يا هل من الحادثات من وزر — Abn Rumi

يا هلْ من الحادثات من وَزَرِ

للخائف المستجير أم عَصَرِ

Ah, is there any refuge from misfortunes

for the frightened seeker of protection, or any shelter?

تغدو فتعدو فما تَرِقُّ على

أنثى وما إن تخاف من ذكرِ

They come in the morning and assault, showing no tenderness toward

a woman, nor any fear of a man.

يا بؤسَ للدهر ذي السفاهِ أما

يَفْرقُ بين القيانِ والجِزَرِ

Woe to foolish Time! Does it not

distinguish singing women from beasts for slaughter?

أما يُعفِّي على جرائم ما اس

تقدَمَ منه متابَ منتظرِ

Will it not efface the crimes it earlier

committed, with the repentance we await?

يُمرُّ عصراه كلّ مُنتكث

ونقضُهُ عائد على المِرَرِ

Its night and day tighten everything unraveled,

and its undoing returns upon the tightly twisted cords.

مُنصلتُ السيفِ كلَّ مُنصلَت

مُنشمر النَّبل كل منشمَرِ

Its sword is utterly unsheathed,

its arrows utterly readied.

يقتلنا سيفُهُ وتختِلنا

سهامُهُ الكامنات في القُتَرِ

Its sword kills us, and we are ambushed

by its arrows lurking in the hunting blinds.

كأن إسرافهُ برهبة مق

هور عليه وحرص مؤتجَرِ

Its excess seems driven by the fear of one

coerced into it, and the greed of a hired worker.

كم من قتيلٍ لِصَرفه طَلفٍ

وكم دمٍ في ثيابهِ هدرِ

How many victims of its vicissitudes lie wasted,

and how much unavenged blood stains its clothes!

ألا فداءٌ يفي ببُغيته

ألا سِدادٌ لتلكمُ الفُقَرِ

Is there no ransom sufficient for its desire?

Is there no means to fill those breaches?

يا لك من مالكٍ ومقتدرٍ

مؤتَمِر السوء كلَّ مؤتَمَرِ

What a master you are, what a mighty ruler,

plotting evil to the utmost!

مُكتنِفٍ بالعَداء مُعتوِرٍ

مكتنَفٍ بالملام مُعتوَرِ

Encompassing others with hostility, repeatedly assailing them,

encompassed by blame, repeatedly assailed!

فجَّعني صرفُهُ بمؤنسةٍ

تبعث مَيْت النشاط والأشرِ

Its vicissitudes bereaved me of a comforting companion

who revived dead liveliness and exuberance.

صيغت وِفاقَ الهوى فما شُنِئت

من رَهَل عابها ولا قَفَرِ

She was fashioned to accord with desire, never disliked

for blemishing flabbiness or leanness.

عسيرة البذل غير خاليةٍ

من خُلق يخدع الرِّضا يَسَرِ

Reluctant to grant her favors, yet not lacking

an easy disposition that enticed contentment.

تُمتِّع الحِدْث من مُلاعَبَةٍ

تنزل بين المجون والحصرِ

She delighted the young man with playfulness

poised between licentiousness and inhibition.

ويومها من محرَّم أبداً

حِذقاً ويوم القيان في صفرِ

Her day was always in Muharram

for skill, while other singers' day was in Safar.

سابقة لم تزل تُنقِّلها

بسابقٍ في الكتاب مستطَرِ

A precedence continually raised her,

through a prior decree inscribed in the Book.

واها لذاك الغناء من طبقٍ

على جميع القلوب مقتدَرِ

Ah, that singing, an encompassing mastery

holding power over every heart!

يملأ رَوْحاً فؤاد سامعهِ

ويُصطلى حرُّه من القِررِ

It filled its listener's heart with solace,

and its warmth offered shelter from the cold.

كأنه قالبٌ لكلّ هوىً

فكلُّهُ والمُنى على قَدَرِ

It was a mold for every desire,

all of it fitting wishes exactly.

لا خير في غيره وهل أمَمٌ

من شاربِ الراح شارب السَّكرِ

There was no good in any other: is the drinker of date liquor

on equal terms with the drinker of wine?

إنّا إلى الله راجعون لقد

غال الردى سيرة من السيرِ

We belong to God and return to Him: indeed,

death has stolen a life from among lives.

مِلءَ صدور المجالس اختُلِست

لا بل صدور الورى إلى الثُّغرِ

She was snatched away, filling the foremost places of gatherings—

no, rather people's breasts, right up to their mouths.

فَزفْرةٌ لا تزال في صَعدٍ

وعبرةٌ وُكّلت بمنحدرِ

A sigh therefore never ceases ascending,

and a tear is charged with descending.

بانت وما خلَّفت نظيرتها

وغصنها اللدن غير مهتصَرِ

She departed and left no equal,

her supple branch still unbroken.

مضت على دَلِّها بوحدتها

ولم يعد شخصُها بمنجحِرِ

She passed away with her charm, unrivaled,

her person never one to lurk in hiding.

تسمو لأقرانها مبارِزةً

لا من وراء الستور والحُجَرِ

She rose to face her peers openly,

not from behind curtains and chambers.

لم يعتصم عودُها بزامرةٍ

ولا ضوى وجهها إلى السُّترِ

Her lute did not seek support from a flute-player,

nor did her face seek shelter behind a screen.

تُبارز العين وحدها أبداً

والأُذنَ وهي الحميدة الأثرِ

She alone always confronted the eye

and the ear, leaving a praiseworthy impression.

وتقتل الهمّ شرّ قتلتِهِ

بغير عون يكون من أُخرِ

She slew sorrow with its most thorough slaying,

without assistance from other women.

ما بذلتْ للكئيب نُصرتها

على الأسى فارعوى إلى النُّصَرِ

She never gave the downcast her aid

against grief only for him to seek other helpers.

لم تخلُ من منظر تُشوِّقهُ

ومن عفاف يفي بمستَترِ

She lacked neither a sight to awaken his longing

nor chastity equal to that of a secluded woman.

ما برزت للخنا ولا استترت

من عجر شانَها ولا بجرِ

She neither came forth for lewdness nor concealed herself

for an outward defect or inward blemish.

ما أُولع الدهر في تصرفهِ

بكل زينٍ له ومفتخَرِ

How obsessed Time is, in its dealings,

with every adornment and source of pride it possesses!

يعدو على نفسه فيسلبها

إلا عتاد المعدِّ ذي النَّمرِ

It attacks itself and strips itself

of everything but the gear of the armed wearer of spotted skins.

كم ملبس لا يعاب هتّكه

عن جلدةٍ منه شَثنة الوبرِ

How many faultless garments it has torn

from its own hide, coarse with hair!

أودى بِبستانَ وهي حُلّتهُ

فقد غدا عارياً من الحبرِ

It destroyed Bustan, who was its robe,

and now it stands naked of fine fabrics.

أطار قُمرية الغناء عن ال

أرض فأيُّ القلوب لم تطِرِ

It made the turtle-dove of song fly from the

earth—what heart then did not fly away?

للَّه ما ضُمِّنت حفيرتُها

من حُسن مرأىً وطُهرِ مختبرِ

How wondrous, by God, what her little grave contains

of lovely appearance and purity tested within!

أضحت من الساكني حفائرهم

سكنَى الغوالي مَداهنَ السُّررِ

She has joined those who inhabit their graves

as fragrant unguents inhabit perfume jars upon couches,

مُطيِّبي كلِّ تربةٍ خَبثتْ

ومؤنسيها بشرّ مجتوَرِ

perfuming every soil that had grown foul,

and comforting it amid the worst of neighbors.

يا حرّ صدري على ثلاثة أم

واهٍ هُريقت في الترب والمدَرِ

Ah, my burning breast for three

waters spilled into dust and clods:

ماءي شباب ونعمة مُزجا

بماء ذاك الحياء والخفرِ

the waters of youth and luxuriance, mingled

with the water of that modesty and bashfulness!

لو يعلم القبر من أتيح له

لا نحفر القبر غير محتَفرِ

Had the grave known who was granted to it,

it would have hollowed itself without a digger;

أو لأباها فصان حينئذٍ

عن رمسه درّةً منَ الدرَرِ

or it would have refused her, preserving then

a pearl among pearls from its burial-place.

إنّ ثرىً ضمها لأفضلُ مح

جوجٍ لِصَبٍّ وخيرُ معتَمرِ

The earth embracing her is indeed the finest

pilgrimage shrine for a lover, the best place to visit.

أقسمتُ بالغُنجِ من مَلاحظِها

وسحر ذاك السُّجوِّ والفَتَرِ

I swear by the coquetry of her glances

and the enchantment of that stillness and languor:

لو عُقرتْ حول قبرها بقر ال

إنسِ مكان القِلاص والمُهَرِ

had the wild cows of humankind been slaughtered around her grave

instead of young she-camels and foals,

والدرّ نظمٌ على الترائب من

هن وأشكاله من العِترِ

with pearls strung upon the breasts of

those women, and their like among fragrant ornaments;

وانتحرت في فنائه بُهَمُ ال

حرب وصِيد الملوك من مُضرِ

had fearless warriors slain themselves in its courtyard,

and the proud kings of Mudar;

ثم سَقيتُ الدماء تربتَها

لم أشفِ ما في الفؤاد من وَحَرِ

and had I then watered her soil with blood,

I would not have healed the burning anguish in my heart.

نفسَك يا نفس فانحري أسفاً

فإن هذا أوان مُنتحرِ

Yourself, O soul—slaughter yourself in sorrow!

For this is the hour for self-slaughter.

ما حَسَنٌ أن تذوبَ مهجتُها

ومهجتي لم تُرَق ولم تُمَرِ

It is not right that her lifeblood should melt away

while mine is neither spilled nor drawn.

لا يُنكر الدهرُ بعد مهلِكها

هُلكَ ذوات الجلال والخطرِ

After her destruction, Time cannot disavow

the destruction of women of majesty and worth.

كَوَّر شمس النهار فانكدرت

كواكبُ الليل كل منكَدَرِ

It folded away the daylight sun, and darkened

the stars of night with utter darkness.

بستان يا حسرتا على زَهَرٍ

فيك من اللهو بل على ثمرِ

Bustan, alas for the blossoms

of pleasure within you—rather, for its fruit!

بستان لهفي لحسن وجهك وال

إحسان صارا معاً إلى العَفرِ

Bustan, my anguish for your beautiful face and

your kindness: both have gone together into dust.

بستان أضحى الفؤاد من وَلهٍ

يا نزهة السمع منه والبصرِ

Bustan, the heart has grown distraught with grief,

O delight of its hearing and sight!

بستان ما منك لامرئٍ عوضٌ

من البساتين لا ولا البشرِ

Bustan, no person can find a replacement for you

among gardens—no, nor among human beings.

بستان أسقيتِ من مدامعنا ال

دمع وأعقبتِ عُقبةَ المطرِ

Bustan, you have been watered from our tear-ducts with

tears, taking the rain's turn.

بل حَقُّ سقياك أن تكون من ال

صهباءِ صهباءِ حمص أو جَدَرِ

Rather, your rightful watering should come from

golden wine, the golden wine of Hims or Jadar;

بل من رحيق الجنان يقطَبُ بال

مسكِ سُلافاته بلا عَكَرِ

rather, from the nectar of Paradise, whose purest draughts are blended with

musk, without sediment;

بل من نجيع القلوب يمزج بال

عطف وصفو الوداد لا الكدرِ

rather, from hearts' fresh blood, mixed with

tenderness and pure affection, not turbidity.

بستان لم يُستعَر لك اسمك يا

بستانَ لذاتنا ولم يُعَرِ

Bustan, your name was not borrowed for you, O

garden of our pleasures, nor was it merely lent.

كنا إذا اللَّهو قلّ مائرُنا

منه وجدناك معدن المِيرِ

Whenever our provider brought us little

pleasure, we found you a storehouse of provisions.

ما كل لهوٍ أراهُ بعدكُمُ

عندي سوى سُخرةٍ من السُّخَرِ

Every pleasure I see after you

is to me nothing but a mockery among mockeries.

لست إلى نغمة بذي أذَنٍ

ولا إلى صورةٍ بذي صَوَرِ

I have no listening ear for a melody,

nor any inclination toward a beautiful form.

كنتِ وكانت قرينةٌ لك عي

نين لهوىً فِشين بالعوَرِ

You and a companion of yours were the two

eyes of love, now marred by one-eyedness.

وكنتِ يُمناهما ففات بك ال

دَهر وهل يَصطفي سوى الخِيَرِ

You were their right eye, and Time carried you

away—does it choose anything but the finest?

يا مشرباً كان لي بلا كدرٍ

يا سمراً كان لي بلا سهرِ

O draught that was mine without turbidity,

O evening conversation that was mine without sleeplessness!

ما كنتُ أدري أطعمُ عافيتي

أعذبُ أم طعم ذلك السمرِ

I did not know whether the taste of my well-being

was sweeter, or the taste of that evening conversation.

يا نعمة الله في بريّته

أصبحتِ إحدى فواقرِ الفِقرِ

O God's blessing among His creatures,

you have become one of the most back-breaking calamities.

يا غضّةَ السن يا صغيرتها

أمسيتِ إحدى المصائب الكُبرِ

O tender in years, O young one,

you have become one of the greatest afflictions.

أنّى اختصرتِ الطريق يا سكَني

إلى لقاء الأكفان والحفرِ

How did you shorten the road, O my comfort,

to the meeting with shrouds and graves?

ألم تكوني غريرةً فُنُقاً

لا يهتدي مثلها لمحتَصَرِ

Were you not innocent and pampered,

one whose like cannot find a shortcut?

أنى تجشمت في الحداثة ما

جُشِّمتِ من كُره ذلك السفرِ

How did you endure in youth what

you were made to endure of that hateful journey?

أنى ولم تلحقي ذوي حُنْك ال

سنّ ولا امّزت من ذوي الغَرَرِ

How, when you had not reached those seasoned by

years, nor set yourself apart from the inexperienced?

أحميك من مورد قصدتِ له

لا ينتهي وردُهُ إلى صدرِ

I would shield you from the watering-place you sought,

whose visitors never return.

يا شمسَ زُهر الشموس يا قمر ال

أقمار حسناً يا زهرة الزُّهَرِ

O sun of radiant suns, O moon of

moons in beauty, O flower of flowers!

أبعد ما كنتِ باب مبتهجٍ

للنفس أصبحتِ باب معتبرِ

After being a doorway to delight

for the soul, have you become a doorway to admonition?

أصبحت كالترب غير راجحةٍ

به وقد ترجحين بالبِدرِ

You have become like dust, weighing no more

than it, though once you outweighed purses of gold.

أصابنا الدهرُ فيك أكمل ما

كنت فما رُزؤُنا بمجتبَرِ

Time struck us through you when you were at your most

perfect, and our loss cannot be repaired.

لم تقتحمك العيون من صِغَرٍ

ولا قَلتْك النفوس من كِبرِ

Eyes did not dismiss you for your youth,

nor did souls dislike you for old age.

فكيف نسلاكِ والأسى أبداً

في كِبَرٍ والسُّلوُّ في صغرِ

How could we forget you, when sorrow forever

grows, while consolation dwindles?

كلُّ ذنوب الزمان مغتفرٌ

وذنبه فيك غير مغتفَرِ

All the sins of Time are forgivable,

but its sin against you is unforgivable.

تبتّل العود عند فقدكُمُ

وازدجر اللهو أيّ مزدَجرِ

The lute became an ascetic when we lost you,

and pleasure was utterly driven away.

وغاب عنا السرور بعدكُمُ

واحتَضر الهم حينَ محتضرِ

Joy disappeared from us after you,

and sorrow attended at its appointed hour.

وغاض ماء النعيم يتبعكم

وانهمر الدمع كلّ منهمرِ

The water of bliss subsided, following you,

and tears poured down in a full torrent.

فإن سمعنا لِمزهر وتراً

حنّ فهاتيك عَوْلة الوترِ

If we hear a lute-string

moan, that is the string's lament.

أما ولؤم البِلى وقسوته

لقد محا منك أحسن الصورِ

Ah, by decay's baseness and cruelty,

it has erased the fairest form in you!

يا بشراً صاغه المصوِّر من

نورٍ على سُنّة من الفِطرِ

O human form fashioned by the Fashioner from

light, according to a pattern of innate creation;

بل من شعاع العقول حين ترى ال

غيب بعين الذكاء والعبرِ

rather, from the radiance of minds when they see the

unseen with the eye of intelligence and lessons learned.

لا تحسبوني غَنيتُ بعدكُمُ

عنكم بشمس الضحى ولا القمرِ

Do not suppose that after you I have found sufficiency

without you in the morning sun or the moon.

لا تحسبوني أنستُ بعدكمُ

إلى هديل الحمام في الشجرِ

Do not suppose that after you I have found companionship

in the cooing of doves in the trees.

لا تحسبوني استرحت بعدكُمُ

إلى نسيم الشَّمال بالسّحرِ

Do not suppose that after you I have found repose

in the north wind's breeze before dawn.

لا تحسبوا العين بعدكم سَرَّحت

في مسرحٍ من مسارح النظرِ

Do not suppose that after you my eye has roamed

through any field offered to sight.

يأبى لها ذاك أن ناظرها

في شُغُلٍ بالسهاد والعبرِ

It is prevented from that because its pupil

is occupied with sleeplessness and tears.

وكيف بالنوم للمُباشر أط

راف حُمات الحيّات والإبرِ

How can there be sleep for one touching the tips

of serpents' venomous fangs and needles?

سقياً ورَعياً لعيشةٍ معكم

أصبحتُ من عهدها بمفتقرِ

May a life with you be watered and tended,

a life whose days I now sorely lack!

أمتعني دهرُها بغبطتِهِ

على الذي كان فيه من قصَرِ

Its span delighted me with its happiness,

despite the shortness it contained.

كانت لياليه كلّها سَحَراً

وكان أيامهن كالبُكَرِ

Its nights were all like the hour before dawn,

and their days were like early mornings.

لهوٌ أطفنا بِبكر لذَّتِه

وما فضضْنا خواتمَ العُذَرِ

A pleasure whose virgin delight we circled,

without breaking the seals of virginity.

ولم ننلْ من جناه نَهْمَتَنا

وإن حظينا بمونِق الزهرِ

We did not satisfy our craving for its fruit,

though we enjoyed its lovely blossoms.

كم قد نعمنا بضمِّ مُتَّشحٍ

وما اعتدينا بهَتْك مؤتزرِ

How often we delighted in embracing one draped in a wrap,

without transgressing by unveiling one girdled at the waist!

كم قد شربت الرضاب في قُبَل

كانت ولكن شربت بالغُمرِ

How often I drank saliva in kisses

that passed between us—but drank from a tiny cup:

جدوى فمٍ فيه لؤلؤ وجَنَى

نحلٍ بماء السحابِ في النُّقرِ

the gift of a mouth containing pearls and the yield

of bees, with rainwater in little hollows.

غناؤه يشتكي حرارته

وريقه يشتكي من الخَصَرِ

Its song complains of its own heat,

and its saliva complains of the cold.

كنتم لنا فتنةً من الفتن ال

غُرِّ بلا شهرةٍ من الشُّهَرِ

You were for us one of the

radiant temptations, without any notoriety.

وكلُّ لهوٍ بمثل وصلكُمُ

ذو غُرر إذ سواه ذو عُرَرِ

Every pleasure with a union like yours

has bright distinctions; all else has blemishes.

أخذتُكُم طائعاً أخا جَذَلٍ

ولم أدع طائعاً ولم أذَرِ

I took you willingly, full of gladness,

but did not leave or relinquish you willingly.

كأنني ما طلعتِ مقبلةً

عليَّ يوماً بأملح الطُّرَرِ

As though you had never appeared, coming

toward me one day with the prettiest forelocks,

في كفّك العود وهو يؤذن بال

إحسان إيذانَ صادقِ الخبرِ

the lute in your hand, announcing

excellence as a truthful report announces it;

إذ مشيكم مُذْكِري غناءَكُمُ

مَشْيَ الهوينا سواكنِ البقرِ

when your walk reminded me of your singing,

the gentle walk of tranquil wild cows;

وإذ فسادي بكم يذكِّرني

لنُفْسِدَنَّ الطواف في عمرِ

and when my corruption through you reminded me:

“We shall surely spoil the circumambulation for Umar.”

كأنّ عينيَّ أبصرتْكِ ضُحى

في مجلسي والوشاة في سَقرِ

As though my eyes beheld you at midmorning

in my gathering, with the slanderers in Saqar.

كأنها ما رأتك كالمَلَكِ ال

أصيد في التاج يوم مُبتَهرِ

As though they had never seen you like the proud

crowned king on a dazzling day,

وبين عينين منكُمُ علمٍ

لم يُسْدَ شِبْهٌ له ولم يُنَرِ

with a mark between your eyes

whose like was never warped or woven.

يا أحسنَ العالمين حاسرةً

وأكمل الناس عند معتجَرِ

O fairest of all beings when bareheaded,

and most perfect of people when head-wrapped!

كأنها ما رأتك صادحةً

والصُّدّحُ الوُرْق عُكّفُ الزُمُرِ

As though they had never seen you singing,

while gray songbirds gathered in flocks,

يَسْمعنَ أو يَسْتفدنَ منك شجا

والتمر يُمتار من قرى هجرِ

listening, or learning melody from you,

as dates are brought from the villages of Hajar.

كأن داوود كان يومئذٍ

يتلو زبوراً مُلَيِّنَ الزبرِ

As though David that day

were reciting a psalm that softened iron blocks.

كأنني ما اقترحتُ ما اقترحتْ

نفسي فساعفتني بلا زورِ

As though I had never requested what my

soul requested, and you complied without falseness.

كأنني ما استعدت مقتَرحي

يوماً فكررتهِ بلا ضجرِ

As though I had never asked again for my chosen song

one day, and you repeated it without weariness.

وصنتِ خدّاً كساه خالقه ال

حسنَ فصعّرْتهِ عن الصَعَرِ

And you guarded a cheek its Creator clothed in

beauty, turning it away from haughtiness.

ولو تكبرتِ كنتِ مُعْذِرةً

والمسكُ ما لا يُعابُ بالذَّفرِ

Had you been proud, you would have been excusable:

musk is not blamed for its pungency.

كأنني ما نعمتُ منك بمر

تاحِ نعيمٍ ولا بمبتكرِ

As though I had never enjoyed from you a delight

that stirred my bliss, nor a fresh delight.

رضيتُ من منظر بطيف كرىً

يعرو ومن مسمع بمدّكرِ

For a sight of you I have accepted a dream-image

that visits, and for hearing you, a memory.

رضىً كسخطٍ ولو قَدِرْتُ لغي

يَرْتُ ونكّرتُ مُنكَر الغيرِ

A consent like resentment; had I been able, I would have

changed things and denounced the hateful turns of fate.

لو أنَّ قِرني سوى المقادير في

أمرك أحضرتُ عز منتصِرِ

Had my adversary in your fate been other than destiny,

I would have brought a victor's might.

لكنها القِرْنُ لا يقاومهُ

قِرنٌ عزيز لعزة النَّفرِ

But destiny is the adversary no

mighty rival can withstand through the might of his host.

لو كان فعل الورى لقد ذَئِرَتْ

له المساعير أيما ذأرِ

Had it been the deed of humankind, fierce warriors would have raged

against it with the utmost fury.

لكنه وِتْرُ مالكٍ مَلِكٍ

يعلو على الطالبين بالثُّؤَرِ

But it is a wrong inflicted by a sovereign Master,

exalted above those who seek vengeance.

يا لهفَ نفسي على مُهَاجرتَي

إياكِ لهفاً يطير كالشرَرِ

Ah, my soul's anguish over my estrangement

from you—anguish flying like sparks!

ليس لذنبٍ دعا إلى غضبٍ

لكن لنُعمى دعتْ إلى بطرِ

Not for a fault that called forth anger,

but for a blessing that called forth heedlessness.

هجرٌ متى شئتُ قلتُ كان من ال

خسران أو قلتُ ربح متَّجَرِ

An estrangement I could, whenever I wished, call

a loss, or call the profit of a trading venture.

كانت تُجِدُّ الهوى مغنِّيةً

كأنها نَشرةٌ من النُّشرِ

She renewed love while singing,

as though she were a charm among healing charms.

ووصلُك الإلفَ بعد هجرتِهِ

يَجْنيك معسول حدّة الظَّفرِ

Rejoining your beloved after abandoning him

yields you the honeyed sharpness of triumph.

لولا التعزّي بذاك آونةً

لانْفَطر القلبُ كلَّ منفَطرِ

Were it not for taking comfort in that at times,

the heart would utterly split apart.

ما انتهك الدهر قبلكم لذوي ال

لَهوِ حريماً في البدو والحضرِ

Before you, Time had never violated for the lovers of

pleasure a sanctuary in desert or town.

أبكيك بالدمع والدماء بل ال

تسهاد بل بالمشيبِ في الشعرِ

I mourn you with tears and blood—rather, with

sleeplessness, rather with the graying of my hair;

بل بنحول العظام مُحتقِراً

ذاك وإن كان غير محتقرِ

rather, with the wasting of my bones, deeming

that little, though it is not to be despised;

بل باجتناب الشفاء بل بتوخ

خي النفس ما يُتَّقى من الضّررِ

rather, by avoiding healing, rather by my soul's

pursuit of the harm others guard against.

لأستميحنّ كلّ ذاك لمب

كائيك بعد استماحة الدِّررِ

I shall beg all of that for my

weeping over you, after begging for abundant tears.

بل ليت شعري وقد حَييت وقد

قَدَّمتِ للنفس وجه معتذِرِ

Rather, would that I knew—having survived, while you had

offered my soul an excuse—

كيف وأنّى ولِمْ أقمتُ وقد

بِنْتِ أكان الفؤاد من حجرِ

how, whence, and why I remained when

you had departed. Was my heart made of stone?

إلّا أكن متُّ فانقرضتُ فكَمْ

من مَوْتةٍ للفؤادِ في الذِّكَرِ

If I have not died and ceased to be, how many

deaths the heart suffers in remembrance!

وليس في خطرةٍ مغيرةٍ

لكنها سَرْمد مع الفِكرِ

It is not in some passing thought that raids me;

rather, it lasts forever with reflection.

رثيتُ منك صِبىً تكنَّفه

عفاف سرٍّ وحسن مجتهَرِ

I elegized in you a youth surrounded by

secret chastity and openly displayed beauty.

وما يفي بالثلاث مرثيةٌ

إلا صلاةَ المليك في السورِ

No elegy can do justice to those three

except the Sovereign's blessing in the suras.

وإن جرى الدمع غير معتنَفٍ

وسمَّح الشِّعر غير معتَسرِ

Though tears flowed without being forced

and poetry came generously without being wrung out.

وكنتُ عَفوَ الصبَى فشيعهُ

عفوٌ من الشجو غيرُ معتَصرِ

My youthful passion was spontaneous; it was followed

by spontaneous grief, not squeezed out.

دمعٌ وشعرٌ مساعدٌ أتيا

طوعاً وما طائع كمقتَسرِ

Tears and helpful poetry came

willingly: the willing is not like the coerced.

أشكو إلى الله لا إلى أحدٍ

أن متِّ والنفسُ حيةُ الوطرِ

I complain to God, not to anyone else,

that you died while my soul's longing remained alive.

من لي بالصبر بعد مدَّخرٍ

أفْنَى من الصبر كلَ مدّخرِ

Who can provide me patience after the treasure

that exhausted every stored reserve of patience?

بل قَبُح الصبر إنه غُدَرٌ

بصاحب الصدق أيما غُدرِ

Rather, shame upon patience: it is betrayal

of a faithful companion, the utmost betrayal.

لا أسأل الله حسن مصطبر

فإنه عنك لؤمُ مصطبرِ

I do not ask God for graceful endurance,

for endurance away from you is base endurance.

وحزن نفسي عليك من كرمٍ

وهو على من سواك من خَورِ

My soul's sorrow for you springs from nobility,

though for anyone else it would spring from weakness.

وقد يُعزِّي الفؤاد أنك في

جنّة عدن غداً وفي نَهَرِ

The heart may find consolation that tomorrow you will be in

the Garden of Eden, beside a river.

سيشفع الحور فيك أنك من

هنَّ بذاك الدلال والحورِ

The houris will intercede for you, because you are one of

them in that coquettish grace and beauty of eyes.

يا لهف نفسي عليك كم حَذِرتْ

لو وُقِّيتْ ما تخاف بالحذرِ

Ah, my soul's anguish for you! How often it feared—

if only caution could protect it from what it fears!

كم وحْيِ رؤيا فزعتُ فيك له

وطِيرةٍ من نواطق الطيرِ

How many revelations of dreams I feared on your account,

and ill omens from the voices of birds!

بيَّنْتِ لي الحزم في البدار إلى

كل مخُوفٍ عليه مبتدَرِ

You showed me prudence in hastening toward

anything one fears to lose, before others hasten to it.

أصبحتُ من صبحه بمنبلَجٍ

والناس من فجره بمنفجَرِ

I have reached its clear morning,

while others stand only at its first breaking dawn.

ولو تخليتُ من شَجايَ بكم

بادرتُ باللهو كرَّةَ القَدرِ

Were I freed of my grief for you,

I would forestall fate's next assault with pleasure.