لا بدع إن ضحك القتير — Abn Rumi

لا بِدْعَ إن ضحك القتيرُ

فبكى لضحكته الكبيرُ

No wonder, if gray hair laughs,

that the old man weeps at its laughter.

عاصَى العزاءُ عن الشبا

ب فطاوعَ الدمعُ الغزيرُ

Consolation for lost youth would not obey,

but abundant tears obeyed instead.

كيف العزاءُ عن الشبا

بِ وغضنُهُ الغصنُ النضيرُ

How can one find consolation for youth,

whose tender freshness is a verdant branch?

كيف العزاءُ عن الشبا

ب وعيشهُ العيشُ الغريرُ

How can one find consolation for youth,

whose life is carefree living?

بان الشبابُ وكان لي

نِعْمَ المجاور والعشيرُ

Youth departed, and it had been to me

an excellent neighbor and companion.

بان الشبابُ فلا يَدٌ

نحوي ولا عينٌ تشيرُ

Youth departed: now no hand

nor eye beckons toward me.

ولقد أسرتُ به القلو

بَ فقلبيَ اليوم الأسيرُ

With it I once captured hearts,

but today my heart is the captive.

سَقياً لأيامٍ مضتْ

وطويلُها عندي قصيرُ

May rain bless the days gone by,

whose long spans seem short to me.

أيامَ لي بين الكوا

عب روضةٌ فيها غديرُ

Days when, among full-breasted maidens, I had

a garden containing a pool.

أصبَى وأصبي الغانيا

ت وأُستزارُ وأستزيرُ

I was captivated, and captivated beautiful women,

invited to visit, and inviting visits.

بيضُ الوجوهِ عقائلاً

لم يُصْبِهنّ سواي زيرُ

Fair-faced, noble ladies,

whom no womanizer but me had captivated.

أبْشارهنَّ وما ادَّرَعْ

نَ من الحرير معاً حريرُ

Their skin and what they donned

of silk were silk alike.

وجمالهنّ وما لَبِسْ

نَ من الحبير معاً حَبيرُ

Their beauty and what they wore

of brocade were brocade alike.

ونسيمهنّ وما مَسَسْ

نَ من العبيرِ معاً عبيرُ

Their fragrance and what they touched

of perfume were perfume alike.

من كلّ ناعمةِ الشبا

ب كأنها الخُوطُ الهصيرُ

Each tender in her youth,

as though she were a pliant branch.

مهتزةُ الأعلى يجا

ذبُ خصرَها ردفٌ وثيرُ

Her upper body swayed; her waist was pulled

by soft, ample hips.

غيداءُ في سنّ الغلا

مِ وَنَبْتُ شاربِهِ شَكيرُ

A supple beauty, as young as a boy

whose mustache has barely sprouted.

من ثغرها الدرُّ النظي

مُ ولفظُها الدرُّ النثيرُ

From her mouth came strung pearls,

and her speech was scattered pearls.

تُزهَى فإن هي دُوعبَتْ

ضحكتْ كما ضحك الصبيرُ

She was radiant; and if teased,

she laughed as a cloudbank laughs.

ومَجالسٍ لي لغوُها

عزفٌ يجاوبهُ زَميرُ

And gatherings of mine whose idle talk

was music answered by piping.

جَمَعَ الشبابَ ولَهْونا

فيه الخورْنقُ والسَّديرُ

Our youth and merrymaking were brought together

there by al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir.

مبْدَى المناذرةِ الذي

فيه الفواكهُ لا البريرُ

The Manadhira's country retreat,

where there were fruits, not arak berries.

كم جنةٍ فيه وكم

نهرٍ لجِريته خَريرُ

How many gardens there, how many

rivers whose flow murmured!

من كلّ دانية الجَنَى

للطير فيها قَرْقَريرُ

Gardens with fruit hanging within reach,

where birds warbled.

يَشتقُّها طامِي الجما

م على جوانبه الغميرُ

An overflowing stream cut through them,

with lush undergrowth along its banks.

يُضحي إذا جرتِ الصَّبا

وكأن ضاحِيَهُ حصيرُ

When the east wind blew, it appeared

as though its open surface were a woven mat.

ها إنّ ذاك لَمنزلٌ

من كلّ صالحةٍ عَميرُ

Look: that was indeed a dwelling

abounding in every good thing.

شجرٌ ونخلٌ لا يُطي

ر غراب أيْكهما مُطيرُ

Trees and palms: no one could drive away

a crow from their groves.

ومتى نشاءُ بدت لنا

أم الفَرير أو الفريرُ

Whenever we wished, there appeared to us

the wild calf's mother, or the calf.

لهفي لعيشتنا هنا

لك والقذى عنها طَحيرُ

Alas for our life there,

with all vexation driven far away!

إذ نحن أترابُ النعي

م ودَرُّ دنيانا دريرُ

When we were peers in pleasure,

and our world's milk flowed freely.

كلُّ لكلٍ في الشبا

ب وفي مَناعمه سَجيرُ

Each was the other's companion in youth,

and in its delights.

تشدو لنا رَيَّا البنا

ن على معاصمها الحبيرُ

A woman with plump fingers sang to us,

with brocade upon her wrists.

قد أُدميتْ لَبَّاتها

مِسْكاً كما يُدمَى العَتيرُ

The hollows of her throat were bloodied

with musk, as a sacrificial victim is bloodied.

وشرابنا وَرْدِيَّةٌ

لكؤوسها شررٌ يطيرُ

Our drink was rose-red wine,

sparks flying from its cups.

هَدَرتْ فلما استفحلتْ

في دَنِّها سكن الهديرُ

It roared; then, once fully matured,

its roaring stilled within its cask.

حمراءُ في يد أحمر ال

وجنات مَلْثمُهُ مَهيرُ

Red wine in the hand of one with rosy

cheeks, whose lips were lovely.

متأمّلٌ لا يجتوَى

منه القَبيل ولا الدبيرُ

A sight to contemplate, with nothing distasteful

about him, viewed from front or back.

واهاً لقولي للمُدي

ر وقد سقانيها المديرُ

Ah, for my words to the cupbearer,

when the cupbearer had given me to drink:

أعصير خمرك هذه

من ماء خدك أم عصيرُ

“Is this wine of yours the juice

of your cheek's moisture, or the juice of grapes?”

سُقِيَ الشبابُ وإن عفا

آثارَ معهدهِ القتيرُ

May youth be blessed with rain, though effaced

are its dwelling's traces by gray hair.

ما كان إلا المُلك أوْ

دى تاجهُ وهَوى السريرُ

It was nothing but kingship: perished

is its crown, and fallen its throne.

رحل المَطيُّ لنيةٍ

زوراءَ مَطلبها شَطيرُ

The riding camels departed for a destination

out of the way, far distant to seek.

فكأنَّ في الأحشاء ني

راناً يضرِّمهنَّ كيرُ

As though within my entrails were fires

that a bellows fanned into flame.

هوِّن عليك فإنها

خِلعٌ أعارَكها مُعيرُ

Take it easy: these are

robes of honor lent you by a lender.

والدهر يَقْسم مرةً

نَفْلاً وآونة يُغيرُ

Time apportions, at one moment,

spoils, and at another raids.

وأبو الفوارس أحمدٌ

لمن استجار به مجيرُ

And Abu al-Fawaris, Ahmad,

protects whoever seeks his protection.

أضحى ظهيراً للذي

أضحى وليس له ظهيرُ

He has become a supporter of one

who found himself without support.

فاجعل خِفارته ذَرا

ك فإنه نِعْم الخفيرُ

So make his protection your shelter,

for he is an excellent guardian.

شهدتْ مآثرُهُ بذا

ك ووجهه ذاك الطريرُ

His noble deeds attest to that,

and that handsome face of his.

يا ابن المسمَّى باسم من

جرتِ الرياحُ به تطيرُ

O son of the man named for the one

whom the winds bore in flight,

والطيرُ أظْلالٌ علي

هِ لها هديلٌ أو صفيرُ

with birds forming shades above him,

cooing or whistling:

أعني سليمانَ الذي

في رَمسهِ قمرٌ وشِيرُ

I mean Sulayman, whose

grave holds a moon and a lion.

سيفُ الملوك إذا تجا

وب من ذوي الفتن النعيرُ

The kings' sword when there answered

the clamor of men stirring strife.

للَّهِ ماذا ضَمَّهُ

من شيخك الجدثُ الحفيرُ

God! What did it enclose

of your venerable father—that deeply dug grave!

لكنَّ من أنت ابنُهُ

ما مات أو مَيْتٌ نشيرُ

Yet the man whose son you are

has not died—or is a dead man revived.

للَّهِ خالك ذو المكا

رم إنهُ بك للخبيرُ

God! Your uncle is a man of noble deeds;

indeed, he knows your worth.

لو لم يقلّدك الأمو

رَ لما استمرّ لها مَريرُ

Had he not entrusted you with affairs,

their cord would never have held firm.

نثَل الجفيرَ فكنت أهْ

زَعَ ما تَضمَّنه الجفيرُ

He emptied the quiver, and you were

the last arrow the quiver held.

فرمى بك الغرضَ البعي

د مُسدِّدٌ لا يستشيرُ

He shot you at the far-off target—

an unerring marksman who asks no counsel.

أقسمت بالهدْي النحي

ر ومن له الهدْيُ النحيرُ

I swore by the slaughtered offering,

and by Him to whom that offering belongs:

إن كان حاباك القضا

ءُ بما حباك به الوزيرُ

was it fate that favored you

with what the vizier bestowed on you?

كلّا ولا كان الهوى

هو عند ذاك بك المشيرُ

No! Nor was personal liking

what counseled him about you then.

لكنْ رأى فيك الوزي

رُ كما رأى فيه الأميرُ

Rather, the vizier saw in you

what the emir had seen in him.

فصغَى إليك برأيه

والحاسدون لهم زفيرُ

So he inclined toward you in his judgment,

while the envious heaved sighs.

ألقى خلافتَهُ إلي

ك وقَدْرُها القدرُ الخطيرُ

He entrusted his deputyship to you,

and its standing is weighty indeed.

عِلماً بفضلك في الرجا

لِ وفضلك الفضل الشهيرُ

Knowing your excellence among men;

and your excellence is renowned.

فطفقتَ تسلك فجَّهُ

وتسير فيه كما يسيرُ

Then you set about following his path,

walking it as he walks.

لا تُخطِئُ الرأي المُوَفْ

فَق حين تُسدي أو تُنيرُ

You never miss the well-guided judgment,

when you lay the warp or set the heddles.

فهناك وافق في اختيا

رِك مستخاراً مستخيرُ

Thus, in choosing you, there was harmony

between chosen man and chooser.

ولَما حُبيتَ برتبةٍ

إلا وأنت بها جديرُ

No rank was ever bestowed upon you

unless you were worthy of it.

فافخرْ على أن الجلي

ل من الأمور لكم حقيرُ

So take pride, although the weightiest

affairs are trifles to you.

عينُ الأمير هي الوزي

ر وأنت ناظرها البصيرُ

The emir's eye is the vizier,

and you are its seeing pupil.

طابقتَ أحكامَ الوزي

ر تُبيرُ قوماً أو تُميرُ

You matched the vizier's judgments,

whether destroying a people or supplying them.

وعملتَ ما عمل المشا

رك في البضاعة لا الأجيرُ

And you worked as does a partner

in the merchandise, not a hired man.

فالليل منذ خَلَفْتَهُ

ليلٌ قصيرٌ مستنيرُ

Since you took his place, the night

has been brief and bright.

لا الخوفُ فيه ولا السها

دُ ولا الظلامُ المستحيرُ

No fear is in it, no sleeplessness,

nor bewildering darkness.

تُرك القطا فيه فنا

م بحيث ليس له مثيرُ

The sandgrouse was left alone there, and slept

where none would startle it.

يا أحمدَ الخيرِ المُؤَمْ

مَل حين تُخشى العَنْقفيرُ

O Ahmad of goodness, looked to with hope

when calamity is feared,

هذا مقام المستجي

ر وأنت أكرمُ من يُجيرُ

this is the place of one seeking refuge,

and you are the noblest protector.

أأقول فيكم ما أقو

ل فلا يكون له حَويرُ

Shall I say what I say in your praise,

and have no answer to it?

ما لي حُرمتُ وقد سألْ

تكمُ وإني لَلْفقيرُ

Why have I been denied, though I have asked

you, and am indeed poor?

ومدائحي تترى يجو

دُ بها لسانيَ والضميرُ

My praises follow one another, poured forth

by my tongue and my heart,

إذ لم أنلْ من فضلكم

مقدارَ ما يزنُ النَّقيرُ

yet I have not received from your bounty

as much as a date-stone's dimple weighs.

ولَطالما اسْتغنَى الفقي

رُ بكم وما انجبر الكسيرُ

How often the poor have grown rich

through you—yet the broken man has not been mended.

انظر إليَّ أبا الفوا

رِسِ يَسْهل الأمر العسيرُ

Look toward me, Abu al-Fawaris,

and the difficult matter will grow easy.

بين العِبادِ وربِّهمْ

في قَسم زرقِهمِ سَفيرُ

Between the servants and their Lord,

in allotting their sustenance, stands an envoy.

ووزيرنا ذاك السفي

ر فَمن سواه نستميرُ

Our vizier is that envoy:

from whom else can we seek provisions?

في ظلهِ الكلأُ المَري

عُ خلالَه الماء النميرُ

In his shade is lush pasture,

with sweet, wholesome water running through it.

فامْنُنْ عليَّ بجانبٍ

منه فقد حميَ الهجيرُ

Grant me a place at its edge,

for the midday heat has grown fierce.

واعجل بعُرفِك ما استطع

تَ فأفضل العرف البَكيرُ

Hasten your kindness as much as you can,

for the best kindness comes early.

أو قل لعبدك كيف يص

نع إنه لك مستشيرُ

Or tell your servant what to do,

for he seeks your counsel.

أين المَميل عن الوزي

ر أو الرحيل أو المسيرُ

Where can one turn away from the vizier,

or journey, or set out?

هل للمحرَّبِ غيره

في كل نائبةٍ مَصيرُ

Has the dispossessed any resort but him

in every calamity?

من وجهُهُ الوجهُ الجمي

لُ وشخصهُ الشخصُ الجهيرُ

He whose face is the beautiful face,

whose person is splendid;

من مَنُّهُ المنُّ القلي

لُ وفضله الفضل الكثيرُ

whose reminders of favors are few,

and whose bounty is great;

من جودُه الجودُ الشهي

رُ وبذله البذلُ الستيرُ

whose generosity is widely known,

and whose giving is discreet;

من قولُهُ وفَعَالُهُ

سَمَرانِ ما سمر السّميرُ

whose words and deeds

are twin evening tales as long as storytellers converse;

من لا نَصير لمالِهِ

ولجاره أبداً نصيرُ

whose wealth has no defender,

but whose neighbor always has one;

من نَيْلُ غايته يَشُقْ

قُ ونيلُ نائله يسيرُ

whose ultimate stature is hard to attain,

but whose gifts are easy to obtain;

من كل أمرٍ حين يُذ

كَرُ أمرُهُ أمرٌ صغيرُ

he before whose greatness, whenever it is mentioned,

every other greatness is small—

إلّا أبا الصقر الذي

أضحى وطالبُهُ حسيرُ

except Abu al-Saqr, who

has left his pursuer exhausted.

رجع المماطلُهُ الجرا

ءَ وحظُّهُ النفسُ البَهيرُ

The man racing against him returned,

with nothing but breathless panting for his share.

ملكٌ غدتْ أفعالُهُ

والعرفُ فيها والنكيرُ

A king whose deeds have come to show

both beneficence and severity:

يوماه يومُ ندى ويو

مُ ردىً عبوس قَمْطَريرُ

his two days: a day of bounty, and a

day of ruin, grim and dreadful.

في ذا وذاك كليهما

خيرٌ وشرٌّ مستطيرُ

In this and that, in both,

good and evil spread far and wide.

فوليُّهُ لِوليّهِ

أبداً بنافلةٍ بشيرُ

So his friend, to his own friend,

is always a herald of added bounty;

وعدوُّهُ لعدوهِ

أبداً بنازلةٍ نذيرُ

and his enemy, to his own enemy,

is always a warner of calamity.

كافي ملوكٍ لا يفن

نَدُ ما يُجيل وما يديرُ

A sufficer for kings: no fault is found

in what he considers or directs.

ركدت على أقطابه

أرحاء ملك تستديرُ

Upon his axles stand steady

the revolving millstones of kingship.

لو كان في أولى الزما

ن لظل مَزدكُ لا يُحيرُ

Had he lived in the earliest age,

Mazdak would have remained unable to reply;

وغدا أنوشروانَ مُف

تقراً إليه وأردشيرُ

and Anushirwan would have needed him,

and Ardashir too.

تَجِف القلوبُ إذا غدتْ

أقلامُهُ ولها صريرُ

Hearts tremble when

his pens begin their scratching.

ضخمُ الدّسيعةِ والفعا

لِ نبيهُ مملكةٍ ذَكيرُ

Great in largesse and deeds,

an illustrious, keen-minded ruler.

جُمعتْ له أشياءُ لم

يخلَق له فيها نظيرُ

Things have been gathered in him

in which no equal was created for him.

فيه الوسامةُ والندى

والحلمُ والرأي الزَّبيرُ

In him are good looks and generosity,

forbearance and sound judgment.

فإذا بدا في موكبٍ

فكأنهُ القمر المنيرُ

When he appears in a procession,

he is like the shining moon.

وإذا احتبَى في مجلسٍ

فكأنما أرسى ثبيرُ

When he sits with his knees drawn up in council,

it is as though Thabir has settled there.

وإذا تهلّل بالندى

فكأنه الغيثُ المطيرُ

When he beams with generosity,

he is like pouring rain.

وإذا رَمى بمكيدةٍ

فكأنهُ القدرُ المُبيرُ

When he strikes with a stratagem,

he is like destroying fate.

تتحرك الأشياء غِبْ

بَ سكونِه ولها نفيرُ

Things stir after

his stillness, in a clamorous rush,

لروّيةٍ منه نتي

جتها نَقيذ أو عَقيرُ

because of his deliberation, whose outcome

is someone rescued or someone slain.

أضحى يحلُّ بحيث يل

قَى المستميحَ المستجيرُ

He now dwells where

the seeker of refuge meets the seeker of bounty.

لا يستعير له المَما

دحَ مِن سواهُ مُستعيرُ

No one borrows praises for him

from anyone else;

بل يستثير له المما

دحُ من ثراه المستثيرُ

rather, praises for him are unearthed

from his own soil by those who seek them.

لولاه أصبحتِ الركا

ئب لا يئطّ لها صفيرُ

Without him, the riding camels would find

no whistling sound raised for them.

يا آل بلبلٍ الكرا

م بيمنكمُ صلح العذيرُ

O noble family of Bulbul,

through your blessing, affairs have come right.

لولاكُمُ غدتِ الرعي

يةُ كلُّها والمُخّ ريرُ

Without you, all the subjects would be left

with marrow turned thin and watery.

فَابقوا لنا في غبطةٍ

ما أوْغلتْ في الأرضِ عيرُ

Remain with us in happiness,

as long as caravans journey deep into the land.

وغدا الأُلى عادوكُمُ

ومقامُ أرجلهم شفيرُ

And may those who are your foes

stand with their feet upon a precipice.

لا زالتِ الدنيا لهم

مهوىً قَرارتُهُ السعيرُ

May the world forever be for them

a chasm whose bottom is blazing fire.

أعيى على طلّابِكُم

أن تُدرك الخيلَ الحميرُ

Your pursuers cannot achieve this:

that donkeys should catch up with horses.

تتبسّمون إذا اللئا

مُ تبسروا ولهم هَريرُ

You smile when the base

scowl and growl;

وتَبسّلون إذا السبا

عُ تنمَّرتْ ولها زئيرُ

and you show your valor when beasts

turn ferocious and roar.

ردّدتُ فيكم ناظريْ

يَ فكُلكم كرمٌ وخيرُ

I turned both my eyes upon you,

and all of you are nobility and goodness.

شَرفتْ أوائلكم وأش

به أوّلاً فيكم أخيرُ

Your forebears were noble, and

the last among you resembles the first.

وحُرمتُ منكم والإلَ

هُ على مَرَدِّكُمُ قديرُ

Yet I have been denied by you; and God

has power to turn you back.

لا تَتركوا الطِّرفَ الجوا

دَ خليعَ مضيعةٍ يَعير

Do not leave the noble steed

cast loose in neglect, wandering astray.

خُذْها إليك أبا الفوا

رسِ حليةً بك تستنيرُ

Take this, Abu al-Fawaris,

as an ornament made radiant by you.

ما ضَرها أن لا يعي

شَ لها الفرزدقُ أو جريرُ

It suffers no harm if neither

al-Farazdaq nor Jarir lives for it.

واسلمْ على حدث الزما

ن وأنت بالحُسنى أثيرُ

Stay safe despite time's misfortunes,

cherished for your goodness,

حتى يصدِّقَ من كَنا

ك فوارسٌ لهمُ كريرُ

until the one who gave you your byname is proven true

by horsemen who charge again and again.