متى يشتفي كبد مؤلم — Abdul Ghafar Al Akhras

متى يَشْتَفي كبدٌ مُؤلَمُ

ويَقْضي لباناتِه مُغْرَمُ

When will an aching heart find healing,

and a lovesick one satisfy his longings,

ويحظى بمطلبِهِ آملٌ

بأَحشائِهِ لوعةٌ تُضْرَمُ

and one who hopes attain his desire,

with anguish blazing in his entrails?

لقد قَوَّضَ الرّكب يوم الخليط

فأنجدَ في قلبي المتْهِمُ

Indeed, the caravan struck camp on the day of the companions' departure,

and the Tihama-bound one ascended into my heart.

وروَّعَني ضيفُ طيفٍ سرى

يُراعُ به كبدُ مؤلم

And a visiting phantom, passing by night, startled me,

by which an aching heart is struck with fear.

خليليَّ هلْ وقفة في الدِّيار

يسِحّ بها المدمَع المُسَجم

My two friends, is there a halt among the dwellings

where streaming tears pour down?

فإنَّا وَقَفْنا عليها ضحًى

وكلٌّ من الرّكب مستغرم

For we stood there at midmorning,

and everyone in the caravan was deeply lovesick.

وأَفشى بسرِّي دمع العيون

وسرّ الصَّبابة لا يُكتَم

And tears from the eyes divulged my secret;

the secret of passionate longing cannot be concealed.

فأَترُكُ خوف الوشاة البكا

وقد يترك المرءُ ما يلزم

So I leave off weeping for fear of tale-bearers,

and a person may abandon what is necessary.

إذا ما نَسينا عُهودَ الغُوَير

تذكّرنا عهدَها الأَرسمُ

If ever we forget the days at al-Ghuwayr,

the traces remind us of its former days.

فيا حبَّذا يومُنا بالعقيق

مضى وانقضى يومُها الأَلْوَمُ

Oh, how lovely was our day at al-Aqiq!

Its most blameworthy day passed and came to an end.

بحيث تلوح شموس الطلا

ولون الدُّجى فاحمٌ أسحمُ

There the suns of wine gleamed,

and night's hue was coal-black, pitch-black,

إلى أنْ تبدَّى كميتُ الصَّباح

وأَدْبَرَ من ليلنا الأَدهمُ

until morning's chestnut steed appeared,

and our night's black steed withdrew.

تصرَّمَ عهدُ النَّقا بالنوى

فما للتصبُّر لا يُصرمُ

The days at al-Naqa were cut short by separation;

so why is patient endurance not cut short?

أتنكر قتلي غزالَ الصَّريمِ

ويشهدُ لي خدُّك العندم

Do you deny killing me, O gazelle of the thicket,

while your vermilion cheek testifies for me?

ففيمَ أرقتَ دمي عامداً

وحلَّلتَ في الحبّ ما يحرم

Why, then, did you deliberately spill my blood

and make lawful in love what is forbidden?

حَكَمْتَ عليَّ بأمر الغرام

وإنِّي لحكمك مستسلمُ

You passed judgment upon me by love's decree,

and I submit to your judgment.

وقلتُ لمن لامَني في هواك

جَهِلْتَ ثكلتك ما أعلمُ

And I told whoever reproached me for loving you:

You do not know—may your mother lose you!—what I know.

وأرَّقَني في الدُّجى بارقٌ

كما استُلَّ من غمده مخذم

And a lightning flash kept me awake in the darkness,

as though a keen sword were drawn from its sheath.

وشوَّقني لِظِباءِ الحمى

فأَسْقَمَني والهوى يُسْقِمُ

And it made me yearn for the gazelles of the protected pastures,

then sickened me—and love brings sickness.

عَجِبْتُ وكيفَ وهُنَّ الظّباء

يُصادُ بأَجفانها الضَّيغمُ

I marveled: how, though they are gazelles,

is the lion hunted by their eyelids?

ويَسلمُ من مرهفات السُّيوف

ومن لحظهنَّ فلا يَسْلَمُ

And he escapes the keen blades of swords,

yet he does not escape their glances.

ومن مثلهنَّ أخاف الصّدام

ويَصدِمُ مثلي ولا يُصدم

And I fear a clash with their like,

though one like me strikes and is not struck.

هَوَيتكُم يا أُهيل الحطيم

وهذا الهوى كلُّه منكمُ

I have loved you, O dear folk of al-Hatim,

and all this love comes from you.

قَضَيْتُم على صبِّكم بالبعاد

وإنَّ قضاءَ النَّوى مُبْرَمُ

You sentenced your lovesick admirer to separation,

and the decree of separation is irrevocable.

فلم يَصفُ لي بعدكم مشربٌ

ولا لذَّ لي بعدكم مطعمُ

So no drink has been clear to me since your departure,

nor has any food pleased my palate since your departure.

وأصبرُ في مُعْضلات الخطوب

وصَبرُ الفتى للفتى أسلمُ

And I endure the hardest calamities,

and a young man's patience is safer for him.

وعِرضِي نقيٌّ وأنفي حميٌّ

وبأسي كعزميَ لا يُثلم

And my honor is pure, and my nose unbowed,

and my might, like my resolve, cannot be blunted.

ولولا مكارم مفتي العراق

وما غيره المُكْرِمُ المنعِمُ

And were it not for the noble deeds of Iraq's mufti—

and none but he is the generous giver, the benefactor—

لما اعتذرَ الدَّهرُ من ذنبه

ولا استغفر الزَّمَنُ المجرم

Time would not have apologized for its sin,

nor would guilty Time have sought forgiveness.

مناقبُ محمود محمودةٌ

وفوق جباه العُلى تُرقَمُ

Mahmud's virtues are praiseworthy,

and are inscribed upon the brows of eminence.

رقيق الحواشي كريم الطّباع

فهذا هو الأَكرم الأَشيمُ

Gentle in manner, noble in disposition,

he is the most generous, the man of noble traits.

يُنَبِّي عن خَلقِه خُلقُه

ويُؤْذِنُ في سيبه المَبْسَمُ

His character tells of his outward form,

and his smiling mouth heralds his bounty.

فَمَنْ أَمَّل الفضل من كفِّه

وجودَ أياديه لا يحرمُ

So whoever hopes for favor from his palm

and for his hands' bounty will not be deprived.

لأَيديهِ في كلِّ عنقٍ يدٌ

ومنها أُفيضَتْ لنا أنعُم

His hands have placed a favor upon every neck,

and from them blessings have been poured forth for us.

ببأسك أُقسِمُ لا حانثاً

وفي غير بأسك لا أُقسمُ

By your might I swear, without perjury,

and I swear by no might but yours.

لأنتَ الفريدُ بهذا الزَّمان

ومنهجُك المنهجُ الأَقوم

You are indeed the peerless one in this age,

and your path is the straightest path.

وأَنْتَ الفخارُ ومنك الفخارُ

بمثلك فَلْيَفْتَخر آدم

And you are glory, and glory comes from you;

let Adam take pride in one like you.

بَنَيْتَ بنفسك بيت العُلى

إلى أبد الدَّهر لا يُهدمُ

You yourself built the house of glory,

never to be demolished for all eternity.

فَهِمْتَ الرّموز من المشكلات

وغيرُك من ذا الَّذي يفهم

You understood the symbols in difficult questions,

and who but you is there who understands?

كَشَفْتَ غوامضَ إشكالها

وفي كَشفِكَ اتَّضح المبهَمُ

You laid bare the obscurities of their complexity,

and through your elucidation the obscure became clear.

وإنَّ لك الحُجَجَ البالغاتِ

يُقِرُّ لها المؤْمِنُ المسلم

And indeed, yours are the conclusive arguments

to which the believing Muslim gives assent.

جوابُك يا سيِّدي مُسْكِتٌ

ونُصْحُكَ يا سيِّدي مُفْحِمُ

Your answer, my master, silences,

and your counsel, my master, is unanswerable.

يمرُّ بسَخْطك حلوُ المذاق

ويحلو بنائِلك العلقم

What tastes sweet turns bitter at your displeasure,

and through your gifts colocynth grows sweet.

إذا ما كتبتَ فإنَّ اليراع

بأَنْمُلِكَ السَّيفُ واللّهذم

Whenever you write, the reed pen

in your fingers is a sword, a keen-edged blade.

ونثرُكَ يُزري بعِقْد الجمان

فَدُرُّ المعاني بها تُنظم

And your prose puts a necklace of pearls to shame,

for with your fingers the pearls of meaning are strung.

قليلٌ بحقّكَ ما نِلتَه

وقَدركُ أَكبر بل أَعظم

What you have attained is little compared with your due,

and your worth is greater—indeed, greater still.

نَشَرْتُ بحقِّك طيَّ المديح

وفي مدحك الدين والدرهم

I have unfolded praise's folds in your honor,

and in your praise are faith and the dirham.

لأنِّي بحضرتك المستجير

وإنِّي بحبلك مستعصم

For I am the one seeking refuge in your presence,

and I hold fast to your rope for protection.

وفيك أَسُرُّ الوليَّ الحميمَ

وفيكَ أُنُوف العِدى أُرغم

And through you I gladden the devoted friend,

and through you I rub the enemies' noses in dust.

أُهنِّيك بالعيد يا عيدَنا

فأَنتَ الهناءُ لنا الأَعظم

I congratulate you on Eid, O our own Eid,

for you are our greatest happiness.

بفَضلِكَ رغماً يُقِرُّ الحسُود

وينطِقُ في مَدْحِكَ الأَبكم

The envious one acknowledges your merit despite himself,

and the mute speaks in your praise.

أجِزني رضاك فثَمَّ الغنى

لأنَّ رضاك هو المغنم

Reward me with your approval: there lies wealth,

for your approval is the prize.