وعد الخيال بأنا جيرة العام — Abn Aldhan

وَعَد الخَيالُ بأنّا جيرةُ العامِ

حَقٌّ كَما قالَ أَم أَضغاث أَحلامِ

The vision promised that we would be neighbors this year.

Is it true, as it said, or a jumble of dreams?

سَرى يُصانِعُ جَرَساً مِن خَلاخِلهِ

إِذا مَشى وَيُداري عَرفَ أَكمامِ

It traveled by night, coaxing the jingle of its anklets

whenever it walked, and concealing the fragrance of sleeves.

وَالشَذا جِنحُ الظَلام بِهِ

تَصريحُ واشٍ وَتَعريضاتُ نَمّامِ

And beneath darkness's wing, the fragrance held

an informer's plain disclosure and a gossip's insinuations.

نَفَسي العالي وَدلَّههُ

عِن مَضجعي فَرطُ اعلالي واِسقامي

My loud breathing—and what bewildered it

away from my bed was the severity of my ailments and sickness.

وَلَم يَعُدنيَ من بَعد النَوى فَيَرى

سِوى هُيامي الَّذي خَلّا وَتهيامي

And after separation it did not visit me to see

anything but the lovesickness it left behind and my love-madness.

تَبقى الليالي الَّتي كانَ السُهادُ بِها

أَحلا مِن الغَمض في أَجفانِ نَوّامِ

The nights when there was sleeplessness remain

sweeter than slumber in sleepers' eyelids.

بِتنا وَذَيلُ الدُجى مُرخىً عَلى كَرَمِ

في خُلوة خُلوةَ الأَرجاء مِن ذامِ

We spent the night, darkness's hem let down upon generosity,

in seclusion, its surroundings free of any reproacher.

وَبَينَنا طيبُ عتب لَو تَسَمَّعَهُ

قُلتُ العِتابُ حَياةٌ بَينَ أَقوامِ

And between us was sweet reproach; had someone overheard it,

I would have said, "Reproach is life among people."

وَفاتِر الطَرفِ لَو إِنّي أَبوحُ بِهِ

إِذاً لأَوضحتُ عذري عند لُوّامي

And a languid-eyed one—if I spoke openly of him,

then I would make my excuse clear to those who blame me.

يَرمي وَأُغضي وَقَد أَصمى فَقُلتُ لَهُ

أَعِد عَدلاً عَدِمتَ السَهم وَالرامي

He shoots, and I lower my eyes; he has struck fatally, so I said to him:

Repeat it fairly—may you lose both arrow and archer!

أَخافُه حينَ أَخلو أَن أُكاشِفَهُ

وَجدي فأَستُر أَوجاعي وَآلآمي

I fear him when alone, lest I disclose to him

my passion, so I conceal my aches and pains.

وَأَخدَعُ الناسَ عَن حُبّي وَاكتُمُهم

جِراحَ قَلبيَ لَولا جفنيَ الدامي

And I would deceive people about my love and conceal from them

my heart's wounds, were it not for my bleeding eyelid.

وآهاً لَو أَنَّ الَّذي خَلَّفتُ مِن زَمَني

خَلفي أُصادِفُ شَيئاً مِنهُ قُدّامي

Ah, if only, of the time I left

behind me, I could find some ahead of me!

عَهدي بَليلي قَصيراً بالعِراقِ فَما

بالي أَبيتُ طَويلَ اللَيلِ بالشامِ

I remember short nights in Iraq—so what

ails me, spending such a long night in al-Sham?

أَعاذَكَ اللَهُ مِن عَصر غَضارَتُهُ

وِزرٌ وَردَّكَ مِن أَيامِ أَيامِ

May God protect you from an age whose prosperity

is a burden, and restore you from days ... days [unclear wording].

عَلَّ النَوى عَن قَريبٍ تَنقَضي وَعَسى

جُودُ ابنِ رُزِّيكَ يأتي بَعد اعدام

Perhaps separation will soon end, and perhaps

Ibn Ruzzik's bounty will come after destitution.

لَو لَم يُغَيبنيَ المَعروفُ ما عَلِمت

غُرُّ السَحائِب أَنّي نَحوَها ظامي

Had beneficence not hidden me away, they would not have known—

the bright clouds—that I thirst for them.

يا أَكرَم الخَلقِ من بدو وَمِن حَضَر

وَأَشجَعَ الناسِ مِن عُربٍ وَأَعجام

O most generous of mankind, among nomads and townsfolk,

and bravest of people, among Arabs and non-Arabs,

وَقائِماً بِشراءِ المَجدِ مُجتَهِداً

وَقَد تَقاعَد عنه كُلُّ قَوّامِ

and one who rises to purchase glory, striving hard,

while every steadfast champion has hung back from it.

أَغَرّ أَبلج مَيمونٌ نَقيبَتُهُ

سَهل الخَليقَةِ سامي الطَرفِ بَسّامِ

Radiant, bright-faced, blessed in his nature,

gentle in temperament, lofty of gaze, ever smiling.

مُعطي الرَعيَّة أَيامَ النَدى كَرَماً

حامي الحَقيقةِ في يَومِ الوَغى الحامي

Giving generously to his subjects in days of bounty,

guardian of honor on the blazing day of battle.

يَظَلُّ معتَنِقَ الأَبطالَ ضارِبَها

تَرَفُّعاً أَن يُقالَ الطاعِم الرامي

He keeps grappling with champions, striking them,

scorning to be called "the eater, the archer."

وَالبيضُ تقطر فَوقَ البيضِ لامِعَةً

كَأَنَّها عارِضٌ هامٍ عَلى الهامِ

And the bright swords drip, gleaming above the helmets,

as though they were a raincloud pouring upon heads.

بِباتِرٍ ناشِرٍ أَغنَت مَضارِبُه

عَن عاسِلِ المتنِ يَومَ الرَوع نَظّام

With a severing, rending blade whose striking edges dispense

with a quivering-shafted, foe-stringing spear on the day of terror.

خلال مَجدٍ فَريدٍ ما تقبَّلَهُ

مِن البَريَّةِ إِلّا مجد الاسلامِ

Traits of peerless glory, embraced by none

of mankind except the Glory of Islam.

في سَرجه البَدرُ وَالغَيثُ الغَمامُ لَهُ

جِسمٌ مِنَ الماءِ فيهِ قَلبُ ضِرغامِ

In his saddle are the full moon, rain and cloud; he has

a body of water, with a lion's heart within.

وَربَّ جَرداءَ فيها الأُسدُ مخدرَةٌ

تَحتَ الوَشيجِ عَلى

And many a bare expanse where lions lie in their lairs,

beneath the interlaced spears, upon ...

ما إشن تَكادَ صَرَّت وَلا نَظَرَت

إِلى السَماءِ بعين

Not ... [unclear word] ... it nearly creaked, nor looked

toward the sky with an eye.

مَدَّت قَنا الخَطِّ أَظفاراً إِلى ظَفَرٍ

بُرجاً فَقلَّم مِنها خَطُّ أَقلامِ

The spears of al-Khatt stretched out claws toward victory,

a tower ... then a stroke of pens clipped them away.

أَمنت صرفَ زَماني إِن يُفَوِّقَ لي

سِهامَ صَرف فأَنتَ الذائِدُ الحامي

I am safe from time's vicissitudes; should it nock for me

the arrows of misfortune, you are the defender, the protector.

وان أَمَدّ الى الأَوشال مِن ظَمأٍ

كفّي وَبَحرُ نَداكَ الفائِض الطامي

And if, from thirst, I stretch toward scant pools

my hand, while the sea of your bounty overflows and surges ...

وَما اِفترشتُ حَيّاً عِندي لَهُ غُدُرٌ

مَلآى المَذائِب فيها شربُ أَعوامِ

And I never made my bed among a tribe whose pools, for me,

were full in their channels, with drink enough for years.

وَقَد تقدمتَ بالنَعى الَّتي غَمَرَت

قِدماً وَأَعدَمَت قَبلِ اليومِ اِعدامي

And you had already come forward with the death notice [unclear wording] that overwhelmed

long ago, and abolished my destitution before today.

لَكِنَّ اِنعامَكَ الوافي بَنوهُ بالقَد

رِ الَّذي ضاعَ دَهراً بين اِنعامِ

But your ample bounty—they built it upon the worth [unclear wording]

that was lost for an age among gifts.

وَرُبَّ أَربابِ احسانٍ تَجاوَزَهُم

مَدحي إِلى أَهلِ أَحسابٍ وأفهامِ

And many masters of kindness were passed over

by my praise, in favor of men of noble lineage and understanding.

وَلَيسَ مَن قالَ بالانعامِ مرحمتي

مثل الَّذي رامَ بالانعامِ اكرامي

And one who expressed pity for me through giving is not

like one who sought through giving to honor me.