عرج على البان وانشد في مجانيه — Abn Matouk

عرّج على البانِ واِنُشُدْ في مَجانِيهِ

قلباً فقد ضاعَ منّي في مَغانيهِ

Turn aside to the bān trees, and seek among their groves

a heart, for I have lost mine amid their dwellings.

وسَلْ ظِلالَ الغَضا عنه فثَمَّ لهُ

مثوىً بها فهَجيرُ الهَجْرِ يُلْجيهِ

And ask the shade of the ghaḍā trees about it; there it has

a resting place, driven to shelter by estrangement's scorching heat.

أو لا فسَلْ منزلَ النّجوى بكاظمةٍ

عن مُهجَتي وضَماني إنّها فيهِ

Or, if not, ask the dwelling of whispered confidences in Kāẓima

about my soul; I guarantee that it is there.

واِقْرَ السلامَ عُرَيبَ الجِزع جمعَهُمُ

واِخضَعْ لهم وتلطّفْ في تأدّيهِ

And convey greetings to the little Arab band at the valley bend, all of them,

and bow before them, gently delivering your salutation.

وحيّ أقمارَ ذاك الحيّ عن دنَفٍ

يُميتُه الليلُ فِكراً وهْو يُحييهِ

And salute the moons of that encampment on behalf of a lovesick man

whom the night kills with thought even as it revives him.

واِنْحُ الحِمى يا حَماكَ اللّهُ مُلتَمِساً

فكّ القلوبِ الأسارى عندَ أهليهِ

And make for the protected grounds—may God protect you—seeking

to free the captive hearts held by their people.

للَّه حيٌّ إذا أقمارُهُ غربَتْ

أغنَتْكَ عنها وُجوهٌ من غَوانِيهِ

God bless an encampment whose moons, when they set,

are replaced for you by the faces of its fair women.

مغنىً إذا اِرْتادَ طَرْفي في ملاعِبِه

حسِبتُهُنّ عُقوداً في تَراقيهِ

A dwelling: when my gaze roams its playgrounds,

I take them for necklaces upon its collarbones.

جَمالُ كلِّ أسيلِ الخدِّ يجمعُه

وقلبُ كلِّ أسيرِ الوجهِ يَحْويهِ

It gathers the beauty of every smooth-cheeked one

and holds the heart of everyone enslaved by a face.

تمشي كُنوزُ الثّنايا من عقائِلِه

مرصودةً بالأفاعي من عَواليهِ

Among its noble ladies walk treasures of teeth,

guarded by serpents from among its tall spears.

لولا النّوى وجليُّ البَيْنِ لاِلتَبَسَتْ

عواطِلُ السِّربِ حُسناً في حَوالِيهِ

Were it not for distance and unmistakable parting,

the unadorned gazelles would be indistinguishable in beauty around it.

إذا بمَجرى الظِبا تَجري ضراغِمُهُ

أثارَتِ الخيلُ نقْعاً من عَواليهِ

When its lions race along the course of gazelles,

the horses stir up dust from its uplands.

قد يكتفي المُجرمونَ النّاكِسونَ إذا

هبّ النّسيمُ عليهِمْ من نَواحيهِ

The guilty, their heads bowed, may find enough when

a breeze from its precincts blows over them.

مذ حرّمَتْ قُضبُه مسَّ الصّعيدِ على

باغي الطّهورِ ودَمعي ماءُ وادِيهِ

Since its blades forbade the touching of earth to

one seeking purification, my tears are its valley's water.

سَقى الحَيا عزَّ أقوامٍ صَوارمُهُم

عن مِنّةِ الغيثِ عامَ الجدبِ تُغنيهِ

May rain water a people's glory, whose sharp swords

spare it dependence on rain's bounty in a year of drought.

يا نازِحينَ وأوهامي تقرّبُهُم

حُوشِيتُم من لَظى قَلبي وحُوشِيهِ

O distant ones whom my imaginings bring near,

may you be spared my heart's blaze and its wildness.

عسى نسيمُ الصّبا في نشرِ تُربتِكُم

يعودُ مَرضاكُمُ يوماً فيَشْفيهِ

May the east breeze, spreading the scent of your soil,

one day visit your ailing lover and heal him.

مَن لي به من ثَراكُم أن يحدّثني

بِما عليه ذُيولُ العَين ترويهِ

Who will bring me that breeze from your soil to tell me

what the rain-clouds' trailing skirts pour upon it?

وحقِّكمْ إن رضيتُم في ضَنى جَسَدي

بحبِّكُم لوجودي في تفانِيهِ

By your due, if you accept the wasting of my body

through love of you, my existence indeed lies in its dissolution.

أفري الجُيوبَ إذا غِبتُم فكيفَ إذا

بِنتُم فمِنْ أينَ لي قلبٌ فأفريهِ

I tear my garment's breast when you are absent; what, then, when

you depart? Where shall I find a heart to tear apart?

بالنَفسِ دُرّاً بسَمعي كُنتُ ألفِظُه

منكم وَوَرْداً بعَيني كُنت أجنِيهِ

With my soul I ransom pearls I once voiced through my hearing

from you, and roses I once gathered with my eyes.

اللّهَ يا ساكِني سَلعٍ بنفسِ شجٍ

على الطّلولِ أسالَتْها مآقِيهِ

For God's sake, O dwellers of Salʿ, heed a grieving man's soul,

which his tear ducts poured out upon the ruined dwellings.

عانٍ خُصورُ الغواني البيضِ تُنحِلُه

وبيضُ مَرضى الجُفونِ السودِ تَبريهِ

A captive whom fair women's waists make wasted,

and fair women with languid, dark eyelids whittle away.

يَرعى السُها بعُيونٍ كلّما اِلتفتَتْ

نحو العقيقِ غدَتْ في الخدِّ تُجريهِ

He watches Suhā with eyes that, whenever they turn

toward al-ʿAqīq, send carnelian flowing down his cheek.

يهزّهُ البانُ شوقاً حين تَفهَمُه

معنى الإشارة عنكمْ في تَثَنّيهِ

The bān tree stirs him with longing when it teaches him

the meaning of your gesture through its swaying.

تبدو بُدورُ غوانيكُم فتوهِمُه

بأنّهنّ ثَناياكُم فتُصبيهِ

The full moons of your fair women appear and make him imagine

that they are your front teeth, thus making him lovesick.

هَوى فأضحى بمَيدانِ الهَوى هدَفاً

فعينُكُم بسِهامِ الغُنْجِ تَرميهِ

He loved, and became a target on love's field,

which your eye shoots at with arrows of coquetry.

يوري النّوى أيَّ نارٍ في جوانحِه

أمَا تَرَوْنَ سَناها في نَواصِيهِ

What a fire separation kindles within his ribs!

Do you not see its radiance upon his forelocks?

رَعْياً لمنزلِ أُنسٍ بالعَقيقِ لنا

لا زالَ صوبُ الحيا بالدُّرِّ يوليْهِ

Blessings upon our dwelling of companionship at al-ʿAqīq;

may rainfall never cease bestowing pearls upon it.

وحبّذا عصرُ لَذّاتٍ عرَجْتُ به

نحوَ البُدورِ ببيضٍ من لَيالِيهِ

How dear the age of delights in which I ascended

toward the full moons through its radiant nights!

أكرِمْ بِها من لُوَيلاتٍ لو اِنْتسَقَتْ

لكُنّ في السِلكِ أبهى من لآلِيهِ

How noble those little nights! Had they been strung together,

they would have outshone the pearls upon the strand.

غُرٌّ كأنّ عليَّ المجدِ خوّلَها

فزُيّنَتْ ببُدورٍ من أياديهِ

Radiant, as though glorious ʿAlī had bestowed them,

so they were adorned with full moons of his favors.

شمسٌ بها زانَ وجهَ الدّهرِ واِنكشفتْ

عن أهلِه ظُلُماتٌ من مَساويهِ

A sun with which he adorned time's face, and there lifted

from its people the darkness of its evils.

حَليفُ حزْمٍ له في كلِّ مَظلمةٍ

نُورٌ من الرأيِ نحو الفَتْحِ يَهديهِ

An ally of resolve, he has, in every dark adversity,

a light of judgment guiding him toward victory.

سيفاً لو الحِلْمُ لم يُغمِدْهُ كادَ بِه

أن تهلكَ الناسُ حين العزمُ يُنضيهِ

A sword: had forbearance not sheathed it, it would almost

destroy mankind when determination draws it.

غيثٌ هَما وسَما في المَجْدِ فاِشترَكَتْ

في جودِه الخَلْقُ واِختصّتْ مَعالِيهِ

Rain that poured and rose high in glory; all creation shared

his generosity, while his lofty honors remained his alone.

يُمْنُ العُلا والأماني البيض في يده الْ

يُمنى وحُمرُ المَنايا في أمانيهِ

The blessing of eminence and bright hopes lie in his hand—

the right—and crimson deaths lie in his wishes.

فلو أراعَ غُرابَ البَين صارمُه

لَشابَ فَوْداهُ واِبْيَضّتْ خَوافيهِ

Had his blade frightened the raven of parting,

both its temples would have grayed and its hidden wing-feathers whitened.

ولو أتَتْهُ النجومُ الشُّهْبُ يومَ ندىً

لم يرضَ بالشّمسِ ديناراً فيُعطيهِ

And had the radiant stars come to him on a day of bounty,

he would not deem the sun a sufficient dinar to give them.

تهوى الأهلّةُ أن تسعى لخِدمتِه

ولو بها اِشتعلَتْ يوماً مَذاكِيهِ

The crescents long to hasten to his service,

even if one day his hearths were kindled with them.

وا فرحةَ الليثِ فيه لو يُسالِمُه

وغِبطةَ الغيثِ فيه أن يؤاخيهِ

O the lion's joy in him, if he would make peace with it!

And the rain's delight in him, if he would become its brother!

مِقدارُه عن ذوي الأقدارِ يرفعُهُ

وجودُه لذَوي الحاجاتِ يُدْنيهِ

His stature raises him above those of rank,

while his generosity brings him near to those in need.

هو الأصمُّ إذا تدعوهُ فاحِشةٌ

وهو السّميعُ إذا التّقوى تُناديهِ

He is deaf when an indecency calls him,

but hears keenly when piety summons him.

إن يحمِلِ الحَمدُ ورداً فهْو قاطِفُه

أو يُجتَنى منه شهدٌ فهْو جانِيهِ

If praise bears roses, he is their picker;

or if honey is gathered from it, he is its gatherer.

هامَ الزّمانُ به حبّاً فأوشكَ أنْ

يعودَ شوقاً إلى رُؤياهُ ماضِيهِ

Time is madly in love with him, so that almost

its past returns in longing to see him.

إذا الحُظوظُ مَحاها اليأسُ أثبتَها

رجاؤهُ بحُظوظٍ مِلء أيديهِ

When despair wipes out fortunes, they are restored

by hope in him, through blessings filling his hands.

دَوحُ الفَخارِ الّذي مُزنُ الإمامةِ لا

تنفكّ في رشَحاتِ البِرِّ تَسقيهِ

The great tree of pride, which the clouds of the imamate never

cease to water with showers of righteousness.

من حولِه نسَبٌ يَغشى بصائِرَنا

نورُ النّبوّةِ منه حينَ يُغريهِ

Around him is a lineage; our inward vision is overwhelmed

by the light of prophecy from it when it inspires him.

منَ المُلوكِ الأُلى لولا حُلومُهُمُ

تزَلْزَلَ المجدُ واِندَكّت رَواسيهِ

Of those kings whose forbearance, were it absent,

would leave glory shaken and its firm mountains flattened.

من كلِّ أبلَجَ مأمونٍ مناقِبُه

بجنّةِ الحَمدِ يلقى طعنَ شانِيهِ

Of every radiant, trustworthy man whose virtues

meet his detractor's thrusts with the shield of praise.

نَشا ونفْسُ النّدى منه نشَتْ فغَدا

كلٌّ لصاحبِه الأدنى يُربّيهِ

He grew, and generosity's very soul grew from him, until

each nurtured the other, its closest companion.

الحيدَريُّ الّذي دانَ الزّمانُ له

حتّى اِستكانَ وخافَتْهُ دَواهِيهِ

The Ḥaydarī, to whom time submitted,

until it grew meek and its calamities feared him.

قِرنٌ إذا ما غَديرُ الدُرِّ أغرقَهُ

خاضَ الرّدى فيكادُ البأسُ يوريهِ

A champion who, when a pool of pearls engulfs him,

wades into death, his valor all but setting him aflame.

بدْرُ الحُسامِ إذا في الرّوعِ أضحكَهُ

فإنّه بالدّم الجاري سيُبكيهِ

When he makes the full moon of his sword laugh amid terror,

he will then make it weep with flowing blood.

والهامُ تدري وإنْ عزّت سيلزَمُها

ذلُّ السُّجودِ إذا صلّتْ مَواضيهِ

And heads know, however proud they be, that they must bear

the abasement of prostration when his sharp blades pray.

ساسَ الأمورَ فأجْرى في أوامرِه

حُكمَ المُنى والمَنايا في مناهِيهِ

He governed affairs, giving his commands

the rule of wishes, and his prohibitions the rule of deaths.

تعشّقَ المجدَ طِفلاً واِستَهامَ بهِ

فهانَ فيهِ عليه ما يُقاسِيْهِ

He fell in love with glory as a child and became enthralled by it,

so that what he suffers for it became easy for him.

سلِ الحَيا حينَ يَهْمي عن أناملِه

أهُنّ أندى بَناناً أم غَوادِيهِ

Ask the rain, when it pours, about his fingertips:

are those fingers more lavish, or are its morning showers?

لهُ خِصالٌ بخيطِ الفَجرِ لو نُظِمَتْ

لم ينتظِمْ سبَجُ الدّاجي بثانِيهِ

He has virtues that, if strung upon dawn's thread,

would admit no jet beads of dark night on its second thread.

شمائِلٌ لو حَواها الليلُ واِفتقدَتْ

بودِّه لَفداها في دَرارِيهِ

Virtues that, had the night possessed them and then lost them,

it would lovingly have ransomed with its brilliant stars.

قِلادةُ المجدِ والعُليا صنائِعُه

وزينةُ الدّينِ والدُّنيا مَساعِيهِ

His benefactions are the necklace of glory and eminence,

and his endeavors the adornment of religion and the world.

مَولىً كأنّك تَتلو في مجالِسِنا

آيَ السُّجودِ علَينا إذ تُسمّيهِ

A lord: it is as though, in our gatherings, you recite

verses of prostration to us whenever you name him.

يا ساعِدَ الجودِ بل يا نَفْسَ حاتِمه

يا نقْشَ خاتَمِه يا طوقَ هادِيهِ

O arm of generosity—rather, O soul of its Ḥātim,

O engraving of its signet, O necklace of its neck!

لا زِلْتَ يا غَوثُ لي غَوثاً ومُنتجَعاً

ولا برِحْتُ إليكَ المَدْحَ أُهدِيهِ

May you remain, O succor, my refuge and my place of plenty,

and may I never cease presenting praise to you.

لولا تملُّكُكُمْ رِقّي بأنعُمِكم

ما راقَ شِعري ولا رقّتْ مَبانِيهِ

Had your favors not made you master of my servitude,

my poetry would not delight, nor its fabric grow delicate.

واِستجْلِ من آيِ نَظْمي أيَّ مُعجزةٍ

تخلِّدُ الذِكرَ في الدُنيا وتُبقيهِ

And behold, among the verses of my composition, what a miracle

makes remembrance immortal in this world and preserves it.

مدحٌ تَسيرُ إذا ما فيكَ فُهْتُ به

سيرَ الكَواكِبِ في الدّنيا قَوافيهِ

Praise—whenever I voice it of you, its rhymes travel

through the world with the motion of the stars.

بُيوتُ شِعْرٍ بَناها الفِكرُ من ذهَبٍ

سكّانُها حُورُ عِينٍ من مَعانيهِ

Houses of verse that thought has built of gold,

inhabited by wide-eyed houris drawn from its meanings.

واِغْنَمْ بصومٍ عسى بالخيرِ يختُمُه

لكَ الإله وبالرُّضوانِ يجزيهِ

Reap the gain of fasting; may it be sealed with goodness

for you by God, and may He reward it with His good pleasure.

هِلالُ سَعدٍ تَراءى فيه منك عُلاً

فعادَ صبّاً يكادُ الشّوقُ يُخفيهِ

A fortunate crescent in which your loftiness appeared

became lovesick, its longing almost hiding it.

وليَهْنِكَ العيدُ في تجديدِ عودتِه

بل فيكَ يا بهجةَ الدُّنيا نُهنّيهِ

May the festival gladden you on its renewed return;

rather, O joy of the world, we congratulate it on you.