على أثلات الواديين سلام — Al Tughrai

على أثَلاتِ الواديينِ سَلامُ

وبعضُ تحايا الزائرينَ غَرامُ

Peace upon the tamarisks of the two valleys;

And some visitors' greetings are passion.

تذكّرتُ أيامي بها وأحبَّتِي

إِذِ العيشُ غَضٌّ والزمانُ غُلامُ

I remembered my days there and my loved ones,

When life was fresh and time a youth;

وإِلمامتي بالحيِّ حيثُ تواجهتْ

قصورٌ بأكنافِ الحِمَى وخيامُ

And my visit to the encampment, where facing one another stood

Palaces along the sanctuary's edges, and tents.

ألامُ على هِجرانهمْ وهمُ المُنَى

وكيف يُقيمُ الحرُّ وهو يُضَامُ

I am blamed for forsaking them, though they are all I desire;

And how can a free man stay while being wronged?

هُمُ شَرعوا أنَّ الجَفاءَ محلَّلٌ

وهمْ حكموا أن الوفاءَ حَرامُ

They decreed that estrangement was lawful,

And they ruled that fidelity was forbidden.

بقلبي رَوْحٌ منهمُ وضمانةٌ

وعنديَ بُرءٌ منهمُ وسَقامُ

In my heart, from them, are solace and lasting sickness;

And I have from them both healing and disease.

وأبلجُ أمّا وجهه حين يجتلى

فشمسٌ وأمّا كفُّه فغَمامُ

And a radiant man—as for his face when beheld,

It is a sun; as for his palm, it is a rain cloud.

جرى طائري منه سنيحاً وعلَّنِي

بدَرِّ أيادٍ ما لهنَّ فِطامُ

My omen-bird flew auspiciously from him; he gave me draught after draught

Of the milk of favors that know no weaning.

وأنزلني منه بألطفِ منزلٍ

كما مُزِجتْ بابنِ الغمامِ مُدامُ

And he lodged me with him in the gentlest abode,

As wine is mingled with the cloud's son.

شردتُ عليه غيرَ جاحِد نعمةٍ

أكَلَّفُ خسفاً بعدَهُ وأُسَامُ

I broke away from him, not denying his bounty;

Am I to be burdened with abasement after him, and made to suffer it?

وقد يُسلبُ الرأيَ الفتَى وهو حازمٌ

وينبُو غِرارُ السيف وهو حُسامُ

And a young man may be robbed of judgment, though resolute,

And a sword's edge may fail to bite, though it is keen.

فقد وجدَ الواشونَ سُوقاً ونفَّقُوا

بضائعَ زُورٍ مالهنَّ دَوامُ

For the slanderers found a market, and sold

Wares of falsehood that cannot last.

وبعضُ كلامِ القائلينَ تزَيُّدٌ

وبعضُ قَبولِ السامعين أثامُ

And some speakers' words are exaggeration,

And some listeners' acceptance is sin.

فأصبحَ شملُ الأُنسِ وهو مُبَدَّدٌ

لديهِ وحبلُ القُربِ وهو رِمامُ

So the ties of companionship lay scattered

With him, and the cord of closeness lay in rotten shreds.

يُقَرَّبُ دوني من شَهِدتُ وغُيِّبُوا

ويوصَلُ قبلي من سَهِرتُ ونامُوا

Those kept away while I attended are drawn close instead of me,

And those who slept while I kept vigil receive favor before me.

تَزاورَ حتى ما يُرجَّى التفاتُهُ

وأَعرضَ حتى ما يُرَدُّ سَلامُ

He turned aside until no glance from him could be hoped for,

And turned away until no greeting was returned.

فلا عطفَ إِلّا سخطةٌ وتنكّرٌ

ولا ردَّ إِلّا ضَجرةٌ وسَآمُ

So there was no tenderness, only anger and estrangement,

And no response, only vexation and weariness.

فإنِ يَكُ رأيٌ زَلَّ أو قَدَرٌ جَرى

بنازلةٍ فيها عليَّ مَلامُ

If a judgment went astray, or fate brought

A calamity for which blame falls on me,

فواللّهِ ما قارفتُ فيك خيانةً

أُعابُ بها في مَحْفِلٍ وأُذامُ

Then, by God, I committed no treachery against you

For which I could be faulted in an assembly and condemned.

ولا قرَّ لي بعدَ التفرُّق مضجعٌ

ولا طابَ لي بعد الرحيل مقامُ

And no bed has given me rest since our parting,

And no abode has pleased me since my departure.

ولا ليَ إِلّا في ولائِكَ مَسرْحٌ

ولا ليَ إِلّا في هواك مَسَامُ

And I have no pasture save in loyalty to you,

And no grazing ground save in loving you.

وإِن أكُ قد فارقتُ بابكَ طائعاً

فللدهرِ في الشملِ الجميع عَرَامُ

And if I left your door willingly,

For time wreaks havoc on a united company.

فقبلِيَ ما خلَّى عليّاً شقيقُهُ

وقرَّ بهِ بعدَ العراقِ شآمُ

For before me, his own brother forsook Ali,

And Syria gave him rest after Iraq.

حياءً فإِنّ الصفْحَ خيرُ مغبَّةٍ

ومعذرةً إِنّ الكرامَ كرامُ

Show modesty, for pardon has the best outcome,

And grant forgiveness: the noble are noble.

ألمنا وأعذرتُمْ فإِن تبلُغوا المَدى

من العتبِ نُعْذَرْ دونكمْ وتُلامُوا

We have suffered, and you were justified; if you go to the utmost

In reproach, we will be excused instead of you, and you will be blamed.

وأحسنتمُ بَدءاً فهلّا أعدْتُمُ

ففي العَودِ للفعلِ الجميل تَمامُ

And you did good at first—why not do so again?

For repeating a noble deed brings it to perfection.

أُجلُّكَ أنْ ألقاك بالعُذرِ صادقاً

وبعضُ اعتذارِ المذنبينَ خِصامُ

I revere you too much to face you with an excuse, though truthful;

And some offenders' apologies are disputation.

أتبعدُ حتى ليس في العَتْبِ مطمعٌ

وتُعرِضُ حتى ما تكادُ تُرامُ

Will you withdraw so far that reproach offers no hope,

And turn away until you can scarcely be approached?

وتنسَى حقوقي عندَ أولِ زَلَّةٍ

وأنتَ لأهلِ المكرماتِ إِمامُ

And forget my rights at the first misstep,

Though you lead those who do noble deeds?

ألمْ ألقَ فيك الأسرَ وهو مبرّحٌ

وألتذُّ طعمَ الموتِ وهو زُؤامُ

Have I not suffered captivity for your sake, though agonizing,

And relished the taste of death, though swift and terrible,

وأخطُ سوادَ الليل وهو جَحافلٌ

وأرعَ نجومَ الأفقِ وهي سِهامُ

And strode through the blackness of night, though it was massed armies,

And watched the stars on the horizon, though they were arrows?

هو الذنبُ بين العفو والسيفِ فاحتكمْ

بما شئتَ لا يَعْلَقْ بفعلِك ذَامُ

The fault lies between pardon and the sword: judge

As you wish; let no blame attach to your deed.

ولا تُبْلِني بالبعدِ عنك فإِنَّما

حياتيَ إِلّا في ذُراكَ حِمامُ

And do not afflict me with distance from you, for

My life, outside your shelter, is death.

إِذا ما جزيتَ السوءَ بالسوءِ لم يكنْ

لفضلكَ بين الأكرمينَ مَقامُ

If you repay wrong with wrong, there will be

No place for your excellence among the most generous.

أعِدْ نظراً في حالتي تلقَ باطناً

سليماً وسرِّي ما عليه قَتَامُ

Look again into my condition: you will find an inner self

Pure, and my hidden self with no dust upon it.

فمثُلكَ لم تغلِبْ عوائدُ سخطهِ

رضاهُ ولم يبعُدْ لديه مَرامُ

For in one like you, recurring fits of anger have never overcome

His goodwill, nor has a goal been beyond reach with him.

ولا تنكرنْ فيما تسخّطتَ ساعةً

فقد مرَّ عامٌ في رِضاكَ وعامُ

And do not disown me for an hour's displeasure;

For a year, and another year, have passed in your favor.

وإِنْ عزَّ ما أرجوهُ منك فإِنَّنِي

لَتُقنعني تسليمةٌ ولِمَامُ

And if what I hope for from you is hard to obtain, then I

Would surely be content with a greeting and a brief visit.

فلا تُشعرنّي عزةَ اليأسِ إِنَّما

أمامي وراءٌ والوراءُ أمامُ

So do not make me feel the might of despair; indeed,

What is before me is behind, and what is behind is before.

أترضَى لفضلي أن يضيعَ ذمِامُه

ومثلُكَ لم يُخْفَرْ لديهِ ذِمامُ

Would you let my merit's claim to protection be lost,

When no pledge has ever been broken in the care of one like you?

وتحجبُني حتى تهدَّ مناكبي

بابك ما بينَ الوفودِ زِحامُ

And bar me until my shoulders batter down

Your door, though no throng of delegations crowds it?

فإنْ نِمتَ عنّي واطَّرحْتَ وسائلي

فللهِ عينٌ ما تكادُ تنامُ

So if you sleep, heedless of me, and cast aside my pleas,

Then God has an eye that scarcely sleeps.