واها لأيامي بأكناف اللوى — Alabywrdy

واهاً لأيّامي بأكْنافِ اللِّوى

والدّهْرُ طَلْقُ المُجْتَلى رَطْبُ الثّرى

Ah, for my days in the environs of al-Liwa!

And time was bright of aspect, its soil moist,

إذِ الشّبابُ الغَضُّ يندىً ظِلُّهُ

وصَبْوَتي يعْذِرُني فيها الصِّبا

When tender youth's shade was dewy,

And youth excused me in my infatuation.

ولِمّتي داجيَةٌ إذا بَدَتْ

سَدّتْ خَصاصَ الخِدْرِ أحْداقُ المَها

And my locks were dark; when they appeared,

The eyes of oryxes filled the chamber's chinks.

ثمّ انْقَضَتْ أزْمانُهُ حَميدَةً

ومَنْ يُرَجّي عودةً لِما مَضى

Then its seasons passed, worthy of praise;

And who hopes for the return of what has passed?

فَلا الصِّبا يرْجِعُ إذْ تَصَرَّمَتْ

أيّامُهُ ولا عَشيّاتُ الحِمى

For youth does not return, once spent

Are its days; nor do the evenings of the protected pasture.

ولي حَنينٌ لمْ تَسَعْهُ أضْلُعي

إِلى اللّوى يُذكي تَباريحَ الجَوى

And I have a longing my ribs could not contain,

For al-Liwa, inflaming the torments of love's anguish.

وبَيْنَ جَنْبَيَّ هَوًى أُسِرُّهُ

ولَوْعَةٌ تَسْكُنُ ألْواذَ الحَشى

Between my sides is a love I conceal,

And burning anguish inhabits my inward recesses.

يا حبّذا عَصْرُ اللِّوى وأهْلُهُ

حيثُ ظِباءُ الإنْسِ تَحْميها الظُّبا

Oh, how dear the days of al-Liwa and its people,

Where human gazelles are guarded by sword-blades!

والرّوضُ مَطْلولٌ يَميدُ زَهْرُهُ

تحتَ حَصى المَرْجانِ منْ قَطْرِ الندىً

And the meadow is dewy, its blossoms swaying

Beneath coral pebbles formed of drops of dew.

والأُقْحُوانُ ابتَسَمَتْ ثُغورُهُ

غِبَّ مُناجاةِ النّسيمِ إذ وَنى

And the oxeye daisy's mouths smiled

After the breeze's whispered converse, as it grew faint.

وقد رَنا نَرْجِسُهُ بمُقْلَةٍ

يَحارُ فيها الدّمْعُ منْ صَوْبِ الحَيا

And its narcissus gazed with an eye

In which a tear from the rain's downpour lingers bewildered.

فَذاكَ دَهْرٌ لمْ أجُدْ بأدْمُعي

داميَةً حتّى تولّى وانْقَضى

That was a time for which I did not freely shed my tears

Bloodied, until it turned away and ended.

وانْقَرَضَتْ شَبيبةٌ كأنّها

سَبيبَةٌ في دِمنَةِ الحَيِّ لَقى

And youth perished, as though it were

A cast-off strip of cloth in the tribe's abandoned camp.

واشْتَعَلَ الرّأسُ فزالَتْ مَيْعَتي

شَيْباً وفي الشّيْبِ الوَقارُ والنُّهى

And my head blazed, and my youthful vigor vanished,

With gray hair; in gray hair are dignity and reason.

وهْوَ منَ الشّبابِ أبْهى مَنظَراً

وأينَ منْ مُنبَلَجِ الفَجْرِ الدُّجى

It is more radiant in appearance than youth;

And what is darkness beside the clear breaking of dawn?

والمَرْءُ لا يروقُهُ طُلوعُهُ

ويَجْتَويهِ والشَّبابُ يُشْتَهى

Yet a man is not pleased by its appearance,

And loathes it, while youth is desired.

فبَعدَهُ الشّيْبُ وفيه مَلْبَسٌ

والشّيبُ ليسَ بعدَهُ إلا الرّدى

For after it comes gray hair, in which there is still a garment;

But after gray hair there is nothing except death.

وكلُّ ما ساقَ الهَلاكُ نحوَهُ

فهْوَ لَديهِ كالهَلاكِ مُجْتَوى

And whatever death drives his way

Is loathed by him as death itself.

والنّفْسُ تَلْهو بالمُنى مُغْتَرّةً

وللمَنايا رَصَدٌ على الوَرى

The soul plays with wishes, deluded,

While death lies in ambush for humankind.

تَنافَسوا فوقَ الثّرى في ثَرْوَةٍ

وتحتَهُ فَقيرُهُمْ كَذي الغِنى

They competed above the earth for wealth,

But beneath it their poor are like the wealthy.

والعَبْدُ كالمَوْلى رَميمٌ عَظْمُهُ

والطِّفْلُ كالشّيْخِ وكالكَهْلِ الفَتى

The slave, like the master, has decaying bones;

The child is like the elder, the youth like the middle-aged man.

وأنتَ لا تأوي لِما تَرُبُّهُ

منْ جَسَدٍ مَصيرُهُ إِلى البِلى

Yet you feel no pity for what you nurture:

A body whose fate is decay.

تُوقِرُهُ وِزْراً ولا يَصْحَبُ مَنْ

أُلْقيَ في ضَريحِهِ إلا التُّقى

You burden it with sin; yet nothing accompanies one

Laid in his grave except piety.

وها أنا نَهْنَهَ ما أحْذَرُهُ

منْ غُلَوائِي فالنّذيرُ قد أتَى

Here I am: what I dread has checked

My excess, for the warner has arrived.

ومَنْ يُناغِ الأرْبَعينَ عُمْرُهُ

ويَحْتَضِنْهُ غَيُّهُ فَلا اهْتَدَى

And he whose age courts forty,

While his error embraces him—may he never find guidance!

والشّيبُ لمّا نُشِرَتْ أفوافُهُ

طَوَيْتُ أحْشائي على جَمْرِ الغَضى

When gray hair's striped fabrics were unfurled,

I folded my entrails around ghada-wood embers.

وإنْ أظَلَّ صُبْحُهُ فَوْدي فَما

فارَقَني لَيلُ الشّبابِ عنْ قِلى

Though its dawn overshadowed the sides of my head,

Youth's night did not leave me out of aversion.

ولم أزَلْ أخْطِرُ في رِدائِهِ

بينَ رَعابيبَ حِسانٍ كالدُّمى

I still swaggered in its cloak

Among beautiful, shapely women like carved images.

مِنْ كُلِّ بَلْهاءِ التّثَنّي إنْ مَشَتْ

حَسِبْتَها منْ كَسَلٍ نَشْوى الخُطا

Each artlessly swaying woman—if she walked,

You thought her steps drunken with languor.

كالظّبْيَةِ الغَيْداءِ جِيداً إنْ عَطَتْ

والجؤْذَرِ الوَسْنانِ طَرْفاً إنْ رَنا

Like a supple doe in neck when she stretches upward,

And a drowsy oryx calf in gaze when it looks.

رَخيمةٌ ألْفاظُها فاتِرةٌ

ألحاظُها والسِّحْرُ منها يُجْتَنى

Soft are her words, languid

Her glances, and enchantment is gathered from her.

فهْيَ كَما اهْتزَّ القَنا منْ تَرَفٍ

تَمْشي الهُوَيْنى أو كما ارْتَجَّ النَّقا

She is like spear-shafts swaying from sheer softness,

Walking gently, or like a trembling sand dune.

كُنتُ سَوادَ عَيْنِها حتى رأتْ

بَياضَ شَعْري فتصدّتْ للنّوى

I was the black pupil of her eye until she saw

The whiteness of my hair, then turned toward separation.

وخالَسَتْني اللّحْظَ مِنْ مَكْحولَةٍ

كُنتُ كَرىً فيها فأصْبَحْتُ قَذى

She stole a glance at me from a kohl-darkened eye

In which I was once slumber, but became a speck.

وانقَشَعَ الجَهْلُ فأخْبى نارَهُ

لَمْعُ قَتيرٍ بثَّ أنْوارَ الحِجى

And ignorance dispersed; its fire was quenched by

The gleam of gray hairs, spreading the lights of reason.

وارْفَضَّ عنْ أجْفانِ عَيني رَقْدَةٌ

أطارَها عنها انْتِباهي للعُلا

And sleep scattered from my eyelids,

Driven from them by my awakening to lofty aims.

فلُثْتُ أعْرافَ جِيادٍ حَمَلَتْ

صَحْبي بأعْرافِ جِيادٍ للْعِدا

So I entwined the manes of steeds that bore

My companions with the manes of the enemy's steeds.

مِنْ كُلِّ مَحْبوكِ السّراةِ شَيْظَمٍ

لا يتشكّى مَلَحاً ولا وَجى

Each a tall steed, its back firmly knit,

Never complaining of cracked legs or sore hooves.

تَحبو الرّياحُ الهُوجُ في أشْواطِهِ

والبَرْقُ يَكْبو خَلْفَهُ إذا عَدا

The tempestuous winds crawl in its races,

And lightning stumbles behind it when it runs.

كالنّارِ إنْ حرَّكْتَهُ في حُضْرِهِ

وإنْ تُسكِّنْهُ فكالْماءِ جَرى

Like fire if you spur it in its gallop,

And if you quiet it, like flowing water.

تَنْتَهِبُ الأرْضَ بكُلِّ حافِرٍ

كالقَعْبِ وهْوَ كالصَّفا على الصّفا

They plunder the earth with every hoof,

Like a wooden bowl, hard as smooth rock upon rock.

وهُنَّ شُعْثٌ كالسّعالي عُوِّدَتْ

حُسْنَ المِشَى بينَ العوالي في الوَغى

They are shaggy as she-ghouls, accustomed to

Graceful movement among lofty spears in battle.

لهُنَّ إرْخاءُ الذِّئابِ فوقَها

تحتَ القَنا كالغابِ آسادُ الشّرى

They have the wolves' easy lope; above them,

Beneath spears like a thicket, ride the lions of al-Shara.

شُوسٌ كأمْثالِ الصّقورِ أعْنَقَتْ

بهِمْ مَذاكِيها كأسْرابِ القَطا

Fierce-eyed like falcons; swiftly galloping

Are their seasoned steeds, bearing them like flocks of sandgrouse.

وأوْقَدوا نارَيْنِ بأساً وندىً

حيثُ الطُّلى تَشْقى بهِمْ أوِ الشّوى

They kindled two fires: valor and generosity,

Where throats suffer at their hands—or roasting flesh.

فمِنْهُما للحرْبِ وهْيَ مُرّةٌ

واحدَةٌ تُذْكى وأخرى للقِرى

Of the two, for war, which is bitter,

One is kindled, and the other for hospitality.

تَضْفو عَليهِمْ أدْرُعٌ مَوضونَةٌ

يَرْتَدُّ عنها السّيفُ مَفْلولَ الشَّبا

Woven coats of mail drape over them,

From which the sword rebounds with notched edges.

مُسْتَبِكاتٌ حَلَقاً كأنّها

مَسْرودَةٌ بأعْيُنٍ منَ الدَّبى

Interlocked in rings, as though

Strung together from the eyes of young locusts.

إنْ نَفَذَتْ فيها الرِّماحُ خِلْتَها

أراقِماً يَسْبَحنَ في الماءِ الرّوى

If spears pierced through them, you would think them

Spotted snakes swimming in plentiful water.

فصافَحتْ أذْيالُها صَوارِماً

كأنّها مَطْبوعَةٌ منَ الجِذا

Their hems clasped sharp swords,

As though forged from glowing embers.

أو سَرَقَ الشّمسُ إليها نَظرَةً

فاسْتَلَبَتْ شُعاعَها رأْدَ الضُّحى

Or the sun stole a glance toward them,

And they snatched its rays in the early forenoon.

ولم يُجِلْ فيها الكَميُّ طَرْفَهُ

إلا تلقَّتْ ناظِرَيْهِ بالعَشا

Never did an armored warrior sweep his glance over them

Without their meeting his eyes with dazzling blindness.

وللرُّدَيْنيّ اهْتِزازُ مَعْشَري

لمنْ دَعا إِلى الوَغى أوِ اعْتَفى

And my people sway like Rudayni spears

For whoever calls to battle or seeks a gift.

يكادُ يَلْويَ مَتْنَهُ لُدونَةً

كالصِّلِّ في مَهْرَبِهِ يَلْوي المَطا

Its suppleness almost bends its shaft,

Like a cobra twisting its back as it flees.

واليَثْرِبيّاتُ بأيْدي غِلْمَةٍ

تهوي إِلى أعدائِهِم خَساً زَكا

And Yathribi arrows, in young men's hands,

Fly toward their foes, in odd numbers and even.

وليسَ تُنْمَى عِندَهُمْ رَميّةٌ

فقُلْ لهُمْ لا شَلَلاً ولا عَمى

No quarry they shoot is left to die unseen;

So say to them: may neither palsy nor blindness befall you!

كأنّما أعيُنُهُمْ مُحْمَرّةً

منْ غَضَبٍ مُكتَحِلاتٌ باللّظى

As though their eyes, reddened

With anger, were lined with flame for kohl.

إذا اعْتَزَوْا عَدّوا أباً سَمَيْدَعاً

منْ عَبْدِ شَمْسٍ أُمَويَّ المُنْتَمى

When they proclaim their lineage, they count a noble ancestor

From ʿAbd Shams, of Umayyad descent,

منْ دَوْحَةٍ نالَ السّماءَ فَرْعُها

وأصْلُها في سُرّةِ الأرضِ رَسا

From a mighty tree whose branch reached the sky,

Its root standing firm in the earth's center.

بَنو خَليلِ اللهِ فيهمْ عرَّقَتْ

أرومَةٌ مِنها النّبيُّ المُصطفى

Sons of God's Friend; rooted in them is

A lineage from which came the Chosen Prophet,

والخُلفاءُ الراشِدونَ وبهمْ

أوضِحَ للدّينِ مَنارٌ وصُوَى

And the rightly guided caliphs; through them

A beacon and landmarks were made clear for religion.

والأُمَويّونَ الذين رَكَزُوا

في نَصْرِهِ سُمْرَ الرِّماحِ في الكُلى

And the Umayyads, who planted,

In its defense, brown spears in kidneys.

وآلُ عبّاسَ لَقوا أعداءَهُ

فاحْتَكَمَتْ سُيوفُهُمْ على الطُّلى

And the house of ʿAbbas met its enemies,

Their swords passing judgment upon throats.

ومَنْ كقَوْمي وهمُ منْ يَعْرُبٍ

ومِنْ نِزارِ بنِ مَعَدّ في الذُّرا

Who is like my people, descended from Yaʿrub,

And from Nizar son of Maʿadd, upon the summits?

فحبّهُمْ عِصْمَةُ كُلِّ مُتَّقٍ

وهُمْ مَصابيحُ الهُدى لمَنْ غَوى

Love of them protects every God-fearing person;

They are lamps of guidance for whoever has strayed.

ومَنْ يَحُمْ عليهِمْ رَجاؤُهُ

يَعْلَقْ بِحَبْلٍ لا تَهي منهُ القُوى

He whose hope hovers over them

Clings to a rope whose strands do not weaken.

وإنْ تخطّاهُمْ إِلى غَيرِهمُ

تمكّنَتْ منهُ أضاليلُ المُنى

But if it passes them by for others,

The delusions of wishes take hold of him.

وليسَ للهِمّةِ ممّنْ يَبْتَغي

نَجاتَهُ إلا إليْهِمْ مُرْتَقى

And no ambition, in one who seeks

His salvation, has an ascent except toward them.

وهُمْ ثِمالُ النّاسِ مَنْ لا يَعْتَصِمْ

بِهِمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ دِينهِ على شَفا

They are humanity's refuge; whoever does not seek protection

In them stands on the brink in his faith.

خَلائِفٌ ساسوا الأنامَ وهُمُ

كالنَّعَمِ الهامِلِ فَوْضى وسُدى

Caliphs who governed humankind when they were

Like wandering livestock, chaotic and aimless.

قد مَلَكوا الدُّنيا وكانتْ عاطِلاً

فما لَها غَيْرَ مَساعِيهمْ حُلى

They ruled the world when it was unadorned;

It has no ornaments but their endeavors.

إنْ حارَبوا أرْضى السّيوفَ سُخْطُهُمْ

أو سالَموا شَدّوا على الحِلْمِ الحُبا

If they wage war, their wrath pleases swords;

Or, making peace, they bind the knee-wraps fast upon forbearance.

لا تُنْطَقُ العَوْراءُ فيهمْ وبهِمْ

يَجْتَنِبُ الجاهِلُ إهْداءَ الخَنى

No foul word is uttered among them; through them

The ignorant man avoids offering obscenity.

ويَبْسُطونَ بالنّوالِ أيْدياً

منها أفاويقُ الثّراءِ تُمْتَرى

They extend hands with gifts,

From which fresh streams of wealth are milked.

وسوفَ أقْفو في المَعالي هَدْيَهُمْ

ودونَ غاباتِهِمُ نَيْلُ السُّها

I shall follow their example in lofty deeds,

Yet reaching al-Suha falls short of their utmost heights.

فكَمْ أغُضُّ ناظِري على قَذىً

وتَنْطَوي تَرائِبي على شَجى

How often I close my eye upon a speck,

And my chest-bones fold around a choking grief,

في عُصَبٍ يُضْني الكَريمَ قُرْبُهُمْ

وشرُّ أدْوائِكَ ما فيهِ الضّنى

Among bands whose proximity exhausts a noble man;

The worst of your ailments is one that wastes you.

وقد رَماني نَكَدُ الدّهْرِ بهِمْ

وما دَرى أيَّ معاوِيٍّ رَمى

Time's ill fortune cast me among them,

Not knowing what Muʿawiyan it struck.

فلا رَعى اللهُ لِئاماً وَهَبوا

نَزْراً وقد شِيبَ بمَنٍّ وأذى

May God not protect base men who gave

A trifle mixed with reminders of favor and harm.

ناموا شِباعاً فُقِئَتْ عُيونُهُمْ

وجارُهُمْ أرّقَ عَينَيْهِ الطّوى

They slept full—may their eyes be put out!—

While hunger kept their neighbor's eyes awake.

والمَدْحُ والهَجْوُ سَواءٌ عندَهُمْ

فمَنْ هَذى بمَدْحِهِمْ كَمَنْ هَجا

Praise and satire are alike to them;

Whoever babbles in their praise is like one who satirizes.

فقَرِّبا يا صاحبَيَّ أيْنُقاً

كِدْنَ يُبارينَ الرِّياحَ في البُرى

So bring near, my two companions, she-camels

That almost race the winds even in their nose-rings.

إنّ مُناخَ السّوءِ لا يَثْوي بهِ

مَنْ لمْ تَكُنْ أوْطانُهُ إلا الفَلا

In an evil campsite there does not dwell

One whose homelands are nothing but deserts:

أرْوَعُ لا يَقْرَعُ بابَ باخِلٍ

لمْ يتّزِرْ بسُؤْدَدٍ ولا ارْتَدى

A gallant who never knocks on the door of a miser

Who has neither girded himself with nobility nor worn it.

لَسْتُ كَريمَ الوالِدَيْنِ ماجِداً

إنْ لمْ أصِلْ تأويبَهُنَّ بالسُّرى

I am no glorious man of noble parents

Unless I join their day-long journeys to night travel.

فَبي صَدًى يَحْرِقُني أُوارُهُ

ولا تَلوبُ غُلّتي على صَرى

For in me is a thirst whose blaze burns me,

And my burning thirst will not circle stagnant water.

ولا أرومُ المالَ مَنْهوماً بهِ

فالمالُ مَحْفورٌ حَوالَيْهِ الزُّبى

Nor do I seek wealth, ravenous for it;

For wealth has hunting pits dug all around it.

والمَجْدُ ممّا أقْتَني وأبْتَني

فإنْ عَثَرْتُ دونَهُ فلا لَعَا

Glory is what I acquire and build;

If I stumble short of it, let no one wish me recovery.

ولا أحُطُّ بالوِهادِ أرْحُلي

والعَبْشَميّونَ يحِلّونَ الرُّبا

I do not unload my saddles in low valleys

While the descendants of ʿAbd Shams settle on hilltops.

ولي مَدىً لابُدّ منْ بُلوغِهِ

وكلُّ ساعٍ يَنتَهي إِلى مَدَى

I have a goal that must be reached,

And every striver comes to a goal.

للهِ دَرّي أيُّ ذي حَفيظَةٍ

في مِدْرَعي يا سَعْدُ وهْوَ يُزْدَرى

God bless me! What a man of fierce honor

Is within my tunic, O Saʿd, though he is scorned!

فلَوْ عَلِمْتَ بَعْضَ ما يُجِنُّهُ

لمْ تَسْتَرِبْ منهُ بكُلِّ ما تَرى

If you knew some of what it conceals,

You would not doubt him because of anything you see.

يَرْبِطُ فيما يعتَريهِ جأشَهُ

وقَلبُهُ مُشْتَمِلٌ على الأسى

He steadies his composure through whatever befalls him,

Though his heart is filled with sorrow.

لمْ يَبْتَسِمْ إذْ أنْهَضَتْهُ نِعْمَةٌ

وأجهَضَتْهُ شدّةٌ فَما بَكى

He did not smile when good fortune raised him,

And when hardship felled him, he did not weep.

والسّيفُ لا يُعْرَفُ ما غَناؤُهُ

وهْوَ لَجيُّ الغِمْدِ حتى يُنْتَضى

A sword's usefulness is not known

While it stays deep within the sheath, until drawn.

والقولُ إنْ لم يَقْرُنِ الفِعْلُ بهِ

تَصْديقَهُ فهْوَ الحديثُ المُفْتَرى

And speech, unless action joins to it

Its confirmation, is a fabricated tale.

وهذهِ قَصيدَةٌ شَبيهةٌ

بالماءِ تُسْقاهُ على بَرْحِ الصّدى

And this is a poem resembling

Water given you to drink amid fierce thirst.

إنْ غرّدَ الرّاوي بِها تطَرُّباً

تلقّفَ السّامِعُ منْها ما رَوى

If the reciter sings it in delight,

The listener eagerly catches what he recites from it.

ومنْ تمنّى أنْ يَنالَ شأْوَها

هَوى بهِ إِلى العَناءِ ما هَوى

And whoever wishes to reach its stature,

What he desires plunges him into hardship.

فالشِّعْرُ ما لَمْ يُقْتَسَرْ أبيُّهُ

وذادَ عنهُ الطّبْعُ وحْشيَّ اللُّغى

For poetry is that whose defiant spirit is not forced,

And from which natural talent wards off outlandish diction.