فؤاد على كر الحوادث مارد — Al Tughrai

فؤادٌ على كَرِّ الحوادثِ مارِدُ

وعَزمٌ على جَوْرِ النوائبِ قاصدُ

A heart defiant against calamities' onslaught,

and resolve steadfast against misfortunes' injustice;

وقلبٌ يَعافُ الضيمَ مرتعُ همِّهِ

ولو رتعَتْ فيهِ الرِقاقُ البواردُ

and a heart that scorns humiliation, a pasture for its cares,

even should slender, cold blades graze within it.

تَنُوءُ به الآمالُ والجَدُّ قاعِدٌ

وتُسْهِرُه العلياءُ والحَظُّ راقدُ

Hopes weigh him down, while good fortune sits idle,

and lofty glory keeps him awake, while luck sleeps.

يحوزُ المُنَى من دونهِ كلُّ وادعٍ

ويُحرَمُ ما دونَ الرِضا وهو جاهدُ

Everyone beneath him, living at ease, wins his wishes,

while he, striving, is denied even less than satisfaction.

بهِ من قِراع الخَطْبِ دَاءٌ مماطلٌ

وليس له إلا الليالي عوائِدُ

From battling misfortune he has a lingering illness,

with no visitors to his sickbed but the nights.

ونفسٌ بأعقابِ الأمور بصيرةٌ

لها من طِلاع الغيب حادٍ وقائدُ

And a soul discerning the outcomes of affairs,

with insight into the unseen as its driver and guide.

عليها طِلابُ العِزِّ من قُذُفَاتِه

وليس عليها أنْ تُنَالَ المقاصِدُ

Its duty is to seek honor in its farthest reaches,

not to ensure that its goals are attained.

ويُطمِعُها في نيلِها العزَّ أنَّها

حليفُ طِرادٍ والمعالي طرائِدُ

What makes it hope to win honor is that it is

a sworn companion of the chase, while lofty attainments are quarry.

إِذا ميَّزتْ بين الأمور وأبصرتْ

مصايرَها هانتْ عليها الشَّدائِدُ

When it distinguishes between affairs and sees

their outcomes, hardships become easy for it.

فتؤثِرُ بَرْحَ الظِمْءِ والرِيُّ فاضح

وتألفُ بؤسَ الجَدْبِ والذُّلُ رائِدُ

It chooses thirst's torment when drinking would disgrace it,

and embraces drought's misery when humiliation scouts the way.

وتأنف أن يَشفي الزلالُ غليلَها

إِذا هيَ لم تشتقْ إليها المواردُ

It disdains to let pure water slake its burning thirst

if the watering places have not yearned for it.

أُولِّي بني الأيام نظرةَ راحمٍ

وإنْ ظنَّتِ الجُهَّالُ أنِّيَ حاسدُ

I turn upon the children of the days a look of pity,

though fools suppose that I am envious.

لهمْ في تضاعيف الرجاءِ مخاوفٌ

ولي في تصاريف الزمان مواعدُ

For them, fears lie folded within hope;

for me, promises lie within time's vicissitudes.

لك اللّه من هَمٍّ به تَسعَدُ العُلَى

وتشقى المهارى والدُّجَى والفدافِدُ

God bless such ambition: through it, high glory rejoices,

while Mahri camels, dark nights, and desert wastes suffer.

يزعزع كيرانَ المَطِيِّ بساهمٍ

علاه شحوبُ المجدِ والمجدُ جاهدُ

It shakes the camels' saddles with a gaunt rider

whom glory's pallor has overspread—for glory is exhausting.

أغرُّ إِذا استغنى به العزمُ لم يكنْ

له عن حياضِ المجدِ والموتِ ذائدُ

A radiant man: when resolve finds its strength in him, there is

none to drive him from the pools of glory and death.

له أربٌ بين الأسِنَّةِ والظُّبَا

إِذا لم يساعدْهُ الحُبَى والوسائِدُ

He has a purpose among spearheads and sword edges

if seated assemblies and cushions do not help him.

فقد لفحتْهُ الهُوجُ وهي سَمائِمٌ

كما نفحَتْهُ النُّكْبُ وهي صَوارِدُ

Raging winds have scorched him when they were searing,

just as crosswinds have buffeted him when bitterly cold.

يَشُقُّ جَنانَ الليلِ عن كلِّ مَهْمَهٍ

يذودُ سوامَ النجمِ والنجمُ ساهدُ

He cleaves the heart of night to reveal each trackless waste,

driving off the grazing herd of stars while the stars keep vigil.

فلا ضجعةٌ والصبحُ شَمْطاءُ حاسِرٌ

ولا هَجْعةٌ والليلُ عذراءُ ناهدُ

No lying down while dawn is a gray-haired, bareheaded woman;

no slumber while night is a maiden with budding breasts.

فأولَى لها من هِمَّةٍ ذُلِّلَتْ لها

صِعابُ العُلَى لولا الزمانُ المعانِدُ

Alas for such ambition, for which would have been tamed

glory's unruly heights, but for defiant time.

أُريحتْ عليه ثَلَّةُ المجدِ إذْ غَدا

لها من معينِ الملْكِ زندٌ وساعِدُ

Glory's flock was brought home to him, when it gained

a forearm and an arm in the helper of kingship.

ولولا تصاريفُ الحوادثِ أُوطِئَتْ

رِقابُ المعالي حيثُ تُرخَى القلائِدُ

But for calamities' vicissitudes, underfoot would have lain

the necks of lofty honors, where necklaces hang.

بهِ اعتذر الأيامُ عن هَفَواتِها

وعُدَّ لها بعدَ المساوي المحامدُ

Through him the days apologized for their lapses,

and virtues were reckoned to their credit after their faults.

ولو أنصفتْ حامتْ عليه فما لها

إِذا حُمِدَتْ إلا بعَلياهُ حامدُ

Had they been fair, they would have hovered around him; for they have,

when praised, no one to praise them but for his greatness.

أساءَ إليها فاستثارتْ صروفَها

صيالَ نزوعِ القلبِ والقلبُ واجدُ

He wronged them, so they roused their reversals

to the charge of one restless-hearted, whose heart is resentful.

وعارضها في صَرْفها فتظاهرتْ

عليه الصروفُ البادياتُ العوائدُ

He opposed them in their turning, so they banded together

against him—the fresh reversals and the returning ones.

برغم العُلَى أن أُشهِد الأمرَ غُيَّبٌ

وغُيِّبَ عنه حاضرُ اللُّبِّ شاهدُ

Against glory's will, absentees were summoned to witness the affair,

while one alert in mind, a true witness, was kept away from it.

وما غابَ حتى طَبَّقَ الأرضَ جُودُهُ

ودانَ لنعماهُ مُقِرٌّ وجاحدُ

He did not disappear until his bounty had covered the earth,

and both acknowledger and denier had bowed to his favors.

تعاوَرهُ غَمْزُ الثِقَافِ فردَّهُ

صَليبٌ على قَرْعِ الحوادثِ ماردُ

The straightening clamp's pressure assailed him repeatedly, but he repelled it—

stout and defiant against calamities' hammering.

وأرهف حدَّيهِ الخطوبُ طوارقاً

كما رقّقتْ متنَ الحُسامِ المبارِدُ

Calamities visiting by night honed both his edges,

as files pare down a sword's blade.

فلا تَشْمتِ الأعداءُ بالطَوْدِ مائِداً

وقد رسختْ أركانُه والقواعِدُ

Let enemies not gloat over the mountain when it sways,

for its pillars and foundations stand firmly rooted.

فما بالحُسامِ المشرفِيّ غَضاضَةٌ

إِذا ردَّهُ يومَ الكريهةِ غامدُ

The Mashrafi sword suffers no disgrace

if someone puts it back in its sheath on the day of battle.

فمنْ مخبِرٌ والقولُ بالغيبِ ظِنَّةٌ

عن الدَّوحِ والأيامُ عُوْجٌ نواكِدُ

Who, then, will bring news—for talk of the unseen is suspect—

of the great tree, while the days are crooked and ill-omened?

هل اخضرَّ من بعدِ التسلُّبِ عُودُهُ

ومدَّ بضبعيهِ الغصونُ الأمالدُ

Has its stem grown green again after being stripped,

and have supple boughs spread its arms wide?

فعهدي على أنّ الحوادثَ جَمَّةٌ

به وهو ريَّانُ العساليجِ مائِدُ

As I remember it, though calamities were many,

its young shoots were lush and it swayed.

وقد يتعَرَّى الغُصْنُ حيناً ويكتسي

نَضارتَهُ ما لم ينلْ منه خاضِدُ

A branch may strip bare for a while and clothe itself again

in its freshness, so long as no lopper reaches it.

بكُرهِيَ أنْ فارقتُ جَوَّ ظِلالِه

كما فقدَ الكَفَّ المنيعةَ ساعدُ

It was against my will that I left the air beneath its shade,

as though a forearm had lost its mighty hand.

تهدَّفتُ للأيامِ بعدَ فِراقِه

إِذا مرَّ منها نازلٌ كَرَّ عائدُ

I became a target for the days after parting from him;

whenever one affliction passed, another returned.

أَمرُّ بذاك الرَّبْعِ ولهَى رياحُهُ

معطلةً أعلامُه والمعاهدُ

I pass that dwelling, its winds distraught,

its landmarks and familiar haunts left desolate.

عَهِدناهُ دَهراً بِالوُفودِ مُعضَّلاً

يُزاحِمُ فيهِ الأَقرَبينَ الأَباعِدُ

We knew it for an age, choked with delegations,

where strangers jostled the nearest kin.

فَلَيسَ يُرى إِلّا شِفاهٌ لَوائِمٌ

تَراهُ خُضوعاً أَو جِباهٌ سَواجِدُ

Nothing was seen but reproachful lips,

beholding him submissively, or foreheads prostrate.

مَواسِمُ جودٍ ما يَغِبُّ وُفودُها

إِذا خَفَّ مِنها راحِلٌ حَطَّ وافِدُ

Festivals of bounty, whose delegations never cease:

whenever one departing traveler set out, an arrival alighted.

إِذا سامَ فيها المُجتَدونَ مَراتِعٌ

وَإِن عاثَ فيها المُعتَدونَ مَآسِدُ

Pastures when bounty-seekers graze there;

lion dens if aggressors wreak havoc there.

تُهالُ عَلى بُعدِ الأَعِزَّةِ وَالسُرى

مَهولٌ وَإِن غابَ الأُسودُ الحوارِدُ

You are awed though the mighty are far away, and night travel

is fearsome even when the raging lions are absent.

مَعارِكُ بِأسٍ في مَآلِفِ صَبوَةٍ

تَجَمَّعُ فيهِنَّ المَعاني الشَوارِدُ

Battlegrounds of valor in the haunts of youthful passion,

where fugitive meanings gather together.

تُغَمغِمُ أَبطالٌ وَتَصهَلٌ قُرَّحٌ

وَتَصخَبُ أَوتارٌ وَتُروى قَصائِدُ

Champions rumble, and mature steeds neigh;

strings resound, and poems are recited.

أَضاءَ لَها بَرقٌ مِنَ العِزِّ خاطِفٌ

وصالَ بِها رَدعٌ مِنَ المَجدِ راكِدُ

A flashing lightning-bolt of honor shone for them,

and glory's steadfast deterrent force held sway within them.

سَقاها رُجوعُ الظاعِنين فَحَسبُها

وَإِن أَخطَأَتها البارِقاتُ الرَواعِدُ

May the return of the departed water them—that would suffice,

even if the flashing, thundering clouds should miss them.

أَقولُ وَأَنضاءُ الأَماني طَلائِعٌ

لَدَيَّ وَأَنيابُ الدَواهي حَدائِدُ

I say—while the spent mounts of hope are scouts

before me, and disasters' fangs are iron;

وَقَد أَصحَرَت مِن جانِبَيَّ مَقاتِلٌ

تُخَضخَضُ فيهِنَّ السِهامُ الصَوارِدُ

while vital spots lie exposed on either side of me,

where piercing arrows are churned about;

وَبَينَ جُفوني لِلدُموعِ مَنابِعٌ

وَتَحتَ ضُلوعي لِلهُمومِ مَراقِدُ

while between my eyelids lie springs for tears,

and beneath my ribs are resting places for sorrows;

وَأَوطَأَني الأَيّامُ أَعقابَ مَعشَرٍ

لَهُم أَوجُهٌ قَد بَرقَعَتها الجَلامِدُ

while the days have made me follow on the heels of men

whose faces boulders have veiled;

فَأَخلاقُهُم بِالمُخزِياتِ رَهائِنٌ

وَأَعراضُهُم لِلمُندِياتِ حَصائِدُ

their characters pledged to shameful deeds,

and their reputations a harvest for disgrace;

يُقَهقِرُ عَن نَيلِ المَعالي خُطاهُمُ

فَسِيّانَ ساعٍ لِلمَعالي وَقاعِدُ

while time drives their steps backward from attaining glory,

so that one striving for glory and one sitting idle are alike—

أَما يَستَفيقُ الدَهرُ عَن نَزَقاتِهِ

فَيُصبِحُ مُستَثنىً لَدَيهِ الأَماجِدُ

Will time not recover from its fits of folly,

so that the noble may stand exempt before it?

أما آن أن تَقْنَى الخطوبُ حياءَها

فَتُدْرَكُ أوتارٌ وتُشْفَى مواجدُ

Has the time not come for calamities to know shame,

so that blood debts are settled and resentments healed?

أما للرِقاقِ المشرفيَّةِ ضاربٌ

أما للعِتَاقِ الهِبْرَذِيَّةِ ناقدُ

Is there no wielder for slender Mashrafi blades?

Is there no assayer for choice Hibridhi gold?

أما جرّدُوه مقضباً وهو ناشِئٌ

أما جَرَّبوه مقنباً وهو واحدُ

Did they not unsheathe him as a keen blade while still young?

Did they not test him as a cavalry troop, though he was one man?

ومُفتَقَر الدنيا إِلى رأيهِ الذي

يُرَدُّ إليه في الأمورِ المقالدُ

By the world's need for his judgment, to which

the keys of affairs are referred,

سيذكُرهُ ذِكْرَ الطّرِيدِ محلَّهُ

عُرَى المُلْكِ مُنْحَلَّاً بهن المعاقدُ

he will be remembered as an exile remembers home

by kingship's bonds, their knots undone.

وتصبُو إليه المكْرُماتُ عواطِلاً

تُزحْزَحُ عن أجيادِهنَّ القلائدُ

Noble deeds will yearn for him, unadorned,

their necklaces shifted from their throats.

ويُبْلِغُه الإقبالُ ما هو ضَامِنٌ

ويُنْجِزُ فيه الجَدُّ ما هو واعدُ

Prosperity will bring him what it guarantees,

and good fortune will fulfill for him what it promises.

وتعتذرُ الأيامُ بعدَ اساءةٍ

فَيُصْحَبُ أبَّاءٌ ويُصْلَحُ فاسدُ

The days will apologize after doing wrong,

and the defiant will be made tractable, the corrupt set right.

فإن الليالي إن أخذنَ خواطِئاً

غوارمُ ما يأخُذْنَهُ فعوامدُ

For the nights, if they take in error,

repay what they take, and do so deliberately.

على ذا مضَى حكمُ الزمإن لأهلهِ

فوادحُ مقرونٌ بهنَّ فوائدُ

Thus has time's decree run for its people:

grave calamities have benefits coupled with them.

وأرفَهُ خَلْقِ اللّهِ راضٍ بعيشةٍ

وأتعبُهم قلباً على الدهر واجدُ

The most at ease of God's creatures is one content with a livelihood;

the most wearied in heart is one resentful of time.

كأنّي به مِلءَ المواكب والحُبَى

تُباهِي به أفراسُه والمساندُ

I seem to see him filling processions and seated assemblies,

his horses and cushions boasting of him.

فما هو إلا البدرُ بعدَ سِرارِهِ

بَدَا وهو مِلْءُ العينِ والقلبُ صاعدُ

He is only the full moon after its dark phase,

risen to fill the eye, while the heart soars.