طربن إلى نجد وأنى لها نجد — Alabywrdy

طَرِبْنَ إِلى نجدٍ وأنّى لها نَجْدُ

وبغداذُ لمْ تُنْجِزْ لنا مَوْعِداً بَعْدُ

They yearned for Najd—but how could Najd be theirs?

And Baghdad has not yet kept a promise to us.

وأسْعَدَها سَعْدٌ على ما تُجِنِّهُ

من الوَجْدِ لا أدمى جَوانِحَهُ الوَجْدُ

And Sa'd shared in what they harbor

of longing—may longing never make his ribs bleed.

فيا نِضْوُ لا يَجْمَحْ بكَ الشّوقُ واصْطَبِرْ

قَليلاً وكَفْكِفْ منْ دُموعِكَ يا سَعْدُ

O worn-out camel, let longing not run away with you; endure

a little, and hold back some of your tears, O Sa'd.

فما بِكُما دونَ الذي بي منَ الهَوى

ولكن أبَى أن يَجْزَعَ الأسَدُ الوَرْدُ

For the love you two bear falls short of mine,

but the tawny lion refuses to give way to grief.

ستَرعى وإنْ طالَتْ بنا غُرْبَةُ النّوى

رُباً في حَواشي رَوْضِها النَّفَلُ الجَعْدُ

You shall graze, though our exile in separation be long,

on hills with thick-grown clover fringing their meadows,

بحَيْثُ تُناجينا بألحاظِها المَها

إذا ضَمّنا والرّبْرَبَ الأجْرَعُ الفَرْدُ

where the oryx whisper to us with their glances,

when the lone sandy rise gathers us and the herd.

ولَيْلَةَ رَفّهْنا عَنِ العِيسِ بَعْدما

قَضَتْ وَطَراً منْهُنّ مَلْويّةٌ جُرْدُ

And on a night when we rested the pale camels, after

twisted, bare whips had taken their fill of them,

سَرَتْ أمُّ عَمْرٍو والنّجومُ كأنّها

على مُسْتَدارِ الحَلْيِ منْ نَحْرِها عِقْدُ

Umm 'Amr came by night, while the stars seemed

a necklace at the jeweled curve of her throat.

فلمّا انْتَبَعّنا للخَيالِ تولّعَتْ

بِنا صَبَواتٌ فَلَّ منْ غَرْبِها البُعْدُ

When we followed the apparition, passions seized

us—passions whose edge distance had blunted.

وقُلْتُ لعَيْني وهْيَ نَشْوَى منَ الكَرى

أبِيني لنا حُلْمٌ رأيْناهُ أم هِنْدُ

I said to my eye, drunk with sleep,

Tell us plainly: was what we saw a dream, or Hind?

لَئِنْ أخْلَفَ الطَّيْفُ المَواعيِدَ باللِّوى

فبالهَضباتِ الحُمْرِ لمْ يُخْلِفِ الوَعْدُ

Though the phantom broke its trysts at al-Liwa,

among the red hills the promise did not fail.

وبِتْنا برَوْضٍ يَنْثُرُ الطَّلُّ زَهْرَهُ

عَلينا ويُرخي منْ ذَوائِبِهِ الرَّنْدُ

We spent the night in a meadow, where dew scattered its flowers

over us, and the bay tree let down its tresses.

ونحن وراء الحَيّ نَحذَرُ منهُمُ

عُيوناً تُلَظّيها الحَفيظَةُ والحِقْدُ

Behind the encampment, we were wary of their

eyes, blazing with jealous zeal and rancor.

وتَجْري أحاديثٌ تَلينُ مُتونُها

ويَفْتَنُّ في أطرافِها الهَزْلُ والجِدُّ

Conversation flowed, its substance gentle,

with jest and earnestness weaving through its turns.

وتحتَ نِجادي مَشْرَفيٌّ إذا الْتَوى

بجَنْبيَ رَوْعٌ كادَ يَلْفِظُهُ الغِمْدُ

Beneath my baldric lay a Mashrafi blade; whenever

alarm gripped my side, its sheath all but spat it out.

وهل يرْهَبُ الأعْداءَ مَنْ غَضِبَتْ لهُ

مَغاويرُ منْ بَكْرٍ كأنهُمُ الأُسْدُ

Does he fear enemies, the man in whose cause

the lionlike warriors of Bakr are roused to wrath?

يَذودون عني بالأسِنّةِ والظُّبا

ولولاهُمُ أدنى خُطا العاجِزِ القِدُّ

They defend me with spearheads and sword-edges;

without them, a rawhide fetter would shorten a helpless man's steps.

فأوْجُهُهُمْ والخَطْبُ داجٍ مُضيئَةٌ

وألْسِنَتُهُمْ والعِيُّ مُحتَصَرٌ لُدُّ

Their faces shine while calamity is dark;

their tongues are fierce in dispute, with speechlessness under siege.

إذا انتَسَبوا مَدَّ الفَخارُ أكُفَّهُمْ

إِلى شَرَفٍ أعلى دَعائِمَهُ المَجْدُ

When they recite their lineage, ancestral pride stretches their hands

toward a nobility whose pillars glory has raised.

فكُلٌّ سَعى للمَكْرُماتِ وإنّما

إِلى ناصِرِ الدّينِ انتهى الحَسَبُ العَدُّ

All have striven for noble deeds, yet

in Nasir al-Din deep-rooted nobility reaches its height.

أغَرُّ يَهُزُّ الحَمْدُ عِطْفَيْهِ للندىً

على حينَ لا شُكْرٌ يُراعَى ولا حَمْدُ

A radiant man, whose shoulders praise sways toward generosity,

when neither thanks nor praise is heeded.

أتَتْهُ العُلا طَوْعاً وكم رُدَّ طالِبٌ

على عَقِبَيْهِ بعدما استُفْرِغَ الجُهْدُ

High rank came to him willingly; how many a seeker was turned

back upon his heels, after all his effort was spent.

ترى سيمِياءَ العِزِّ فوقَ جبينِهِ

كما لاحَ حَدُّ السّيْفِ أخْلَصَهُ الهِنْدُ

You see the mark of might upon his brow,

like the gleaming sword-edge that India has refined.

له نِعْمَةٌ تأوي إِلى ظِلّها المُنى

ويَسْحَبُ أذيالَ الثّراءِ بها الوَفْدُ

His bounty shelters hopes beneath its shade,

and through it delegations trail the skirts of wealth.

وعَزْمَةُ ذي شِبلَيْنِ ضاقَ بِهَمِّه

ذِراعاً فلا يَثْنيهِ زَجْرٌ ولا رَدُّ

And he has the resolve of a lion with two cubs, strained by his concern

beyond endurance: no rebuke or repulse turns him back.

يُقَلِّبُ عَيْناً لا يزالُ لدى الوَغى

يَذُرُّ عليها منْ خَبيئَتِهِ الزَّنْدُ

He turns an eye on which, amid battle, the firestick

keeps sprinkling sparks from its hidden store.

إذا السّنَواتُ الشُّهْبُ أجْلى قَتامُها

عنِ المَحْلِ حتى عَيَّ بالصَّدَرِ الوِرْدُ

When the dust of the ash-gray years lifted

to reveal drought, till those seeking water were too spent to return,

حَلَبْنا أفاوِيقَ الغِنى منْ يَمينِهِ

وما غَرّنا البَرْقُ اللَّموعُ ولا الرَّعْدُ

we milked fresh draughts of wealth from his right hand,

and no flashing lightning or thunder had deceived us.

ودَرَّتْ علَيْنا راحَةٌ خَلَصَتْ بِها

إلينا اليدُ البيْضاءُ والعِيشةُ الرَّغْدُ

A palm poured forth upon us; through it came

to us the white hand of favor and a life of ease.

فداهُ منَ الأقوامِ كُلُّ مُبَخَّلٍ

لهُ مَنْظَرٌ حُرُّ ومُخْتَبَرٌ عَبْدُ

May every reputed miser among men be his ransom,

freeborn in appearance, but slavish when put to the test.

إذا بَسَطَ المَدْحُ الوُجوهَ وأشرَقَتْ

زَوى بينَ عَيْنَيهِ على الشّاعِرِ الوَغْدُ

When praise makes faces smile and shine,

the churl knits his brow at the poet.

فلا بَلَغَتْ إنْ زُرْتُهُ ما تَرومُهُ

رَكائِبُ أنْضاها التّوَقُّصُ والوَخْدُ

If I visit him, may they never attain their desire—

those riding-camels worn out by short-stepped trotting and swift strides.

يَخُضْنَ الدُّجى خُوصاً كأنّ عُيونَها

وهُنَّ جَليّاتٌ أَناسِيُّها رُمْدُ

They wade through darkness, narrow-eyed, as though their eyes,

though clear, had sore, inflamed pupils.

إذا ما المَطايا جُرْنَ عن سَنَنِ الهُدى

وجاذَبَنا قَصْدَ النِّجادِ بها الوَهْدُ

When the mounts strayed from the straight path,

and hollows tugged against our course toward the heights,

ذَكَرْناكَ والظّلْماءُ تَثْني صُدورَها

إِلى الغَيِّ حتى يَسْتَقيمَ بِها الرُّشْدُ

we remembered you, while darkness bent their breasts

toward error, until right guidance set their course straight.

حَمَلْنَ إليكَ الشِّعْرَ غَضّاً كأنّما

غَذَتْهُ برَيّا الشّيحِ عُذْرَةٌ أو نَهْدُ

They bore fresh poetry to you, as though

'Udhra or Nahd had nourished it with wormwood's fragrance.

فما زِلْتُ أحْدوهُ إليكَ مُحَبَّراً

وللهِ دَرّي أيَّ ذي فِقَرٍ أحْدو

I kept driving it toward you in song, richly adorned;

God bless my skill—what a many-jointed creature I drive!

ولاعَبْتُ ظِلّي في فِنائِكَ بَعدَما

أبَى أن يُزيرَ الأرضَ طُرَّتَهُ البُرْدُ

I played with my shadow in your courtyard, after

the mantle had refused to let its hem touch the earth.

وقد كان عَهدي بالمُنى يَسْتَميلُني

إليكَ وتُدْنيني البَشاشةُ والوُدُّ

My old acquaintance with hope had drawn me

to you, and cheerfulness and affection brought me near.

فما بالُنا نُجْفَى ومنكَ تعلَّمَتْ

صُروف اللّيالي أن يَدومَ لها عَهْدُ

Why, then, are we shunned, when from you

the turns of night have learned to keep a lasting pledge?

وما بي نَوالٌ أرْتَجيه فَطالما

نَقَعْتُ الصّدى والماءُ مُقْتَسَمٌ ثَمْدُ

It is no gift I hope for; often have I

quenched my thirst when scant pool-water was shared out.

ولكنّكَ ابنُ العمِّ والعمُّ والِدٌ

وما لامرِئٍ منْ بِرِّ والِدِهِ بُدُّ

But you are my cousin, and an uncle is a father;

and no man can dispense with honoring his father.