ألا طرقتنا بالقرينين موهنا — Al Nabigha_Al Shaibani

أَلا طَرَقَتنا بِالقَرينَينِ مَوهِناً

وَقَد حَلَّ في عَينَيَّ مِن سِنَتي غَمضي

Ah, she visited us at al-Qarinayn late at night,

when drowsiness had already settled my eyes shut—

سُلَيمى فَشاقَتني وَهاجَت صَبابَتي

بِطَرفٍ لَها ساجٍ وَذي أُشُرٍ بَضِّ

Sulayma: she stirred my longing and roused my passion,

with her languid gaze and tender mouth of finely notched teeth.

كَأَنَّ عَلى أَنيابِها بَعدَ هَجعَةٍ

صُبابَةَ ماءِ الثَلجِ بِالعَسَلِ الغَضِّ

As though upon her canine teeth, after a spell of sleep,

lay the last drops of snow-water mixed with fresh honey.

فَلَمّا عَرَثنا يَنفَحُ المِسكَ جَيبُها

إِذا نَهَضَت كادَت تَميلُ مِنَ النَهضِ

Then, as we dallied, her neckline breathed musk;

whenever she rose, she almost swayed beneath her body's fullness.

عَرَضتُ عَلَيها أَن تُجِدَّ وِصالَنا

وَأَن تَبذُلَ المَعروفَ لَو قَبِلَت عَرضي

I proposed that she renew our union

and grant her kindness—if only she would accept my proposal.

وَقُلتُ لَها كَيفَ اِدِّكاري غَريرَةً

مُبَتَّلَةً هَيفاءَ لَم تَقضِني قَرضي

And I said to her, 'Why do I keep recalling a guileless girl,

shapely and slender-waisted, who has not repaid my loan?

لَها عَمَلٌ لَم تَجنِ فيهِ خَطيئَةً

تَقاضى بِهِ أَديانَها ثُمَّ لا تَقضي

She has a practice in which she commits no sin:

she collects her dues by it, then pays nothing back.'

فَلَمّا دَنا مِنها بَتاتٌ وَأَصبَحَت

بَعيداً وَلَم تَحلُل سَمائي وَلا أَرضي

Then, when final separation from her drew near and she became

far away, dwelling neither beneath my sky nor upon my earth,

فَقُلتُ لِمَن يَنهى عَنِ الوُدِّ أَهلَهُ

أَعاذِلَ أَفشي كُلَّ لَومِكِ أَو غُضّي

I said to one who would keep lovers from love:

'O reproaching woman, voice all your blame, or hold back.'

إِذا أَنا لَم أَنفَع صَديقي بِوُدِّهِ

فَإِنَّ عَدُوّي لَم يَضُرَّهُمُ بُغضي

If I do not benefit my friend through his affection,

then my hatred has done my enemies no harm.

أَلِينُ لِمَن صادَقتُ مِن حُسنِ شيمَتي

وَأَكحَلُ مِن عاديتُ بِالكُحُلِ المَض

I am gentle with those I befriend, from the goodness of my nature,

and line the eyes of those I oppose with stinging kohl.

وَلَيسَ ذَوو الأَضغانِ في كُلِّ كُربَةٍ

يَطيعونَ إِبرامي الأُمورَ وَلا نَقضي

Nor do those harboring grudges, in any crisis,

heed my binding of affairs or my unbinding.

وَإِنّي لَصَبّارٌ إِذا خُشِيَ الرَدى

وَلَم يَبقَ إِلّا كُلُّ ذي حَسَبٍ مَحضِ

Indeed, I stand firm when death is feared,

and none remain except men of unsullied ancestral honor.

وَأَضرِبُ رَأسَ الكَبشِ بِالسَيفِ بِالوَغى

إِذا ما اِعتَصَوا بِالبِيضِ بَعدَ قَناً رُفضِ

I strike the champion's head with my sword in battle,

when they cling to white blades after their spears lie scattered.

وَأَكشِفُ عَن صَحبي غَما الخَوفِ وَالرَدى

إِذا نُدِبَت خَيلُ الطَليعَةِ لِلنَفضِ

I lift from my companions the pall of fear and death,

when the vanguard's cavalry is summoned to reconnoiter,

عَلى كُلِّ مَوّارٍ بِرَجعِ نُسورِهِ

يَرُضُّ الحَصى رَضّاً جَميعاً مَعَ القَضِّ

on each swift-moving steed, its hoof-frogs sweeping back and forth,

crushing all the pebbles to powder, along with the gravel.

وَما عَزَّ أَقوامي تِلادي وَطارِفي

مِنَ المالِ في حَقِّ وَقَيتُ بِهِ عِرضي

My people were never denied my inherited or newly acquired wealth,

for a rightful cause by which I guarded my honor.

وَأَقتُلُ جَهلَ المَرءِ بِالحِلمِ وَالتُقى

وَإِن رامَ قَرضي حالَ مِن دونِهِ قَرضي

I kill a man's folly with forbearance and piety,

but if he seeks to satirize me, my satire bars his way.

وَأَشدَخُ هاماتِ الأَعداءِ بِوَطأَتي

وَلَستُ عَنِ الأَوتارِ ما عِشتُ بِالمُفضي

I crush my enemies' skulls beneath my tread,

and never, while I live, relinquish claims for vengeance.

وَأَحلُمُ في شِعري فَلا أَنطِقُ الخَنا

وَيَدرَأُ عَنّي شِعرَ ذي الحِرَّةِ العِضِّ

I show restraint in my poetry and utter no obscenity;

it wards from me the verse of a cunning, rancorous man.

مِنَ الشِعرِ سَمٌّ يَقتُلُ المَرءُ طُعمُهُ

كَما تَقتُلُ الصُمُّ الأَساوِدُ بِالعَض

Some poetry is poison whose taste kills a man,

as deaf black serpents kill with their bite.

وَمِنهُ غُثاءٌ لا يُفارِقُ أَهلَهُ

كَمِثلِ الحَرونِ لا يَكُرُّ وَلا يَمضي

And some is scum that never leaves its makers,

like a balking horse that neither charges nor advances.

وَيُعرَبُ أَقوامٌ وَيَلحَنُ مَعشَرٌ

مِراراً وَبَعضُ اللَحنِ أَكثَرُ مِن بَعضِ

Some speak correctly, while another group makes errors,

repeatedly; some errors are greater than others.

يَزِلُّ الفَتى عَمّا يَقولُ لِسانُهُ

كَما زَلَّ مَن يَهوي عَنِ الزَلَقِ الدَحضِ

A young man may stumble in what his tongue says,

as one slips and plunges from slippery, treacherous ground.

وَتيهٍ مَرَوَراة يَحارُ بِها القَطا

إِلى فَجِّ مَخشِيِّ المَهالِكِ ذي غَمضِ

And a vast, barren wilderness where sandgrouse lose their way,

stretching to a pass of dreaded perils and hidden hollows—

كَأَنَّ عَلى قيعانِها مِن سَرابِها

رِياطاً نَقِيّاتِ المُتونِ مِنَ الرَحضِ

as though upon its flatlands, through its mirage,

lay fine cloths, their surfaces cleansed by washing;

وَكَأَنَّ عَلى أَعلامِها وَإِكامِها

إِذا ما اِرتَدَت بِالآلِ أَردِيَّةَ المَحضِ

and as though upon its heights and hillocks,

when robed in shimmering mirage, lay mantles of pure milk—

تَجاوَزتُ مِنها كُلَّ قُفٍّ وَرَملَةٍ

بِناجِيَةٍ أَطوي المَخارِمَ بِالرَكضِ

I crossed every stony rise and sandy stretch in it,

on a swift she-camel, folding up the passes at a gallop.

بَناها مِنَ الأَحماءِ أَكلاؤُها العُلا

وَما قَد أَصابَت في الشِتاءِ مِنَ العُضِّ

Her rich forage in protected pastures had built her up,

and the crushed date-stone fodder she found in winter.

فَما زالَ سَيري يَنتَقي مُخَّ عَظمِها

وَأُعذِرُ مِنها في السَنامِ وَفي النَحضِ

But my journey kept drawing the marrow from her bones,

and I exhausted her utterly, in hump and flesh,

مِنَ الجَهدِ حَتّى عادَ غَثّاً سَمينُها

رَذِيَّةَ أَسفارٍ أَضَرَّ مِنَ النَقضِ

through toil, until her fat flesh turned lean,

a journey-wrecked beast, more wasted than a worn-out camel.

إِذا أَحنَقَت أَدرَجتُ فَضلَ زِمامِها

فَجالَ عَلَيها الضَفرُ حَولاً مِنَ الغَرضِ

When she grew gaunt, I wound up the slack of her rein,

and the plaited cord circled her in place of a girth.

بِتِلكَ الَّتي أَقضي هُمومي وَبِغيَتي

إِذا رَضِيَ المَثلوجُ بِالطُعمِ وَالحَفضِ

On her I settle my cares and attain my desire,

when the dullard is content with food and household goods.