لئن صدقت في وعدها أن سنلتقي — Abdul Mohsen Al Suri

لئِن صدَقَت في وَعدِها أن سَنَلتَقي

فذاكَ لتَعجيلِ اجتِماعٍ مُفرِّقِ

If she is true to her promise that we shall meet,

then that is to hasten a meeting that brings separation.

ألَم تَرَ تَسليمَ الوَداعِ مُحَبَّباً

ويتبعُهُ ما لستَ تَبقى إِذا بَقي

Have you not seen how dear the farewell greeting is,

though it is followed by what you cannot survive if it lasts?

أرَى دَمَ قَلبي فاضَ من قَبل عَبرتي

وإِنسانَ عَيني شابَ من قَبل مَفرقي

I see my heart's blood flow before my tears,

and my eye's pupil grow gray before the parting of my hair.

أطَلتِ احتِجاباً ضَرَّةَ الشَّمسِ في النَّوى

وإِن شِئتِ أَن تَعفي عَلى الشَّمسِ فاشرِقِ

You have long remained hidden in separation, O rival of the sun;

and if you wish to blot out the sun, then shine forth.

لَعَمري لَقَد ألحَقتِ في حرقةِ البُكا

عَليَّ الغَواني بالحمامِ المطَوَّقِ

By my life, you have made, in the burning anguish of weeping

over me, fair women the equals of ring-necked doves.

فإِن كُنتَ يا برقَ الثُّغورِ مُبَشِّراً

بِخَدَّيَّ من عَينَيَّ بِالغَيثِ فابرُقِ

So if, O lightning of teeth, you bring tidings

of rain from my eyes upon my cheeks, then flash.

وعاذِلَةٍ في الحُبِّ تُظهرُ غَيرَةً

وَوَجداً وتَأتِيني بِظاهِرِ مُشفِقِ

And a woman who chides me for love displays jealousy

and passion, and comes to me in a concerned person's guise.

تَقسَّم وَجدي فيكِ بينَ مكذِّبٍ

بِه حينَ يَلقاني وبَينَ مُصدِّقِ

My passion for you is divided between one who disbelieves

it when he meets me, and one who believes it.

فيَعرفُه ذا باعتِرافِ مَدامِعي

ويُنكِرُهُ هَذا بإنكارِ مَنطِقي

One recognizes it through my tears' confession,

and the other denies it through my speech's denial.

وَما أَحدٌ لاقَى مِن الحبِّ لَوعَةً

رآني فَلَم أُشغِلهُ عَن ذِكرِ ما لَقي

And no one who has suffered love's anguish

has seen me without my distracting him from remembering what he endured,

كَما الحَمدُ قَد أَمسَت تواصلَ شُغلُه

بِها عَن جَميعِ الناسِ نُعمى أَبي التَّقي

just as praise is kept continually occupied

with Abu al-Taqi's bounty, to the exclusion of all others.

إِذا ما رَأى السَّاعي إِلى المَجدِ سَعيَه

رأى طُرقاً من قَبله لَم تُطرقِ

When a seeker of glory beholds his striving,

he sees paths that none before him has trodden.

أَخو هِمَّةٍ أَعلى مِن النَّجمِ مَنزِلاً

فإِن يَرم في أَمرٍ مَع النَّجمِ يَسبِقِ

A man of resolve, higher in station than the star;

so if he vies with the star in any undertaking, he outstrips it.

تُغازِلُه العَلياءُ حينَ يَرومُها

سِواهُ فتَرميهِ برَأيٍ مُوفَّقِ

Lofty glory woos him when she is sought

by another, and casts sound counsel his way.

حَبيسُ المَعالي مُطلقُ المالِ بِالنَّدى

فأَصبَحَ وقفاً بينَ حَبسٍ ومُطلَقِ

A captive of lofty virtues, he frees wealth through generosity;

and so he is held fast between confinement and release.

فقُل لِليالي الرائِشاتِ إِذا غَدا

مِجَنِّي فَريشي ما استَطَعتِ وفَوِّقي

So tell the arrow-fletching nights, when he becomes

my shield: 'Fletch all you can, and nock your arrows!'

خَلائقُ هَذا نعتُها مُذ صَحبتَها

فقَد حَملَت عنكَ احتِمالَ التَّخلُّقِ

Traits of this description, since you have kept their company,

have spared you the burden of cultivating character.

ويَنزِلُ أَحياناً إِلَينا بِحُكمِها

وطَوراً بِحُكمِ المَجدِ في الخَلقِ يَرتَقي

And at times he descends to us at their bidding,

and at others, at glory's bidding, he rises among mankind.

مكارِمُ يا آلَ المُعافى إِذا بَدَت

بَدا ذِكرُها ما بَينَ غَربٍ ومَشرِقِ

Noble deeds, O family of al-Mu'afa—when they appear,

their renown spreads between west and east.

فإِن كانَ ثوبُ العزِّ أَصبحَ مُخلَقاً

عَليَّ فَما وَجدي عَلَيهِ بِمخلَقِ

So if the robe of honor has grown threadbare

upon me, my grief over it has not worn thin.

ولي في زَماني إن تأمَّلتُ أَمرنا

مَعاني جَريرِ أَو هجاءُ الفَرزدَقِ

And concerning my times, if I ponder our condition, I have

Jarir's poetic themes, or al-Farazdaq's satire.