طرقت فنم على الصباح شروق — Alabywrdy

طَرَقَتْ فَنَمَّ على الصَّباحِ شُروقُ

واللّيلُ تَخْطِرُ في حَشاهُ النُّوقُ

She came by night; a sunrise gave the morning away,

And the she-camels swayed through the heart of night.

والنَّجْمُ يَعْثُرُ بالظَّلامِ فيَشْتَكي

ظَلَعاً ليَجْذِبَ ضَبْعَهُ العَيُّوقُ

And the star stumbled in darkness and complained

Of lameness, so Capella might draw it by the upper arm.

فاسْتَيقَظَ النَّفَرُ الهُجودُ بمَنزِلٍ

للقَلْبِ منْ وَجَلٍ لدَيْهِ خُفوقُ

Then the sleeping company awoke at a halting-place

Where the heart flutters with dread.

والرُّعْبُ يَسْتَلِبُ الشُّجاعَ فؤادَهُ

ويَغُصُّ منْ كَلِماتِهِ المِنْطيقُ

And terror robbed the brave man of his heart,

And the fluent speaker choked on his words.

نَزَلَتْ بِنا واللّيلُ ضافٍ بُرْدُهُ

ثمّ انْثَنَتْ وقَميصُهُ مَخْروقُ

She alighted among us while night's mantle hung ample,

Then turned away, its shirt torn through.

والأفْقُ مُلتَهِبُ الحَواشي يَلتَظي

والأرضُ ضاحِيَةُ الوشُومِ تَروقُ

And the horizon blazed, its edges aflame,

And earth, its tattoo-marks exposed, delighted the eye.

لِلهِ ناضِرَةُ الصِّبا يَسْرِي لَها

طَيْفٌ إذا صَغَتِ النُّجومُ طَروقُ

How wondrous she is in youth's bloom! For her there travels by night

A phantom, a night visitor when the stars incline.

طَلَعَتْ عَلينا والمُعَرَّسُ عالِجٌ

والعِيسُ أهْوَنُ سَيْرِهِنَّ عَنيقُ

She appeared to us, our night-camp being ʿAlij,

And the pale camels' gentlest pace was a brisk stride.

واللّيلُ ما سَفَرَتْ لَنا عَجِلُ الخُطا

والرَّملُ ما نَزَلَتْ بهِ مَوْموقُ

And night, while she unveiled herself to us, was swift of step,

And the sand, while she stayed upon it, was dearly loved.

هَيفاءُ نَشْوى اللَّحْظِ يُقْصِرُ طَرْفَها

خَفَرٌ ويَسْكَرُ تارَةً ويُفيقُ

Slender-waisted, drunken of glance, her gaze is checked

By modesty; at times it grows drunk, then sobers.

فكَأنَّهُ والبَيْنُ يُخضِلُ جَفْنَهُ

بالدَّمْعِ منْ حَدَقِ المَها مَسْرُوقُ

So it seems—as parting wets its eyelid

With tears—stolen from the eyes of oryx.

يا أُختَ مُقتَنِصِ الكُماةِ بمَوقِفٍ

للنَّسْرِ تحتَ عَجاجِهِ تَرنِيقُ

O sister of the hunter of armored champions, on a field

Beneath whose dust the vulture hovers!

أتَرَكْتِنا بلِوى زَرودَ وقد صَفا

عَيشٌ كحاشِيَةِ الرِّداء رَقيقُ

Did you leave us at Zarud's dune-bend, when serene

Was life, as delicate as the hem of a cloak,

والرِّيحُ أيقَظَتِ الرِّياضَ وَلِلْحَيا

فيها إذا رَقَدَ العَرارُ شَهيقُ

And the wind awoke the gardens, and the rain

Sighed within them when the arar blossoms slept,

وطَلَبْتِنا وعلى المُضَيَّحِ فالحِمى

مَغْدى النّجائِبِ والمَراحُ عَقيقُ

Yet seek us, with al-Mudayyah and then al-Hima

The noble camels' morning route, and Aqiq their evening halt?

هَلاّ بَخِلْتِ بِنا ونحْنُ بغِبْطَةٍ

والدَّهْرُ مَصْقولُ الأدِيمِ أنيقُ

Why were you not loath to part with us, while we lived in bliss,

And time was lovely, its skin polished smooth?

وعلَيَّ مِن حُلَلِ الشَّبابِ ذَوائِبٌ

عَبِقَتْ بِرَيَّا المِسْكِ وهْوَ فَتيقُ

And upon me hung fringes of youth's robes,

Fragrant with the aroma of unsealed musk.

وهَوايَ تِلوُ هَواكِ في رَوْقِ الصِّبا

حتّى كأنّ العاشِقَ المَعْشوقُ

And my love followed yours in youth's freshness,

Until it seemed the lover was the beloved.

وتَصَرَّمَتْ تِلكَ السِّنونَ وشاغَبَتْ

نُوَبٌ تَفُلُّ السَّيفَ وهْوَ ذَليقُ

And those years passed away; I was beset

By calamities that blunt the sword, keen though it be.

عَرَضَتْ على غَفَلاتِ ظَنِّيَ عَزْمَةٌ

لمْ يُسْتَشَفَّ وراءَها التَّوفيقُ

A resolve presented itself to my heedless judgment,

Beyond which success could not be glimpsed.

واسْتَرْقَصَ السَّمْعَ الطَّروبَ رَواعِدٌ

واستَغْوَتِ العَينَ الطَّموحَ بُروقُ

And thunderclaps set the enraptured ear dancing,

And lightning flashes seduced the aspiring eye.

وأُشِبَّ لي طَمَعٌ فلَيتَ ركائِبي

عَلِمَتْ غَداةَ الجِزْعِ أينَ أَسوقُ

And hope was kindled for me—would that my riding camels

Had known, that morning at the valley-bend, where I was driving them!

فعَرَفْتُ ما جَنَتِ الخُطوبُ ولم أُطِلْ

أمَلاً فما لِمَخِيلَةٍ تَصديقُ

Then I learned what misfortunes had wrought, and prolonged no

Hope, for a rain-promising cloud deserves no trust.

ونَجَوتُ مُنصَلِتاً ولَم أكُ ناصِلاً

سِيمَ المُروقَ فلَم يُعِنْهُ الفُوقُ

And I escaped, darting forth; I was no arrow

Bidden to pierce through, but unaided by its nock.

وإذا اللّئيمُ تَغَضَّنَتْ وَجَناتُهُ

بُخلاً وجَفَّ بماضِغَيْهِ الرِّيقُ

And when the base man's cheeks grow furrowed

From stinginess, and saliva dries between his jaws,

فالعَرْصَةُ الفَيحاءُ مَسرَحُ أيْنُقٍ

لمْ يَنْبُ عَنْ عَطَنٍ بهِنَّ الضِّيقُ

Then the spacious courtyard is a range for she-camels;

No cramped space has driven them from a watering-place.

وعلى ندىً المُستَظهِرِ بنِ المقتَدِي

حامَ الرَّجاءُ يُظِلُّهُ التَّحقيقُ

And over the bounty of al-Mustazhir, son of al-Muqtadi,

Hope hovered, with fulfillment shading it.

ورِثَ الإمامَةَ كابِراً عن كابِرٍ

مُتَوكِّليٌّ بالعَلاءِ خَليقُ

A great man, he inherited the imamate from great forebears,

A descendant of al-Mutawakkil, worthy of eminence.

كَهلُ الحِجى عَرُضَتْ مَنادِحُ رأيِهِ

والغُصْنُ مُقتَبِلُ النَّباتِ وَريقُ

Mature in mind, broad are the reaches of his judgment,

Though the branch is young in growth and leafy.

خَضِلُ البَنانِ بِنائِلٍ منْ دونِهِ

وَجهٌ يَجولُ البِشْرُ فيهِ طَليقُ

His fingers are moist with bounty; before it

Is a face where gladness wanders free.

تَجري على ظَلَعٍ إِلى غاياتِهِ

هَوجاءُ طائِشَةُ الهُبوبِ خَريقُ

It races limping toward his farthest bounds—

A raging wind, fierce and reckless in its gusts.

ويُخلِّفُ المُتَطَلِّعينَ إِلى المَدى

في الفَخْرِ مُنْجَذِبُ العِنانِ سَبوقُ

And he leaves behind those aspiring to the utmost reach

In glory—a surpassing racer with reins drawn taut.

ويُقيمُ زَيغَ الأمرِ ناءَ بعِبْئِهِ

ذو الغارِبِ المَجْزولِ وهْوَ مُطيقُ

He rights crooked affairs, beneath whose burden staggers

The beast of massive withers, while he himself can bear it.

وعَلَيهِ مِن سيماءِ آلِ مُحمَّدٍ

نُورٌ يُجيرُ على الدُّجى مَرموقُ

And upon him, from the marks of Muhammad's house,

Is a light, gazed upon, that shelters from the dark.

والبُرْدُ يَعلَمُ أنَّ في أثنائِهِ

كَرَماً يَفوقُ المُزْنَ وهْوَ دَفوقُ

And the mantle knows that within its folds

Is bounty surpassing the rain-cloud, though it pours in torrents.

أفْضَتْ إليهِ خِلافَةٌ نَبَويَّةٌ

منْ دونِها للمَشْرَفِيِّ بَريقُ

A prophetic caliphate has passed to him;

Before it gleams the Mashrafi sword.

فاخْتالَ مِنبرُها بهِ وسَريرُها

وكِلاهُما طَرِبٌ إليه مَشوقُ

So its pulpit and throne swelled with pride in him,

Both delighting in him and yearning for him.

فالآنَ قَرَّتْ في مُعَرَّسِها الذي

كانتْ على قَلَقٍ إليهِ تَتُوقُ

Now it has settled in the resting-place to which

It had restlessly yearned.

لكَ يا أميرَ المؤْمِنينَ تُراثُها

وبِهِ استَتَبَّ لَها إليكَ طَريقُ

Yours, O Commander of the Faithful, is its inheritance,

And through it, its road to you became secure.

ولكَ الأيادي ما يزالُ بذِكْرِها

يَطْوي الفَلا مَرِحُ النَّجاءِ فَنيقُ

And yours are favors, at whose mention, unceasingly,

A pampered stallion-camel, buoyant in speed, folds up the wastes;

ومَناقِبٌ يَزْدادُ طولاً عِندَها

باعٌ بتَصْريفِ القَناةِ لَبيقُ

And virtues that lengthen still further

The reach of an arm adept in wielding the spear.

شَرَفٌ مَنافِيٌّ ومَجدٌ أتلَعٌ

يَسمو بهِ نَسَبٌ أغَرُّ عَتيقُ

Honor of Abd Manaf's line, and towering glory,

Through which a radiant, ancient lineage rises.

وشَمائِلٌ طَمَحَتْ بهِنَّ إِلى العُلا

في سُرّةِ البَلَدِ الأمينِ عُروقُ

And qualities borne upward toward the heights

By roots in the navel of the Secure City.

وبَلَغْتَ في السِّنّ القَريبَةِ رُتْبَةً

نهَضَ الحَسودُ لَها فعَزَّ لُحوقُ

And at a tender age you attained a rank

The envious strove for, yet found hard to reach.

ونَضا وَزيرُكَ عَزْمةً عَرَبيّةً

نَبَذَتْ إليكَ الأمرَ وهْوَ وَثيقُ

And your vizier unsheathed an Arab resolve

That delivered authority to you, firmly secured.

ودَعا لِبَيعَتِكَ القُلوبَ فلَمْ يَمِلْ

مِنها إِلى أحَدٍ سِواكَ فَريقُ

And he called hearts to pledge allegiance to you, and no

Faction among them turned toward anyone but you.

يَرمي وَراءَكَ وهْوَ مَرْهوبُ الشَّذا

وعَليكَ مُلتَهِبُ الضَّميرِ شَفيقُ

He shoots in your defense, dreaded for the harm he deals,

And for you, his heart aflame, he is full of care.

رأيٌ يُطِلُّ على الخُطوبِ فتَنْجَلي

عنهُ وكَيْدٌ بالعَدوِّ يَحيقُ

A judgment that looms over calamities, and they clear away

From it, and a stratagem that encircles the foe.

لا زالَ مَمدودَ الرِّواقِ علَيكُما

ظِلٌّ يَقيلُ العِزُّ فيهِ صَفيقُ

May there remain, its canopy spread over you both,

A dense shade where glory takes its noonday rest.