Sol 6.1

  1. عذيريَ من ساجي اللواحظ أغيد

    يصول بأسياف الجفون ولا يد

    Who will defend me against a supple youth with languid glances,

    who charges with the swords of eyelids, without a hand?

  2. غزالٌ يناجيني بلفظٍ معرّب

    ولكنه يسطو بلحظٍ مهند

    A gazelle who whispers to me in eloquent Arabic,

    yet assaults me with a glance of Indian steel.

  3. وقدّ روت عن لينه واعتداله

    صحاح العوالي مسنداً بعد مسند

    And a figure whose suppleness and straightness are narrated

    by sound spear-shafts, attested account after attested account.

  4. إذا قعدت أردافه قام عطفه

    فيا طول شجوي من مقيم ومقعد

    When his haunches sit, his slender side rises—

    how long my anguish from what raises me and seats me!

  5. كلفت به من قبل ما طال قدّه

    فطوّله فرطُ العناق المردَّد

    I became enamored of him before his stature grew tall;

    excessive, repeated embraces stretched it taller.

  6. وعاينت من فيه العقيقيّ خاتماً

    فصغت له باللثم فصّ زبرجد

    I beheld a ring in his agate-red mouth,

    and with kisses fashioned it a chrysolite gem.

  7. وحدّثني من ثغره ورضابه

    عن الجوهريّ المنتقى والمبرَّد

    And from his mouth and saliva he spoke to me

    of the choice al-Jawhari and al-Mubarrad.

  8. وكنت حذرت الخود حين تمردت

    فأوقعني طرفي لأمرد أمرد

    I had taken warning against the maiden when she grew unruly,

    then my eye ensnared me with a beardless youth more unruly still.

  9. يُخيلُ لي أني له لست عاشقاً

    لأنْ ليس لي في حبه من منفد

    It seems to me that I am not his lover,

    since my love for him has no end.

  10. ولولا الهوى ما بتّ بالدمع غارقاً

    عليه وأشكو للورى غلة الصدي

    Were it not for love, I would not spend the night drowning in tears

    over him, complaining to mankind of a thirsty man's burning ache;

  11. وألثم عطفيه وجفنيه بعد ما

    قُتلت برمح منهما ومهند

    nor kiss his sides and eyelids after

    being slain by their spear and Indian-steel sword.

  12. وأبصر فيما تحت صدغيه من سناً

    خيالي خلوقاً تحت محراب مسجد

    And in the radiance beneath his temples I see

    my reflection as saffron perfume beneath a mosque's prayer niche.

  13. وربَّ مدام من يديه شربتها

    معتعةً تدعو لعيش مجدَّد

    Many a wine have I drunk from his hands,

    intoxicating, calling me to life renewed.

  14. إذا جئته تعشو إلى ضوء كاسه

    تجد خير نار عندها خيرُ موقد

    If you come to him, groping toward his cup's light,

    you find the finest fire, beside it the finest kindler.

  15. تحدثك الأنفاس فيها عن اللما

    ويأتيك بالأخبار من لم تزَوَّد

    The breaths within it tell you of darkened lips,

    and one you never provisioned brings you news.

  16. فشم بارقاً قد خوَّلتك ولا تشم

    لخولة أطلال ببرقة ثهمد

    So watch a lightning flash she has granted you; do not scan

    Khawla's ruined traces at Burqat Thahmad.

  17. من الّلآءِ خفّت في يمين مديرها

    فلو أهرقتها الكأسُ لم تتبدَّدِ

    One of those wines so light in its server's right hand

    that, were the cup to spill it, it would not scatter.

  18. مصعَّدة من حيث تم كيانها

    تطافُ علينا في إناءٍ مجسَّد

    Lifted up from where its being reached completion,

    it is passed around among us in a vessel adorned with figures.

  19. فأحسنْ بها من كفِّ ساقٍ كأنه

    إذا حفَّها محتاب ثوب مورَّد

    How lovely it is from a cupbearer's hand, as though he,

    when he clasps it, were wrapped in a rose-colored robe.

  20. إذا قهقه الإبريقُ في فمهِ انثنى

    فقل في قضيبٍ ماس تحت مغرد

    When the ewer chuckles into his mouth, he bends—

    imagine a twig swaying beneath a songbird!

  21. كأنَّ سنا راووقها وصبيبها

    حبالُ شعاعِ الشمسِ تفتلُ باليد

    As though the gleam of its strainer and its pouring stream

    were ropes of sunlight twisted by hand.

  22. كأن بقايا ما نضا من كؤسها

    أساوِرُ تبرٍ في معاصمِ خُرَّد

    As though the remnants of what drained from its cups

    were bracelets of gold on shy maidens' wrists.

  23. كأن مليكَ الفرسِ صوَّرَ نفسهُ

    على جامها عمداً فمنْ يدنُ يسجُدِ

    As though the Persian king had painted himself

    upon its goblet deliberately, so whoever approaches prostrates himself.

  24. سقى الغيث عني ذلك العيش إنه

    تولى هنيءَ الوِرْدِ غير مصرَّد

    May rain water that life on my behalf, for it

    has passed away—sweet its draught, never stinted.

  25. وفرَّق إلا مقلتي وسهادَها

    وجمَّع إلا مهجتي وتجلّدي

    It parted all but my eye and its sleeplessness,

    and gathered all but my heart and my fortitude.

  26. وبدرً سرى في طيةِ البينِ متهماً

    فيا صاحبي دمعاً لعلكَ منجدي

    And a full moon traveled by night amid separation's folds, bound for Tihama—

    O my companion, shed tears; perhaps you can help me.

  27. وقال النسلي بمدنا لجفونه

    سهرتِ زماناً يا نواعسُ فارْقدي

    And [unclear wording] said to his eyelids:

    You have kept watch long, O drowsy lids; now sleep.

  28. حبيبٌ قسمت الشعرَ ما بين حسنهِ

    وأوصافِ ملكٍ شامخِ القدرِ أصيد

    A beloved: I divided my poetry between his beauty

    and the attributes of a king, towering in rank and proud.

  29. فلا غزلٌ إلا لهُ من قصيدةٍ

    ولا مدحَ إلا للمليكِ المؤيدِ

    No love verse in any ode is for anyone but him,

    and no praise for anyone but King al-Mu'ayyad.

  30. مليكٌ رأى أن لا مباريَ في الورى

    فظلَّ يباري سؤددَ اليومِ بالغد

    A king who saw no rival among mankind,

    and so kept surpassing today's glory with tomorrow's.

  31. أخو عزماتٍ في العلى جدَّ جدّها

    فلادَدُ منها لا ولا هيَ من دَدِ

    A man of resolves utterly earnest in seeking the heights:

    no play comes from them—none!—nor do they spring from play.

  32. سما وعلا حتى كأنَّ ذيولهُ

    غمائمُ قد لينت على فرق فرقد

    He rose and ascended until his trailing robes seemed

    clouds laid softly upon Farqad's crown.

  33. يطوف رجاء المعتفين مقامه

    بأبلج هطًّال اليدين ممجَّد

    The hopes of suppliants circle his station,

    around a radiant, honored man with rain-pouring hands.

  34. لو اختصمت أهل المكارم في الندى

    لقال مقال الحقّ ملكي وفي يدي

    If the people of noble deeds disputed generosity,

    he would speak the truth: It is mine, and in my hand.

  35. ولو قصدته الوحشُ والطيرُ لم تُرَعْ

    بمفترسٍ يوماً ولا متصيِّد

    If beasts and birds sought him out, they would never be frightened

    by a predator or a hunter.

  36. كذلكَ فليحفظ تراثَ جدودهِ

    مليكٌ بنى فوقَ الأساسِ الموطَّد

    Thus should he preserve his forefathers' heritage—

    a king who built above a firmly laid foundation.

  37. توافقتِ الأهواءُ في ذات فضله

    فمن حاكمٍ عن علمه ومقلّد

    All inclinations agree upon his essential excellence,

    some judging from knowledge of him, others following their lead.

  38. متى شئت يا راعي الكرام وجدته

    غمام الندى في دسته قمر الندي

    Whenever you wish, O patron of the generous, you will find him

    a cloud of bounty on his throne, the moon of the gathering.

  39. يؤمّ حماهُ طالبٌ بعدَ طالبٍ

    فذو الحال يستجدي وذو العلم يقتدي

    Seeker after seeker makes for his sanctuary:

    the needy one asks for gifts, the learned one follows his example.

  40. مباحثُ علمٍ بلدت كلَّ مفصح

    على أنها قد فصَّحت كلَّ أبلد

    Scholarly inquiries that render every eloquent speaker tongue-tied,

    though they have made every dullard eloquent.

  41. ولفظٌ كأنَّ السحرَ فيه محللٌ

    ألم ترَهُ في الذَّوقِ غيرَ معقَّد

    And speech in which enchantment seems made lawful—

    have you not found it, to your taste, free of knots?

  42. كأن النجومَ الزّهرَ في كبد الدّجى

    شرارُ لظًى من ذهنه المتوقد

    As though the brilliant stars in the heart of darkness

    were sparks of flame from his blazing mind.

  43. ولا عيبَ فيه غيرُ إسراف جوده

    وأنَّ مدَى علياهُ غيرُ محدَّد

    He has no fault except his excessive generosity

    and the fact that the reach of his glory has no limit.

  44. تجولُ ثغورُ اللثمِ حولَ بنانه

    كما جالَ عقدٌ في ترائب أجيد

    Kissing mouths circle round his fingers

    as a necklace circles a slender-necked beauty's breast.

  45. هيَ النفسُ ما أفنت ثراءً مفرَّقاً

    فعوَّضها إلا بمجدٍ منضَّد

    Such is the soul: it never spent wealth, scattering it abroad,

    but he repaid it with glory piled high.

  46. وما المالُ بين الناسِ إلا أزاهرٌ

    بروضٍ متى لم تجنَ تهوِ وتفقد

    Wealth among men is nothing but blossoms

    in a garden: unless plucked, they fall and vanish.

  47. رعى الله أيامَ المؤيد إنها

    أحقّ وأولى بالثناءِ المؤيد

    May God guard al-Mu'ayyad's days: they

    are most deserving, most worthy of well-founded praise.

  48. حمت وهمت فالناسُ ما بين هاجدٍ

    أماناً وداعٍ في الدّجى متهجد

    They protected and rained bounty, so people are either sleepers

    in safety, or supplicants keeping vigil in the dark.

  49. وما عرفتْ يومي ندًى وشجاعة

    بأخلاقِ موعودٍ ولا متوَعد

    On days of bounty and valor, they were never known

    for threadbare promises or threats.

  50. ورُبَّ وغًى موهي السوابغَ حرّها

    ويتركُ أعطافَ الحسامِ كمبرد

    Many a battle whose heat weakens full coats of mail

    and leaves the sword's edges jagged as a file,

  51. تيممها الملكُ المؤيدُ وادِعاً

    تيممَ منصورِ اللواء مطوَّد

    King al-Mu'ayyad made for untroubled,

    with the resolve of a mountain-firm man whose banner is victorious.

  52. جلت بمساويك الرِّماح جيوشه

    خلوفَ العدَى من كلّ ثغرٍ ممهد

    His armies polished away, with the toothsticks of their spears,

    the enemy's foul breath from every subdued frontier.

  53. وصلت بأوطانِ الشهادةِ بيضهمْ

    تماماً كأنَّ البيضَ زُوَّارُ مشهد

    And in the homelands of martyrdom their bright swords prayed

    the full prayer, as though the blades were pilgrims to a shrine.

  54. تقوم بأيديهم وتركعُ في الطلا

    وتسجدُ في بطن الجوادِ المزَرَّد

    They stand in their hands and bow into necks,

    and prostrate themselves in the belly of a mail-clad steed.

  55. دَعِ المبتغي نحو الأكارم شافعاً

    وجئهُ فقيراً بالرَّجاءِ المجرَّد

    Leave the man who seeks an intercessor with the noble,

    and come to him poor, with hope alone.

  56. هنالكَ تلقى نعمةً إثرَ نعمةٍ

    لداعي الندى مثل النداء المؤكد

    There you will encounter blessing after blessing,

    for the caller for bounty, like a call repeated for emphasis.

  57. ومبيضّ آثارِ الصنائع أحمدت

    مناقبه أيام كلّ مسود

    And a brightener of benefactions' traces: praiseworthy are made

    by his virtues the days of every chieftain.

  58. إذا شامَ رأياً في الملمات كفها

    بأفتك من صرف الزمان وأكيد

    When he discerns a plan amid calamities, he repels them

    with something deadlier and more cunning than time's vicissitudes.

  59. وإن طلب الأعداء راع جيادهم

    فذو السبق في تمحيله كالمقيد

    If he pursues enemies, he terrifies their steeds,

    so even the fleetest, under his stratagems, seems fettered.

  60. وخلفهم تبكي على الجسد الطلا

    بكاءَ لبيدٍ يوم فرقة أربدِ

    And he left them, necks weeping over bodies,

    as Labid wept on the day he parted from Arbad.

  61. وقصرَ عن هيجائه شعرُ مادحٍ

    فأصغى إلى مدح الوشيج المقصد

    A panegyrist's verse fell short of his battle,

    so he listened to the praise of death-dealing spears.

  62. وحدَّثنا يومَ الفخار جبينه

    أحاديث صدق عن طهارة محتد

    On the day of boasting, his brow told us

    true accounts of a pure lineage.

  63. ولولا تكاليف العلى وشجونها

    لما كان فيها مرصدٌ فوق مرصد

    Were it not for the burdens of greatness and its tangled cares,

    there would not be watchpost above watchpost within it.

  64. ليهنكَ وِدّ الناصرِ الملك إنهُ

    دليلٌ على وصل الهنا المتودّد

    May King al-Nasir's affection bring you joy; it

    is a sign of union with happiness that courts your love.

  65. أخذْتَ به من كلّ ريبٍ براءَةً

    فيالك من أنفالِ رأي مسدَّد

    Through it you secured release from every fear—

    what spoils are yours from rightly guided judgment!

  66. وقطَّعت أسباب الحوادثِ بعدما

    علقتَ بحبل من حبال محمد

    You severed the cords of misfortunes after

    grasping one of Muhammad's binding ropes.

  67. وهزَّك غصناً في مهمات ملكه

    فصان بمسلول وزانَ بمعمد

    He shook you, a branch, in his kingdom's grave affairs,

    protecting with a drawn sword and adorning with a supporting pillar.

  68. وما زالت للألقاب في الفضل صالحاً

    تشرّفها ما بين مثنى وموحد

    You have ever been worthy, in excellence, of titles,

    ennobling them, whether doubled or single.

  69. كأني بأوطان العراق وقد عنتْ

    لشام وأقصى شرقها وكأن قد

    It is as though I see Iraq's lands already submitting

    to Sham, and its furthest east—as though it were already done.

  70. ولست إذا عدّ المقالُ بكاهنٍ

    ولكنّ من تزجرْ بيمنكَ يرشد

    Nor, when words are reckoned, am I a soothsayer;

    but whoever you augur for, through your good fortune, finds guidance.

  71. إليك سلكت الخلق سمحاً وباخلاً

    وجبت المرامي فدْفدا بعد فدْفدِ

    To reach you I passed through mankind, generous and miserly,

    and crossed the distant expanses, plain after plain.

  72. فوفيتني وعدَ الأماني وإنها

    سجيةُ إسماعيلَ في صدقِ موعد

    You fulfilled for me the promise of my hopes, and that

    is Isma'il's nature: to keep a promise true.

  73. وجاد بكَ الدهرُ البخيلُ وطالما

    تدفَّقَ عذبُ الماء من قلب جلمد

    Miserly time was generous in giving you; how often

    has sweet water flowed from the heart of a hard rock!

  74. فيا ليت قومي يعلمون بأنني

    تعجلت من نعماك أضعاف مقصدي

    Would that my people knew that I

    have already received from your favors many times what I sought.

  75. وجملت فيك الشعر حتى نظمتهُ

    فما البيتُ إلا مثل قصرٍ مشيدِ

    I beautified poetry through you, until I strung it into verse,

    so each verse is like a lofty palace.

  76. وأخملت أرباب القريض كأنني

    أدرتُ على أسماعهم كأس مرقدِ

    And I eclipsed the masters of poetry, as though I

    had passed a cup of sleeping potion round their ears.

  77. فلا زلت مخدوم المقامِ مخلداً

    ومن يكتسب هذا الثناءَ يخلد

    May your station always be attended, and may you live forever;

    whoever wins such praise lives on forever.

  78. شكرتك حتى لم تدعْ ليَ لفظةً

    وكدت بأن أشكوكَ في كل مشهد

    I thanked you until you left me not a word,

    and almost complained of you at every gathering,

  79. لأنك قد أوهنت جهدي باللهى

    وأنسيتني أهلي وأكثرتَ حسَّدي

    because your gifts have exhausted my strength,

    made me forget my family, and multiplied my enviers.