شراب الأماني لو علمت سراب — Abn Khafajah

شَرابُ الأَماني لَو عَلِمتَ سَرابُ

وَعُتبى اللَيالي لَو فَهِمتَ عِتابُ

The drink of wishes, if you knew, is a mirage;

And the nights' amends, if you understood, are reproach.

إِذا اِرتَجَعَت أَيدي اللَيالي هِاتِها

فَغايَةُ هاتيكَ الهِباتِ ذَهابُ

When the hands of the nights reclaim their gifts,

The end of those gifts is to vanish.

وَهَل مُهجَةُ الإِنسانِ إِلّا طَريدَةٌ

تَحومُ عَلَيها لِلحِمامِ عُقابُ

And is the human soul anything but hunted prey,

Above which death's eagle circles?

يَخُبُّ بِها في كُلِّ يَومٍ وَلَيلَةٍ

مَطايا إِلى دارِ البِلى وَرِكابُ

Each day and night it is borne at a trot

By mounts and riding camels toward the house of decay.

وَكَيفَ يَغيضُ الدَمعُ أَو يَبرُدُ الحَشا

وَقَد بادَ أَقرانٌ وَفاتَ شَبابُ

And how can tears subside, or the heart grow cool,

When my peers have perished and youth has passed?

فَما نابَ عَن خِلِّ الصِبا خِلُّ شَيبَةٍ

وَلا عاضَ مِن شَرخِ الشَبابِ خِضابُ

No friend of gray-haired age replaces a friend of youth,

Nor does hair dye make up for the prime of youth.

أَلا ظَعَنا مِن صاحِبٍ وَشَبيبَةٍ

فَهَل لَهُما مِن ظاعِنينَ إِيابُ

Ah, both have departed: a companion and youth;

Is there a return for those two travelers?

دَعا بِهِما صَرفُ اللَيالي إِلى البِلى

فَكُلُّ الَّذي فَوقَ التُرابِ تُرابُ

The vicissitudes of the nights summoned them both to decay;

For all that is above the dust is dust.

فَها أَنا أَبكي كُلَّ مَعهَدِ راحَةٍ

تَضاحَكَ أَحبابٌ بِهِ وَصِحابُ

So here I am, lamenting every haunt of ease

Where loved ones and companions laughed together.

أُقَلِّبُ طَرفي لا أَرى غَيرَ لَيلَةٍ

وَقَد حُطَّ عَن وَجهِ الصَباحِ نِقابُ

I turn my gaze, seeing nothing but night,

Though the veil has been removed from morning's face.

كَأَنّي وَقَد طارَ الصَباحُ حَمامَةٌ

يَمُدُّ جَناحَيهِ عَلَيَّ غُرابُ

As though I were a dove, with morning flown away,

And a raven were spreading its wings above me.

عَلى حينَ لا غَيرَ اِعتِباري خَطابَةٌ

فَتوعى وَلا غَيرَ العَويلِ جَوابُ

At a time when no sermon but my own reflection

Is heeded, and no answer comes but wailing.

وَقَد جاشَ بَحرٌ بَينَ جَنبَيَّ مائِجٌ

لَهُ زَخرَةٌ في وَجنَتَيَّ وَعُبابُ

A billowing sea has surged between my sides,

Its swell and flood run over both my cheeks.

فَيا لَهُم مِن رَكبِ صَحبٍ تَتابَعوا

فُرادى وَهُم مُلدُ الغُصونِ شَبابُ

Ah, that caravan of friends who followed one another,

One by one, still young, with supple branches!

دَعا بِهِم داعي الرَدى فَكَأَنَّما

تَبارَت بِهِم خَيلٌ هُناكَ عِرابُ

Death's herald called them, and it was as though

Purebred Arabian steeds were racing with them there.

فَها هُم وَسِلمُ الدَهرِ حَربٌ كَأَنَّما

جَثا بَينَهُم طَعنٌ لَهُم وَضِرابُ

Here they lie—Time's peace is war—as though

Spear-thrusts and sword-strokes had crouched among them.

هُجودٌ وَلا غَيرَ التُرابِ حَشِيَّةٌ

لِجَنبٍ وَلا غَيرَ القُبورِ قِبابُ

Asleep, with no mattress but earth

For their sides, and no domed shelters but graves.

فَحَتّى مَتى تَبري اللَيالي سِهامَها

وَحَتّى مَتى أُرمى بِها فَأُصابُ

How long will the nights go on whittling their arrows,

And how long must I be shot at and struck by them?

وَحَتّى مَتى أَلقى الرَزايا مُمِضَّةً

كَما كَرَعَت بَينَ الضُلوعِ حِرابُ

And how long must I face these searing calamities,

As though spears were drinking deep between my ribs?

فَإِمّا كَما تَعدو الضَراغِمُ عَنوَةً

وَإِمّا كَما تَمشي الضَراءُ ذِئابُ

Whether as lions charge by force,

Or as wolves move under cover.

فَفي كُلِّ يَومٍ فَتكَةٌ لِمُلِمَّةٍ

يُمَزِّقُ جَيبٌ تَحتَها وَإِهابُ

For every day brings a calamity's deadly assault;

Beneath it, robe-front and skin are torn.

وَرَبعٍ خَلاءٍ مِن خَليلٍ وَإِنَّما

تَجافى حُسامٌ مِنهُما وَقِرابُ

And many a dwelling stands empty of a friend; only

A keen sword and its sheath have parted company.

يُذَكِّرُنيهِ كُلَّ حينٍ جِوارُهُ

فَيُحزِنُني رُزءٌ بِهِ وَمُصابُ

Its nearness reminds me of him at every moment,

And the grief and loss of him sadden me.

فَلَستُ بِناسٍ صاحِباً مِن رَبيعَةٍ

إِذا نَسِيَت رَسمَ الوَفاءِ صِحابُ

I shall not forget a companion of Rabi‘ah,

Even if companions forget the pattern of loyalty.

أَجَلتُ طِباعي فيهِ فَالأُنسُ وَحشَةٌ

طِوالَ اللَيالي وَالنَعيمُ عَذابُ

I have turned my thoughts to him: companionship is desolation

Throughout the nights, and bliss is torment.

وَهَيهاتَ لا أَغنى خَليلٌ غِناءَهُ

وَهَل عَدَلَ العَذبَ الفُراتَ سَرابُ

Far from it! No friend can fill his place;

And can a mirage equal sweet, refreshing water?

وَمِمّا شَجاني أَن قَضى حَتفَ أَنفِهِ

وَما اِندَقَّ رُمحٌ دونَهُ وَذُبابُ

And among my griefs is that he died a natural death,

And no spear or sword-edge broke in his defense.

وَأَنّا تَجارَينا ثَلاثينَ حِقبَةً

فَفاتَ سِباقاً وَالحِمامُ قِصابُ

And that we raced each other for thirty years,

But he outstripped me, with death the race's finish-post.

وَكَيفَ تَهاجَرنا كُهولاً وَإِنَّما

لَوى الدَهرُ فَرعَينا وَنَحنُ شَبابُ

And how did we part in middle age, when

Time had intertwined our branches while we were young?

كَأَن لَم نَبِت في مَنزِلِ القَصفِ لَيلَةً

نُجيبُ بِها داعي الصِبا وَنُجابُ

As though we had never spent a night in revelry's house,

Answering youth's call there, and being answered.

إِذا قامَ مِنّا قائِمٌ هَزَّ عِطفَهُ

شَبابٌ أَرَقناهُ بِهِ وَشَرابُ

Whenever one of us rose, his frame was swayed

By youth and wine we had poured out there.

جَمَحنا بِمَيدانِ الصِبا ثُمَّ إِنَّنا

كَرَرنا فَكانَت فِتنَةٌ وَمَتابُ

We ran unbridled in youth's arena; then we

Turned back: temptation, then repentance.

وَلَمّا تَراءَت لِلمَشيبِ بُرَيقَةٌ

وَأَقشَعَ مِن ظِلِّ الشَبابِ سَحابُ

And when a faint gleam of gray hair appeared,

And the cloud of youth's shade dispersed,

نَهَضنا بِأَعباءِ اللَيالي جَزالَةً

وَأَرسَت بِنا في النائِباتِ هِضابُ

We shouldered the burdens of the nights with fortitude,

And mountains stood firm through us amid calamities.

فَيا عَجَباً لِلدَهرِ كَيفَ سَطا بِهِ

وَقَد كانَ يُرجى تارَةً وَيُهابُ

Oh, strange is Time! How did it assail him,

Though once he inspired both hope and fear?

وَكَيفَ اِستَلانَت صَولَةُ المَوتِ عودَهُ

فَلَم يَنبُ عَنهُ لِلمَنِيَّةِ نابُ

And how did Death's onslaught find his timber soft,

So that death's fang did not glance off him?

وَلا عَجَباً أَنّا ذَلَلنا لِحادِثٍ

تَذِلُّ لَهُ الآسادُ وَهيَ غِضابُ

And no wonder we were humbled by a calamity

That humbles lions even in their rage,

وَأَنّا خَضَعنا لِلمَقاديرِ عَنوَةً

كَما خَضَعَت تَحتَ السُيوفِ رِقابُ

And that we bowed, forced, to fate's decrees,

As necks bow beneath swords.

وَلَو أَنَّ غَيرَ اللَهِ كانَ أَصابَهُ

لَجاشَت نُفوسٌ لاتُفادُ صِعابُ

Had anyone but God struck him,

Fierce souls, beyond ransom, would have surged in fury.

فَيا ظاعِناً قَد حُطَّ مِن ساحَةِ البِلى

بِمَنزِلِ بَينٍ لَيسَ عَنهُ إِيابُ

O traveler, now set down in decay's precinct,

In a dwelling of separation from which there is no return,

كَفى حَزَناً أَن لَم يَرِدني عَلى النَوى

رَسولٌ وَلَم يَنفُذ إِلَيكَ كِتابُ

It is grief enough that across the distance I have received no

Messenger, and no letter has reached you;

وَأَنّي إِذا يَمَّمتُ قَبرَكَ زائِراً

وَقَفتُ وَدوني لِلتُرابِ حِجابُ

And that, when I turn toward your grave to visit,

I stand with a veil of earth before me.

فَأَظلَمَ قَرنُ الشَمسِ وَهيَ مُنيرَةٌ

وَضاقَت بِلادُ اللَهِ وَهيَ رِحابُ

The sun's rim has darkened, though it shines,

And God's lands have narrowed, though they are vast.

وَرَقرَقتُ بَينَ الحُزنِ وَالصَبرِ عَبرَةً

لَها جَيئَةٌ في مُقلَتي وَذَهابُ

And between grief and patience I set a tear trembling,

Coming and going within my eye.

وَلَو أَنَّ حَيّاً كانَ حاوَرَ مَيِّتاً

لَطالَ كَلامٌ بَينَنا وَخِطابُ

If ever a living man could converse with the dead,

Long would be our speech and converse.

وَأَعرَبَ عَمّا عِندَهُ مِن جَلِيَّةٍ

فَأَقلَعَ عَن شَمسٍ هُناكَ ضَبابُ

And he would make plain the truth he held,

And mist would clear from a sun there.

عَلَيكَ سَلامُ اللَهِ مِن صاحِبٍ قَضى

فَأَجهَشَ رَبعٌ بَعدَهُ وَجَنابُ

God's peace be upon you, a friend who passed away,

Leaving dwelling and precincts sobbing after him.

تَوَلّى حَميدَ الذِكرِ لَم يَأتِ وَصمَةً

فَتَبقى وَلَم تَدنَس عَلَيهِ ثِيابُ

He departed, praised in memory, having incurred no blemish

To linger, nor were the garments upon him stained.

أَغَرُّ طَليقُ الصَفحَتَينِ كَأَنَّما

وَراءَ تُرابِ القَبرِ مِنهُ شِهابُ

Radiant, open-faced, as though

Beyond the grave's dust a blazing star shone from him.

أَلا إِنَّ جِسماً يَستَحيلُ لِتُربَةٍ

وَإِنَّ حَياةً تَنتَهي لَخَرابُ

Indeed, a body turns to earth,

And a life that ends is surely ruin.

فَلا سَعيَ إِلّا أَن يَكونَ لِآجِلٍ

وَلا ذُخرَ إِلّا أَن يَكونَ ثَوابُ

So let no striving be save for the life to come,

And no treasure save reward.