بدر على غصن ترنح — Alablah Albaghdadi

بدرٌ على غصن ترنَّح

ام ظبية ادماء تسنح

A full moon on a swaying bough—

or a white gazelle crossing into view?

والورد ام خد الحبي

ب وقد تضرح فهو املح

And is that a rose, or the beloved's cheek,

now flushed, and lovelier still?

قبح الصدود بمثله

والعذل منكم فيه أقبح

Disdain ill becomes one like him;

and your reproach over him is uglier still.

برح الخفافي حبه

وإذا بني سقما وبرح

Love for him tormented al-Khaffafi,

and wasted me with sickness and anguish [reading uncertain].

كم بت أغبق خمرة

من فيه صافية وأصبح

How often I passed the night drinking wine,

pure from his mouth, and drinking again at dawn.

ولمقلتي في روضتي

وجناته مرعى ومسرح

And for my eye, in the twin gardens

of his cheeks, are pasture and room to roam.

يا لاهيا جد الغرا

م بعاشقيه وهو يمرح

O heedless one! Passion has grown earnest

with his lovers, while he frolics.

أمسى زناد الشوق يق

دحه عذارك حسين قدح

Longing's flint is now being struck

by your cheek-down, Husayn, striking sparks.

ووشى به بعد اكتتا

م وشيء خديك الملوح

And, after concealment, it was betrayed

by the dark tracery of your cheeks.

كم من دم قلدته

ذاك المقلد والموشح

How much blood have I charged

to that neck and sash-adorned breast!

ولقد وقفت مسائلا

سفح الغضا والعين تسفح

Indeed, I stood questioning

the ghada-covered slope, my eye streaming.

ونزحت جمة مائها

والدار بالأحباب تنزح

And I drained its brimming pool,

while the dwelling, with loved ones, drew away.

ولقد بعثت إلى البخي

ل شرارة للهجو تلفح

Indeed, I sent the miser

a spark of satire that scorches.

وارحت من تاميله

نفسي لأن اليأس اروح

And I relieved, of hoping in him,

my soul, for despair brings greater ease.

وطفقت امتدح العلا

ء ومسلف الإحسان يمدح

And I began praising al-Ala;

one who bestows kindness beforehand merits praise.

صدر لصدر عفاته

بهباته مازال يشرح

A chief who, to his petitioners' hearts,

ever brings relief through his gifts.

جم الأيادي ذو يد

لمغالق الآمال تفتح

Abundant in favors, possessing a hand

that opens the locks of hope.

مستبسر بالوفد بس

سام إذا ما الدهر كلح

Delighted by visiting delegations, ever smiling

whenever time itself scowls.

فل الصفاح برأيه

وغدا عن الجانبين بصفح

He blunted sword-blades with his judgment,

and turned from both sides with pardon.

بحر يطم على البحو

ر بسيب نائله ويطفح

A sea that surges above all seas

with the flood of his bounty, and overflows.

ويكاد من فرطالذكا

ء لمستسر الغيب يلمح

And through his keen intelligence, he almost

glimpses what is concealed in the unseen.

ولدته في حجر النبو

وة زينب فنما وأنجحُ

He was born in the lap of prophethood

to Zaynab; he grew and prospered.

وتقابل الطرفان من

خال ومن عم ممدح

Both sides of his lineage stand matched—

maternal uncle and much-praised paternal uncle.

قوم بهم عرف الصفا

والبيت والركن الممسح

A people through whom al-Safa became known,

and the House, and the Corner touched in reverence.

ولي القضاء وكان أو

لي من لمنصبه ترشحُ

He held the judgeship, and was the worthiest

of those who sought its office.

فأنار نور العدل حي

ن دجت نواحيه وأصبح

Then justice's light shone, when

its precincts had grown dark, and day broke.

يا واصلا قطع الفيا

في صَحصَحا من بعد صحصع

O you who keep crossing the deserts,

one barren plain after another,

تحطو به عيرانة

كالهِقل أو جَرداء شرمح

a hardy she-camel strides along with him,

like a male ostrich—or a tall, sleek mare.

طيّان يطرح نفسه

للعدم آية كلّ مطرح

Famished, he casts himself

into destitution, a sign at every stopping-place.

يرجو الندى من أوجه

منها مياه اللوم تنضح

He hopes for bounty from faces

that drip the waters of reproach.

أترك هشيم النَّبت لل

رّواد حين ذَوَى وصوّح

Leave the brittle herbage to

the pasture-seekers, since it has withered and dried.

وأربع بربع الزينبّ

ي متاجراً بالمدح تربح

And stay in al-Zaynabi's abode;

trade in praise, and you will profit.

واشك الهموم إليه وأط

رح ثقلها بفناه وأفرح

Confide your cares to him, and cast

their burden in his courtyard, and rejoice.

فهناك عذر ضيِّق

لمتوج ناديه أفيح

For there is little excuse

for a crowned lord whose court is spacious.

وَعَليَّ إنك بعد أن

تلقاه لا تكدى فتكدح

And I pledge that, after

you meet him, you will not be denied and left to struggle.

لك يا أبا نصر الوقو

رَ الثَّبت أن طود تزحزح

Yours, Abu Nasr, dignified

and steadfast though a mountain shift,

بشر يصرح بالغنى

واليسر إن راجيك لوح

is a cheerful mien proclaiming wealth

and ease whenever your petitioner gives a sign.

وأبيك لو وزنوا وقا

رك بالجبال لكان أرجحَ

By your father, were they to weigh your dignity

against the mountains, it would outweigh them.

هذا ولو فاصحت قس

سا في عكاظ لكنت أفصح

This too: if you vied in eloquence with Quss

at Ukaz, you would be more eloquent.

والبيت لو ساجلته

والغيث سكب كنت أسمح

By the House, if you vied with it—

the pouring rain—you would be more generous.

أسمع حييت مدائحا

كالنَّور غبَّ حيا تفتَّح

Hear these praises—may you live!—

like blossoms unfolding after rain.

جاءت منقحة إلي

ك وأحسن الشعر المنقَّح

They have come to you carefully polished;

and the finest poetry is polished poetry.

من مخلص لك في الولا

ء بجود غيرك ليس يفرح

From one sincere in loyalty to you,

who takes no joy in another's bounty.

لا زلت تأسو بالغنى

ما بات كف الفقر يجرح

May you ever heal with wealth

what poverty's hand wounds by night.

وتبن عيدا مخبرا

بدوام عزٍ ليس يَبرحِ

And may you build a festival proclaiming

enduring glory that never departs.