لعمرك ما طول هذا الزمن — Al Asha

لَعَمرُكَ ما طولُ هَذا الزَمَن

عَلى المَرءِ إِلّا عَناءٌ مُعَن

By your life, the length of this age

brings a man nothing but exhausting hardship.

يَظَلُّ رَجيماً لِرَيبِ المَنونِ

وَلِلسَقمِ في أَهلِهِ وَالحَزَن

He remains a target for the blows of death,

for sickness among his kin and grief.

وَهالِكِ أَهلٍ يُجِنّونَهُ

كَآخَرَ في قَفرَةٍ لَم يُجَن

A dead man whom his family buries

is like another left unburied in a wilderness.

وَما إِن أَرى الدَهرَ في صَرفِهِ

يُغادِرُ مِن شارِخٍ أَو يَفَن

I do not see time, in its turnings,

sparing either a young man or an old one.

فَهَل يَمنَعَنّي اِرتِيادي البِلا

دَ مِن حَذَرِ المَوتِ أَن يَأتِيَن

Shall I be kept from roaming the lands

out of fear that death might come?

أَلَيسَ أَخو المَوتِ مُستَوثِقاً

عَلَيَّ وَإِن قُلتُ قَد أَنسَأَن

Is not death's companion sure of his hold

on me, though I say he has reprieved me?

عَلَيَّ رَقيبٌ لَهُ حافِظٌ

فَقُل في اِمرِئٍ غَلِقٍ مُرتَهَن

Over me stands a watcher, a guardian of his;

consider, then, a man held fast in pledge.

أَزالَ أُذَينَةَ عَن مُلكِهِ

وَأَخرَجَ مِن حِصنِهِ ذا يَزَن

It stripped Udhayna of his kingship

and drove Dhu Yazan from his fortress.

وَخانَ النَعيمُ أَبا مالِكٍ

وَأَيُّ اِمرِئٍ لَم يَخُنهُ الزَمَن

Prosperity betrayed Abu Malik;

what man has time not betrayed?

أَزالَ المُلوكَ فَأَفناهُمُ

وَأَخرَجَ مِن بَيتِهِ ذا حَزَن

It displaced the kings and destroyed them,

and drove Dhu Hazan from his house.

وَعَهدُ الشَبابِ وَلَذّاتُهُ

فَإِن يَكُ ذَلِكَ قَد نُتَّدَن

And the days of youth and their pleasures—

if that has now faded [reading uncertain]—

وَطاوَعتُ ذا الحِلمَ فَاِقتادَني

وَقَد كُنتُ أَمنَعُ مِنهُ الرَسَن

I yielded to this sober judgment, and it led me,

though once I had withheld the rein from it.

وَعاصَيتُ قَلبِيَ بَعدَ الصَبى

وَأَمسى وَما إِن لَهُ مِن شَجَن

I resisted my heart after youthful folly,

and now it has no longing.

فَقَد أَشرَبُ الراحَ قَد تَعلَمي

نَ يَومَ المُقامِ وَيَومَ الظَعَن

For I have drunk wine—you know it—

on days of staying and days of departure.

وَأَشرَبُ بِالريفِ حَتّى يُقا

لَ قَد طالَ بِالريفِ ما قَد دَجَن

I drink in the countryside until they say:

'Long indeed has he remained in the countryside!'

وَأَقرَرتُ عَيني مِنَ الغَنِيا

تِ إِمّا نِكاحاً وَإِمّا أُزَن

I delighted my eyes with beautiful women,

whether through marriage or fornication:

مِن كُلِّ بَيضاءَ مَمكورَةٍ

لَها بَشَرٌ ناصِعٌ كَاللَبَن

with every fair, rounded woman

whose skin is radiant as milk,

عَريضَةُ بوصٍ إِذا أَدبَرَت

هَضيمُ الحَشاشَختَةُ المُحتَضَن

broad-hipped when she turns away,

slender-waisted and delicate to embrace.

إِذا هُنَّ نازَلنَ أَقرانَهُنَّ

وَكانَ المِصاعُ بِما في الجُوَن

When they contend with their peers,

their contest lies in what their caskets contain.

تُعاطي الضَجيعَ إِذا أَقبَلَت

بُعَيدَ الرُقادِ وَعِندَ الوَسَن

She offers her bedfellow, when she draws near,

soon after sleep and at the onset of drowsiness,

صَليفِيَّةً طَيِّباً طَعمُها

لَها زَبَدٌ بَينَ كوبٍ وَدَن

Salifiyya wine, pleasant to taste,

with froth between cup and cask.

يَصُبُّ لَها الساقِيانِ المِزا

جَ مُنتَصَفَ اللَيلِ مِن ماءِ شَن

Two cupbearers pour its mixing-water

at midnight, from an old waterskin.

وَبَيداءَ قَفرٍ كَبُردِ السَديرِ

مَشارِبُها دائِراتٌ أُجُن

And a barren desert, like al-Sadir's cloak,

whose watering places are circular and stagnant,

قَطَعتُ إِذا خَبَّ رَيعانُها

بِدَوسَرَةٍ جَسرَةٍ كَالفَدَن

I crossed when its first mirage raced,

on a massive, sturdy she-camel, like a palace.

بِحَقَّتِها حُبِسَت في اللَجي

نِ حَتّى السَديسُ لَها قَد أَسَن

From her fourth year she was kept on crushed leaf-fodder

until even her sixth tooth had aged.

وَطالَ السَنامُ عَلى جَبلَةٍ

كَخَلقاءَ مِن هَضَباتِ الضَجَن

Her hump rose high upon a massive frame,

like a smooth rock among the hills of al-Dajan.

فَأَفنَيتُها وَتَعالَلتُها

عَلى صَحصَحٍ كَرِداءِ الرَدَن

I wore her out and drew further strength from her

over a broad plain like a cloak of radan cloth.

تُراقِبُ مِن أَيمَنِ الجانِبَي

نِ بِالكَفِّ مِن مُحصَدٍ قَد مَرَن

She watches on the right-hand side

the tightly braided, supple whip in my hand.

تَيَمَّمتُ قَيساً وَكَم دونَهُ

مِنَ الأَرضِ مِن مَهمَهٍ ذي شَزَن

I set my course for Qays; how much lay before him

of land, of rugged, trackless wilderness!

وَمِن شانِئٍ كاسِفٍ وَجهُهُ

إِذا ما اِنتَسَبتُ لَهُ أَنكَرَن

And many a hater, his face darkened,

disowned me when I declared my lineage to him.

وَمِن آجِنٍ أَولَجَتهُ الجَنو

بُ دِمنَةَ أَعطانِهِ فَاِندَفَن

And many a stagnant pool into which the south wind drove

the refuse of its camel-resting grounds, till it was buried.

وَجارٍ أُجاوِرُهُ إِذ شَتَو

تُ غَيرِ أَمينٍ وَلا مُؤتَمَن

And a neighbor beside whom I wintered,

neither trustworthy nor to be trusted.

وَلَكِنَّ رَبّي كَفى غُربَتي

بِحَمدِ الإِلَهِ فَقَد بَلَّغَن

But my Lord sufficed me in my exile;

thanks to God, He brought me

أَخا ثِقَةٍ عالِياً كَعبُهُ

جَزيلَ العَطاءِ كَريمَ المِنَن

to a trustworthy man of lofty standing,

lavish in gifts and generous in favors,

كَريماً شَمائِلُهُ مِن بَني

مُعاوِيَةَ الأَكرَمينَ السُنَن

noble in character, of the sons of

Mu'awiya, most noble in their ways.

فَإِن يَتبَعوا أَمرَهُ يَرشُدوا

وَإِن يَسأَلوا مالَهُ لا يَضِن

If they follow his command, they find right guidance;

if they ask for his wealth, he does not begrudge it.

وَإِن يُستَضافوا إِلى حُكمِهِ

يُضافُ إِلى هادِنٍ قَد رَزَن

If they are referred to his judgment,

one comes before a peaceable, steadfast man.

وَما إِن عَلى قَلبِهِ غَمرَةٌ

وَما إِن بِعَظمٍ لَهُ مِن وَهَن

No confusion clouds his heart,

and no weakness is in any bone of his.

وَما إِن عَلى جارِهِ تَلفَةٌ

يُساقِطُها كَسِقاطِ الغَبَن

No ruin threatens his neighbor;

he casts it off like the loss in a bargain.

هُوَ الواهِبُ المِئَةَ المُصطَفا

ةَ كَالنَخلِ زَيَّنَها بِالرَجَن

He gives a hundred chosen camels,

like palms, adorned with trappings.

وَكُلَّ كُمَيتٍ كَجِذعِ الخِصا

بِ يَرنو القِناءَ إِذا ما صَفَن

And every bay horse, like a trunk of the Khisab palms,

gazing toward the palm-clusters when it stands poised.

تَراهُ إِذا ما عَدا صَحبُهُ

بِجانِبِهِ مِثلَ شاةِ الأَرَن

You see it, when its companions run

beside it, like a playful wild doe.

أَضافوا إِلَيهِ فَأَلوى بِهِم

تَقولُ جُنوناً وَلَمّا يُجَنّ

They drew near it, and it swerved away from them;

you would call it madness, though it had not gone mad.

وَلَم يَلحَقوهُ عَلى شَوطِهِ

وَراجَعَ مِن ذِلَّةٍ فَاِطمَأَنّ

They could not catch it over its course;

it recovered from its weakness and grew calm.

سَما بِتَليلٍ كَجِذعِ الخِصا

بِ حُرِّ القَذالِ طَويلِ الغُسَن

It raised a neck like a trunk of the Khisab palms,

with a finely shaped poll and a long mane.

فَلَأياً بِلَأيٍ حَمَلنا الغُلا

مَ كَرهاً فَأَرسَلَهُ فَاِمتَهَن

With difficulty upon difficulty, we mounted the boy,

against its will; he gave it rein and put it to work.

كَأَنَّ الغُلامَ نَحا لِلصُوَا

رِ أَزرَقَ ذا مَخلَبٍ قَد دَجَن

As though the boy had directed toward the herd

a tame, blue-gray bird with talons,

يُسافِعُ وَرقاءَ غورِيَّةً

لِيُدرِكَها في حَمامٍ ثُكَن

grappling with a gray dove of the Ghawr

to catch her among densely gathered pigeons.

فَثابَرَ بِالرُمحِ حَتّى نَحا

هُ في كَفَلٍ كَسَراةِ المِجَن

He pressed on with the spear until he drove

it into a rump like the back of a shield.

تَرى اللَحمَ مِن ذابِلٍ قَد ذَوى

وَرَطبٍ يُرَفَّعُ فَوقَ العُنَن

You see the meat, some dried and shriveled,

and some fresh, raised above the drying frames.

يَطوفُ العُفاةُ بِأَبوابِهِ

كَطَوفِ النَصارى بِبَيتِ الوَثَن

Supplicants circle his doors

as Christians circle an idol's temple.

هُوَ الواهِبُ المُسمِعاتِ الشُرو

بَ بَينَ الحَريرِ وَبَينَ الكَتَن

He gives singing women, wine-drinkers,

amid silk and linen.

وَيُقبِلُ ذو البَثِّ وَالراغِبو

نَ في لَيلَةٍ هِيَ إِحدى اللَزَن

The sorrowful man and those seeking favors come

on a night among the hardest of nights,

لِبَيتِكَ إِذ بَعضُهُم بَيتُهُ

مِنَ الشَرِّ ما فيهِ مِن مُستَكَن

to your house, while another man's house

is so wretched that no one shelters in it.

وَلَم تَسعَ لِلحَربِ سَعيَ اِمرِئٍ

إِذابِطنَةٌ راجَعَتهُ سَكَن

You did not strive in war like a man

who, when his belly is full again, sits still.

تَرى هَمَّهُ نَظَراً خَصرَهُ

وَهَمُّكَ في الغَزوِ لا في السِمَن

You see his concern fixed on watching his waist;

your concern is raiding, not growing fat.

وَفي كُلِّ عامٍ لَهُ غَزوَةٌ

تَحُتُّ الدَوابِرَ حَتَّ السَفَن

Each year he has a raid

that wears away the hind-hooves as a rasp scrapes.

حَجونٌ تُظِلُّ الفَتى جاذِباً

عَلى واسِطِ الكورِ عِندَ الذَقَن

A grueling one, keeping the young man pulling

on the saddle's front bow, near his chin.

تَرى الشَيخَ مِنها لِحُبِّ الإِيا

بِ يَرجُفُ كَالشَرِفِ المُستَحِن

From it you see the old man, longing to return,

tremble like an aged camel lowing with longing.

فَلَمّا رَأى القَومُ مِن ساعَةٍ

مِنَ الرَأيِ ما أَبصَروهُ اِكتَمَن

Then, when the men saw, in a moment,

what their judgment discerned, he hid himself.

وَما بِالَّذي أَبصَرَتهُ العُيو

نُ مِن قَطعِ يَأسٍ وَلا مِن يَقَن

There was nothing in what the eyes perceived

of final despair, nor of certainty.

تُباري الزِجاجَ مَغاويرُها

شَماطيطَ في رَهَجٍ كَالدَخَن

Its bold raiders race beside the spear-butts,

in scattered bands, amid dust like smoke.

تَدُرُّ عَلى أَسوُقِ المُمتَري

نَ رَكضاً إِذا ما السَرابُ اِرجَحَن

They stream sweat upon the shins of those urging them,

galloping when the mirage hangs heavy.

فَيا عَجَبَ الرَهنِ لِلقائِلا

تِ مِن آخِرِ اللَيلِ ماذا اِحتَجَن

How wondrous the pledge is to the women who speak

at the night's end: 'What has he hoarded?'

وَما قَد أَخَذنَ وَما قَد تَرَك

نَ في الحَيِّ مِن نِعمَةٍ وَدِمَن

And what they have taken and what they have left

in the tribe, of prosperity and dung-stained traces.

وَأَقبَلنَ يُعرِضنَ نَحوَ اِمرِئٍ

إِذا كَسَبَ المالَ لَم يَختَزِن

They came, making their way toward a man

who, when he gains wealth, does not hoard it.

وَلَكِن عَلى الحَمدِ إِنفاقُهُ

وَقَد يَشتَريهِ بِأَغلى الثَمَن

Rather, his spending is for praise,

and he buys it at the highest price.

وَلا يَدَعُ الحَمدَ أَو يَشتَري

هِ بِوَشكِ الفُتورِ وَلا بِالتَوَن

He does not abandon praise until he buys

it, without quickly flagging or falling into indolence.

عَلَيهِ سِلاحُ اِمرِئٍ ماجِدٍ

تَمَهَّلَ في الحَربِ حَتّى اِثَّخَن

He bears the arms of a noble man

who lingered in battle until he dealt grievous wounds:

سَلاجِمَ كَالنَحلِ أَنحى لَها

قَضيبَ سَراءٍ قَليلَ الأُبَن

arrows like bees, for which he bent

a stave of sara wood with few knots;

وَذا هِبَّةٍ غامِضاً كَلمُهُ

وَأَجرَدَ مُطَّرِداً كَالشَطَن

a keen blade whose wounds go deep,

and a smooth, straight spear like a long rope;

وَبَيضاءَ كَالنَهيِ مَوضونَةً

لَها قَونَسٌ فَوقَ جَيبِ البَدَن

bright, woven mail like a still pool,

with a helmet above the armor's neck-opening.

وَقَد يَطعُنُ الفَرجَ يَومَ اللِقا

ءِ بِالرُمحِ يَحبِسُ أولى السُنَن

He thrusts into a gap on the day of encounter

with his spear, holding back the foremost charging ranks.

فَهَذا الثَناءُ وَإِنّي اِمرُؤٌ

إِلَيكَ بِعَمدٍ قَطَعتُ القَرَن

This, then, is the praise; I am a man

who deliberately severed his tether to come to you.

وَكُنتُ اِمرَأً زَمَناً بِالعِراقِ

عَفيفَ المُناخِ طَويلَ التَغَنّ

For a time I was a man in Iraq,

upright in my lodging, long self-sufficient.

وَحَولِيَ بَكرٌ وَأَشياعُها

وَلَستُ خَلاةَ لِمَن أَوعَدَن

Around me were Bakr and their allies,

and I was no easy prey for whoever threatened me.

وَنُبِّئتُ قَيساً وَلَم أَبلُهُ

كَما زَعَموا خَيرَ أَهلِ اليَمَن

I was told of Qays, though I had not tested him,

that he was, as they claimed, the best of Yemen's people:

رَفيعَ الوِسادِ طَويلَ النَجا

دِ ضَخمَ الدَسيعَةِ رَحبَ العَطَن

with a high cushion and a long sword-belt,

a great bowl of bounty and spacious watering grounds.

يَشُقُّ الأُمورَ وَيَجتابُها

كَشَقِّ القَرارِيِّ ثَوبَ الرَدَن

He splits through affairs and cuts his way through them

as a tailor cuts a garment of radan cloth.

فَجِئتُكَ مُرتادَ ما خَبَّروا

وَلَولا الَّذي خَبَّروا لَم تَرَن

So I came to you seeking what they reported;

but for what they reported, you would not have seen me.

فَلا تَحرِمَنّي نَداكَ الجَزيلَ

فَإِنّي اِمرُؤٌ قَبلَكُم لَم أُهَن

Do not deny me your ample generosity;

I am a man who was never humiliated before you.