ألم يأن أن تنسى عسى ولعلما — Abn Almqrb Alaaona

أَلَم يَأنِ أَن تَنسى عَسى وَلَعَلَّما

وَتَترُكَ لَيتاً لِلمُعَنّى وَرُبَّما

Has the time not come to forget 'perhaps' and 'maybe,'

and leave 'if only' and 'perhaps' to the tormented?

أَمَ اِنتَ اِمرُؤٌ كَالضَبِّ قَد عَلِقَت بِهِ

حَبائِلُ عَصٍّ حالَفَ الفَقرَ أَرشَما

Or are you a man like the spiny-tailed lizard, already caught in

the snares of a surly, food-hungry wretch allied with poverty?

يَرى نَفسَهُ في كَفِّهِ وَشِفارُهُ

تُحَدُّ وَجَزلُ النارِ يَعلُو تَضَرُّما

It sees itself in his grasp, while his blades

are sharpened, and the fire's heavy logs flare higher,

وَيَرجُو اِنتِعاشاً إِذ يَقُولُ لِحِسلِهِ

أَرى أَنَّنا في هَذِهِ الحالِ نُوَّما

yet hopes to recover, saying to its young,

'I think we are asleep in this plight.

وَذا مِن هُرُوجِ اللَيلِ لا دَرَّ دَرُّها

فَكَم قَد أَخافَت آمِناً حينَ هوَّما

These are night's confused visions—may their milk never flow!

How often they have frightened a secure man as he dozed!'

فَقُم غَيرَ وانٍ وَاِخلَعِ العَجزَ وَاِدَّرِع

قَميصاً مِنَ الظَلماءِ بِالنَجمِ مُعلَما

Rise, then, without slackness; cast off helplessness and put on

a shirt of darkness marked with stars.

وَصاحِب لِأَحداثِ اللَيالي ثَلاثَةً

حُساماً وَنِضواً وَالقَطيعَ المُحَزَّما

Take three companions against the mishaps of nights:

a keen sword, a worn mount, and a tightly bound whip.

وَلا تَتَعَلَّل بِالأَمانيّ ضَلَّةً

فَلَو كانَ حَيّاً صاحِبي لَتَكَلَّما

Do not delude yourself with vain hopes;

were my companion alive, he would have spoken.

وَلا تَثنِ عِطفاً لِلدِيارِ وَكُن فَتىً

يَهُمُّ فَيَمضي في المُهِمّاتِ مُقدِما

Do not turn your shoulder toward home; be a young man

who resolves, then presses boldly into weighty affairs.

فَما كُلُّ آفاقِ البِلادِ يَسُوسُها

لِأَربابِها مَن كانَ أَعمى وَأعَدما

Not every quarter of the lands is governed

for its masters by one both blind and penniless.

فَبِع بِالتَنائِي دارَ قَومٍ تَشَبَّهُوا

بِصَبٍّ فَأَمّوا في النُهى حَيثُ يَمَّما

So trade for distance the home of men who resembled

a lovesick man, and in judgment followed wherever he turned.

فَلَو لَم يَكُونوا شِبهَهُ ما تَوَهَّمَت

عُقُولُهُمُ في أَمرِهِم ما تَوَهَّما

Had they not resembled him, their minds would never have imagined

in their own affairs what he imagined.

فَمَن مُبلِغٍ قَومي عَلى أَنَّ دارَها

قَريبٌ ولَكِن لَم أَجِد مُتَكَلّما

Who will convey my words to my people, though their dwelling

is near? Yet I have found no one to speak.

بَنِي عَمِّنا كَم يَضبَعُ الرَحمُ شاكِياً

إِلَيَّ وَكَم يُبدي لَدَيَّ التَظَلُّما

Cousins, how often kinship stretches its arms, complaining

to me, and how often it voices its grievance before me!

بَني عَمِّنا مَن ذا يَسُدُّ مَكانَنا

إِذا يَومُ نَحسٍ بِالعَوالي تَأَجَّما

Cousins, who will take our place

when an ill-starred day becomes a thicket of tall spears?

تَبَدَّلتُمُ الأَعداءَ مِنّا سَفاهَةً

فَيا لَأَبيكُم ما أَعَقَّ وَأَظلَما

Foolishly, you have taken enemies in our stead;

ah, your father! How unfilial and unjust you are!

وَأَلغَيتُمُ أَيّامنا وَاِستَمَعتُمُ

غُرورَ الأَماني وَالحَديثَ المُرَجَّما

You have dismissed our glorious days and listened to

the deceit of hopes and conjectural tales.

وَكُلَّ بَني عَمٍّ سِوانا وَضِيمَةً

يُعَدُّ لَدى النُسّابِ أَصلاً مُخَضرَما

Every cousinly clan besides us is a small dependent band,

reckoned by genealogists as a stock of mixed descent.

فَيا لَيتَ شِعري لَو عَرَت مُصمَئِلَّةٌ

وَفَرَّ البَلا عَن نابِهِ فَتَجَهَّما

Would that I knew: if a crushing calamity struck,

and affliction bared its fang and scowled,

وَآضَ التَشاكي في نِزارٍ وَأَعلَنَت

ذَوُو يَمَنٍ ما كانَ سِرّاً مُكَتَّما

and mutual lament returned among Nizar, and there was proclaimed

by Yemen's men what had been a closely guarded secret—

أَتُغني غِنانا عَنكُمُ خُرَّمِيَّةٌ

سَواسِيَةٌ تَدعُو عَتُوداً مُزَنَّما

could a Khurramite band serve you as we have,

a common rabble calling upon an ear-tagged young goat?

فَهَلّا تَرَكتُم ما اِرتَكَبتُم وَزُعتُمُ

إِلى الرُشدِ فَاِستَصلَحتُمُ ما تَرَدَّما

Why not abandon what you have done and turn

to sound judgment, restoring what has fallen into ruin?

بَني عَمِّنا لا تَظلِمُوا الحَقَّ أَهلَهُ

وَلا تَفتَحُوا باباً إِلى الشَرِّ لَهجَما

Cousins, do not deny the rightful their due,

and do not open a gaping door to evil.

فَأَيُّ يِدٍ لَو تَعلَمُونَ قَطَعتُمُ

فَبُدِّلتُمُ باعاً عَنِ المَجدِ أَجذَما

What a hand you have severed, if only you knew!

In exchange you received an arm cut off from glory.

ضَرَبتُم بِها قِدماً عِداكُم وَصُنتُمُ

بِها المُلكَ وَاِقتَدتُم بِها مَن تَجَهضَما

With it you struck your foes of old, and preserved

with it the kingdom, and with it led the swaggering away.

بِذا يَشهَدُ القَصرُ المُشيدُ الَّذي غَدا

بِنا حَرَماً عَمَّن سِواكُم مُحَرَّما

The lofty palace bears witness to this: it became

through us a sanctuary, forbidden to all but you.

ضَرَبنا بَني بَهرامَ عَنهُ فَأَذعَنُوا

وَكانُوا لِباعِ العِزِّ كَفّاً وَمِعصَما

We drove the sons of Bahram away from it, and they submitted;

they had been the palm and wrist of glory's arm.

وَمِلنا عَلى الأَزدِ بنِ غَوثٍ فَأصبَحَت

تُصارِعُ مَوجاً يَرجُفُ اليَمَّ أَعجَما

We fell upon al-Azd ibn Ghawth, and they came to be

wrestling a voiceless wave that shook the sea.

فَخَلّوا لَنا عَنهُ جَميعاً وَسَلَّمَت

مُلُوكُهُمُ الآرا إلَينا لِتَسلَما

They all withdrew from it for us, and their kings yielded

their counsels to us, seeking safety.

وَنَحنُ حَمَيناهُ الأَعاجِمَ بَعدَما

أَقامَت تَرُومُ المُلكَ حَولاً مُحَرَّما

We defended it against the non-Arabs after

they had spent a year seeking the rule forbidden to them.

ضَرَبنا وُجُوهَ الشَرسَكيَّةُ دُونَهُ

وَأَقفاءَها بِالسَيفِ حَتّى تَثَلَّما

We struck the faces of the Sharsakiyyah in its defense,

and their napes with the sword until it was notched.

وَقَد غَرَّرتهُم مِن نِزارٍ وَيَعرُبٍ

لِشَنآنِكُم قَومٌ وَقَومٌ تَبَرُّما

Men from Nizar and Ya'rub had deceived them,

one group from hatred of you, another from resentment.

فَعدنا بِبيضٍ ذَكَّرَتهُم حُدُودُها

بِما كانَ مِن أَخبارِ كِسرى وَرُستُما

We returned with white blades whose edges reminded them

of the tales of Kisra and Rustam.

فَوَلّوا وَراحَ الرُكنُ مِنهُم كَأَنَّهُ

صَريعُ عُقارٍ باتَ مِنها مُجَشَّما

They turned in flight, and their mainstay left as though he were

a man felled by wine, burdened with it all night.

وَحَولَ اِبنِ يَحيى لَم تَصاهَل جيادُنا

وَقَد كانَ بَحراً ذا عُبابٍ قَلَهذَما

Around Ibn Yahya our steeds did not neigh to one another,

though he was a vast sea with surging waves.

أَذَالَ لَنا الأَموالَ دُرّاً وَعَسجَدا

وَتِبراً وَنَخلاً يانِعاً وَمُكَمَّما

He lavished wealth upon us: pearls and gold,

and unworked gold, and palms with ripe fruit and sheathed blossoms.

فَعِفنا سَنِيّاتِ العَطايا حَمِيَّةً

عَلَيكُم وَدُسنا الشَرَّ حَتّى تَشَرَّما

We spurned splendid gifts out of protective loyalty

to you, and trampled evil until it was torn apart,

وَحَتّى مَلَكتُم مُلكَهُ وَاِقتَصَرتُمُ

مَقاصِيرَهُ اللّاتي بَناها فَأَحكَما

until you possessed his kingdom and reserved for yourselves

his private chambers, which he had built so soundly.

وَقَد كانَ يُزجي كُلَّ يَومٍ كَتيبَةً

إِلَيكُم وَجَيشاً ذا زهاءٍ عَرَمرَما

He had been sending a battalion every day

against you, and a huge army of imposing numbers.

وَقادَ إِلَيهِ الناسَ بَأسٌ وَرَغبَةٌ

وَعِزٌّ يُناصي يَذبُلاً وَيَلملَما

Might and desire drew people to him,

and glory that rivaled Yadhbul and Yalamlam in height.

وَسارَ إِلَيهِ مِنكُمُ مَن عَلِمتُمُ

فَكانَ لَنا لَو نَبتَغي ذاكَ سُلَّما

The man among you whom you know went to him;

he could have been a ladder for us, had we sought that.

وَلَكِنَّنا كُنّا لَكُم خَيرَ إِخوَةٍ

يَلُوذُ بِها الجاني وَيَرمي إِذا رَمى

But we were the best brothers to you,

with whom the offender takes refuge and shoots when he shoots.

فَكَم تَمضُغُ الأَيّامُ لَحمي وَأَنتُمُ

نُيوبٌ لَها تَستَهلِكُ اللَحمَ وَالدَما

How often the days chew my flesh, while you

are their fangs, devouring flesh and blood!

بِكُم بَلَغَت مِنّي الأَعادي وَمِنكُمُ

لَقِيتُ البَلايا السُودَ فَذّاً وَتَوأَما

Through you my enemies had their way with me, and from you

I met black calamities, singly and in pairs.

وَجُرِّعتُ في أَيّامِكُم بِأَكُفِّكُم

كُؤُوساً أَرَتني العَيشَ صاباً وَعَلقَما

In your days, by your own hands, I was made to gulp

cups that made life seem bitter sap and colocynth.

وَمِلتُم مَعَ الدَهرِ الخَؤونِ فَكادَني

وَحَلَّلَ في نَفسي وَمالي وَحَرَّما

You sided with treacherous Time, and it plotted against me,

making lawful and forbidden what concerned my life and wealth.

وَلَو لَم تَكُونُوا جُندَهُ لَتَقَطَّعَت

مَعاقِمُهُ دُوني فَأَخذى وَأَجحَما

Had you not been its army, they would have broken apart—

its stratagems—before reaching me; it would have been abashed and checked.

وَرَأَّمتُمُوني كُلَّ ذِي عَيدَهِيَّةٍ

بَعِيدَ الرِضا إِن أُعطِهِ الحَقَّ بَرشَما

You saddled me with every man of haughty pride,

hard to please, scowling even if I give him his due.

يَرى نَفسَهُ عُوجاً وَلَولا اِستِماعُكُم

أَباطِيلَهُ كانَ المَهينَ المُقَرقَما

He fancies himself Uj; but for your listening to

his falsehoods, he would have been an abject, stunted wretch.

أَقولُ لَهُ أَنتَ الرَشيدُ وَقَد أَرى

قُداراً بِعَيني في قباهُ وَمَنشَما

I tell him, 'You are rightly guided,' though I see

Qudar and Mansham in his robe with my own eyes.

هَدَمتُم صَياصي قومِكُم وَبَنيتُمُ

صَياصِيَ قَومٍ حَقُّها أَن تُهَدَّما

You demolished your people's fortresses and built

the fortresses of a people whose forts deserve to be razed.

سَأَرحَلُ لا مُستَوحِشاً لِفِراقِكُم

وَلا أَسَفاً يَوماً وَلا مُتَنَدِّما

I shall depart, not desolate at parting from you,

nor ever sorrowful or remorseful.

فَإِن حَنَّ قَلبي نَحوَكُم أَو شَكا جَوىً

فَصادَفَ مِن زُرقِ الأَسِنَّةِ لَهذَما

If my heart yearns toward you or complains of burning grief,

may it meet a keen, broad point among the blue spearheads.

وَإِن دَمَعَت عَينايَ سَوقاً إِلَيكُمُ

فَعَوَّضتُها مِن ذَلِكَ الدَمعُ بِالعَمى

And if my eyes shed tears in longing for you,

may I repay them for those tears with blindness.

وَإِن عارِض الرُكبانِ يَسأَلُ عَنكُمُ

لِساني فَوافَيتُ القِيامَةَ أَبكَما

And if it accosts riders to ask about you—

my tongue—may I reach the Resurrection mute.

وَلا جَمَعَتنا آخِرَ الدَهرِ نِيَّةٌ

إِلى أَن يَضُمَّ البَعثُ عاداً وَجُرهُما

May no purpose reunite us to the end of time,

until the Resurrection gathers Ad and Jurhum.

فَما فُرقَةُ القالِينَ عِندي رَزِيَّةٌ

أُقيمُ لَها في نَدوَةِ الحَيِّ مَأتَما

Parting from those who hate me is no calamity to me

for which I would hold a mourning assembly in the tribe's gathering-place.

وَإِنَّ الكَريمَ الحرَّ يَشنَى مُقامَهُ

بِأَرضٍ يَرى فيها السَلامَةَ مَغنَما

A noble, freeborn man detests his stay

in a land where he regards mere safety as a prize.

وَما خَيرُ أَرضٍ لا يَزالُ كَريمُها

مُهاناً وَنَذلُ القَومِ فيها مُكَرَّما

What good is a land where its noble man remains

dishonored, while its people's base man is honored?