إلى الله أشكو من عوادي النوى سهما — Ahmed Shawqi

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكو مِن عَوادي النَوى سَهما

أَصابَ سُوَيداءَ الفُؤادِ وَما أَصمى

To God I complain of an arrow from the assaults of separation,

which struck the heart's innermost core, yet did not kill.

مِنَ الهاتِكاتِ القَلبَ أَوَّلَ وَهلَةٍ

وَما دَخَلَت لَحماً وَلا لامَسَت عَظما

One of those that rend the heart at the very first encounter,

though it entered no flesh and touched no bone.

تَوارَدَ وَالناعي فَأَوجَستُ رَنَّةً

كَلاماً عَلى سَمعي وَفي كَبِدي كَلما

It arrived with the herald of death, and I sensed a ringing:

words upon my hearing, a wound within my liver.

فَما هَتَفا حَتّى نَزا الجَنبُ وَاِنزَوى

فَيا وَيحَ جَنبي كَم يَسيلُ وَكَم يَدمى

Scarcely had the two cried out when my side leapt and shrank;

alas for my side—how it runs, how it bleeds!

طَوى الشَرقَ نَحوَ الغَربِ وَالماءَ لِلثَرى

إِلَيَّ وَلَم يَركَب بِساطاً وَلا يَمّا

It crossed the East toward the West, and the water toward the land,

to reach me, riding neither carpet nor sea.

أَبانَ وَلَم يَنبِس وَأَدّى وَلَم يَفُه

وَأَدمى وَما داوى وَأَوهى وَما رَمّا

It made things plain without speaking, delivered its message without a word;

it drew blood but did not heal, weakened but did not mend.

إِذا طُوِيَت بِالشُهبِ وَالدُهمِ شَقَّةٌ

طَوى الشُهبَ أَوجابَ الغُدافِيَّةَ الدُهما

When gray steeds and black cover a stretch of distance,

it outstrips the meteors or cleaves the raven-black night.

وَلَم أَرَ كَالأَحداثِ سَهماً إِذا جَرَت

وَلا كَاللَيالي رامِياً يُبعِدُ المَرمى

I have seen no arrow like calamities when they race,

nor an archer like the nights, sending his shot so far.

وَلَم أَرَ حُكماً كَالمَقاديرِ نافِذاً

وَلا كَلِقاءِ المَوتِ مِن بَينِها حَتما

I have seen no judgment as effective as the decrees of fate,

nor any among them as certain as meeting death.

إِلى حَيثُ آباءُ الفَتى يَذهَبُ الفَتى

سَبيلٌ يَدينُ العالَمونَ بِها قِدما

Where a man's fathers are, there the man goes:

a path to which mankind has bowed since ancient times.

وَما العَيشُ إِلّا الجِسمُ في ظِلِّ روحِهِ

وَلا المَوتُ إِلّا الروحُ فارَقَتِ الجِسما

Life is only the body in the shadow of its spirit,

and death is only the spirit's parting from the body.

وَلا خُلدَ حَتّى تَملَأَ الدَهرَ حِكمَةً

عَلى نُزَلاءِ الدَهرِ بَعدَكَ أَو عِلما

There is no immortality until you fill the ages with wisdom,

for those who dwell in time after you—or with knowledge.

زَجَرتُ تَصاريفَ الزَمانِ فَما يَقَع

لِيَ اليَومَ مِنها كانَ بِالأَمسِ لي وَهما

I divined Time's vicissitudes; whatever befalls

me today through them was yesterday a presentiment.

وَقَدَّرتُ لِلنُعمانِ يَوماً وَضِدَّهُ

فَما اِغتَرَّتِ البوسى وَلا غَرَّتِ النُعمى

I reckoned for al-Nu'man a day and its opposite;

misery never caught me unawares, nor did good fortune beguile me.

شَرِبتُ الأَسى مَصروفَةً لَو تَعَرَّضَت

بِأَنفاسِها بِالفَمِّ لَم يَستَفِق غَمّا

I drank sorrow undiluted; were it merely to brush

a mouth with its breath, one would never recover from anguish.

فَأَترِع وَناوِل يا زَمانُ فَإِنَّما

نَديمُكَ سُقراطُ الَّذي اِبتَدَعَ السُمّا

Fill up and pass the cup, O Time, for

your drinking companion is none but Socrates, who invented poison.

قَتَلتُكَ حَتّى ما أُبالي أَدَرتَ لي

بِكَأسِكَ نَجماً أَم أَدَرتَ بِها رَجما

I have slain you: I no longer care whether you serve me

a star in your cup, or pass me a pelting stone in it.

لَكِ اللَهُ مِن مَطعونَةٍ بِقَنا النَوى

شَهيدَةَ حَربٍ لَم تُقارِف لَها إِنما

May God be with you, pierced by the spears of separation,

a martyr of a war in which you committed no sin.

مُدَلَّهَةٍ أَزكى مِنَ النارِ زَفرَةً

وَأَنزَهِ مِن دَمعِ الحَيا عَبرَةَ سَحما

Distraught, with a sigh fiercer than fire,

and dark tears purer than the tears of rain.

سَقاها بَشيري وَهيَ تَبكي صَبابَةً

فَلَم يَقوَ مَغناها عَلى صَوبِهِ رَسما

My bearer of glad tidings gave her drink as she wept with longing,

and her dwelling could not withstand his downpour, even as a ruin.

أَسَت جُرحَها الأَنباءُ غَيرَ رَفيقَةٍ

وَكَم نازِعٍ سَهماً فَكانَ هُوَ السَهما

The tidings tended her wound without gentleness;

many a man draws out an arrow, only to become the arrow himself.

تَغارُ الحُمّى الفَضائِلُ وَالعُلا

لِما قَبَّلَت مِنها وَما ضَمَّتِ الحُمّى

Virtues and eminence envy the fever

for what it kissed of her, and what the fever embraced.

أَكانَت تَمَنّاها وَتَهوى لِقاءَها

إِذا هِيَ سَمّاها بِذي الأَرضِ مَن سَمّى

Had it longed for her and yearned to meet her,

whenever someone on this earth pronounced her name?

أَلَمَّت عَلَيها وَاِتَّقَت ثَمَراتِها

فَلَمّا وُقوا الأَسواءَ لَم تَرَها ذَمّا

It descended upon her, but spared her fruits;

and when they were safe from harm, she found no fault in it.

فَيا حَسرَتا أَلّا تَراهُم أَهِلَّةً

إِذا أَقصَرَ البَدرُ التَمامُ مَضَوا قُدما

Alas, that she cannot see them as crescent moons:

when the perfect full moon withdraws, they press ahead.

رَياحينُ في أَنفِ الوَلِيِّ وَما لَها

عَدُوٌّ تَراهُم في مَعاطِسِهِ رَغما

Sweet basil in a friend's nostrils; and she has no

foe—else you would see them as humbling dust in his nose.

وَأَلّا يَطوفوا خُشَّعاً حَولَ نَعشِها

وَلا يُشبِعوا الرُكنَ اِستِلاماً وَلا لَثما

And that they cannot circle her bier in reverence,

nor lavish touches and kisses upon its corner.

حَلَفتُ بِما أَسلَفتِ في المَهدِ مِن يَدٍ

وَأَولَيتِ جُثماني مِن المِنَّةِ العُظمى

I swore by the kindness you bestowed upon me in the cradle,

and by the immense favor you conferred upon my body;

وَقَبرٍ مَنوطٍ بِالجَلالِ مُقَلَّدٍ

تَليدَ الخِلالِ الكُثرَ وَالطارِفَ الجَمّا

and by a grave bound to majesty, garlanded

with many inherited virtues and abundant new ones;

وَبِالغادِياتِ الساقِياتِ نَزيلَهُ

مِنَ الصَلَواتِ الخَمسِ وَالآيِ وَالأَسما

and by the morning visitants that water its dweller,

the five prayers, the verses, and the divine names:

لَما كانَ لي في الحَربِ رَأيٌ وَلا هَوىً

وَلا رُمتُ هَذا الثُكلَ لِلناسِ وَاليُتما

I never favored war in thought or desire,

nor wished this bereavement and orphanhood upon humankind.

وَلَم يَكُ ظُلمُ الطَيرِ بِالرِقِّ لي رِضاً

فَكَيفَ رِضائي أَن يَرى البَشَرُ الظُلما

I never consented to the injustice of enslaving birds;

how, then, could I consent to humans suffering injustice?

وَلَم آلُ شُبّانَ البَرِيَّةِ رِقَّةً

كَأَنَّ ثِمارَ القَلبِ مِن وَلَدي ثَمّا

I spared no tenderness toward the world's young men,

as though my own children, the fruits of my heart, were there.

وَكُنتُ عَلى نَهجٍ مِنَ الرَأيِ واضِحٍ

أَرى الناسَ صِنفَينِ الذِئابَ أَوِ البَهما

I followed a clear path of thought,

seeing people as two kinds: wolves or sheep.

وَما الحُكمُ إِلّا أولي البَأسِ دَولَةً

وَلا العَدلُ إِلّا حائِطٌ يَعصِمُ الحُكما

Rule is only the mighty taking their turn,

and justice only a wall safeguarding that rule.

نَزَلتُ رُبى الدُنيا وَجَنّاتِ عَدنِها

فَما وَجَدَت نَفسي لِأَنهارِها طَعما

I dwelt on the world's heights and in its gardens of Eden,

yet my soul found no savor in their rivers.

أَريحُ أَريجَ المِسكِ في عَرَصاتِها

وَإِن لَم أُرِح مَروانَ فيها وَلا لَخما

I breathe the scent of musk in their courtyards,

though I scent there neither Marwan nor Lakhm.

إِذا ضَحِكَت زَهواً إِلَيَّ سَماوَها

بَكَيتُ النَدى في الأَرضِ وَالبَأسَ وَالحَزما

When its skies smile proudly at me,

I weep for generosity upon the earth, for valor and resolve.

أُطيفُ بِرَسمٍ أَو أُلِمُّ بِدِمنَةٍ

أَخالُ القُصورَ الزُهرَ وَالغُرَفَ الشُمّا

I circle a trace or pause by a ruined dwelling,

imagining radiant palaces and lofty chambers.

فَما بَرَحَت مِن خاطِري مِصرُ ساعَةً

وَلا أَنتِ في ذي الدارِ زايَلتِ لي هَمّا

Egypt never left my thoughts for an hour,

nor, in this abode, did you ever cease to be my concern.

إِذا جَنَّني اللَيلُ اِهتَزَزتُ إِلَيكُما

فَجَنحا إِلى سُعدى وَجَنحا إِلى سَلمى

When night enfolded me, I stirred with longing toward you both:

one wing toward Su'da, and one wing toward Salma.

فَلَما بَدا لِلناسِ صُبحٌ مِنَ المُنى

وَأَبصَرَ فيهِ ذو البَصيرَةِ وَالأَعمى

Then, when a dawn of hopes appeared to humankind,

and both the clear-sighted and the blind saw in its light,

وَقَرَّت سُيوفُ الهِندِ وَاِرتَكَزَ القَنا

وَأَقلَعَتِ البَلوى وَأَقشَعَتِ الغُمّى

and India's swords lay still and the spears were planted,

and affliction ceased and gloom dispersed,

وَحَنَّت نَواقيسٌ وَرَنَّت مَآذِنٌ

وَرَفَّت وُجوهُ الأَرضِ تَستَقبِلُ السُلمى

and bells pealed and minarets rang,

and earth's faces brightened to welcome peace,

أَتى الدَهرُ مِن دونِ الهَناءِ وَلَم يَزَل

وَلوعاً بِبُنيانِ الرَجاءِ إِذا تَمّا

Time stood in the way of joy, as ever

intent upon hope's edifice whenever it stands complete.

إِذا جالَ في الأَعيادِ حَلَّ نِظامَها

أَوِ العُرسِ أَبلى في مَعالِمِهِ هَدما

Whenever it passes among festivals, it breaks their harmony;

or through a wedding, it labors to demolish its splendors.

لَئِن فاتَ ما أَمَّلتِهِ مِن مَواكِبٍ

فَدونَكِ هَذا الحَشدَ وَالمَوكِبَ الضَخما

If you missed the processions you had hoped for,

here for you is this throng, this mighty procession.

رَثَيتُ بِهِ ذاتَ التُقى وَنَظَمتُهُ

لِعُنصُرِهِ الأَزكى وَجَوهَرِهِ الأَسمى

With it I mourned the woman of piety, and composed it

for its purest origin and its loftiest essence.

نَمَتكِ مَناجيبُ العُلا وَنَمَيتِها

فَلَم تُلحَقي بِنتاً وَلَم تُسبَقي أُمّا

Noble scions of greatness reared you, and you nurtured that greatness;

none overtook you as a daughter, nor surpassed you as a mother.

وَكُنتِ إِذا هَذي السَماءُ تَخايَلَت

تَواضَعتِ وَلَكِن بَعدَ ما فُتِّها نَجما

Whenever this heaven strutted in pride,

you were humble—but only after outshining it as a star.

أَتَيتِ بِهِ لَم يَنظُمِ الشِعرَ مِثلَهُ

وَجِئتِ لِأَخلاقِ الكِرامِ بِهِ نَظما

You brought forth one whose like has never composed poetry,

and in him you strung together the virtues of the noble.

وَلَو نَهَضَت عَنهُ السَماءُ وَمَخَّضَت

بِهِ الأَرضُ كانَ المُزنَ وَالتِبرَ وَالكَرما

Had heaven delivered him, and earth labored

to bear him, he would have been rainclouds, pure gold, and grapevines.