إلى كم مناجاة الهموم العوازب — Abn Almqrb Alaaona

إِلى كَم مُناجاةُ الهُمومِ العَوازِبِ

وَحَتّى مَ تَأميلُ الظُّنونِ الكَواذِبِ

How long this whispered converse with wandering cares,

and until when this hope in lying conjectures?

أَما حانَ لِلعَضبِ اليَمانيِّ أَن يُرى

بِيُمناكَ كالمِخراقِ في كَفِّ لاعِبِ

Has the time not come for the keen Yemeni sword to appear

in your right hand, like a play-whip in a player's palm?

لَعلَّكَ خِلتَ الذُّلَّ حَتماً أَوِ العُلى

حَراماً وَأَنَّ الشَرَّ ضَربَة لازِبِ

Perhaps you thought humiliation inevitable, or the heights

forbidden, and evil an inescapable decree.

فَقُم قومَ ناعي مَن يُقيمُ بِمَنزِلٍ

يُضامُ بِهِ وَالأَرضُ شَتّى المَذاهِبِ

Rise, proclaiming dead whoever stays in a dwelling

where he is wronged, while the earth offers countless paths.

وَلا عاشَ مَن يُغضي عَلى الضَّيمِ جفنهُ

وَفي قائِمِ الهِندِيِّ فَضلٌ لِضارِبِ

May he not live who closes his eyelids upon oppression,

while an Indian sword's hilt has room for a striker.

وَرُح واِغدُ في كَيدِ العَدُوِّ وَلا تَنَم

عَلى ضَمَدٍ فَالعُمرُ كسوَةُ سالِبِ

Go evening and morning to outwit the enemy; do not sleep

upon unavenged anger, for life is a despoiler's garment.

أَتَظمى لَدَيكَ المشرفِيَّةُ وَالقَنا

وَفي قُلَلِ الباغينَ وِردٌ لِشارِبِ

Must your Mashrafi swords and lances thirst beside you,

when the aggressors' heads hold water for a drinker?

فَشَمِّر وَأَورِدها فَقد زادَ ظمؤُها

عَلى العَشرِ أَورِدها بِعَزمٍ مُؤارِبِ

Then gird yourself and bring them to water: their thirst has lasted

beyond ten days; water them with shrewd resolve.

وَلا تُورِدَنها وِردَ سَعدٍ وَعُلَّها

إِذا نَهَلَت عَلَّ الهِجانِ الحَلايِبِ

Do not water them as Sa'd did; give them another draught,

once they have drunk, like noble milch camels drinking again.

فَإِنَّ بِها تَرقى الدِّماءُ كَما بِها

تُراقُ وَفيها عالياتُ المَراتِبِ

For through them blood is stanched, just as through them

it is spilled; in them lie the loftiest ranks.

وَمَن لَم يروِّ السَّيفَ يَظمَ وَمَن يَهُن

يُهَن وَمحاريبُ العُلى لِلمُحارِبِ

Whoever does not quench his sword will thirst; whoever stoops

is abased, and glory's sanctuaries belong to the warrior.

وَمَن لِم تَخَوَّفهُ العِدى في بِلادِها

تُخِفه وَعُقبى الذُلِّ شَرُّ العَواقِبِ

Whomever foes do not fear within their own lands,

they will frighten; humiliation ends in the worst of outcomes.

أَرى الناسَ مُذ كانوا عَبيداً لِغاشِم

وَخَصماً لِمَغلوبٍ وَجُنداً لِغالِبِ

I see people, since they first existed, enslaved to a tyrant,

opposing the defeated and serving as the victor's troops.

وَما بَلَغَ العَلياءَ إِلّا اِبنُ حُرَّةٍ

قَليلُ اِفتكارٍ في أُمورِ العَواقِبِ

None has reached the heights except a freeborn woman's son

who gives little thought to consequences.

وَما العِزُّ إِلّا في صِها كُلِّ سابِحٍ

وَما المالُ إِلّا في شَبا كُلِّ قاضِبِ

Honor lies only on the backs of coursing steeds,

and wealth only on the edges of cutting swords.

وَمَن لَم يَعضَّ الدَّهرَ مِن قَبلِ عَضِّهِ

بِنابيهِ أَضحى مُضغَةً لِلنَوائِبِ

Whoever does not bite Time before Time bites him,

with both his fangs, becomes a morsel for calamities.

وَلا تَتَوهَّم أَنّ إِكرامَكَ العِدى

سَخاءٌ وَأَنَّ العِزَّ ضَيمُ الأَقارِبِ

Do not imagine that honoring your enemies

is generosity, or that honor means oppressing your kin.

لعَمرُكَ ما عَزَّ اِمرُؤٌ ذَلَّ قَومُهُ

وَلا جادَ مَن أَعطى عَطِيَّةَ راهِبِ

By your life, no man gains honor while his people are abased,

nor is he generous who gives a frightened man's gift.

خَليليَّ عَن دارِ الهَوانِ فَقَوِّضا

خيامي وَزُمّا لِارتِحالٍ نَجائِبي

My two friends, strike down, away from humiliation's abode,

my tents, and rein my noble camels for departure.

وَلا تَذكُرا عِندي لَعَلَّ وَلا عَسى

فَما بِعَسى يُقضى نَجاحٌ لِطالِبِ

Speak to me neither of 'perhaps' nor of 'maybe':

'maybe' never wins success for a seeker.

وَلَيسَ عَسى أَو رُبَّما أَو لَعَلَّما

وَيا طالَما إِلّا قُيودَ المَعاطِبِ

'Maybe,' 'perhaps,' and 'it may be,'

and 'oh, how long!' are nothing but fetters of ruin.

لَحى اللَّهُ نَوّاماً عَلى الهَمِّ وَالبَرى

قِصاراهُ وَالدُّنيا عَلى فَوتِ ذاهِبِ

God curse the sluggard sleeping upon care, with wasting away

his sole attainment, while the world is slipping past.

عَجِبتُ لِقَومٍ أَصبَحوا وَعُيونهُم

تُخازِرُلي مِن تَحتِ تِلكَ الحَواجِبِ

I marvel at people whose eyes have come

to glance askance at me beneath those brows.

إِذا ما بَدا شَخصي لَهُم خِلتَ عاصِفاً

مِنَ الرِّيحِ قَد ثارَت عَلَيهم بِحاصِبِ

Whenever my person appears to them, you would think a tempest

of wind had risen against them, pelting stones.

يَسُرُّهُمُ أَنّي اِختُرِمتُ وَغالَني

حِمامي وَقامَت بِالمَآلي نَوادِبي

It would delight them if I were cut off and seized

by my doom, and my mourners stood with mourning cloths.

وَما ليَ ذَنبٌ غَيرُ أمٍّ نجيبَةٍ

حَصانٍ أَتَت مِن مُحصَناتِ النَجائِبِ

I have no fault except a noble mother,

chaste, descended from chaste women of noble stock,

وَآباءِ صِدقٍ حينَ أُعزى وَهِمَّةٍ

عَلَت بِي عَلى هامِ النُجومِ الثَواقِبِ

and true forefathers when I name my lineage, and ambition

that raised me above the crowns of the piercing stars;

وَبُغضي لأَربابِ الخَنا وَمَودَّتي

لِكُلِّ أَبيِّ الضَّيمِ محضِ الضَرائِبِ

and my hatred of the masters of obscenity, and my love

for all who refuse oppression and are pure of nature.

وَما مِنهُمُ إِلّا مَهينٌ رَمت بِهِ

أُبُوَّةُ سُوءٍ مِن إِماءٍ جَلائِبِ

Not one of them is anything but a wretch cast forth

by vile paternity from slave women brought from afar:

أَخو مُومِسٍ أَو صنوُها أَو حَليلُها

فَقَد حُفَّ بِالسَّوآتِ مِن كُلِّ جانِبِ

a prostitute's brother, her counterpart, or her husband,

surrounded by disgraces on every side.

شَغوبٌ عَلى الأَدنى وَلَو صَكَّ أَنفَهُ

عَدُوٌّ بِسَيفٍ أَو عَصاً لَم يُشاغِبِ

Quarrelsome toward his kin, yet if his nose were struck

by an enemy with sword or stick, he would not quarrel.

وَما زالَ نَتنَ الخِيمِ وَالأَصلِ مُولَعاً

بِبَغضاءِ أَربابِ العُلى وَالمَناقِبِ

He has ever been foul in character and origin, obsessed

with hatred of men of greatness and distinction.

عَلى رِسلِكُم وَاِمشُوا رُوَيداً فَتيهُكُم

عَلى عَبدَلِيٍّ مِن عَجيبِ العَجائِبِ

Easy now; walk slowly: your swaggering

over an Abdali is among the strangest of wonders.

وَخَلّوا مُضِلّاتِ الأَمانيِّ عَنكُمُ

مَتى نَفَّرَ البازي صَريرُ الجَنادِبِ

Cast off the delusions of your wishes:

when did locusts' chirping ever frighten a hawk?

وَلا تَحسَبوا ذا التيهَ فيكُم فَضيلَةً

فَما هُوَ إِلّا صَرُّ عَينٍ وَحاجِبِ

Do not reckon this arrogance a virtue in yourselves:

it is only a screwing-up of eye and brow.

فَرُصّوا وَصُرّوا أَعيُناً أَو فَبَلِّقُوا

فَما نَفخُ حُفّاثٍ لِصلٍّ بِكارِبِ

So squeeze and screw your eyes shut, or open them wide:

a harmless snake's puffing cannot trouble a viper.

وَمَن أَنتُمُ حَتّى أُساءَ بِبُغضِكُم

وَإِعراضِكُم يا شَرَّ ماشٍ وَراكِبِ

Who are you that I should be hurt by your hatred

and aversion, O worst of those who walk or ride?

إِذا عُدَّتِ الأَنذالُ يَوماً بِمَجلِسٍ

عُدِدتُم وَما حُرٌّ لِنذلٍ بِصاحِبِ

Whenever the lowborn are counted in an assembly,

you are counted; no freeborn man is a lowborn man's companion.

فَلَو كُنتُمُ طَيراً لَكُنتُم مِن الصَّدى

صَدى البُومِ أَو غِربانَهُنَّ النَواعِبِ

Were you birds, you would be owls—

male owls—or their cawing crows.

رَضيتُ مَن اِختَرتُم لكُم غَيرَ غابِطٍ

رِضا زاهِدٍ في وُدِّكُم غَيرِ راغِبِ

I accept whomever you chose for yourselves, without envy,

with the acceptance of one indifferent to your affection, not desiring it.

وَكُنتُ إِذا ما أَحمَقٌ زَمَّ أَنفَهُ

شَمَختُ بِأَنفي عَنهُ وَاِزوَرَّ جانِبي

Whenever a fool turned up his nose,

I raised mine above him and turned my side away.

وَإِنّي لإِحسانِ المُلوكِ لَعائِفٌ

فَكَيفَ بِنَزرِ القدرِ نَزرِ المَكاسِبِ

I disdain even the bounty of kings,

so what of a man scant in rank and scant in earnings?

أَرى هِمَّتي لا تَقتَضيني سِوى العُلى

وَلَيسَ العُلى دونَ النُّجومِ الثَواقِبِ

I see my ambition demands of me nothing but the heights,

and the heights lie no lower than the piercing stars.

أَأَبقى كَذا لا يَتَّقيني مُشاغِبي

وَلا لِعَظيمٍ يَرتَجيني مُصاحِبي

Must I remain thus, with my antagonist not fearing me,

and my companion not hoping for some great deed from me?

وَهَذا هُوَ الذَنبُ الَّذي ما وَراءَهُ

لَدَيهم وَلَكِن لَستُ عَنهُ بِتائِبِ

This is the sin beyond which there is none

in their eyes; yet I shall not repent of it.

أُداري مُداراةَ الأَسيرِ مَعاشِراً

مُداراتُهُم مِن مُوجِعاتِ المَصائِبِ

I placate groups of men as a captive must;

placating them is among the most painful calamities.

عَنِ الرُّشدِ أَهدى مِن سَطيحٍ وَكُلُّهُم

إِلى الغيِّ أَعدى مِن سُلَيكِ المَقانِبِ

They steer away from wisdom more surely than Satih; all of them

race toward folly faster than Sulayk of the raiding bands.

وَأُنكِحُ أَبكارَ المَعاني أَراذِلاً

أَحَقّ بِخَصيٍ مِن يَسارِ الكَواعِبِ

I wed the virgins of meaning to vile men,

more deserving of castration than Yasar of the budding-breasted maidens.

وَأَكسو ثِيابَ الحَمدِ مَن حَقُّ جِسمِهِ

مَلابِسُ حُمّى أَفكَلٍ بَعدَ صالِبِ

I clothe in garments of praise one whose body's due

is the garb of fever: shivering after burning heat.

وَإِنّي لَخَيرٌ مِنهُ نَفساً وَوالِداً

وَعِيصاً إِذا عُدَّت كِرامُ المَناسِبِ

I am surely better than he in soul and father,

and in stock, when noble ancestries are counted.

وَأُكرِمُ أَقواماً لَو اِنّي مَدَحتهُم

بِما فيهمُ لَم أُبقِ عَيباً لِعائِبِ

I honor people whom, if I praised

for what is in them, I would leave no fault for a faultfinder.

لِكَفِّ أَذاهُم لا اِجتِلاباً لِخَيرِهم

وَكَيفَ يُدِرُّ الحولَ إِبساسُ حالِبِ

I do so to ward off their harm, not to attract their good:

how can a milker's coaxing make dry camels yield milk?

فَيا عِرَراً لا يفثأُ المَدحُ شَرَّهُم

وَقَد يَفثأُ الراقونَ سُمَّ العَقارِبِ

O filthy wretches whose evil praise cannot soothe,

though charmers can soothe the venom of scorpions!

مَتى جَرَّ نَفعاً مَدحُكُم أَو كَفى أَذىً

وَكَم نَفَعَ السارينَ حَدوُ الرَكائِبِ

When has praising you brought benefit or warded off harm?

How often camel-song has helped travelers by night!

فَيا ضَيعَةَ المَدحِ الَّذي سارَ فيكُمُ

عَلى أَلسُنِ الرَواينِ سَيرَ الكَواكِبِ

Oh, the waste of praise that traveled concerning you

on reciters' tongues like the courses of stars!

أَلا لَيتَني مِن قَبلَهِ كُنتُ مُفحَماً

وَلَم يَجرِ مِن لَفظي بِهِ خَطُّ كاتِبِ

Would that, before it, I had been unable to make verse,

and no scribe had written it down from my words!

فَقَد كانَ مِنّي مِثلَ ما قالَ فَلتَةً

وَما اِعتَضتُ مِنهُ غَيرَ عَضِّ الرَواجِبِ

It was a thoughtless slip from me, as the saying goes,

and my only recompense was biting my knuckles.

لَئِن كُنتُ لا كُنتُم قَذىً في عُيونكُم

فَإِنّي شِفاءٌ لِلعيونِ الضَوارِبِ

If I am—may you cease to be—grit in your eyes,

I am a cure for throbbing eyes.

وَإِن كانَ ما نِلتُم عَظيماً لَدَيكُم

فَقَد يَعظُمُ العصفورُ في عَينِ خائِبِ

If what you gained seems great to you,

a sparrow may look great to a disappointed man.

أَغرَّكُمُ دَهرٌ خَسيسٌ أَحَلَّكُم

مَراتِبَ ما كانَت لَكُم مِن مَراتِبِ

Has a base age deceived you, installing you

in ranks that were never yours?

تَظُنّونَها أَهرامَ مِصرَ وَإِنَّها

لَأَوهى بِناءً مِن بيوتِ العَناكِبِ

You think them the pyramids of Egypt, yet they

are frailer in construction than spiders' houses.

أَلَيسَ الحَجا آجِرُّها وَبَلاطُهُ

قَذى الماءِ مَطبوخاً بِنارِ الحُباحِبِ

To reason, are not their bricks and paving

water-scum baked in a firefly's flame?

رُوَيداً بَني المُستَفرِماتِ فَغائِبٌ

وَعَدتُكُمُ إِنجازَهُ غَيرُ غائِبِ

Easy, sons of women who use vaginal astringents! A thing still unseen,

whose fulfillment I promised you, is not far away.

فَوا أَسَفاً إِن مِتُّ لَم أوطِ أَرضَكُم

كَتائِبَ خَيلٍ تَهتَدي بِكَتائِبِ

Alas, if I die before making your land bear the tread of

squadrons of horses guided by squadrons!

تُريكُم نُجومَ اللَّيلِ ظُهراً إِذا بَدَت

تُكَدِّسُ في لَيلٍ مِنَ النَقعِ ضارِبِ

They show you night stars at noon when they appear,

bounding through a spreading night of dust,

بِكُلِّ فَتىً أَمضى مِنَ السَّيفِ عَزمُهُ

إِذا اِعتَرَكَت وَالسَّيفُ عَضبُ المَضارِبِ

with every youth whose resolve is sharper than the sword

when the ranks clash, though the sword is keen of edge.

فَلَستُ اِبنَ أُمِّ المَجدِ إِن لَم تَزركُمُ

مسوَّمَةٌ بَينَ القَنا وَالقَواضِبِ

I am no son of glory's mother unless there visit you

marked chargers amid lances and cutting swords,

بِطَعنٍ يُنسّي الكَلبَ مَنكُم هَريرَهُ

وَيَترُكهُ يَضغو ضُغاءَ الثَعالِبِ

with thrusts that make the dog among you forget his growling,

leaving him whining like the foxes,

وَضَربٍ يَقولُ الأَحمَقُ البَلعُ عِندَهُ

أَلا لَيتَني بِالدّوِّ بَعضُ الأَرانِبِ

and blows at which the gluttonous fool says,

'Would that I were one of the desert hares!'

قَضى اللَّهُ ما تَستَوجِبونُ فَساقَهُ

إِلَيكُم فَما أَبغي لَكُم غَيرَ واجِبِ

May God decree what you deserve and drive it

upon you; I seek for you nothing but your due.

أَشَرياً عَلى الأَدنى وَأَرياً عَلى العِدى

وَذُلّاً لذي صِدقٍ وَعِزّاً لِكاذِبِ

Bitter colocynth to your kin, yet honey to your enemies,

and humiliation for the truthful, but honor for the liar?

تَعِستُم وَأَدّى اللَّهُ ما في رِقابِكُم

أَما لِإِلَهٍ فيكُم مِن مُراقِبِ

Perish! May God exact what hangs upon your necks.

Is none among you mindful of God?

تَجمَّعَ لي عَبدٌ زَنيمٌ وَفاجِرٌ

أَثيمٌ وَأَبّارٌ عَظيمُ النَيارِبِ

A bastard slave and a libertine have banded against me,

a sinner and a slanderer full of malicious gossip.

وَأَنساهُمُ ما يُعقِبُ الغَيُّ أَهلَهُ

شَقاهُم فَلَمّا يَنظُرُوا في العَواقِبِ

What error brings upon its followers was blotted from their minds

by their wretchedness; they have yet to consider the consequences.

فأَولى لَهُم أَولى أَما إِنَّ خَيرَهُم

نِجاراً وَنَفساً مَن نُمِي لِلمُعائِبِ

Woe to them, and woe! Indeed, their best

in stock and soul is one whose lineage is traced to disgrace.

وَلَم أَرَ آذى لِاِمرِئٍ مِن جِوارِهم

وَلا سِيَّما حُرٍّ كَريمِ المَناصِبِ

I have seen nothing more harmful to a man than living beside them,

especially a freeborn man of noble ancestry.

وَدِدتُ وَقَد جاوَرتُهُم أَنَّ مَنزِلي

بِحَيثُ ثَوَت غُبسُ الذِئابِ السَواغِبِ

Having lived beside them, I wished my home

were where the hungry gray wolves dwell.

فَإِنَّ الذِّئابَ الطُّلسَ أَندى أَنامِلاً

وَأَكفى وَأَوفى ذِمَّةً لِلمُصاحِبِ

For dusky wolves are more generous of finger,

more helpful, and more faithful in their pledge to a companion.

فَما زالَ ناديهم عَجاجاً وَما لَهُم

رَجاجاً وَواديهُم أُجاجَ المَشارِبِ

Their assembly has ever been a dust storm, and all they possess

worthless refuse, their valley bitter to drink from.