تراءت لنا والبدر وهنا على قدر — Alabywrdy

تَراءَتْ لنا والبدْرُ وَهْناً على قَدْرِ

فحَطَّتْ لِثامَ الليلِ عن غُرّةِ الفَجْرِ

She appeared to us by night, the full moon her match;

She lowered night's veil from dawn's bright brow.

بَدَتْ إذْ بَدا والحَليُ عِقْدٌ ومَبسِمٌ

وليسَ لهُ حَليٌ سوى الأنْجُمِ الزُّهرِ

She appeared when it did, her adornments a necklace and a smile;

It had no adornment but the brilliant stars.

فقُلتُ لصَحْبي والمطيُّ كأنّها

قَطاً بِجنوبِ القاعِ منْ بَلَدٍ قَفْرِ

I said to my companions, while the camels seemed

Like sandgrouse in the southern reaches of a desolate plain:

أأحْلاهُما في صَفَعةِ الليلِ مَنْظَراً

أمَيمَةُ أم رأْيُ المُحِبِّ فلا أدري

“Is the lovelier of the two to behold, in night's buffeting,

Umayma—or is this a lover's judgment? I cannot tell.”

أجلْ هِيَ أبْهى أينَ للبَدر زينَةٌ

كعِقْدَينِ من نَحرٍ وعِقْدَينِ من ثَغْرِ

Yes, she is more radiant: where has the moon an ornament

Like two necklaces upon a breast and two strings within a mouth?

مُهَفْهَفَةٌ كالرّيمِ تُرسِلُ نَظْرَةً

بِها تَنْفُثُ الحَسْناءُ في عُقَدِ السِّحرِ

Slender-waisted as a white gazelle, she casts a glance

With which the beauty blows into the knots of sorcery.

بنَجلاءَ تَشكو سُقْمَها وهْوَ صِحّةٌ

إذا نَظَرَتْ لا تَسْتَقِلُّ منِ الفَتْرِ

With a wide eye that bewails its sickness, though that is health;

When she looks, it cannot rouse itself from languor.

كأنّي غَداة البَينِ منْ رَوعَةِ النّوى

أُقَلِّبُ أحْناءَ الضّلوعِ على الجَمْرِ

As though, on parting's morning, from the terror of separation,

I were turning my ribs' curves upon embers.

نأتْ بَعدَما عِشْنا جَميعاً بغِبْطَةٍ

وأيُّ وِصالٍ لم يُرَعْ فيه بالهَجْرِ

She went far away after we had lived together in bliss;

What union has not been haunted by separation?

إذا ابْتَسَمَتْ عُجْباً بَكَيْتُ صَبابةً

فمِن لُؤلُؤٍ نَظْمٍ ومِنْ لُؤلؤٍ نَثْرِ

When she smiles in pride, I weep with longing:

There are pearls strung, and pearls scattered.

يُذَكّرُنيها البَرقُ حين أَشيمُهُ

وإنْ عَنَّ خِشْفٌ بِتُّ منْها على ذِكْرِ

Lightning reminds me of her whenever I watch it;

If a fawn appears, I spend the night remembering her.

وهَبْنيَ لا أرمي بطَرفي إلَيْهِما

فأذْكُرُها الشان في الشّمسِ والبَدْرِ

And suppose I cast my eyes toward neither:

Then I recall her in the aspect of sun and moon.

وقد غَرِيَتْ بالبُعْدِ حتّى بودّها

وبالبُخْلِ حتى بالخَيالِ الذي يَسْري

She has grown devoted to distance, even in her affection,

And to withholding, even the phantom that visits by night.

وبالهَضْبَةِ الحَمْراءِ منْ أيمَنِ الحِمى

لهَا مَنزِلٌ ألْوَتْ بهِ نُوَبُ الدّهْرِ

At the red hill, on the protected grounds' right-hand side,

She has a dwelling ravaged by time's vicissitudes.

كأنّ بقايا نَشْرِها في عِراصِهِ

تَبُثُّ أريجَ المِسْكِ بالجُرَعِ العُفْرِ

It is as though remnants of her fragrance in its courts

Diffuse musk's scent over the dust-colored sandy knolls.

فَلا بَرِحَتْ تَكْسوهُ ما هَبّتِ الصَّبا

أنامِلُ منْ قَطْرٍ غَلائِلَ منْ زَهْرِ

While the east wind blows, may it ever be clothed

By fingers of rain in gauzy robes of blossom.

حَمَتْهُ سُراةُ الحَيِّ غُنْمُ بنُ مالِكٍ

وإخوَتُها الشّمُّ العَرانينِ منْ فِهْرِ

The tribe's chiefs, Ghunm ibn Malik, protected it,

And its proud, high-nosed brothers of Fihr,

بصُيّابَةٍ مَجْرٍ وكُرّامَةٍ ثُبًى

ومُرهَفَةٍ بيضٍ ومُشرَعَةٍ سُمْرِ

With a mighty host of chosen warriors and bands of nobles,

With sharpened white swords and leveled brown spears.

وكَمْ فيهمُ منْ صارِخٍ ومُثَوِّبٍ

ومنْ مَجلِسٍ فَخْمٍ ومنْ نِعَم دَثْرِ

How many a caller for aid and rallying herald among them,

And stately gathering, and abundant blessings,

وسِرْبِ عَذارى بينَ غابٍ منَ القَنا

كَسِربِ ظِباءٍ في ظِلالٍ منَ السِّدْرِ

And flock of maidens amid a forest of spears,

Like a herd of gazelles beneath the shade of lote trees!

سَمَوْتُ لها والليلُ رَقَّ أديمُهُ

وكادَ يَقُصُّ الفَجْرُ قادِمةَ النَّسْرِ

I made my way up to her as night's skin thinned,

And dawn nearly clipped the eagle's flight feather.

ورُمنا عِناقاً نَهْنَهَتْ عنهُ عِفّةٌ

شَديدٌ بِها عَقْدُ النِّطاقِ على الخَصْرِ

We sought an embrace, but chastity restrained us from it,

Keeping the sash tightly knotted upon her waist.

ولمْ تَكُ إلا الوُشْحُ فينا مُذالَةً

وإنْ حامَ بي ظنُّ الغَيورِ على الأُزْرِ

Only the sashes among us were let trail,

Though a jealous man's suspicions hovered round me over the waist-wraps.

وإني لَيُصْبيني حَديثٌ ونَظرَةٌ

يُعارِضُها الواشونَ بالنّظَرِ الشَّزْرِ

Indeed, conversation and a glance captivate me,

Though slanderers counter it with sidelong looks.

حَديثٌ رقيقٌ منْ سُعادَ كأنّها

تَشوبُ لَنا ماءَ الغَمامَةِ بالخَمْرِ

Gentle conversation from Su'ad, as though she

Were mixing cloud-water with wine for us.

فما راعَنا إلا الصّباحُ كَما بَدا

مِنَ الغِمْدِ حَدُّ الهِنْدوانِيِّ ذي الأَثْرِ

Nothing startled us but morning, appearing as appears

From its sheath the edge of a patterned Indian blade.

ومنْ عَجَلٍ ما لَفَّ جيداً وداعُنا

بِجيدٍ ولا نَحْراً أضَفْنا إِلى نَحْرِ

In our haste, our farewell entwined no neck

With another neck, nor did we press breast to breast.

فعُدْتُ أجُرُّ الذّيْلَ والسّيفُ مُنْتَضًى

وهُنَّ يُبادِرْنَ الخِيامَ على ذُعْرِ

I returned trailing my hem, my sword drawn,

While they hurried fearfully toward the tents.

وقَدْ مُحيَتْ آثارُها بذُيولِها

سِوى ما أعارَتْهُ التّرابَ منَ النَّشْرِ

Her footprints had been erased by her trailing hems,

Except the fragrance she had lent the earth.

مَشَيْنَ فعَطَّرْنَ الثّرى بِذَوائِبٍ

غَرِضْنَ بسِرّي لا نُفِضْنَ منَ العِطْرِ

They walked, perfuming the earth with tresses

That tired of my secret—may they never be shaken free of perfume!—

كما نَمَّ حسّانُ بنُ سَعدِ بنِ عامِرٍ

بِغُرِّ مَساعِيهِ على كَرَمِ النَّجْرِ

As Hassan ibn Sa'd ibn Amir revealed

Through his illustrious deeds the nobility of his stock.

أخو هِمَمٍ لمْ يَمْلأِ الهَولُ صَدْرَهُ

ولا نالَهُ خَطْبٌ بِنابٍ ولا ظُفْرِ

A man of lofty aims, whose breast terror never filled,

Whom calamity never reached with fang or claw.

يُلاحِظُ غِبَّ الأمرِ قَبلَ وقُوعِهِ

ويَبلُغُ ما لا تَبلُغُ العَيْنُ بالفِكْرِ

He considers an affair's aftermath before it happens,

And reaches through thought what the eye cannot reach.

ويَنظِمُ شَمْلَ المَجْدِ ما بَيْنَ مِنحَةٍ

عَوانٍ وتَصْميمٍ على فَتْكَةٍ بِكْرِ

He gathers glory's scattered strands, between a gift

Often repeated and resolve upon an unprecedented stroke.

إذا المُعْضِلاتُ استَقْبَلَتْ عَزَماتِهِ

فلَمْ يَلتَفِتْ إلا إِلى حادِثٍ نُكْرِ

When perplexities confront his resolutions,

And he attends to nothing but a dreadful event,

نَكَصْنَ على الأعقابِ دونَ ارتيابِهِ

تَعَثّرُ في أذيالِهنَّ على صُغْرِ

They recoil upon their heels before he doubts,

Stumbling in their hems in humiliation.

وإنْ كان يومٌ غادَرَ المَحْلُ أُفْقَهُ

يَمُجُّ نَجيعاً وهْوَ في حُلَلٍ حُمْرِ

Should there be a day whose horizon drought has left

Spewing blood and dressed in red robes,

فَزِعْنا إليه نَمْتَري من يَمينِهِ

سَحائِبَ يَسْحَبْنَ الضُّروعَ منَ الغُزْرِ

We take refuge with him, milking from his right hand

Clouds whose udders trail with abundant milk.

أقَمْنا صُدورَ الأرحَبيَّةِ نَحْوَهُ

طَوالِبَ رِفْدٍ لا بَكِيٍّ ولا نَزْرِ

We directed the breasts of the Arhabi camels toward him,

Seeking bounty neither grudging nor scant.

فمَدَّت لنا الأعناقَ طَوعاً وما اتّقَتْ

بِلَيِّ خُدودٍ في أزِمَّتِها صُعْرِ

They stretched their necks for us willingly, without resisting

By twisting haughty cheeks against their reins.

تُرَنِّحُها ذِكراهُ حتّى كأنّنا

نَهُزُّ بِها أعْطافَهُنّ منَ السُّكْرِ

His remembrance makes them reel, until we seem

To shake their flanks with it in drunkenness.

ويَسلُبُها السَّيْرُ الحَثيثُ مِراحَها

إِلى أنْ يَعودَ الخَطْوُ أقْصَرَ منْ شِبْرِ

Relentless travel robs them of their friskiness,

Until their steps become shorter than a span.

وذي ثَرْوَةٍ هَبَّتْ بهِ خُيَلاؤُهُ

ومَنْشَؤُهُ بينَ الخَصاصَةِ والفقْرِ

And many a wealthy man, swept up by his conceit,

Though reared amid want and poverty,

دَعاها فَلوْ أصْغَتْ إليه مُجيبَةً

لقُلْتُ عَثَرْنا لا لَعاً لكَ منْ عَثَرِ

Called them; had they listened and answered him,

I would have said, “We have stumbled! May you never recover from a stumble!”

فَجاءَتْهُ لمْ تَذْمِمْ إليهِ طَريقَها

ولَمْ تَثْوِ منْ واديهِ بالمَبْرَكِ الوَعْرِ

So they came to him, finding no fault with their road to him,

Nor settled in his valley at a rugged kneeling-place.

وبالنَّظْرةِ الأولى تَيَقّنْتُ أنّهُ

إذا مُدِحَ اختارَ الثّناءَ على الوفْرِ

At the first glance I knew for certain that he,

When praised, chose praise over wealth.

فَساقَ إلينا ما نَروم منَ الغِنى

وسُقْنا إليهِ ما يُحِبُّ منَ الشُّكْرِ

He brought us the riches we desired,

And we brought him the gratitude he loved.

فَلا أحْسَبُ العَصْرَ الذي قد طَوَيْتُهُ

لَدى غَيْرِهِ طَيَّ الرِّداءِ منَ العُمرِ

I do not count the time I folded away

With anyone but him, like a folded cloak, as part of life.

ألَمْ آتِهِ والدَّهْرُ في غُلَوائِهِ

قَليلَ غِرارِ النّومِ مُنتَشِرَ الأمرِ

Did I not come to him while time was in its fury,

Scant of sleep, my affairs in disarray?

فأعْذَبَ منْ شِربي بِما مَدِّ منْ يَدي

وآمَنَ منْ سِرْبي بما شَدَّ منْ أزْري

He sweetened my drink by extending my hand's reach,

And secured my household by strengthening my back.

وخَوّلني ما ضاقَ ذَرْعُ المُنى بهِ

منَ البِشْرِ في أثناءِ نائِلهِ الغَمْرِ

He granted me what lay beyond the reach of wishes,

Of good cheer amid his overflowing bounty.

وقلَّدْتُهُ مَدْحاً يَروضُ لهُ الحِجَى

قَوافيَ لا تُعطي القِيادَ على القَسْرِ

I garlanded him with praise for which the mind tames

Rhymes that will not yield their reins to force.

إذا ما نَسَبْناهُنَّ كانَ انتِماؤُها

إليهِ الدُّرِّ يُعْزَى إِلى البَحْرِ

If we trace their lineage, their descent

Is to him as pearls are traced to the sea.

لَنِعْمَ مُناخُ الرَّكْبِ بابُكَ للوَرى

وآلُ عَدِيٍّ نِعْمَ مُنتَجَعُ السَّفْرِ

How fine a resting-place for mankind's caravans is your gate!

And the house of Adi, how fine a resort for travelers!

تُفيضُ ندىً غَمْراً ويُثْني عُفاتُهُ

علَيكَ كما تُثْني الرّياضُ على القَطْرِ

You pour forth abundant generosity, and its seekers praise

You, as gardens praise the rain.

فعِشْ طَلَقَ الأيامِ للمَجْدِ والعُلا

صَقيلَ حَواشي العِرْضِ في الزّمنِ النَّضْرِ

Live, then, with unclouded days, for glory and eminence,

With honor's edges polished, in a flourishing age.