تلاف فلانا وأخلف فلانا — Al Tutili

تلافَ فُلاناً وَأَخْلِفْ فلانا

كَفضانا مَنًى وَكَفَانا امْتِنَانا

Restore so-and-so, and replace so-and-so.

[Unclear opening] wishes, and spared us reminders of favors.

وطاولْ بعمرِكَ عُمْرَ السُّهَى

فَأَبْلِ زَمَاناً وجدِّدْ زمانا

With your lifetime rival the age of al-Suha;

wear out one age and renew another.

ولحْ إنْ خلا الأفقُ منهُ فأنتَ

أَسْنَى كياناً وأَسْمَى مكانا

Shine if the horizon is emptied of it, for you are

more radiant in being and loftier in station.

وأمّا وقد أصبحَ الناسُ مجداً

سَمَاعاً فَكُنْ أنتَ مجداً عيانا

And now that men's glory has become

mere hearsay, be yourself glory witnessed.

وزاحمْ بصرفك صَرْفَ الزمانِ

مُفِيداً مُفَاداً مُعيناً مُعَانا

Contest, through your sway, the sway of time,

giving and receiving, aiding and aided.

وضايِقْهُ في الناسِ جيلاً فجيلا

وطَالبه بالودِّ شَاناً فشانا

Press it hard among men, generation after generation,

and demand affection of it, affair after affair.

وَسَلْهُ على ما أراد الدليلَ

وأَلْزِمْهُ في ما أَبَارَ الضمانا

Ask it for proof of what it intended,

and hold it liable for what it destroyed.

وَرُعه وَدَعْ سَلْمَهُ جَانباً

فلولاك أصْبَح حَرْباً عَوانا

Strike fear into it, and set its peace aside;

without you it would have become a war renewed.

ولا تَتَغَمّدْ له زَلَّةً

فقد كان مما جَنَاهُ وَكانا

Do not overlook a lapse of its,

for that was among what it perpetrated—and so it was.

وَأدْرِكْ لديه ذُحولَ الكرامِ

فَقَدْ غَرَّهُمْ بين أخْنَى وَخَانا

Exact from it the noble men's blood-debts,

for it deceived them, now ravaging, now betraying.

وَأعْدِ عليه بناتِ الهديلِ

عَلَوْنَ فُنُوناً وَنُحْنَ افتنانا

Set against it the daughters of al-Hadil:

they mounted boughs and lamented in varied strains,

ثَكالَى يُرَدِّدْنَ من شَجْوِهِنَّ

أسىً عزَّ فيه التأسي وَهَانا

bereaved mothers repeating, out of their grief,

a sorrow in which consolation was scarce and slight.

لبسنَ الحدادَ مكانَ الحُلِيِّ

فَقُمْنَ يُحَاسِنَّ فيه الحسانا

They donned mourning instead of jewelry,

and in it vied in beauty with beautiful women.

وكم حاسدٍ ظنّهُ زينةً

ويأبى لها ثُكْلُها أن تُزَانا

How many an envier mistook it for adornment,

yet their bereavement refuses them adornment.

وهل هو إلا شجىً لم تُسِغْهُ

فلاحَ بأَجْيادِها وَاسْتَبانا

Is it anything but choking grief they could not swallow,

showing plainly upon their necks?

وسالَ بها سَيلُ دَمْعِ الفراق

فَرِدْهُ تَرِدْ كبداً أو جَنَانا

Through them flowed a torrent of tears of parting;

drink of it, and you reach a liver or a heart,

كما سُوْقَها ومناقيرَهَا

وأعْيُنَها عَنْدماً أو رِقَانا

as on their legs and their beaks,

and their eyes: red dye or saffron.

وإلا تُكَفْكِفْهُ شيئاً يُضَرِّجْ

جآجِئَها والغصونَ اللدانا

Unless you check it a little, it will crimson

their breasts and the supple boughs.

وقد حسدتكِ القيانُ الحنينَ

فهَلاّ حسدتِ السُّرورَ القيانا

The singing girls have envied you your plaintive song;

why have you not envied the singing girls their joy?

صوادحُ إن فَرَعَتْ أيكةً

حسبت لها كلِّ غُصْنٍ كِرَانا

Warblers: when they mount a thicket,

you would take every bough for their lute.

وسائلْهُ ما فَعَلَ القارظانِ

اضَلَّ دليلُهما أمْ تَوَانى

Ask it what became of the two qaraz-gatherers:

did their guide lose his way, or lag behind?

أَلمْ يَجِدَا قَرَظاً منهما

يُريغانِهِ حيثُ مَنْ حَانَ حانا

Did they find no qaraz from those two,

which they sought where whoever was doomed perished?

وأينَ أضلَّ قبيساً أبوه

على أنه ما ألاه حنانا

And where did his father lose Qubays,

though he withheld no tenderness from him?

أَغَادَرَهُ وَالهاً بَعْدَه

وَأَشْمَتَ رضوى به أو ابانا

Did it leave him distraught after his loss,

and cause Radwa or Aban to gloat over him?

وها أمُّ دَفْرٍ لديها ابنُها

وقد أثكلَ ابنيْ عِيانٍ عِياناً

Yet here is Umm Dafr, with her son beside her,

while it has bereaved Iyan of his two sons.

وَأعْفَى من الفُرْقَةِ الفَرْقَدينِ

وسام السمّاكين بَيْناً فَبانا

It spared the Farqadan separation,

but imposed parting on the two Simaks, and they parted.

وَحُدَّ لذي الرمحِ أن لا يَرُوْعَ

أخاهَ فقد جاء يبغي الأمَانا

Decree that the Spear-bearer must not frighten

his brother, who has come seeking safety.

وإلا فَسَلّحْهُ رُمْحاً كَرُمْحٍ

ونبّئْهما أنْ يُجيدا الطّعانا

Otherwise, arm him with a spear to match the spear,

and tell them both to thrust well.

ولو أنّهُ هزَّ يُمناكَ رمحاً

وركّبَ بأْسََ فيه سنانا

Had it wielded your right hand as a spear,

and fitted upon it a spearhead of valor,

لقامَ فَبَدَّدَ شَمْلَ الثريّا

ولو أنّها زَبَنَتْ بالزُّبَانى

it would have risen and scattered the Pleiades,

even if they had sheltered behind al-Zubana.

وَكُرَّ لِطَسْمٍ ليالي جَديسَ

حتى يَدينَ لها أو تُدَانا

Restore to Tasm the nights of Jadis,

until it submits to her, or she is made to submit.

وَخُذه بمدينَ حتى تَعُودَ

وَنَسْراً فَخُذْهُ به والمَدَانا

Hold it to account for Madyan, until she returns,

and Nasr—hold it to account for him and al-Madan.

وما كانَ لي فيهما منْ هَوًى

ولكنْ عَسَى أن يَذُوْقَ الهوانا

I had no affection for either of them,

but perhaps it will taste humiliation.

وكم لي بمدينَ منْ أُسْوَةٍ

ولكنّها غايةٌ لا تُدَانى

How many a consoling example I find in Madyan,

yet hers is an extremity none can approach.

أُهنّيكَ ما شِئْتَ من رِفْعَة

وَشِعْري وَسَعْدَك والمِهْرَجانا

I congratulate you on whatever eminence you wish,

on my verse, your good fortune, and Mihrijan;

وأنك قَارَنْتَها أربعاً

فَأَنْسَيْتَ زُهْرض النُّجومِ القِرانا

and on your uniting these four,

making the bright stars forget conjunction.

وأنّكَ ظَلْتَ لدارِ الملوك

يميناَ وللعلمِ فينا لسانا

And on your remaining, for the house of kings,

a right hand, and among us a tongue for learning;

وللدين رِدْءاً وللمسلمينَ

مآلاً وللحقِّ يَعْلُو وآنا

a support for religion, and for the Muslims

a refuge, and a season for truth to rise;

ودونَ حمى الملك عَضْباً صقيلاً

أذالَ حِمَى كلِّ شيءٍ وَصَانا

and before the royal sanctuary, a keen, polished sword

that profaned every other sanctuary and guarded this one.

من البيضِ راعَ بناتِ الصدورِ

إما سَراراً وإما عِلانا

Among the white blades, it terrified the daughters of the breast,

whether secretly or openly.

جرى مَتْنُهُ وذكَتْ شفرتاهُ

فإن شئتَ رابَ وإن شئتَ رانا

Its back flowed, and its two edges blazed;

if you wished, it alarmed; if you wished, it prevailed.

تأَلَّفَهُ الموتُ ماء وناراً

وأوْلمَ فيه نَدًى أو دُخانا

Death fashioned it as water and fire,

and made within it a feast of dew or smoke.

وليس كما خِلتَهُ إنما

هو الموتُ أَبْهَمَهُ أو أَبانا

It is not what you imagined; rather,

it is death, concealed or laid bare.

ولما جلا غمدُهُ رَوضَةً

طَواه بها حَيّةً أُفْعُوانا

And when its sheath displayed a garden,

within it, it folded a serpent, a deadly viper.

كَعَزْمِكَ لو أَنه لا يُفَلُّ

كهمكَ لو أنه لا يُفانى

Like your resolve, if only it could never be blunted;

like your ambition, if only it could never perish.

ركبتَ الخطوبَ وأَرْكَبْتَها

تكفُّ الجماحَ وَتُكفَى الحِرانا

You rode calamities and made others ride them,

curbing their bolting, spared their balking.

وأشْبَهْتَ آباءك الأكْرَمينَ

عِرْضاً عزيزاً ومالاً مُهانا

You resembled your most noble forefathers:

an honor held dear, and wealth held cheap.

وأحسنتَ بينَ النَّدى والنَّدِيِّ

حييّاً وَقاحاً جريّاً جبانا

You excelled alike in bounty and in the assembly,

modest, unabashed, daring, timid.

وكان الربيعُ ربيعَ الأنامِ

وكنتَ به بِشْرَه الأْضحِيانا

Al-Rabi was the spring of mankind,

and through him you were his radiant joy.

تسابِقُهُ في مَدَى كلِّ مجدٍ

أما لو أردتَّ لردَّ الرِّهانا

You race him in the arena of every glory;

indeed, had you wished, he would have surrendered the stakes.

وصبَّحْتَ أُقليشَ في جَحْفَلٍ

أغَصَّ الوهادَ وآدَ الرِّعانا

You came upon Uqlish at dawn with a mighty host

that choked the lowlands and burdened the mountain spurs,

بكلِّ كميٍّ يروعُ الأسودَ

خِماصاً ويَرعى عليها بِطانا

with every armored warrior terrifying lions

hungry, and shepherding them when full;

على كلِّ نَهْدٍ أمامَ الرياح

وزاد عليها القَرا واللَّبانا

upon each stout steed ahead of the winds,

and adding to them a back and a breast.

يجرُّ العِنانَ إلى كلِّ حَرْبٍ

مَرَتْهُ فدونكَ منْهُ عنانا

It drags its reins toward every war

that urges it on—take, then, its rein.

هي الضمَّرُ الغُلْبُ فاصْدِمْ بها

صفاً واثنِ أعطافَها خَيْزُرانا

These are lean, thick-necked steeds: dash them against

rock, and bend their sides like bamboo.

فأُبْتَ وغادرتَ تلك الديارَ

عِجافاً تَهادَى خُطُوباً سمانا

You returned, leaving those lands

gaunt, gifting one another fat calamities.

إذا هيَ لم تُفْهِمِ السائلينَ

كان لها سيفُكَ التُرجمانا

If they could not make themselves understood to questioners,

your sword was their interpreter.

ورثتَ الوزارةَ لا مُحصَراً

عيياً ولا مُستضاماً هِدَانا

You inherited the vizierate, neither tongue-tied

and inept, nor oppressed and meek.

وآزرتها بأبي عامرٍ

فمن شاءَ أنأَى ومن شاءَ دانى

You strengthened it through Abu Amir;

whoever wished kept far, and whoever wished drew near.

حَمَيْتَ بها حَوْزَةَ المكرُمَاتِ

ليثاً هصوراً وَقرْماً هِجانا

Through it you defended the domain of noble deeds,

a crushing lion, a purebred camel-stallion.

وأشْهَدْتَنا منه يوماً تَعالى

فذلَّ الزمانُ له واستكانا

You made us witness a day of his that rose so high

that time bowed before it and submitted.

نَثَرَنا له زَهَراتِ النجومِ

إذا نثروا لؤلؤاً أو جُمَانا

We scattered for him the blossoms of the stars

when others scattered pearls or pearl beads.

ودارتْ علينا حُميّا السرور

بَعْدَ الكؤوسِ فهاتِ الدنانا

The heady heat of joy passed round among us;

after the cups, bring on the wine jars.

وحدِّثْ عن الدَّهْرِ طُولاً وعَرْضاً

وَعَنْ صرْفِهِ عِزَّةً وامتهانا

Speak of time at length and breadth,

and of its vicissitudes, in honor and abasement.

وقُل وأعِدْ عنه لا عن جِفانٍ

وزد حُبْسَةً فيه تزَدَدْ بياناً

Speak, and repeat, of it—not of serving bowls;

pause more over it, and your eloquence will grow.

فما كلُّ من قالَ يَنْمي الحديثَ

ولا كل مَنْ سالَ يُهْدَى البيانا

Not everyone who speaks can convey a tale,

nor is everyone who asks granted eloquence.

عجبت لجانبه ما أشدَّ

أأمرٌ عَنى أم أميرٌ أعانا

I marveled at his bearing—how stern!

Was it an affair that troubled him, or an emir who helped?

أما طَيَشتْ لُبَّهُ نَظْرةٌ

على خطّة كلّما اشتدَّ لانا

Did not a glance scatter his wits

upon a course where, the sterner he grew, the softer he became?

أرَتْهُ النجومَ تُسامي السَّراةَ

وابن ذُكاءٍ يُسامُ الختانا

It showed him stars vying with noble chiefs,

and the son of Dhuka subjected to circumcision.

فأَجرى النعيمَ دماً آنياً

ليومٍ من العيشةِ الرَّغْدِ آنا

So he made bliss flow as seething blood

for a day of easy living that had come.

بحيثُ أتَوْا بالرُّبَى والوهادِ

فحسب العُلا جفنةً أو خُوانا

There they brought the uplands and the lowlands,

and he thought eminence a serving bowl or table.

وقاموا فحثّوا المنى أَكؤساً

فهاكَ ولو مزجوها ثُمَانى

They rose and urged their wishes onward in cups:

take them, even if they mixed them eightfold.

وَحَيّوْا ولا مِسْكَ إلا الشبابُ

فإنْ شيتَ فالبَسْ له عُنْفُوانا

Offer greetings—there is no musk but youth;

if you wish, clothe yourself in its first vigor.

أيا ابنَ الجحاجحةِ الأشعرينَ

دعوةَ صدقٍ وَمَنْ مانَ مانا

O son of the mighty Ash'ari chiefs,

a truthful claim—and whoever lies has lied.

ويا با الحسينِ ويا ابنَ الربيع

وناهيكَ أسبابَ مجدٍ مِتَانا

O Abu al-Husayn, O son of al-Rabi:

these sturdy cords of glory suffice you.

إليكَ وإنْ رَغِمَ الكاشحونَ

وُدّاً صحيحاً وَشِعْراً قُرانا

To you, though the spiteful are humbled,

sincere affection and verse joined together:

قَوَافيَ كالشُّهْبِ لكنَّ تلك

تُصَانُ فَهَبْ هذه أنْ تُصانا

rhymes like shooting stars—yet those

are guarded; grant that these too be guarded.

تُشَمّمُكَ الوردَ والياسمينَ

وإن كانتِ الشّيحَ والأيْهُقانا

They let you smell roses and jasmine,

though they are wormwood and wild rocket.