حازك البين حين أصبحت بدرا — Al Tohami

حازكِ البين حينَ أَصبَحتِ بَدراً

إِنَّ لِلبَدرِ في التَنَقُلِ عُذرا

Parting claimed you when you had become a full moon.

The full moon has an excuse for moving about.

فارحَلي إِن أَردت أَو فأقيمي

أَعظَمَ الله للهوى فيَّ أجرا

Depart if you wish, or else remain;

may God grant love great recompense for losing me.

لا تَقولي لِقاؤُنا بَعدَ عَشرٍ

لست مِمن يَعيش بَعدَكِ عَشرا

Do not say, “We shall meet after ten”;

I am not one to live ten without you.

كُلَّما قُلت قد تَنَكَّر قَلبي

مِن هَوىً خلته تَعَلَّق أخرى

Whenever I say my heart has grown estranged

from one love, I think it has fallen for another woman.

لَيسَ يَخلو في كُل حينٍ وَوَقتٍ

مِن غَرامٍ وَلَيسَ يَسمَع زَجرا

Never, at any moment or time, is it free

of passion, nor will it heed a rebuke.

وَهوَ مَع ما بهِ أُلوفٌ إِذا فا

رق إِلفاً فَلَيسَ يَملِك صَبرا

Yet, for all it suffers, it is devoted; when it parts

from a companion, it cannot muster patience.

هَمُّهُ كل غادة تَشبه اللؤ

لؤ مِنها لَوناً وَلَفظاً وَثَغرا

Its longing is for every graceful maiden, pearl-like

in her hue, her words, and her teeth.

ذاتَ وَجهٍ يَجلو لَك الشمس وَهناً

تَحتَ فرع يَدجي لَك الليل ظُهرا

With a face that unveils the sun for you at night,

beneath tresses that bring night's darkness at noon.

قمر فَوقَ غُصن بانَ رَطيبٍ

سحر العالمين باللفظ سحرا

A moon above a supple bān-tree branch,

enchanting all mankind with the magic of speech.

حدر الدمعُ كحلَها فَوقَ خَدٍ

كانَ طَرساً في الحُسنِ وَالدَمعِ سَطرا

Tears drew her kohl down across a cheek

that was beauty's page, with tears a line of writing.

إِنَّ يَومَ الفِراق غَير حَميدٍ

رَدَّ جِزعَ العُيونِ بِالدَمعِ دُرّا

The day of parting is indeed unblessed:

it turned the eyes' onyx into pearls through weeping.

مَنَعَ الغَمضَ حينَ أَمسى وَأَضحى

سالِكاً بَينَ كُلِّ جَفنين بَحرا

It barred sleep, evening and morning,

sending a sea between each pair of eyelids.

كل جفن يَرى أَخاهُ وَلا يَسطي

عُ خَوضاً وَلا يُصادِف عبرا

Each eyelid sees its fellow but cannot

wade across or find a passage.

وَلِعَهدي بِعاذِل ليَ فيها

ظلَّ يَوم الفراق ينشد صَبرا

I well remember one who reproached me for loving her:

on parting day he kept calling for patience,

سائِلاً ساءَل المَدامِعَ لَمّا

نهرته أَجرى لَهُ النَهرُ نَهرا

beseeching, he questioned the tear ducts; when

they rebuffed him, their rebuff made a river flow for him.

إِنَّ خَلفَ الميعادِ مِنكَ طِباعٌ

فعدينا إِذا تَفَضَّلتَ هَجرا

It is your nature to break your promises;

so, if you would be gracious, promise us estrangement.

وَسقام الجفون اسفمني فيكَ فل

يتَ الجفون تبرى فأبرا

The languor of your eyelids has made me ill for you; would

that those eyelids healed, so I might heal.

هَل أَعارَت خَيالك الريح ظَهراً

فَهوَ يَغدو شَهراً وَيَرتاح شَهرا

Did the wind lend your phantom its back,

so that it travels for a month and rests a month?

زارَني في دِمَسقَ مِن أَرض نَجدٍ

لَكَ طَيفٌ أَسرى فَفكَّكَ أَسرى

In Damascus, from the land of Najd, there visited me

a night-traveling phantom of yours that freed me from captivity.

زارَني موهِناً يُريدُ وِصالي

وَهوَ مُذ كانَ بِالقَطيعَةِ مُغرى

It visited me late at night, seeking union with me,

though it has always been enamored of estrangement.

وَأَتاني وَاللَيل كالقار لَوناً

فَبإِشراقِ وَجهِهِ عادَ فَجرا

It came to me when the night was pitch-black,

and its face's radiance turned the night to dawn.

فاجتَلَينا بدور نَجد بِأَرض الش

امِ بَعدَ الهُدوِّ بَدراً فَبَدرا

So we beheld the moons of Najd in the land of

al-Shām, after all was still, one moon after another.

وَأَرادَ الخيال لَثمي فَصيَّرتُ

لِثامي دونَ المَراشِفِ سترا

The phantom sought to kiss me, so I made

my veil a screen before my lips.

فاصرِفي الكأسَ مِن رَضابك عَنّي

حاشَ لِلَّهِ أَن أُرشَّفَ خَمرا

Turn the cup of your saliva away from me;

God forbid that I be given wine to sip!

وَلَو أَنَّ الرِضاب غير مُدامٍ

لَم تَكوني في حالة الصَحوِ سَكرى

Were that saliva anything but wine,

you would not be drunk in a state of sobriety.

قَد كَفانا الخيال وَلَو زُر

تِ لأَصبَحتِ مِثلَ طَيفِكِ ذِكرى

The phantom has sufficed us; even if you were to

visit, you would become a memory, just like your phantom.

يا ابنَةَ العامريّ كُفّي فَإِنّي

لا أُرى خاضِعاً وَلَو مُتُّ قَهرا

Daughter of al-ʿĀmirī, desist, for I

will not be seen submissive, though I die under duress.

قَد جَذعت الزَمان عَوماً وَخوضاً

وَجرعت الخُطوبَ حُلواً وَمُرّاً

I have crossed time by swimming and wading,

and swallowed calamities, sweet and bitter.

وَبلوت الزَمان حَتّى لو ار

تابَ بِأَمرٍ شَفيته مِنهُ خُبرا

I have tested time so thoroughly that, should it

doubt a matter, I could cure its doubt with knowledge.

فَإِذا العَيشُ في الغِنى فَإِذا فا

تَكَ فالحَظ بِعَينِكَ العيش شَزرا

Life lies in wealth; and if it

escapes you, look askance at life.

عَدَّ ذا الفَقرِ ميتاً وَكَساهُ

كَفناً بالياً وَمأواهُ قَبرا

It counted the poor man dead and clothed him

in a tattered shroud, with a grave for his home.

وَإِذا شِئتَ مَعدِناً مِن نُضارٍ

فاشهَرِ البُترَ إِنَّ في البُترِ تِبرا

If you seek a mine of pure gold,

unsheathe the cleaving swords: in swords lies raw gold.

واجنُبِ الخَيلَ فَوقَ كُلِّ نجاةٍ

تَكتَسي بِالسَرابِ طوراً وَتعرى

Lead the horses alongside, mounted on swift she-camels

now clothed in mirage, now laid bare.

كُلَّما مَرَّتِ الرِكابُ بِأَرضٍ

كتبت أَسطُراً مِن الدَمِ حَمرا

Whenever the riding-camels passed over land,

they wrote red lines of blood;

ثُمَّ أتبعتها الحَوافِر نقطاً

فَغَدَت تنقري لِمَن لَيسَ يقرا

then hooves followed those lines with dots,

and they grew legible even to one who cannot read.

تَتَبارى بكل خَبتٍ رَحيبٍ

يَشبَه ابن الحسين خلقاً وَصَدرا

They race across every spacious lowland,

like Ibn al-Ḥusayn in character and breadth of heart.

لو تكلَّفنه خَيالات حُبٍّ

أَصبَحَت دونَهُ لَواغِب حَسرى

If the phantoms of love attempted it,

they would fall short of it, exhausted and spent.

فإِذا قابلت محمداً العيسُ

فَقَبِّل مَناسِم العيس شُكرا

When the pale camels encounter Muḥammad,

kiss the camels' padded feet in gratitude.

إِنَّ أَمراً حَدا إِلَيهِ رِكابي

هوَ بي مُحسِنٌ وَلَو كانَ شَرّا

Whatever circumstance drove my riding-camels toward him

has treated me kindly, even if it was evil.

مَن إِذا شِمتُ وَجهَهُ بَعدَ عُسرٍ

قلب اللَه ذَلِكَ العُسرَ يُسرا

Whenever I glimpse his face after hardship,

God turns that hardship into ease.

وَإِذا قَلَّ نَيلُهُ كانَ بَحراً

وَإِذا ضاقَ صَدره كانَ بَرّا

When his bounty is meager, it is still a sea;

when his breast is narrow, it is still an open land.

وَإِذا فاضَ في نَوالٍ وَبَأسٍ

غَرَّقَ الخافِقينَ نَفعاً وَضرا

When he overflows in bounty and might,

he floods the East and West with benefit and harm.

بأسُ من يأمَن المَنيَّة في الحَر

ب وَجَدوى مَن لَيسَ يَحذَرُ فَقرا

The might of one secure from death in

battle, and the bounty of one who fears no poverty.

ملكِ بِشرُه يبشِّر راجيهِ

وَلِلغَيث قَبلَ يمطر بُشرى

A king whose cheerful welcome brings glad tidings to those hoping in him;

and rain has glad tidings before it falls.

يخبرُ البِشرُ مِنهُ عَن عتق أَصلٍ

إِنَّ في الصارِمِ العتَيق لأَثَرا

His smiling welcome tells of noble stock:

a blade of noble make surely bears a mark.

صحة من ولادة عنونته

بحروفٍ من النُبوَّة تُقرا

Soundness of birth has marked him

with legible letters of prophethood.

وَلَهُ رؤيَة تَقود إِلَيهِ

طاعَةَ العالَمينَ طوعاً وَقَسرا

He has a vision that brings to him

the obedience of all mankind, willing or compelled.

هوَ بَعض النَبيِّ وَاللَه قَد صا

غَ جَميع النَبيِّ وَالبَعض ظُهرا

He is part of the Prophet; and God has indeed

fashioned the Prophet, whole and part, as a bulwark.

وابن بنت النَبيِّ مشبهه عِلماً

وَحِلماً واسِماً وَسِرّاً وَجَهرا

The son of the Prophet's daughter resembles him in knowledge,

forbearance, name, in private and in public.

نسب لَيسَ فيهِ إِلّا نبيٌّ

أَو إِمام مِنَ العُيوبِ مُعَرّى

A lineage with none in it but a prophet

or an imam free of faults.

ضمنت راحَتاهُ جوداً معيناً

فَهوَ يَزداد حينَ يَنزَح غزرا

His two palms hold generosity like flowing water;

it grows more abundant the more it is drawn.

وَلَدَيهِ دنياً لِمَن رام دنيا

وَلَدَيهِ أُخرىً لِمَن رامَ أخرى

With him is this world for whoever seeks this world;

with him the next for whoever seeks the next.

قسمت باعه العلى فَغَدى

لِليُمنِ يَمنىً وَلِليُسرِ يُسرى

Glory has apportioned his reach, so he has become

a right hand for blessing, a left hand for ease.

أَقفَلَ الحُلمُ سَمعَهُ عَن قَبيحٍ

إِنَّ في أَكثَر الوِقار لوقرا

Forbearance has locked his hearing against ugliness:

in much dignity there is surely deafness.

مُستَمِداً إِذا استَمَدَّ بِعَزمٍ

يَترك اللَيلَ بالإِضاءَةِ فَجرا

When he seeks aid, he draws it from a resolve

that turns the night, by its radiance, into dawn.

وَإِذا راش بِالأَنامِلِ مِنهُ

قلماً واستَمَدَّ ساءَ وَضَرّا

And when, with his fingers, he feathers

a pen and draws ink, he inflicts hurt and harm—

قلماً دَبَّرَ الأَقاليم حَتّى

قالَ فيهِ أَهل التَناسُخِ إِمرا

a pen that governed the provinces, until

believers in transmigration spoke wonders of it.

يَتبَع الرُمح أَمرَهُ إِنَّ عِشر

نَ ذِراعاً بِالرأي تَخدِمُ شبرا

The lance obeys its command: twenty

cubits, through judgment, serve a handspan.

مَدَّتِ العُمرَ مَدَّةٌ مِنهُ في السِلمِ

وَأُخرى في الحَربِ تَبترُ عُمرا

One stroke of it extends life in peace;

another, in war, cuts a life short.

وَتَرى في شباته الرُزء وَالرِ

زقُ وَفيها البوارُ وَالبِرُّ مجرى

In its nib you see loss and

livelihood; ruin and kindness flow through it.

ظَفِراً في يَدِ الأَمانيَ تَلقاهُ

وَتَلقاهُ لِلمَنِيَّةِ ظُفرا

In the hand of hopes, you find it triumph;

and for death, you find it a talon.

لا تقيم الأَموال عِندَكَ يَوماً

فَإِلى كَم يَكون مالِك سفرا

Wealth never stays with you a day;

how long must your money remain on its travels?

أَنصِفِ المال مِن نوالك يا مَن

بيديه أَمرُ المَظالِمِ طُرّا

Grant wealth redress against your bounty, O you

in whose hands lies the judgment of all grievances.

جُرتَ في بَذلِهِ واحكامك الع

دلَ فَإِن كانَ قَد أَساءَ فَغُفرا

You have wronged it in giving it away, though your judgments are

justice itself; if it has sinned, then pardon it.

تَرتَقي الدَست وَالمَنابِر وَالخَ

يل فَتَختال كُلَّها بِكَ كِبرا

You mount the throne, the pulpits, and

horses; all of them strut proudly because of you.

لَو جَرى في المَنابِرِ الروحُ ظَلَّت

مِن سواكُم عيدانها تتبرّا

If spirit coursed through the pulpits, their wood would

disown everyone but you.

مُرتَقىً سَنَّهُ جُدودَكَ للِنّا

سِ فَأَنتُم بِهِ أَحَقُّ وَأَحرى

A height your forefathers established for

the people: you have the greater right and claim to it.

كُلَّما اعتاق همتي بحر يأسٍ

مَدَّ مِن فَوقِهِ رَجاؤُكَ جِسرا

Whenever a sea of despair impeded my ambition,

hope in you stretched a bridge above it.

وَالتَقى بي في كل أَرضٍ ثَناء

لك أَهدي مِنَ النُجومِ وَأَسرى

In every land I have encountered praise

of you—more guiding than the stars, farther-traveling by night.

وَعَجيبٌ أَني اعتَمَدت بنظمي

أَحسَن العالَمين نظماً وَنَثرا

A wonder, that with my verse I have approached

the world's finest in verse and prose!

فَكَأنّي حبوت داود دَرعاً

بَعدَما لَيَّن الحَديد وَأَجرى

It is as though I gave David a coat of mail

after he had softened iron and made it flow.

وَمِنَ الشعر في الحَضيض حضيض

وَمِنَ الشعر في الكَواكِبِ شِعرى

Some poetry is lowly in the depths;

some poetry is Sirius among the stars.

وادِّعائي لِلنَّقدِ عندك لغو

أَنتَ أَهدى لما يُقال وَأَدرى

My claim to critical judgment before you is idle:

you better discern what is said, and know it better.

أَنتَ بحر النَدى فَلا زلت مداً

لا رَأَينا بِساحِلٍ لَكَ جَزرا

You are the sea of bounty; may you ever be at flood,

may we never see an ebb along your shore.