فؤاد إلى تلك الرحاب جموح — Ahmad Alkiwani

فُؤادٌ إِلى تِلكَ الرِحاب جَموحُ

وَطَرف إِلى ذاكَ الجَناب طَموحُ

A heart strains unbridled toward those spacious grounds,

And a gaze reaches eagerly toward that abode.

دِمَشق فَلا زالَت تَحييَّ رُبوعَها

وَيَهمي عَلى تِلكَ السُفوح سُفوح

Damascus—may she never cease to enliven her quarters,

And may a downpour stream upon those slopes.

فَكَم مَرتَع للغيد فيها وَمَنزه

وَربع خَصيب لِلوفود فَسيح

For how many a haunt of graceful beauties she holds, and a pleasure-ground,

And a lush abode, spacious enough for visiting guests.

مَنازل شَيدَت لِلمَكارم وَالنَدى

فَتَغدو السَواري دونَها وَتَروح

Homes raised for noble deeds and generosity,

So rainclouds pass beneath them, morning and evening.

عَلى كُل غُصن ساجع مِن حمامها

لِإِحياء أَموات الهُموم مَسيح

On every branch, a cooing bird among her doves,

A Messiah reviving those whom sorrows have slain.

وَفي كُل وَجه رَونَق مِن مَلامِحِها

يُريك جَميل الصَبر وَهُوَ قَبيح

And in every face, a splendor from her features

Makes beautiful patience seem ugly to you.

وَفي كُل ناد مُمتع بِحَديثه

وَشادٍ مَجيدٌ أَو أَغنّ مَليح

And in every gathering, someone whose conversation delights,

And an accomplished singer, or a charming, sweet-voiced one.

وَما فَضل عَيش لا يُنازع كَأسُهُ

حَبيبٌ صَبيحٌ أَو أَغَرُّ فَصيح

And what is life worth if its cup is not shared

By a fair-faced beloved or a radiant, eloquent companion?

وَأَتلع نَضّاح الجَبين مِن الحَيا

وَأَروع سَحّاح اليَمين مَنوح

And a long-necked one whose brow beads with bashfulness,

And a splendid one whose right hand pours out unstinting gifts.

وَأَوطف سَحّار الجُفون إِذا دَنا

تَذيع الأَغاني سِرَّها وَتَبوح

And a long-lashed one with bewitching eyelids—when he draws near,

The songs reveal their secret and speak it aloud.

يُناجي بِعَينيهِ الغَمام فَينَهمي

وَيوحي إِلى يوح فَتَغرب يَوح

He whispers to the clouds with his eyes, and they pour down,

And signals to Yūḥ, the sun, and Yūḥ sets.

وَأَغيد أَما طَرفُهُ فَمحرَّمٌ

لماهُ وَأَما خَدُهُ فَمُبيح

And a supple beauty whose glance forbids access

To his dusky lips, while his cheek grants leave.

إِذا القُطر حَيّا رَوضَها أَو بقاعها

تَبسم زَهر أَو تَنَفس شَيح

When rain greets her garden or her stretches of land,

Blossoms smile, or wormwood breathes its scent.

وَيُلهيك عَن رَشف اللَمى مِن مياهها

زلالٍ عَلى مثل الجمان يَسيح

And what distracts you from sipping dusky lips, among her waters,

Is limpid water flowing over what resembles pearls.

وَيَشتاقُ للخُلد المَصيخ إِذا اِنبَرى

سَحيراً حَمام الغوطَتين يَنوح

And the attentive listener longs for Paradise when

At daybreak the doves of the two Ghoutas begin to lament.

وَإِن سحبت فيها الشَمال ذُيولَها

تَضوَّع مسك في الرِياض يَفوح

And if the north wind trails its skirts there,

Musk spreads its perfume, wafting through the gardens.

فَيَرتاح مَكروب وَينشط موثق

وَتَفرج غَمّاءٌ وَيُثلج لَوح

So the grief-stricken find relief, and the fettered regain vigor,

And dire anguish lifts, and burning thirst is cooled.

سَقَتها الغَوادي ما أَرقَّ نَسيمُها

وَاِنضى وَمُعتَلّ النَسيم صَحيح

May morning showers water her! How delicate her breeze,

And how languid! Yet her ailing breeze is sound.

تَذَكَرتُها وَالعَيش فيها وَدونَها

مَهامة تَنضي الأَعوجية فيح

I remembered her, and life within her, while between us

Lay vast deserts that weary the Aʿwaj-bred horses.

فَفاضَت لَها عَين لتذكار ما مَضى

سَكوب شُؤُن الماقيين نُضوح

So my eye overflowed for her, remembering what had passed,

Tears pouring from the ducts of both corners, streaming freely.

وَسالَت جِراحَ انكيت وَتَأججت

جَوانح نَضو كُلَهُنَّ قُروح

And reopened wounds bled; ablaze were

A wasted man's ribs, every one a sore.

فَلا شَيء إِلّا أَنَّهُ بَعد أَنَّةِ

وَلَيسَ ببدع أَن يَئنَّ جَريح

So nothing remained but groan after groan [reading uncertain],

And it is no marvel that a wounded man should moan.

عَسى باريءَ الأَنفاس يَقضي بِأَوبة

يَراح بِها قَلب وَتمسك روح

May the Maker of breaths decree a return

Through which a heart finds relief and a soul is kept alive.

تَذَكَرت فيها مَنزِلاً أخلق البَلا

بَشاشَتهُ فَالأنسُ عَنهُ نزوح

I remembered a dwelling there; decay had worn away

Its cheerfulness, and companionship had fled from it.

دَعا ساكنيهِ الأَمجَدين إِلى الرَدى

فَوافوهُ داع لِلحَمام يَصيح

Its most noble dwellers were summoned to their doom;

They came to him—a herald crying out for death.

رباع تَعَرَت مِن عُلاهُم وَلَم يَزَل

يَبين عَلَيها بشرهم وَيَلوح

Dwellings stripped of their glory, yet still

Their cheerful welcome shows upon them and shines.

كَأَن لَم تَكُن للاسد غيلاً وَلِلنَدى

مُقبِلاً بِها عُرف الثَناءِ تَفوح

As though they had never been lions' thickets, or homes for generosity

Coming there amid the wafting fragrance of praise.

بَلى كُن لِلروّاد سوحاً مُريعةً

رِحاباً إِلَيها المُعتَفون جنوح

Yes, they were fertile courtyards for seekers,

Spacious grounds toward which petitioners were drawn.

كانَ لَم يَكُن فيها السَماح مُخلَداً

وَلَم يَلفَ فيها البُخل وَهُوَ ذَبيح

As though generosity had never been enshrined there [reading uncertain],

Nor miserliness been found there, lying slain.

وَلَم يَكُ فيها كُل طَرف مضمر

لَهُ نَسب ينمى إِلَيهِ صَريح

Nor had every lean-trained steed dwelt there,

With a pure lineage traced back to it.

إِذا الريح جارتهُ شآها وَقصرت

ونىً وَهُوَ جَذّاب العَنان مَزوح

Whenever the wind races him, he outstrips it and it falls short,

From weariness, while he tugs the reins and speeds ahead.

ايست وَقدا ودوا من العز وَالعُلى

وَلليأس مِن بَعض الأُمور مُريح

I despaired of glory and eminence, now that they had perished [reading uncertain],

And despair of certain things can bring relief.

سَعوا لِلعُلى قَبلي وَقَيدَني الونا

وَهَل يُدرك الرَكب المَجد طَليح

They strove for eminence before me, while weariness fettered me,

And can an exhausted traveler overtake a caravan pressing on?

وَدافعَني عَنها زَمان مَعانِدٌ

وَدَهر ضَنين بِالكِرام شَحيح

And a hostile age kept me from it,

And a grudging era, miserly toward the noble.

وَلا عارَ أَن أُمسي يُماطل مطَلبي

زَمان لِحاجات الكِرام طَروح

And it is no shame that I find my request put off

By an age that casts aside the needs of the noble.

وَطالَعَت أَيامي فَأَلقيت وَجهَها

فَطوبا عَلَيهِ فَترة وَكلوح

And I surveyed my days and found their face [reading uncertain],

Frowning, with dullness and grimness upon it [reading uncertain].

فَأَوسَعتَها زهداً وَصَدّاً وَعِفَةً

وَرَأي أَطراح القاطِنين نَجيح

So you lavished on them detachment, rejection, and restraint,

And the resolve to shun those who dwell here is sound.

نَصَحتَكَ لا تَختر سِوى الزُهد صاحِباً

فَييفنك ذُلّاً وَالخَبير نَصيح

I counsel you: choose no companion but renunciation,

So it [unclear verb] you—humiliation; the experienced adviser is sincere.

وَلا تَرج إِحسان الزَمان فَإِنَّهُ

دَنيٌّ وَإِحسان الأَسافل ريح

And do not hope for kindness from time, for it

Is base, and the kindness of the base is mere wind.