أعد نظرة تبصر صنيع هواكا — Alarjani

أعِدْ نَظرةً تُبصِرْ صَنيعَ هَواكا

وزِدْ فِكْرةً تُنْشِرْ صَريعَ نَواكا

Look again, and see what love of you has wrought.

And give another thought: revive the one slain by your estrangement.

ودَعْ عنك ذِكْري باللّسانِ فإنّني

أَغارُ مِنَ اسْمي أن يُقَبِّلَ فاكا

Leave off mentioning me with your tongue, for I

am jealous of my name's kissing your mouth.

صَعُبْتَ مَراماً أن تُرينِيكَ يَقظةٌ

فَمن لي بَعْينٍ في المنامِ تَراكا

You are too hard to attain for wakefulness to show you to me;

who, then, will grant me an eye that sees you in dreams?

أراكَ ابْنَ نَعْشٍ في سَمائك عِزّةً

فليتَك تَرضَى أن أكونَ سُهاكا

I see you as Ibn Na'sh in your heaven of aloofness;

would that you consented to my being your Suha.

بطَرْفِك تُهدي وهْو سَيفٌ تَحِيَّتي

أأزمعْتَ فَتْكاً بالمُحِبِّ عَساكا

With your glance—a sword—you greet me.

Have you resolved to murder your lover? Perhaps you have.

أَسيرُ هوىً تُهوي إليه بصارمٍ

فإن كان يُرضى قَتْلُه فَهَناك

A captive of love—you strike at him with a keen sword;

if his killing pleases you, then joy be yours.

لِنَفْسِك تَغْدو ضائراً إن قَتلْتَه

لأنّك لو أبقَيْتَه لَفداكا

You harm yourself if you kill him,

for, if you spared him, he would ransom you with himself.

فحتّامَ يا قَلْبي تَمَلُّ تَقاضياً

غريمَ غرامٍ لو يَشاءُ قَضاكا

How long, my heart, will you weary with demands

a debtor of love who would repay you if he wished?

بروحيَ قلبي أَصبحَ الرَّهْنَ عنْدَه

فلستُ مُطيقاً ما حَيِيتُ فَكاكا

My soul be his ransom! My heart has become a pledge in his keeping;

I cannot redeem it for as long as I live.

أيا ملكاً لم أَدّخِرْ عنه غايةً

من الوُدِّ قُلْ لي لِمْ حُرِمْتُ رضاكا

O king, from whom I have withheld no measure

of love, tell me why I am denied your favor.

أتُنكِرُ إعزازي مكانَكَ جاهداً

وتَجْحَدُ إحساني إليك تُراكا

Do you deny how earnestly I honor your station,

and disown my kindness to you, I wonder?

ذكَرتُك في مَدْحِ الوزيرِ مُشَبِبّاً

فحَسْبُك هذا مَفْخَراً وكفاكا

I mentioned you in my praise of the vizier, in an amorous prelude;

that is glory enough for you, and it suffices you.

وأنشَدْتُ من مَنْظومِ وَصْفي لمَجده

شَبائهَ ما ضمَّتْ به شَفتاكا

And from my verse describing his glory, I recited

likenesses of what your two lips enclose.

فيا شِعْرُ لولا عَطْفةٌ منه أَدركَتْ

لقد كنتَ سَطْراً والزّمانُ مَحاكا

O poetry, had no kindly turn from him reached you,

you would have been a line, and Time would have erased you.

أتى عَدْلُ نُوشَروانَ من بَعْدِ فَتْرةٍ

فكان لأَرْماقِ العبادِ مِساكا

The justice of Nusharwan came after an interval,

and sustained the last breaths of the people.

وأَدرَكَ عصْرَ الصّاحبِ العالِم الوَرى

فلاَقوا لمُلْكِ الأرضِ منه مِلاكا

Mankind lived to see the age of the learned Sahib,

and found in him the mainstay of earthly rule.

نظَمْتَ نظامَ المُلْكِ عِقْدَ فضائلٍ

جَلالُك فيه للعيون جَلاكا

You strung the order of the kingdom as a necklace of virtues;

your majesty within it revealed you to all eyes.

إذا ما أُميطَ الحُجْبُ عنكَ لجِلْسةٍ

تَناهَب أَفواهُ المُلوكِ ثَراكا

Whenever the curtains are drawn aside for you to hold audience,

kings' mouths vie to seize your dust.

طَلعْتَ هُماماً ذا عِقابٍ ونائلٍ

فخافَك كُلُّ منهمُ ورَجاكا

You appeared magnanimous, possessing punishment and bounty;

every one of them feared you and hoped in you.

وكم قامَ يَبغي شَأْوَ عَلْياكَ حاسِدٌ

فقالَ الزّمانُ اقْعُدْ فلستَ هُناكا

Many an envier rose to seek the height of your eminence,

but Time said, 'Sit down; you are not there.'

بكَى القَطْرُ لمّا جُدْتَ خَوْفَ افتضاحه

فَمن زاعِمٌ أنّ الغَمامَ حكاكا

The rain wept when you gave, fearing its own disgrace;

who, then, claims the clouds have imitated you?

وعلَّم شُهْبَ اللّيلِ أن تَهْدِيَ الوَرى

إذا اعتكَر الظّلماءُ نارُ قِراكا

And the stars of night were taught to guide mankind,

when darkness gathered, by the fire of your hospitality.

وأفْرَسُ خَلْقِ اللهِ يومَ حَفيظةٍ

شُجاعٌ بمِلْءِ العَيْنِ منه رآكا

The finest horseman among God's creatures on a day of fury

is a brave man among them who has gazed his fill at you.

ثَبتَّ ثباتَ القَطْبِ في كُلِّ مَأزِقٍ

أَدار على هامِ البُغاةِ رَحاكا

You stood firm as the pivot in every strait

that turned your millstone upon the rebels' heads.

على حينَ أطْرافُ الأسِنّةِ في الوغَى

لدى الطّعْنِ تَحكي ألسُناً تَتَشاكى

When the points of spearheads in battle,

as they struck, resembled tongues lamenting to one another.

تُذيبُ قلوبَ الأسْدِ من قَبْلِ جَلْبها

يَراعُك في آجامِها وقَناكا

They melt the hearts of lions before they are mustered—

your reed-pen within their thickets, and your spears.

أجِلْ فيه يا دَستَ الوزارةِ نَظْرةً

تَرى السّعْدَ واشكُرْ إذ بلَغتَ مُناكا

Cast a glance on him, O seat of the vizierate;

see good fortune, and give thanks: you have attained your wishes.

وهل كنتَ إلاّ للجلالةِ مَرْكباً

مُنَى أنفَسِ القَومِ امْتطاءُ قَراكا

Were you ever anything but a mount for majesty,

whose back the noblest men yearned to ride?

ولا عجَبٌ فيما مضَى أن تَنكّسَتْ

مَعاشرُ شَتّى في رُقِيِّ ذُراكا

No wonder that, in the past, there tumbled

many groups of men while climbing your summits.

فقد كان كُلُّ مِن حَضيضٍ بوثْبةٍ

من الجهلِ يَبْغي أن يَنالَ سُكاكا

For each sought, with a single leap from the depths,

in his ignorance, to reach your lofty sky.

وذا لم يزَلْ من رِفْعةٍ مُتَدّرِجاً

إلى رِفْعةٍ حتّى سَرَى فأَتاكا

But this man kept ascending from one height

to another, until he journeyed by night and reached you:

فتىً هو كالنّجمِ العديمِ سُكونُه

وليس تُحِسُّ العَينُ منه حَراكا

a youth like a star that never rests,

though the eye perceives no movement from it.

فإن تَكُ فاتَتْهمْ فكم من طَريدةٍ

من الوَحشِ هذا يَطَّبيهِ وذَاكا

And if you eluded them, how many a quarry

among wild beasts has this man and that sought to lure,

تَقنّصها ذو الجَدّ أخْذاً بكَفّه

وخابَتْ رجالٌ ناصِبونَ شِباكا

only for a fortunate man to catch it in his hand,

while men setting nets came away disappointed!

فأصبَحْتُما كُفْؤَينِ نالا تَواصُلاً

وقَرَّب سَعْدٌ من نَواهُ نَواكا

So you two became equals joined in union,

and fortune drew your far-off abode near his.

ولمّا رأَى السّلطانُ أنّك صارِمٌ

له اللهُ كَي تُفْني عِداهُ نَضاكا

When the sultan saw that you were a keen sword

God had unsheathed for him to destroy his enemies,

رأى خِلَلاً تَشريفَه معَ عزِّه

فأَوْلاكَها للصّونِ حينَ بلاكا

he saw his robes of honor, with all their glory, as sheaths,

and bestowed them on you for protection, after testing you.

فللّهِ عَيْنا مَن رآكَ وقد بَدا

سَناؤكَ مُجْتاباً لها وسَناكا

Blessed are the eyes of anyone who saw you, when there appeared

your eminence, arrayed in them, and your radiance!

قَميصٌ من التِّبْرِ المُضاعَفِ نَسجُه

عَلْوتَ ذُرا الأفلاكِ وهْو عَلاكا

A tunic whose weave was doubled gold—

you rose above the summits of the spheres, while it rose over you.

فلا تِبْرَ إلاّ هانَ حينَ حوَيْتَه

فَناقَضَ حتّى عَزَّ حينَ حَواكا

No gold but lost its worth when you possessed it;

yet it reversed the rule, becoming precious when it enclosed you.

وتاجٌ تعالَى عن سَمِيّك عَقْدُه

لدِينِ هُدىً لم يَعْنِه وعَناكا

And a crown whose setting rose above your namesake,

for a guiding faith that meant not him, but you.

تَتَوَّجَهُ عاليِ سريرٍ تَرى له

قَوائمَ تُمطَى فَرقَداً وسِماكا

He wore it as a crown, high on a throne whose

legs you see bestriding Farqad and Simak:

من الخيل سبّاق حكى كلَّ سُنبُك

يقلبُ فَهماً والسراة مداكا

a fleet horse, whose every hoof resembled—

as it turned—'understanding' [unclear reading]; its back, your grinding-stone.

يُقالُ له يا طِرْفُ لا طَرْفَ للورَى

يَنالُ إذا خَفّتْ خُطاكَ مَداكا

They say to it: 'O noble steed, no human gaze

can reach your range when your steps grow swift.'

سَحابُ النّدَى مُلْقي عِنانِك سائراً

ومَطلعُ شَمسِ المَكرُماتِ مَطاكا

He who loosens your reins as he rides is a cloud of bounty,

and your back is the rising-place of the sun of noble deeds.

بغُرّةِ مَن في السّرجِ عن كُلِّ غُرّةٍ

غَنِيتُ وتَحجيلٍ يُذيلُ شَواكا

By the radiance of the rider in the saddle, of any white blaze

I have no need, nor of white stockings draping your limbs.

فإن تكُ خَلخالَ اللُّجَينِ حُرمْتَه

فقد عُوِّضَت طَوقَ النُّضارِ طُلاكا

If you have been denied an anklet of silver,

your neck has been compensated with a collar of gold.

فلمّا بدَتْ تلك المواكبُ طُلّعاً

وفيها النّدى والبَأْسُ مُكتَنِفاكا

When those processions appeared, rising into view,

with bounty and valor flanking you,

وفي غَيمِ نَقعٍ أنت كالشَّمسِ حَشْوَه

تُنيرُ ونَثْرُ التِّبرِ قَطْرُ حَياكا

within a cloud of dust you were like the sun at its heart,

shining, the scattered gold the rain of your life-giving shower.

بُروقٌ منَ الأعلام تَتبَعُ خَفْقَها

رُعودٌ من الكُوساتِ سايرَتاكا

Lightnings from banners, their flutter followed

by thunder from kettledrums, marched beside you.

رأى الفلَكُ الدّوّارُ انّك فُقتَه

وخافَ عليه أن تَصُبَّ سُطاكا

The revolving sphere saw that you surpassed it,

and feared you might pour your might upon it;

فَرصَّع في تُرسٍ هلالاً وأنجُماً

وأغمدَ شَمساً في دُجىً ورَشاكا

so it studded a shield with a crescent and stars,

sheathed a sun in darkness, and bribed you.

فللّهِ سَيفٌ قال يا رأْيَ صاحبي

أَعِنِّي فأمضَى من ظُبايَ ظُباكا

What a sword, that said: 'O judgment of my master,

help me; your edges are sharper than mine!'

وإن كان منه في القِرابِ مُهنّدٌ

إذا قَدَّ طَوداً لم تَخَلْه أَحاكا

Though its scabbard held an Indian blade,

if it cleft a mountain, you would not think it had made a mark.

وألويةٌ منهنّ صَقْرانِ أوفْيَا

على علَمَيْ رُمحَيْنِ فارْتبآكا

And banners, among them two falcons standing aloft

on the standards of two lances, watching you from above.

وليسا سوى النَّسْرَيْنِ من أُفُقَيْهما

لِحُبّهما نَيْلَ العُلا تَبِعاكا

They were none other than the two Eagles from their horizons,

following you for love of attaining the heights.

فما بلَغا إلاّ تُراباً تَدوسُه

جيادُك لا أرضاً خطَتْ قَدماكا

Yet they reached only dust trodden

by your steeds, not ground your feet had stepped on.

وداعٍ بأعْلَى صَوته كُلَّ سامعٍ

إلى عَدْلك المأْمولِ مثْل نَداكا

And a caller, at the top of his voice, summons every hearer

to your justice, hoped for like your bounty.

يُراوِحُ ضَرباً نَوبةً بعد نَوْبةٍ

على غَيرِ ذَنْبٍ في مَنيعِ ذُراكا

He alternates beats, turn after turn,

for no offense, within your lofty stronghold.

ومَلْكٍ منَ الأقلامِ لكنْ سَريرُه

بَنانُك يَحْمي باللِّسانِ حِماكا

And a king among pens, though its throne

is your fingers, guards your domain with its tongue.

ويُفْرَشُ كافوراً ومَفرِقُ رأسِه

به المسْكُ من طولِ التَضَمُّخ صاكا

It is bedded on camphor, while on the parting of its head

musk has clung from long anointing.

وصَفراءُ سَوداءُ الضّميرِ كأنّها

حَسودٌ يُجِنُّ القلبُ منه قِلاكا

And a yellow one, black at heart, as though it were

an envier whose heart conceals hatred of you.

عديمةُ حَلْيٍ إذ هيَ الحَلْيُ كلُّها

على أَنّها تُعتَدُّ بَعضَ حُلاكا

Unadorned, since it is itself all adornment,

though it is counted only part of your ornaments.

لعَمْري لقد أَعلَى مَنارَكَ هِمّةٌ

فلا ماجدٌ إلاّ اقتدَى بِهُداكا

By my life, high ambition has raised your beacon;

no noble man fails to follow your guidance.

وما أَنت إلا للسّلاطينِ كعْبةٌ

من الشّرفِ اللهُ العظيمُ بَناكا

You are nothing but a Kaaba for sultans,

which Almighty God built of nobility.

ليعلَمَ مُهدي كُسوةٍ لك أنّه

هو المُكتسي للفَخْرِ حينَ كَساكا

Let whoever presents you with a robe know that

he clothes himself in glory when he clothes you.

ولم يَك تَشريفُ الملوكِ منَ العُلا

بمُبْتكرٍ حتّى يُقالَ زَهاكا

Nor was the honor conferred by kings, among lofty honors,

a novelty, that one might say it made you proud.

فمن قبلُ في تَشريفك اللهُ بالغَتْ

عناياتُه حتّى كبَتْنَ عِداكا

For earlier, in honoring you, God was unstinting

in His care, until it cast down your foes.

فَقمّصَك الدّينَ المَصونَ بُرودُه

ورَدّاكَ مَصقولاً رِداءَ تُقاكا

He clothed you in faith, its mantles inviolate,

and draped you in the burnished cloak of your piety.

وأمطاكَ ظَهْراً للعَلاء منُاصباً

نُجومَ الدُّجَى لم يَقْتَعِدْه سِواكا

He mounted you on a back that vied for loftiness

with the stars of darkness, which none but you had ridden.

وقلّد َسيَف الرأْيِ صَدرَك فاغتدَى

سلاحُ فتوحِ الأرضِ عندَك شاكا

He hung the sword of judgment on your breast, and thus

the armament for conquering the earth was complete in your keeping.

وآتاك للتّقْوى مِجَنَّ كَلاءةٍ

إذا أرسلَ الباغي السِّهامَ وَقاكا

And for piety He gave you a shield of protection,

which guarded you when the aggressor loosed his arrows.

وأعلامَ ذِكْرٍ سائرٍ وسُرادِقاً

منَ العزِّ أَلْقَى حُجبَه وَحماكا

And banners of far-ranging renown, and a pavilion

of honor, whose curtains He spread, protecting you.

ومَدْحاً على أبوابك الدَّهرَ ضارباً

له نُوَباً لا يَنْقطعْنَ دِراكا

And praise, forever beating at your doors,

its rounds succeeding one another without end.

فهُنِّئْتَ تَشريفَيْنِ تَشريفَ عادةٍ

به المَجلسُ الأعلَى الغداةَ حَباكا

May you be blessed with two honors: the customary honor

the highest court bestowed on you this morning,

وتَشريفَ تَحقيقٍ منَ اللهِ سابقاً

خُصصْتَ به لم تَمتلِكْه أُلاكا

and the true honor God bestowed before,

reserved for you, which those others never possessed.

أَجَرَّك ذَيْلاً في المَجَرّةِ رافلاً

وخَطَّتْ سُموّاً في السَّماءِ خُطاكا

It made you trail a hem, striding proudly through the Milky Way,

and your steps traced heights across the sky.

ولا شَكَّ أنّ البدْرَ في الأُفْقِ درْهمٌ

من النّثْرِ باقٍ في طَريقِ عُلاكا

Surely the full moon on the horizon is a dirham

left of the scattered coins along the path of your ascent.

أعدْتَ حياةَ الفَضْلِ قبلَ مَعادِه

سَماحاً فجازَى الأكرَمينَ جَزاكا

You restored bounty to life before its resurrection,

through generosity; may the Rewarder of the noblest reward you.

وما زال تَأْميلي يُسافرُ في الوَرى

فقال له ناديكَ ألْقِ عَصاكا

My hope kept traveling among mankind,

until your assembly told it, 'Lay down your staff.'

وقال ولم يَكْذِبْ ليَ الحَظُّ إنّما

غَناؤك في أَيّامه وغِناكا

And Fortune told me, without lying, 'Only

in his days lie your sufficiency and your wealth.'

فدَتْكَ نُفوسُ الحاسدِينَ من الورَى

وإن هي قَلّتْ أن تكونَ فِداكا

May the souls of the envious among mankind ransom you,

though they are too paltry to be your ransom.

وحُيِّيَ فَرعٌ للعلاء نَمَيْتَه

وحُيِّيَ أَصْلٌ للعَلاءِ نَماكا

Hail to the branch of nobility you nurtured,

and hail to the root of nobility that nurtured you.

ووالَى كما يَهوَى وَليُّكَ دهرُه

وآخَى كما شاء الزَّمانُ أَخاكا

May his age stand by your friend as he wishes,

and may Time be a brother to your brother as he desires.

بَقيتَ يقولُ السّيفُ للقلَمِ استَمعْ

دُعايَ لمَن أهدَى مَضاءَ شَباكا

May you endure! The sword says to the pen: 'Listen

to my prayer for him who gave your point its keenness.

أَتبكي بيُمناهُ وأضحَكُ دائماً

ألا لا انْقَضي ضحْكي له وبُكاكا

Do you weep in his right hand, while I always laugh?

Ah, may my laughter for him and your weeping never end!'

فدُمْ في اللّيالي خالداً يا ابْنَ خالد

خَصيباً لروّادِ النَّوالِ رُباكا

Endure through the nights forever, O son of Khalid,

your hills fertile for those who seek bounty.

يُرَى لك وَصْفاً في ظِلالِ سَعادةٍ

معَ النِّعَمِ اسْمٌ نَوَّلوهُ أَباكا

May there be seen as your description, in happiness's shade,

amid blessings, the name they bestowed on your father.