نشوات طرفك والقوام الأهيف — Abn Alsaati

نشواتُ طرفك والقوامِ الأهيفِ

خصا غداةَ النَّعفِ كلَّ معنفِ

The raptures of your gaze and your slender figure

singled out every reproacher that morning at al-Naʿf.

أسفي لردفك ذا المهيل ورحمتي

منهُ لخصركِ ذا النحيل المخطف

My yearning for your hips, heaped like sand, and my pity

because of them for your thin, tapering waist!

ما بالُ قدك لدنةٌ أعطافهُ

ليناً قاسياً لم يعطف

Why is your figure supple in its curves,

soft yet unyielding, never inclining in tenderness?

حسدتهُ مائسةُ القنا فوق النَّقا

فلأجلهِ رجفانُ كلُّ مثقف

The swaying spear shafts above the dunes envied it;

hence the trembling of every straightened shaft.

تبَّا بقومك ما لهم لا أخصبوا

سكنوا الوهادَ وهم ذؤابةُ خندف

Ruin upon your people! What ails them? May they never know plenty!

They settled in the lowlands, though they are Khindif's crest.

تركوا شعابَ الواديين طوافحَ

الغدران ساجعةَ الحمام الهتُّف

They left the ravines of the two valleys brimming

with pools and the cooing of clamorous doves.

تختال بالأطواقِ بعد عميدكِ ال

غيرانِ طوق بالحسام المرهف

They strut in neck-rings, after your chieftain, the

jealous one, was ringed by the keen-edged sword.

إن أخلف العام الجمادُ فمقلتي

لنواك موءُ صبابةٍ لم يخلف

If the barren year has disappointed, my eye

at your departure is an unfailing rain-cloud of longing.

خلّي الشؤون وشأنَ إدرارٍ على

دار حللن برامتين موظف

Leave the tear-ducts to their task of pouring upon

a dwelling where they lodged at Ramatayn—unceasingly.

ركضت سوابقها فقلت لها قفي

فكأنني في السفح قلتُ لها كفي

Their foremost drops raced on; I told them, 'Stop!'

Yet amid their spilling, it was as though I told them, 'Flow!'

من لي بتركيِ النجار فديتهُ

من ظالمٍ وفديتهُ من منصف

Who can bring me that one of Turkish stock? I would ransom him,

unjust as he is, and ransom him when he is fair.

يلقاكَ طوراً بالنفار وتارةً

بأرقَّ من نفس النسيم وألطف

He meets you now with aversion, and at another time

with something softer and gentler than the breeze's breath.

كلفي بأجيدَ كالغزالةِ أحورٍ

وسنانَ أغيدَ كالقناةِ مهفهف

My passion is for a long-necked, dark-eyed one like a gazelle,

sleepy-eyed, supple as a spear shaft, delicately slender.

وضع اللثام فلاح بدراً وانثنى

فأراكَ سالفةَ الغزال الأوطف

He lowered his veil and shone as a full moon, then turned,

showing you the neck of a long-lashed gazelle.

وكأنَّ صفحةَ خدهِ كافورةٌ

نقشتْ من المسك السحيق بأحرف

As though his cheek's surface were a tablet of camphor,

inscribed with letters of finely powdered musk.

خيفتْ لواحظهُ فنرجس طرفهِ

غضٌّ ووردةُ خدهِ لم تقطف

His sidelong glances are feared; the narcissus of his eye

is fresh, and the rose of his cheek remains unplucked.

ساقٍ يديرُ زجاجةً مشمولةً

خصرتْ فكيف تشبُّ نارَ تلهفي

A cupbearer passes round a flask cooled by the north wind;

it is chilled—how, then, does it kindle my yearning's fire?

يسعى بعطفي بانةٍ ما هَّزها

ضمٌّ وخمرةُ ريقهِ لم ترشف

He moves with the curves of a ban tree, never swayed

by an embrace; the wine of his saliva remains unsipped.

وأما بيض جفونهِ ما احمرَّ خدّ ال

كأس لولا خجلةٌ في القرقف

As for the bright blades of his eyelids, the cheek of the

cup would not have reddened but for the wine's bashfulness.

راعتهُ حادثةُ الفراق فأرسلن

طلَّ المدامع فوق وردٍ مضعفُ

The calamity of parting startled him, and his eyes shed

the dew of tears upon a many-petalled rose.

وألانَ يوم البينِ سورةً فلبهُ الـ

ـقاسي فظلَّ كصدغهِ المتعطف

The day of parting softened the fierceness of his

hard heart; it grew pliant like his curling temple-lock.

والقلبُ منزلةُ البدور أنا ترى

بدرَ الملاحةِ حلَّ قلبَ المجنف

The heart is the dwelling of full moons—do you not see

the full moon of beauty lodged in the wronged lover's heart?

واراهُ ثمَّ بعقدةٍ من صدغهِ

فعلامَ أسوةَ مثله لم يكسف

It concealed him there with a knot of his temple-lock;

why, then, has he not been eclipsed like his fellows?

لا غابَ من قمرٍ فكم بجبينهِ

نوَّرتُ من أحشاء ليلٍ مسدف

May that moon never set! How often with his brow

have I lit the depths of a pitch-dark night.

ورددتهُ بعد العبوس كأنهُ

وجهُ المؤيدِ باسماً للمعتفى

I brought him back from frowning, until he was like

al-Mu'ayyad's face, smiling upon a petitioner.

ملكٌ صريحٌ والزمانُ بأسره

محلٌ وأسمنَ في الزمان المعجف

A king of pure lineage, though the whole age

is barren; he fattens others in a time that makes them lean.

عشق السّماح فكم عصى كقديمه

في حبهِ من عاذلٍ ومعنف

He loves bounty; how many, like his predecessor, has he defied

among those who blame and rebuke him for that love!

وبأيّ جنح وغّى نجومُ رماحهِ

ما ضوَّأتْ ويروقها لم تخطف

In what darkness of battle have the stars of his spears

not shone, their lightning not flashed?

وكأنَّ أرواح العدى لجسومها

ثمرٌ بعير غصونها لم تقطف

As though the enemies' souls, borne by their bodies,

were fruit, plucked only by those branches.

يأوي إلى البيت القديم بناؤهُ

ويحلُّ في الحسبِ الكريم الأشرف

He shelters in a house whose foundations are ancient,

and dwells in a noble, most exalted lineage.

ويسيرُ في صبح السيوف فما ترى

في ليل خاطرهِ خيالِ تخوُّف

He walks amid the dawn of swords, yet you see no

phantom of fear in the night of his thoughts.

وإذا سما لرفيع مجدٍ طرفهُ

نظرَ الحسودُ إليه من طرفٍ خفي

When his gaze rises toward lofty glory,

the envious man regards him with a furtive eye.

قاد الجحافل قبل مبلغ حلمهِ

تجبيرَ لا ضرعٍ ولا متخوف

He led great armies before attaining manhood,

restoring strength [sense unclear], neither weak nor fearful.

خيلٌ على غير الأعادي لم تصمْ

وقتاً لغير حمامهم لم تعكف

Horses that never charged at any but the foes,

never for a moment devoted to anything but their death.

مستوفياً عدد النفوس بعاملٍ

من رمحه يوم المقامةِ مُشرف

He takes his full tally of souls with the working point

of his spear, raised high on the day of battle.

يا أُيها الملكُ الذي وليتهُ

قلبي ولايةَ حاكمٍ متصؤلإ

O king whom I appointed

to rule my heart as a commanding sovereign!

وجرى سواك من الملوك يلومة

فحويتَ عن سبقٍ مكان المنصف

Other kings ran the race beside you [final word unclear],

and by outstripping them you claimed the place of the just.

ولقد سجنتَ وصيتُ مدكَ مطلقٌ

لك يا ابن يوسفَ إسوةٌ في يوسف

You were imprisoned, yet the fame of your glory roamed free;

O son of Yusuf, in Yusuf you have an example.

كم صينَ من عقدٍ نفيسٍ قدره

ضنَّا وأغمد عزهً من مُرهف

How many a necklace, precious in worth, has been guarded

jealously, and a keen blade sheathed out of esteem!

والقيد من حلي الجياد ومن درى

أنَّ الجزاءَ يكون لم يتأفف

Fetters are among the adornments of noble horses; whoever knows

that recompense will come does not complain.

في أي طوقٍ من صلاتك لم ترحْ

وبأي قيدٍ كرامةٍ بم ترسف

In what collar of your gifts have you not let men depart,

and with what fetter of honor have you not bound them?

كنفتك حادثة الزمانِ بمرها

والتبرُ لولا حكهُ لم يعرف

Time's calamity encompassed you with its bitterness;

gold would not be known without being rubbed.

عكفت بأبلج بالحديد مثقَّلِ

عن معتفيهِ بالنضار مخفف

It beset a radiant man, weighed down with iron,

who lightens his petitioners' burdens with gold.

طبٌّ بأدواءِ الممالك لطفهُ

لا مهملٍ عزماً ولا متعسّف

His tact is expert in the ailments of kingdoms,

neither negligent in resolve nor overbearing.

وافٍ ولم يعطِ العهودُ فكيف أن

أخذت عليهِ وصادقٍ لم يخلف

Faithful without giving pledges—how much more if

they were taken from him! Truthful, he has never broken his word.

ومسكنٌ طيشَ الوغى ولعزمهِ

نحرَ العلى سعي المغذِ الموجف

He calms the frenzy of battle; his resolve has

an urgent, galloping drive toward glory's breast.

يقظان أي حشاشةٍ بالجود ما

أحيا وأي نفيسةٍ لم يتلف

Ever watchful—what flicker of life has he not, through bounty,

revived, and what precious treasure has he not expended?

نبأٌ تقلّ له إذا أجرى أسى

هين الحيا وأضاق صدر النفنف

News before which, when it sets grief flowing,

gentle rain seems scant, and the vast expanse's breast contracts.

وأراكَ وجه الجوّ ليس بواضحٍ

طلقٍ وظهر الأرض غير مفوَّف

It showed you the sky's face neither clear

nor bright, and the earth's back without its patterned adornment.

جيدُ الهديل إليه غير مطوقٍ

والطلُّ سمعَ الغُصن غيرُ مشنّف

The cooing dove's neck is uncollared before it,

and dew does not jewel the branch's ear.

فهناك أي مثقفٍ ما هزَّهُ

قلقٌ وأي صفيحةٍ لم تكلَف

Then what straightened spear was not shaken

by anguish, and what sword-blade was not stained?

عجباً لذاك اليوم إنَّ سماءَهُ

ما كُدرت وجبالهُ لم ترجف

How strange that day—its sky

did not grow troubled, and its mountains did not quake!

كم سرت يوم ندى فريداً محسناً

ووقفتَ يوم وغى حميدَ الموقف

How often, on a day of bounty, you went forth matchless in kindness,

and on a day of battle stood in a praiseworthy station!

وكماةُ جيشك كلُّ اغلبَ مقدكٍ

نحو المهالكِ بالملائك مودف

The champions of your army, each a thick-necked warrior [unclear epithet],

approach deadly perils with angels close at hand.

والنقعُ يتربُ من دم الفرسان ما

كتبت يراعُ رماحها في الصَّفصف

And dust, with the horsemen's blood, covers what

the reed-pen of their spears has written on the level plain.

فاليوم أية مهجة لم تبتسم

وبأمسٍ أية مقلةٍ لم تذرف

What heart, today, has not smiled,

and what eye, yesterday, did not shed tears?

الآنَ يا شوسَ الخطوب تقنعي

حزناً ويا نوبَ الزمان تكشفَّي

Now, O scowling calamities, veil yourselves

in grief; O vicissitudes of time, lay yourselves bare!

قلقَ العدى النُّكول وإنما

قلقُ العدى لسكون قول المرجف

Retreat unsettled the enemies; yet

their distress comes from the rumor-monger's words falling silent.

وهبتك راحتك الجليلةَ راحةٌ

صرفَ الزمان بمثلها لم يصرف

Your noble palm has granted you relief

unmatched in turning aside time's adversity.

إحسان من يحيي ويردي صنعهُ

عدلاً ويبعد في الإله ويصطفي

The beneficence of one whose deeds give life and bring death

justly, who estranges and favors for God's sake.

تلقاهُ في يومي نداهُ وبأسهِ

ذا رايةٍ نصرت برأيٍ محصف

You find him on the two days of his bounty and his might

bearing a banner aided by judicious counsel.

في أيّ قطرٍ نازحٍ لم تهمِ جد

واهُ وبارح سخطهِ لم تعصف

In what distant region has his bounty not rained,

or the scorching wind of his wrath not swept?

يغنيك لا متكلّفاً خلق الندى

لا خير في خلقٍ أتى بتكلف

He enriches you without affecting a generous nature;

there is no good in a disposition born of affectation.

عدَّ الصلاتِ من الصَّلاة يقيمها

إخلاصَ لا ساهٍ وغير مطفّف

He counts gifts as prayer, which he performs

in sincerity, neither heedless nor short in measure.

ماضي العزيمة طال باع السيف ما

وافى وأسفر منهُ وجهُ المصحف

He is firm of purpose; the sword's reach grows long whenever he

arrives, and the face of the Qur'an shines forth through him.

يمنى يديك سطتْ وما في سطوها

عارٌ وعدتَ إلى المحلّ الألطف

Your right hand struck, with no dishonor in its blow,

and you returned to the gentler station.

فأتتك غادات الهناءِ روافلاً

يسحبنَ ذيلَ ملاءَةٍ أو مطرف

So the maidens of happiness came to you in trailing robes,

dragging the hems of a wrap or a patterned mantle.

هي غنية الغزل الطروب وبغيةُ الـ

ـخود الكعوب ومنية المتعطف

It is the song of the rapturous lover, and the desire of the

young, full-breasted maiden, and the wish of the tender lover.

صُن درّها الحبريّ يا بحر الندى

ضناً وعن صدف المدائح فاصدف

Guard its ink-born pearls, O sea of bounty,

jealously, and turn away from the shells of panegyrics.

لم يخلُ في سهلٍ وحزنٍ بيتها الـ

ـمحجوج من ساعٍ به ومطوف

In level country or rugged land, its pilgrim-visited house

has never lacked one hastening to it or circling round.

نسبتْ إلى عليا الحجاز جزالةً

وإلى العراق لرقةٍ وتلطفِ

It is ascribed to the heights of the Hijaz for its vigor,

and to Iraq for its delicacy and grace.

فلذاك لم تعد سماح مكثرٍ

لجلالها ولحسنها من مقتف

Thus it has not lacked a wealthy giver's bounty

for its grandeur, nor an imitator for its beauty.