مستغرماً

يشتكي منها وإنْ أَوْفَتْ مطالا

Has she settled with her debtor, steeped in love,

Who complains of her delay even when she pays in full?

لو أباحَتْني جنى مرشفها

لَشَفَتْ مِنْ ريقها الدَّاء العضالا

If she allowed me the fruit of her lips,

She would surely cure the incurable disease with her saliva.

يا رعى الله نُزولاً بالحمى

عَثْرةَ المُغرمِ فيهم لَنْ تُقالا

O, may God preserve those dwelling in the protected grounds!

A lover's stumble among them will never be forgiven.

حلَّلوا ظُلماً حراماً مثلما

حرَّموا في شرعهم شيئاً حلالا

They unjustly made forbidden things lawful, just as

In their law they forbade something lawful.

فاصطبر يا قلبُ يوماً ربَّما

أصبَحَ الخُلَّبُ بعد اليأس خالا

So be patient, O heart: one day, perhaps,

The rainless flash may, after despair, become a rain-promising cloud.

كم يُريني الدَّهر جدًّا هازلاً

فأُريه من ظُبا عزمي جدالا

How often Time shows me earnestness in jest,

So I show it strife with the sharp edges of my resolve.

إنْ يكنْ في النَّاس محمودٌ فلا

غير محمود مقالاً وفعالا

If there is a praiseworthy man among people, there is none

Other than Mahmoud, in word and deed.

فتفاءل باسمه في سَيْبه

فاسْمه كانَ لكن يرجوه فالا

So take his name as a good omen for his bounty;

For his name was a good omen for [whoever] hopes in him.

إنْ تحاولْ شَخْصَهُ تَلْقَ علًى

صَحِبَ العِزَّ يميناً وشمالا

If you seek his person, you will find eminence;

He keeps glory company to right and left.

لا يُرجَّى غيره في شِدَّةٍ

أوَ ترجو بوجود البحر ألا

None but him is hoped for in hardship;

Would you seek a mirage when the sea is there?

ليثُ غابٍ وسحابٌ صيّبٌ

حيثُ تلقاهُ نوالاً ونزالا

A lion of the forest and a rain-pouring cloud,

Wherever you meet him, in generosity and battle.

كرمٌ يُخْجِلُ هتَّان الحيا

وعُلًى تُورثُ أعداه الوبالا

Generosity that shames the downpour of rain,

And eminence that bequeaths ruin to his enemies.

ويدٌ ما انقبضتْ عن سائلٍ

بلْ كَفَتْ في سَيبها العافي السُّؤالا

And a hand that never drew back from a petitioner;

Rather, its bounty spared the seeker the need to ask.

صارِمُ الله الَّذي لم يخشَ من

حادث الدَّهر انثلاماً وانفلالا

God's keen sword, which has never feared

Being notched or blunted by Time's calamities.

ولكمْ أجدى فأَسدى كرماً

مِنَناً طوَّق فيهنَّ الرّجالا

And how often he has aided and generously bestowed

Favors with which he has encircled men's necks.

صُنعُه المعروف مغروزٌ به

لا يجودُ الجود حتَّى أنْ يقالا

His doing good is ingrained in him;

He does not give so that his giving may be proclaimed.

كم وَرَدْنا فَضْلَه من مَوْرِدٍ

فوجَدْناه نميراً وزلالا

How often we have approached a watering-place of his bounty,

And found it pure and sweet.

منَحَ الله به يا حبَّذا

مِنَحٌ من جانب الله تعالى

God has bestowed through him—how excellent

Are gifts from God Most High!

قلْ لحُسَّاد معاليه اقصُروا

لم تَزَلْ أَيديه في المجد طوالا

Tell those who envy his eminence: desist;

His hands have always reached far in glory.

يتمنَّوْن مع العجز العُلى

وإذا قاموا لها قاموا كسالى

They wish for lofty rank despite their incapacity,

And when they rise toward it, they rise sluggishly.

ليسَ من يَذْخَرْ جميلاً في الورى

كالَّذي يذخر للأَخطار مالا

He who stores up kindness among mankind is not

Like one who hoards wealth against dangers.

لا ولا مَن صَلُبَتْ راحته

كالَّذي يَقْطُرُ جوداً ونوالا

No, nor is one whose palm has hardened

Like one who drips generosity and bounty.

آل بيت الوحي ما زلنا على

فضلكم يا سادة الدُّنيا عيالا

O family of the House of Revelation, we have always relied on

Your bounty as dependents, O masters of the world.

ما برحتُم مُذْ خُلِقتُم سادةً

تكشِفون الغيَّ عنَّا والضَّلالا

Ever since you were created, you have remained masters,

Dispelling error and misguidance from us.

لا يغالي فيكم المادحُ إنْ

أطنبَ المادح في المدح وغالى

The praiser does not exaggerate about you, even if

The praiser dwells at length on praise and goes to extremes.

أيُّها البدرُ الَّذي زادَ سَناً

زادك الله سَناءً وكمالا

O full moon whose radiance has increased,

May God increase your splendor and perfection.

هاكَ من عَبدِكَ نَظماً إنَّه

ينظمُ الشّعر بعلياك ارتجالا

Take verse from your servant, for he

Composes poetry in praise of your eminence, extemporaneously.

كلَّما ضِقْتُ به ذَرعاً أرى

يوسع الفضلَ على الفكر مجالا

Whenever I feel at a loss over it, I see

Excellence opening a wider field for thought.

واهنأ بالعيد الَّذي عَوَّدْتَنا

لَثْمَ كفَّيْك الَّتي تكفي نوالا

And rejoice in the festival on which you have accustomed us

To kissing your two palms, whose bounty suffices.

مَلِكٌ أَنْتَ بنا أَمْ مَلَكٌ

ما وَجَدْنا لك في النَّاس مثالا

Are you a king over us, or an angel?

We have found none among mankind like you.

كيفَ أقضي شكر أيديك الَّتي

حمَّلتني منك أحمالاً ثقالا

How can I give due thanks for your hands, which

Have laden me with heavy burdens from you?

ى عَدِمنا فيكَ يا بحر النَّدى

أيدياً تولي وفضلاً يتوالى

[May we never] lack in you, O sea of generosity,

Hands that bestow and bounty that flows on.