فؤاد ذكي شاعر ناثر حر — أحمد الكاشف

فؤادٌ ذكيٌّ شاعر ناثر حرُّ

ولكنه بالعلم والفضل مغترُّ

Fuad is intelligent, a poet, a prose writer, a free spirit,

But he is conceited about his learning and merit.

يتيه على الإخوان كبراً ولم يكن

ليخفض من مقداره التيه والكبر

He strutted proudly before his friends, yet

Vanity and arrogance did not diminish his standing.

فكان له من مجده خير شافع

لديهم ومن آياته لهم صبر

His renown was thus his finest advocate

With them, and his remarkable gifts made them patient.

إذا هجروه ساعة زاد ميلهم

إليه فعادوا بالمعاذير واضطروا

If they shunned him for an hour, their fondness grew

For him; so they returned with excuses, feeling compelled.

ولو تركوه واغتنوا عن وداده

لكان له عما تعوده زجر

Had they left him and dispensed with his affection,

That would have checked his accustomed ways.

تمادى يرى أن ليس في الأرض مثله

وأن ليس إلا ذكره في الورى ذكر

He persisted, believing none on earth was his equal,

And that, among mankind, his fame alone was fame.

فما كان إلا أن تناول عجبُه

أباه فأمسى ساخراً منه يَزْوَرُّ

Then his conceit extended even to

His father, whom he mocked and shunned.

يعيره بالجهل حيناً ويعتدي

عليه بما تأبى المروءة والبر

At times he taunted him for ignorance, and transgressed

Against him in ways that honor and filial piety reject.

تحكَّم فيه مستبداً برأيه

وصار له في بيته النهي والأمر

He dominated him, insisting despotically on his own opinion,

And in his house all commands and prohibitions were his.

ولم يقتنع حتى تطلع طامعاً

إلى سَفَرٍ يرقى العلى بعده السُفْرُ

He was not content until he aspired greedily

To a journey after which travelers ascend to the heights.

فقال أبي جربت مصر وأهلها

فلم ترضني مصر وما وسعت مصر

He said, 'Father, I have tried Egypt and her people;

Egypt did not satisfy me, nor did Egypt have room for me.

وعندي إلى باريس شوقٌ لعلني

أرى راحة فيها بما أبدع العصر

I long for Paris; perhaps I

Shall find comfort there in what the age has invented.'

فقال أفي وسعي منالك بعد ما

بدا لك من ديني فديني هو العذر

He replied, 'Can I afford what you seek, after what

You have seen of my debt? My debt is my excuse.

فإن كنت طمّاحاً إلى المجد فارتزق

يعنك على آمالك المال والوفر

If you aspire to glory, earn your living;

Money and abundance will help you achieve your hopes.'

فقال إذا لم تعطني المال راضياً

تفرق شمل الأهل واستحكم الشر

He said, 'If you do not give me the money willingly,

The family's unity will break, and evil will take firm hold.

فبع من حُلِي أختي أو ارهَنْ فإنني

مُصرٌّ على عزمي وإن ثقل الوزر

So sell some of my sister's jewelry, or pawn it, for I

Am set on my resolve, even if the burden of guilt is heavy.'

فباع أبوه مكرهاً بعض ملكه

وفي صدره غيظ يضيق به الصدر

So his father, compelled, sold some of his property,

And rage filled his breast, making it tighten.

وقال بُنَيَّ ارحَلْ بسخطي مزوداً

فقال وداعاً أيها الوالد الغر

He said, 'My dear son, depart, provisioned with my wrath.'

He said, 'Farewell, you gullible father!'

فنادى أبوه لا ظفرت ببغية

ونالك مما غرك الهون والضر

His father cried, 'May you never attain your wish,

And may humiliation and harm befall you through what deluded you!'

فسار الفتى ليلاً وعاج بقرية

له مبغض فيها وقد طلع الفجر

The youth traveled by night and turned aside to a village

Where he had a foe; dawn had already risen.

وكانت صلاة العيد فاضطر مسرعاً

إلى مسجد فيه الْتَقى البدو والحضر

It was time for the Eid prayer, and he was compelled to hurry

To a mosque where Bedouins and townspeople had gathered.

فلاقى خطيباً بالخرافات واعظاً

فصاح به اسكت إن ما قلته كفر

He met a preacher exhorting with superstitions,

And shouted at him, 'Be silent! What you said is unbelief!'

وقد حسبوه حاكماً فاحْتَفَوا به

وما راعه من خصمه النظر الشزر

They had taken him for a ruler and welcomed him warmly,

Nor did his foe's hostile sidelong glance alarm him.

وكان خطيب القوم عمَّ عدوِّه

فعز عليه أن يضيع له قدر

The people's preacher was his enemy's uncle,

So his foe could not bear to see his uncle lose esteem.

فناداهم يا قوم هلا امتحنتم

مكذب عمي فانجلى لكم السر

He called to them, 'People, why not test

The man who calls my uncle a liar? Then the secret will be revealed to you.

عليّ إذا طاوعتموني جداله

وما لي عليكم إن ظفرت به أجر

I shall debate him, if you heed me,

And I ask no reward of you if I defeat him.'

فجاء من الطين الكريه بقطعة

وقال أجبني إن تشأ ولك الشكر

He brought a piece of foul clay

And said, 'Answer me, if you wish, and you have my thanks:

ترى عرضاً أم جوهراً فأجابه

أرى جوهراً لا شك فيه ولا نكر

Do you see an accident or a substance?' He answered,

'I see a substance—no doubt of it, no denying it.'

فقال اعجبوا يا قوم من حكم ضيفكم

ففي مثل هذا الحكم يضطرب الفكر

He said, 'Marvel, people, at your guest's judgment!

Such a judgment throws the mind into turmoil!'

فهاجوا عليه بالحصا يرجمونه

كما هاج في ميدانه الجحفل المَجْر

They rose against him, pelting him with pebbles,

Like a vast army surging on its battlefield.

فلم ينصرف إلا مهاناً محقراً

وفي وجهه جرح وفي رجله كسر

He departed only in humiliation and contempt,

With a wound on his face and a fracture in his leg.

وقد سلبوه ماله وثيابه

فعاد إلى أهليه يخجله الفقر

They had robbed him of his money and clothes,

So he returned to his family, shamed by poverty.

وكان له من ذلك الخطب رادعٌ

فعاش كما يرجو وسالمه الدهر

That calamity became a deterrent for him,

So he lived as he hoped, and time made peace with him.