صدع الخليط فشاقني أجواري — Akhtal

صَدَعَ الخَليطُ فَشاقَني أَجواري

وَنَأَوكَ بَعدَ تَقارُبٍ وَمَزارِ

The company dispersed, and my neighbors stirred my longing;

and they went far from you after closeness and visits.

فَكَأَنَّما أَنا شارِبٌ جادَت لَهُ

بُصرى بِصافِيَةِ الأَديمِ عُقارِ

As though I were a drinker, lavishly supplied

by Busra with wine of a limpid surface,

صِرفٍ تَوارَثَتِ الأَعاجِمُ جَفنَها

وَحَماهُ حائِطُ عَوسَجٍ بِجِدارِ

unmixed, whose vine the non-Arabs inherited in turn,

and a walled hedge of boxthorn protected it.

مِن مُسبِلٍ دَرَجَت عَلَيهِ عُيونُهُ

وَسَقاهُ عازِبُ جَدوَلٍ مَرّارِ

From a trailing vine along which its buds unfolded,

and a distant, ever-flowing stream watered it,

حَتّى إِذا ما أَنضَجَتهُ شَمسُهُ

وَأَنى فَلَيسَ عُصارُهُ كَعُصارِ

until, when its sun had ripened it

and it matured—its juice was unlike other juice—

وَتَفَصَّدَت مِن غَيرِ هَشٍّ عودُهُ

بالٍ وَلَيسَ بِحِصرِمٍ أَبكارِ

and it flowed from a vine whose wood was neither brittle

nor worn; nor was it made from first-crop sour grapes.

وَتَجَرَّدَت بَعدَ الهَديرِ وَصَرَّحَت

صَهباءُ تَبدَأُ شَربَها بِفُتارِ

And it cleared after fermentation's roar and became pure—

a tawny wine that first brings languor to its drinkers.

وَجداً بِرَملَةَ يَومَ شَرَّقَ أَهلُها

لِلغَمرِ أَو لِشَقائِقِ الأَذكارِ

Out of longing for Ramla, the day her people headed east

to al-Ghamr or the sandy hollows of al-Adhkar.

وَكَأَنَّ ظُعنَ الحَيِّ حائِشُ قَريَةٍ

داني الجِنايَةِ مونِعُ الأَثمارِ

And the tribe's traveling litters seemed a village palm grove,

its fruit within easy reach, its harvest ripe.

وَإِذا اِطَّلَعنَ مِنَ الخُدورِ لِحاجَةٍ

سُدَّ الخَصاصُ بِأَوجُهٍ أَحرارِ

And when they peered from the curtained litters for a need,

the openings were filled by noble faces.

وَلَقَد حَلَفتُ بِرَبِّ موسى جاهِداً

وَالبَيتِ ذي الحُرُماتِ وَالأَستارِ

And I have solemnly sworn by the Lord of Moses,

and by the House with its sanctities and veils,

وَبِكُلِّ مُبتَهِلٍ عَلَيهِ مُسوحُهُ

دونَ السَماءِ مُسَبِّحٍ جَأَّرِ

and by every suppliant clad in his sackcloth robes,

beneath the sky, loudly crying God's praise:

لَأُحَبِّرَن لِاِبنِ الخَليفَةِ مِدحَةً

وَلَأَقذِفَنَّ بِها إِلى الأَمصارِ

I shall surely craft a splendid praise-poem for the caliph's son,

and shall surely cast it abroad to the cities.

قَرمٌ تَمَهَّلَ في أُمَيَّةَ لَم يَكُن

فيها بِذي أُبَنٍ وَلا خَوّارِ

A lordly stallion who strode at ease among Umayya, never

a man of blemishes among them, nor a fainthearted weakling.

نَبَتَت قَناتُكَ مِنهُمُ في أُسرَةٍ

بيضِ الوُجوهِ مَصالِتٍ أَخيارِ

Your spear-shaft grew from them, within a family

of bright-faced, dauntless, virtuous men.

جُهَراءُ بِالمَعروفِ حينَ تَراهُمُ

حُلَماءُ غَيرُ تَنابِلٍ أَشرارِ

Conspicuous in goodness whenever you see them,

forbearing, not wicked sluggards.

قَومٌ إِذا بَسَطَ الإِلَهُ رَبيعَهُم

جادَت رَحاهُ بِمُسبِلٍ دَرّارِ

A people for whom, when God unfolds their springtime,

its cloud-wheel pours down streaming, copious rain.

وَإِذا أُريدَ بِهِم عُقوبَةَ فاجِرٍ

مَطَرَت صَواعِقُهُم عَلَيهِ بِنارِ

And when they are called upon to punish a wicked man,

their thunderbolts rain fire upon him.

قَومٌ هُمُ نالوا التَمامَ وَأَزحَفَت

وَعَنهُ مَذارِعُ آخَرينَ قِصارِ

A people who attained perfection; faltering

far short of it were the short arms of others.

وَأَبوكَ صاحِبُ يَومِ أَذرُحَ إِذ أَبى ال

حَكَمانِ غَيرَ تَهايُبٍ وَضِرارِ

And your father was the man of Adhruh's day, when the

two arbiters refused anything but mutual fear and harm.

لَمّا تُبُحِّثَتِ الضَغائِنُ بَينَهُم

أَفضى وَسارَ بِجَحفَلٍ جَرّارِ

When the grudges between them were unearthed,

he went forth and marched with a mighty, far-stretching host.

وَأَهَلَّ إِذ غَنَطَ العَدُوَّ بِفَيلَقٍ

تَحتَ الأَشاءِ عَريضَةِ الآثارِ

And he raised his cry as he harried the foe with an army,

beneath the young palms whose traces spread wide.

حَتّى رَأَوهُ بِجَنبِ مَسكِنَ مُعلِماً

وَالخَيلُ جاذِيَةٌ عَلى الأَقتارِ

Until they saw him beside Maskin, wearing his battle-mark,

while the horses stood poised along the flanks.

وَلَقَد تَناوَلتَ القُعورَ بِضَربَةٍ

وَبَني أَبي بَكرٍ ذَوي الأَصهارِ

And you indeed struck al-Qu'ur with a blow,

and Banu Abi Bakr, bound by marriage ties.

وَرِجالُ عَبدِ القَيسِ تَحتَ نُحورِها

كانوا لَها جَزَراً مِنَ الأَجزارِ

And the men of Abd al-Qays, beneath the horses' chests,

were carcasses for them, among the slaughtered.

وَعَلى خُزاعَةَ وَالسُكونِ تَعَطَّفَت

وَأَصابَهُم ظُفُرٌ مِنَ الأَظفارِ

Against Khuza'a and al-Sukun the horses wheeled,

and a claw among claws struck them.

وَالخَيلُ تَمشُقُ عَنهُمُ أَسلابَهُم

في كُلِّ مُعتَرَكٍ وَكُلِّ مُغارِ

And the horses tore their spoils away from them,

in every battlefield and every raid.

حَتّى إِذا عَلِمَ الإِلَهُ نَكالَهُ

وَتَصاغَروا لِلحَربِ أَيَّ صَغارِ

Until, when God knew his chastisement,

and they humbled themselves before war—utterly abased—

حَقَنَ الدِماءَ وَرَدَّ أُلفَتَهُم لَهُم

وَجَزاهُمُ بِالعُرفِ وَالإِنكارِ

he stopped the bloodshed and restored their unity to them,

and repaid them with kindness and censure.

شُدَّت رَحائِلُ خَيلِهِ وَتَكَشَّفَت

عَنهُ الحُروبُ بِفارِسٍ مِغوارِ

His horses' saddles were tightened, and the wars revealed

in him a bold, raiding horseman,

بِأَغَرَّ ما وَلَدَ النِساءُ شَبيهُهُ

أَحَداً عَلِقنَ بِهِ عَلى الأَطهارِ

a radiant man, whose like no women have borne—

no child they conceived in their times of purity.

تَسمو العُيونُ إِلى عَزيزٍ بابُهُ

مُعطى المَهابَةِ نافِعٍ ضَرّارِ

Eyes lift toward one whose gate is hard to approach,

endowed with awe, bringing benefit and dealing harm.

وَتَرى عَلَيهِ إِذا العُيونُ شَزَرنَهُ

سيما الحَليمِ وَهَيبَةَ الجَبّارِ

And you see upon him, when eyes look at him askance,

the mark of a forbearing man and the awe of a mighty one.

وَلَقَد أُناجي النَفسَ لَمّا شَفَّها

خَوفُ الجَنانِ وَرَهبَةُ الإِقتارِ

And I whisper to my soul, when it is worn thin

by fear in the heart and dread of destitution,

بِأَبي سُلَيمانَ الَّذي لَولا يَدٌ

مِنهُ عَلِقتُ بِظَهرِ أَحدَبَ عاري

of Abu Sulayman, without whose helping hand

I would have hung on the back of a bare, bowed trunk.

وَإِذاً دُفِعتُ إِلى زَناءٍ بابُها

غَبراءَ مُظلِمَةٍ مِنَ الأَجفارِ

And then I would have been thrust into a narrow-mouthed

dusty, dark pit among the pits.

لَولا فَواضِلُهُ غَداةَ لَقيتُهُ

بِالجُدِّ شابَ مَسائِحي وَعِذاري

But for his bounty, on the morning I met him

at al-Judd, my side-locks and sideburns would have grayed,

مِن مَعشَرٍ حَنقينَ لَولا أَنتُمُ

يا اِبنَ الخَليفَةِ ما شَدَدتُ إِزاري

from a band of furious men. But for you,

O son of the caliph, I would not have tied my waistcloth.

وَالشافِعونَ مُغَيِّبونَ وُجوهثهُم

زَرِمو المَقالَةِ ناكِسو الأَبصارِ

And the intercessors were hiding their faces,

halting in speech, with their eyes cast down,

غَيرَ اِبنِ أَحمَرَ شاهِدي بِنَصيحَةٍ

وَحَمى اِبنُ أَحمَرَ بِالمَغيبِ ذِماري

except Ibn Ahmar, who stood by me with loyal counsel;

and Ibn Ahmar guarded my honor in my absence.

وَأَخٌ بِهِ جَلَتِ البَوارِحُ إِذ جَرَت

أَجبالَ تَدمُرَ مِن دُجىً وَغُبارِ

And a brother through whom the fierce winds, as they blew, cleared

Tadmur's mountains of darkness and dust.

يَكفي إِذا شَهِدَ العَدُوُّ بِنَفسِهِ

غَيبي وَيُطلِعُني عَلى الأَسرارِ

He safeguards, when the enemy appears in person,

my interests in my absence, and lets me into secrets.

فَهُوَ الخَليلُ إِذا تَنَكَّرَ بَعضُهُم

دونَ الخَليلِ وَهَمَّ بِالإِدبارِ

For he is the friend when some of them turn cold,

drawing back from their friend and thinking of retreat.