إلى م أورد عتباً غير مستمع — Abn Almqrb Alaaona

إِلى مَ أُورِدُ عُتباً غَيرَ مُستَمَعِ

وَأُنفِقُ العُمرَ بَينَ اليَأسِ وَالطَمَعِ

How long shall I offer reproaches that go unheard,

and spend my life between despair and hope?

وَكَم أُحيلَ عَلى الأَيّامِ مُفتَرِياً

ما تُحدِثُ البدعُ النَوكَى مِن البِدَعِ

And how often shall I falsely ascribe to the days

the novelties wrought by foolish innovators?

آلَيتُ أَنفَكُّ مِن حِلٍّ وَمُرتَحَلٍ

أَو أَن تَقولَ لِيَ الآمالُ خُذ وَدَعِ

I have sworn never to cease from halting and departing,

until hopes tell me, ‘Take, and leave.’

لا صاحَبَتنِيَ نَفسٌ لا تُبَلِّغُني

مَراتِبَ العِزِّ لَو في ناظِرِ السَبُعِ

May no soul accompany me that does not bring me

to the ranks of honor, even in the pupil of a beast of prey.

سَيَصحَبُ الدَهرَ مِنّي ماجِدٌ نَجِدٌ

لَو داسَ عِرنِينَ أَنفِ المَوتِ لَم يُرَعِ

Time shall have in me a noble, valiant companion,

who, even if he trod on the bridge of death’s nose, would not fear.

أَأَقبَلُ النَقصَ وَالآباءُ مُنجِبَةٌ

وَالبَيتُ في المَجدِ ذُو مَرأىً وَمُستَمَعِ

Shall I accept inferiority, while my forefathers begot noble offspring,

and my house in glory is seen and heard?

لَأَركَبَنَّ مِنَ الأَهوالِ أَعظَمَها

هَولاً وَما يَحفَظُ الرَّحمنُ لَم يُضَعِ

I shall surely brave the greatest of terrors

in dread; what the All-Merciful guards is not lost.

وَلا أَكونُ كَمَن يَسعى وَغايَتُهُ

وَمُنتَهى سَعيِهِ لِلرِّيِّ وَالشِبَعِ

Nor shall I be like one who strives, whose goal

and the end of his striving are to drink and eat his fill.

أَيذهَبُ العُمرُ لا يَخشى مُعانَدَتي

خَصمي وَجاري بِقُربي غَيرُ مُنتَفِعِ

Shall life pass, my opposition unfeared

by my foe, and my neighbor gaining nothing from my nearness?

وَبَينَ جَنبَيَّ عَزمٌ يَقتَضي هِمَماً

لَو ضَمَّها صَدرُ هَذا الدَهرِ لَم يَسَعِ

And between my sides lies a resolve demanding ambitions

that the breast of this age could not contain, were it to embrace them.

فَلا رَعى اللَهُ أَرضاً لا أَكونُ بِها

سُمّاً لِمُستَنكِفٍ غَيثاً لِمُنتَجِعِ

So may God not protect a land where I am not

poison to the disdainful, rain to the seeker of pasture.

كَم عايَنَ الدَهرُ مِنّي صَبرَ مُكتَهِلٍ

إِذ لَيسَ يُوجَدُ صَبرُ العودِ في الجَذَعِ

How often has time witnessed in me the patience of a mature man,

when an old camel’s patience is not found in a young one.

وَكَم سَقاني مِن كَأسٍ عَلى ظَمَأٍ

أَمَرَّ في الطَعمِ مِن صابٍ وَمِن سَلَعِ

And how often has it given me a cup to drink while thirsty,

more bitter to taste than ṣāb and salaʿ.

وَما رَمَتني بَكرٌ مِن نَوائِبهِ

إَلّا صَكَكتُ بِصَبري هامَةَ الجَزَعِ

And no maiden calamity among its misfortunes struck me

but I struck panic’s head with my patience.

سَلِ الأَخِلّاءِ عَنّي هَل صَحِبتُهُمُ

يَوماً مِنَ الدَهرِ إِلّا وَالوَفاءُ مَعي

Ask my intimate friends about me: did I keep their company

for a single day in time without fidelity beside me?

أَلقى مُسيئَهُمُ بِالبِشرِ مُبتَسِماً

حَتّى كَأَن لَم يَخُن عَهداً وَلَم يُضِعِ

I meet their offender with cheer, smiling,

as though he had neither betrayed nor neglected a pledge.

وَسَلهُمُ هَل وَفى لي مِن ثِقاتِهمُ

حُرٌّ وَلَم يَشرِ في نَقضي وَلَم يَبِعِ

And ask them: did any of their trusted men keep faith with me—

a freeborn man who neither bought nor sold in my undoing?

ثَكِلتُهُم ثُكلَ عَينٍ ما تَبَطَّنَها

مِنَ القَذى أَو كَثُكلِ العُضوِ لِلوَجَعِ

I lost them as an eye loses what lodged within it

of grit, or as a limb loses its pain.

لَقَد تَفَكَّرتُ في شَأني وَشَأنِهمُ

فَبانَ لي أَنَّ ذَنبي عِندَهُم وَرَعي

Indeed, I reflected on my affairs and theirs,

so it became clear to me that my sin in their eyes is my piety.

فآهِ مِن زَفَراتٍ كُلَّما صَعَدَت

في الصَدرِ كادَت تُوَرّي النار مِن ضِلعي

So, ah for sighs that, whenever they rise

within my breast, almost strike fire from my rib!

يَسُوقُها أَسَفٌ قَد ثارَ مِن نَدَمٍ

يُربي عَلى نَدَمِ المَغبُونِ مِن كُسَعِ

They are driven by grief stirred by regret

that surpasses the regret of the cheated man of Kusaʿ.

وَلَيسَ ذاكَ عَلى مالٍ نَعِمتُ بِهِ

حِيناً وَأَفناهُ صَرفُ الأَزلَمِ الجَذِعِ

Nor is that for wealth I enjoyed

for a time, before the ravages of ever-young Time consumed it.

وَلا عَلى زَلَّةٍ أَخشى عَواقِبَها

وَالناسُ حِزبانِ ذُو أَمنٍ وَذُو فَزَعِ

Nor for a lapse whose consequences I fear,

while people form two camps: one secure, one afraid.

لَكِن عَلى دُرَرٍ تَزهُو جَواهِرُها

في عِقدِ كُلِّ نِظامٍ غَيرِ مُنقَطِعِ

But for pearls whose gems shine

in the necklace of every unbroken strand.

تَوَّجتُها مَعشَراً لا أَبتَغي عِوَضاً

عَنها وَإِنّيَ في قَومي لَذُو قَنَعِ

I crowned a company with them, seeking no recompense

for them; indeed, among my people I am content.

وَكُنتُ أَولى بِها مِنهُم وَكَم مِنَنٍ

ضاعَت وَما فائِتٌ يَمضي بِمُرتَجَعِ

I was worthier of them than they; how many favors

were wasted, and what passes away cannot be recovered.

وغَرَّني مِنهُمُ لَفظٌ خُدِعتُ بِهِ

وَالناسُ ما بَينَ مَخدوعٍ وَمُختَدِعِ

A word from them deceived me, and I was beguiled by it,

and people fall between the deceived and deceivers.

فَلو تَكونُ إِلى الأَصدافِ نِسبَتُها

لَكانَ لِي كَرَمٌ يَنهى عَن الهَلَعِ

Had their origin been in oyster shells,

my generosity would have kept panic at bay.

لَكِنَّها الجَوهَرُ الطَبعِيُّ قَد أَمِنَت

مِنَ التَشَظّي مَدى الأَيّامِ وَالطَبَعِ

But they are gems of innate talent, secure

from splintering through all the days, and from tarnish.

ليُبعِدَنِّيَ عَنهُم شَدُّ ناجِيَةٍ

وَجناءَ غُفلٍ مِن التَوقِيعِ وَالوَقَعِ

The swift pace of a fleet she-camel shall surely carry me far from them,

broad-cheeked, free of saddle sores and sore feet.

أَو ذاتُ قِلعٍ مِنَ العَيناءِ ما عُرِفَت

في زَجرِها بخَلٍ يَوماً وَلا هِدَعِ

Or a sail-bearing, broad vessel, never known

to be urged with ‘khal!’ or ‘hidaʿ!’ on any day.

وَلا رَغَت عِندَ حَملِ الثِقلِ مِن ضَجَرٍ

وَلا إلى هُبَعٍ حَنَّت وَلا رُبَعِ

Nor has it bellowed in annoyance when bearing a heavy load,

nor yearned for a late-born camel calf or an early-born one.

تَجري مَعَ الريحِ إِن هَوناً وَإِن مَرَحاً

فَنِعمَ مُطلِعَةٌ مِن هَولِ مُطَّلِعِ

It runs with the wind, whether gently or spiritedly:

what a fine deliverer from a terrifying ascent!

فَتِلكَ أَو هَذِهِ أَجلو الهُمومَ بِها

إِذا تَطاوَلَ لَيلُ العاجِزِ الضَرِعِ

So with that one or this I dispel cares,

when the helpless, abject man’s night grows long.

يَأبى لِيَ المَجدُ أَن أَرضى بِغَيرِ رِضاً

وَرَأيِ ماضٍ وَعَزمٍ غَيرِ مُفتَرِعِ

Glory forbids me to accept anything but satisfaction,

decisive judgment, and an unbroken resolve.

ما أَقبَحَ الذُلَّ بِالحُرِّ الكَريمِ وَما

أَسوا وَأَقبَحَ مِنهُ العِزُّ بِاللُكَعِ

How ugly is abasement in a free, noble man—and how

much worse and uglier is honor in a base fellow!

ما لي أُجمجِمُ في صَدري بَلابِلَهُ

وَمَنكِبُ الأَرضِ ذو مَنأىً وَمُتَّسَعِ

Why do I hide its anxieties within my breast,

when the earth’s shoulder offers far retreats and ample space?

وَكُلُّ أَرضٍ إِذا يَمَّمتُها وَطني

وَكُلُّ قَومٍ إِذا صاحَبتهُم شِيَعي

And every land, once I turn toward it, is my homeland,

and every people, once I befriend them, are my allies.

وَلي مِنَ الفَضلِ أَسنَاهُ وَأَشرَفَهُ

وَهِمَّةٌ جاوَزَت بي كُلَّ مُرتَفِعِ

And mine is the loftiest and noblest excellence,

and an ambition that has carried me beyond every height.

المَجدُ أَعتَقُ وَالآدابُ بارِعَةٌ

وَذِروَةُ المَجدِ مُصطافي وَمُرتَبَعي

My glory is of noblest stock, my literary arts outstanding,

and glory’s summit is my summer retreat and spring abode.

لِيَ النَّباهَةُ طَبعٌ قَد عُرِفتُ بِهِ

وَكُلُّ مَعنىً مِنَ الأِلفاظِ مُختَرَعي

Distinction is an inborn trait in me, by which I am known,

and every meaning in words is my invention.

فَيَأسكُم مِن رُجُوعِي بَعدَ مُنصَرَفي

نِطافُ دِجلَةَ تُغنِيني عَنِ الجُرَعِ

So despair of my return once I have departed;

the waters of the Tigris suffice me instead of scant draughts.

سَيَعرِفُ الخاسِرُ المَغبُونُ صَفقَتَهُ

مِنّا وَمَن ضَيّعَ البازِيَّ بِالوَصَعِ

The losing, cheated one will recognize his bargain

among us—and so will he who traded away the hawk for a wren.

لا خَيرَ في مَنزِلٍ تَشقى الكِرامُ بِهِ

وَيُلحَقُ السَيِّدُ المَتبُوعُ بِالتَبَعِ

There is no good in a dwelling where noble men suffer,

and the master whom others follow is ranked with followers.

كَم لُمتُ قَومي لا بَل كَم أَمَرتُهُمُ

بِحَسمِ داءِ العِدا فيهِم فَلَم أُطَعِ

How often I blamed my people—no, rather, how often I commanded them

to root out the plague of enemies in their midst, but I was not obeyed.

فَلَم أَجِد بَعدَ يَأسي غَيرَ مُرتَحَلي

عَنهُم لِهَمٍّ أسَلِّيهِ وَمُتَّدَعِ

So after my despair I found nothing but my departure

from them, to soothe a sorrow and find a resting place.

فَإِن يُرِيعُوا أَرِع وَالعَقلُ مُكتَسَبٌ

وَالرَيعُ خَيرٌ وَمَن لِلعُميِ بِالرَسَعِ

So if they return, I shall return; reason can be acquired,

and returning is good—but who can grant the blind mere sore eyes?