أحضر الليل منك عقدا وثغرا — Alarjani

أحضَر اللّيلُ منك عِقْداً وثَغْرا

حين وَلّى ليُعقِبَ الوَصْلَ هَجْرا

Night brought from you a necklace and a mouth,

as it departed, to follow union with separation.

وأَردْتُ اختلاسَ قُبلةِ تَودي

عٍ وكُلٌّ في ناظري كان دُرّا

And I wished to steal a farewell kiss,

while each, to my eyes, was pearl.

فتَحيَّرْتُ أحسَبُ الثَّغْرَ عِقْداً

من سُلَيمى وأحسَبُ العِقْدَ ثَغْرا

Bewildered, I took her mouth for a necklace—

Sulayma's—and took the necklace for her mouth.

ولثَمتُ الجميعَ قَطْعاً لِشَكّي

وكذا يَفعَلُ الّذي يتَحَرّى

I kissed them all to put an end to my doubt;

thus acts the one who seeks certainty.

ولعَمْري ما الدُّرُّ كالثّغْرِ من سَلْ

مى ولكنْ طَرْفي أساء فغُفْرا

By my life, pearls are not like Sulayma's mouth,

but my eyes erred—so grant forgiveness.

سحَر الطّيفُ ناظِريَّ فلمّا

نفَث الصُّبحُ حَلَّ ذاك السِّحرا

The phantom bewitched my eyes; then, when

dawn blew, it undid that spell.

مَن رأَى قَطُّ بين ماءٍ ونارٍ

لخيالٍ في آخِر الّليلِ مَسْرى

Who ever saw, between water and fire,

a phantom journeying in the night's last hours,

مثْلَ طيفٍ قد زارني منك وَهْناً

وفؤادي حَرّانُ والعينُ عَبرى

like the phantom of you that visited me one night,

while my heart burned and my eye brimmed with tears?

بأبي مَن إذا تَقدَّمُ رِجْلٌ

لي إلى وَصْلِه تأخّرُ أُخرى

My father be his ransom: when one foot advances

toward union with him, my other foot retreats.

وإلى وجهِه إذا سافَرَ النّا

ظِرُ منّي خاف الغَيورَ فَورّى

And when my gaze journeys toward his face,

it fears the jealous watcher and conceals its aim.

كلّما عاد منه عندَ ادِّكارٍ

بَحّر الشّوقُ مُقْلتي فيه بَحرا

Whenever my gaze returned from him upon remembrance,

longing made my eye an ocean on his account.

يومَ وافَى يَجُرُّ للحسنِ جَيشاً

قال لي قائل سَلِ اللهَ صَبرا

On the day he arrived, drawing along an army of beauty,

someone told me, 'Ask God for patience.'

قلتُ دَعْني فجفْنُه الآن يَنضو

سيفَ لحظٍ فيقتلُ الصّبَّ صَبْرا

I said, 'Leave me: his eyelid now unsheathes

a sword of glances, putting the helpless lover to death.'

يا غزالاً إذا تَبسّمَ قُلنا

رَوضةٌ أَصبحتْ تُفتِّقُ زَهرا

O gazelle, when he smiles, we say:

'A garden has begun to open its blossoms.'

ذابَ قلبي لثَغْرِه هل رأيتُمْ

بَرَداً قبلَهُ يُذوِّبُ جَمرا

My heart melted for his mouth: have you ever seen

hail before it that could melt embers?

لستُ أَنساهُ حين لاح لعيني

وهْو كالظّبْيِ يَنصِبُ الجيدَ ذُعرا

I do not forget him when he appeared to my eye,

like a gazelle raising its neck in fright,

في نِطاقٍ مُفصَّلٍ من عيونٍ

وقلوبٍ كَسْوها منه الخَصرا

within a girdle studded with eyes

and hearts, arrayed around his waist.

قلتُ كم ذا تُديرُ مُرِّ عِتابٍ

قال خيرُ الخُمورِ ما كان مُرّا

I said, 'How long will you pass around bitter reproach?'

He said, 'The best wine is bitter.'

قلتُ يا رِيمُ إن يكن فُوكَ كأْساً

والثّنايا الحَبابَ والرّيقُ خَمرا

I said, 'O white gazelle, if your mouth is a cup,

your front teeth its foam, and your saliva wine,

فأَدِرْه كُؤوسَ لثْمٍ عسى تَعْ

دو المطايا فأَجهَلُ الحالَ سُكرا

then pass it round in cups of kisses; perhaps

the mounts will speed away while I, drunk, know nothing of it.'

إن أَحسّتْ بسَيرِكم عَبراتي

لم تَدعْ للرّفاقِ في الأرضِ عَبرا

If my tears sensed your departure,

they would leave the companions no crossing upon the earth.

يا سحابَ الجفونِ جُودي بقطرِ الدْ

دَمعِ منّى صَدْراً من القلبِ قَفرا

O clouds of my eyelids, pour your drops of tears

upon a barren breast of the heart within me.

أَصبحَ الحَيُّ مُنجدِينَ وأَمسَوا

ليس منهمْ بالغَورِ إلاّ الذِّكْرى

By morning the tribe was bound for Najd; by evening

nothing of them remained in the lowlands but memory.

مُودِعينَ السُّجوفَ بِيضاً وسُمْراً

لهمُ والأكُفَّ بِيضاً وسُمرا

Leaving fair and brown beauties behind curtains,

and in their hands, white blades and brown spears.

كُلُّ بيضاءَ إن نظرتَ إليها

نَسجَ الظَّعْنُ دونها الشَّمسَ سِترا

For each fair woman, when you looked toward her,

the journey wove the sun into a veil before her.

فسقَى اللهُ يومَ ساروا صباحاً

ساقَ حُرٍ إلى البُكا ساقَ حُرّا

May God water, on the morning they departed,

the Saq Hurr dove that drove a free man to tears.

غاض دَمعي كدمعِه وقديماً

كان لولا العِدا دموعيَ غُزرا

My tears receded like its tears; formerly,

were it not for the foes, my tears were abundant.

إنّما كنتُ في المَدامعِ منّى

ذاخِراً عسكراً من الدّمعِ مَجرا

I had only been, within my tear ducts,

hoarding a vast army of tears,

راجِياً بالبكاء قطْعَ طريقِ الرْ

رَكْبِ يوماً إن أصبحَ الحَيُّ سَفرا

hoping through weeping to cut off the caravan's road

one day, should the tribe become travelers.

وعَد الدّمعُ إن أَرادوا بأحبا

بي مَسيراً أن يَجعلَ البَرَّ بَحرا

My tears promised, if they intended to take my loved ones

away, to turn dry land into an ocean.

وأبَى أن يفيِ فقلتُ وحتّى

أنت يا دَمعُ قد تَعلّمتَ غَدرا

They refused to fulfill it, so I said, 'Even

you, O tears, have learned treachery.'

قسماً لا رجعتُ من بعدِ يَومي

غيرَ ذُخرِ الإسلامِ أَحفَظُ ذُخرا

I swear: from this day forward, I shall never again

cherish any treasure but the Treasure of Islam.

غُرّةٌ للزّمانِ في الوجهِ منه

مَن رأَى قبلَهُ زماناً أَغَرّا

He is a white blaze upon the face of time:

who before him ever saw time bright-browed?

خَضِلُ الكَفِّ عادِمُ الكفْء خِرقٌ

يَفِرُ العِرْضَ دائماً لا الوَفْرا

Dewy-handed, peerless, keen-witted,

he always preserves his honor, never his wealth.

سابِقٌ بالنّوالِ فالوْفدُ منه

بدَلَ المَدحِ يَنظِمونَ الشُكرا

Foremost in giving, he has his visitors

compose thanks instead of praise.

فارِسٌ في مَواقفِ الجودِ ثَبْتٌ

تَقتُلُ المالَ كَفُّه والفَقرا

A steadfast knight in the arenas of generosity,

whose hand slays both wealth and poverty.

جاعِلٌ للوفودِ في الكَفّ يُسراً

يَتلقّاهمُ وفي الوجهِ بِشرا

Providing ease for delegations through his hand,

he receives them with cheerfulness upon his face.

فتراهُ إذا بدا من بَعيدٍ

للفتى بِشْرُهُ يُصحَّفُ يُسرا

When you see him appearing from afar,

the young man reads his 'cheer' as 'ease.'

كم نضا رأْيَه فثقّفَ عُوجاً

من رجالٍ به وقَوَّم صُعرا

How often he unsheathed his judgment and straightened

crooked men with it, setting proud necks upright.

كَيدُه للعدوِّ لا الطّعْنُ خَلْساً

يَتَّقي مثلَه ولا الضّرْبُ هَبرا

His stratagem against the foe: no stealthy thrust

nor cleaving blow is dreaded as much.

مَعرَكٌ يَصرعُ العِدا لا قَنا المُرْ

رانِ فيه ولا صفائحُ بُصْرى

A battlefield where foes fall—not by spears

of ash, nor by the sword blades of Busra.

ليثُ غابٍ تُريكَ منه لساناً

وبياناً كفّاه ناباً وظُفرا

A forest lion: his two hands reveal a tongue

and eloquence as his fang and claw.

وبكُتْبِ الأيّامِ يُفْدَى كِتابٌ

جاء منهُ يقبِّلُ الخَتْمَ نحرا

The chronicles of time would ransom a letter

sent by him, its seal kissing its throat.

شمعةٌ تَحسدُ الشّموعُ سناها

ولهذا دموعُها الدَّهرَ تَتْرى

A candle whose radiance other candles envy;

for this their tears flow endlessly in succession.

ذو وقارٍ يُبدي التّواضعَ دِيناً

ويَهُزُّ الأعطافَ راجيهِ كِبرا

Possessed of dignity, he displays humility as a creed,

while his hopeful petitioner sways his shoulders proudly.

لا يُحابي في حُكْمِه بل يُسَوِّي

بالورى نفسَه العظيمةَ فَخرا

He shows no partiality in judgment, but puts

his own glorious self on equal terms with mankind.

لو عرَفْنا في الجودِ حُجْراً لكُنّا

قد ضرَبْنا عليه منه حَجرا

If we recognized restraint in generosity, we would

have placed him under its interdiction.

ماجِدٌ نَمتري سحائبَ عَشْراً

من يدَيه تُسْمَى أناملَ عَشرا

A noble man: we milk ten rain clouds

from his hands, called ten fingers.

مَن يَقِسْهُ في مَجدِه بأبيه

لم يَخفْ في القياسِ نَقْضاً وكَسرا

Whoever compares him in glory with his father

need fear neither refutation nor invalidation in the comparison.

يا ابنَ مَن زِنتَهُ وزانَكَ حقّاً

كَرماً باهِراً ونَفْساً ونَجرا

O son of one whom you truly adorn, and who adorns you,

in dazzling generosity, character, and lineage.

والكريمُ الأَغرُّ لا تَقبَلُ العل

ياءُ منه إلاّ الكرامَ الغُرّا

From the illustrious nobleman, high nobility accepts

only illustrious noblemen.

يا بني طاهرٍ بكمْ بَشّر اللّ

هُ على عهدهِ النّبِيَّ طُهرا

O sons of Tahir, through you God gave glad tidings

of purity to the Prophet in his lifetime.

بين عَينَيْ عَينَيهِ قد بانَ منكمْ

كامِنُ النُّورِ للنّبِيِّ فَسُرّا

Between the eyes of his eyes, there appeared from you

a hidden light to the Prophet, and he was gladdened.

ورآه مُبشِّراً بكُم جا

ءَ فأَعطَى هُنَيدةَ للبُشْرى

He saw him coming to herald you,

and gave a hundred camels for the glad tidings.

فكأنّ النّبيَّ صلَّى عليه اللّ

لهُ رَبُّ العُلا وسلَّم تَتْرى

It was as though the Prophet—may God bless him,

the Lord of heights, and grant him unceasing peace—

قد رأَى يوم ذاكَ كيفَ تَفِرّو

نَ جميعاً لدِينهِ اليومَ نَصرا

had seen that day how you all

today sustain victory for his faith.

ففَداكَ الزّمانُ يا خيرَ أَهلي

هِ إذا الحادثاتُ قَدَّمْن نَذرا

May time be your ransom, O best of its people,

when misfortunes bring warnings,

بوجوهٍ من أَولياءَ وحُسّا

دٍ كخَلْطِ النِّثارِ بيضاً وصُفرا

through the faces of friends and envious foes,

mingled like scattered coins, silver and gold.

أَيُّها اللائمُ المُخَطّي ومَحْوِي

عن بياضِ الفلا من العيسِ سَطرا

O reproacher, finding fault with me and my erasing

a line of pale camels from the desert's white page:

كم إلى كم أَجوزُ بحْرَ الفيافي

جاعلاً جَسْرتي عليه جِسرا

how long, how long must I cross the sea of deserts,

making my sturdy she-camel a bridge across it,

طامعاً في فُضولِ عيشٍ أَحُثُّ ال

عيسَ والعُمْرُ شَطْرُه الغَضُّ مَرّا

seeking life's surpluses, urging on the

pale camels, while life's youthful half has passed?

مثلَ عَوراءَ وهْي حَولاءُ تَلقَى ال

وِتْرَ شَفْعاً وتَملِكَ الشّفْعَ وِترا

Like a one-eyed woman, also cross-eyed, who sees

one as two, yet possesses two as one.

عَزْمةٌ لم تَقِفْ من الدَّهرِ يَوماً

ونوىً لم تَدَعْ منَ الأرضِ شبرا

A resolve that never paused a single day,

and journeys that left no handspan of earth untouched.

وزمانٌ ثنَى رجائيَ مَيْتاً

في مُلوكِ الوَرى وقَلبيَ قَبرا

And a time that turned my hope dead

in mankind's kings, and my heart into a grave.

لاعِبٌ بالمُلوكِ قد طرحَ الفِرْ

زانَ دَهراً لكنْ أساءَ القَمرا

Playing with kings, it cast down the

chess-vizier for an age, but bungled the gamble.

كم تَمرَّسْتُ بعدَ قومٍ بقَومٍ

حِقَباً والأَخيرُ ما زال سِرّاً

How often I tried my strength with one people after another

for ages, the last still a mystery.

كان دَهْري ليلاً فقيراً إلى أنْ

أَطلَعَ اللهُ للوَرى فيه بَدرا

My time was a night in need, until

God raised within it a full moon for mankind.

عجَباً لي وللزّمانِ وجَدّي

والفتَى دائماً يُراشُ ويُبْرى

How wondrous are my dealings with time and my fortune!

A man is always being feathered and whittled.

غِبتُ عنكْم ليلَ الشّبابِ على نُسْ

خةِ أقطارِه فَضّيعْتُ عُمرا

I was absent from you through youth's night, following

the pattern of its regions, and squandered a lifetime.

وإلى خِدْمتي لكم عُدْتُ لمّا

فَجّر الشّيبُ في الذّوائبِ فَجرا

And I returned to your service when

gray hair made dawn break among my locks.

كَمُضِلٍّ رَدَّ النّهارُ عليه

جَوهراً في الظّلامِ عنه استَسَرّا

Like one whose lost jewel daylight restored,

after darkness had concealed it from him.

قلتُ لمّا حطَطْتُ رَحْلِي إليه

حين أَهْوَى الحادي يَحُلُّ الضَّفرا

I said, when I set down my saddle beside him,

as the camel-driver bent to untie the braided ropes:

كان عَزْمي أنْ أَهجُرَ النّاسَ طُرّاً

فإذا بي نَزْلتُ بالنّاسِ طُرّا

'My resolve had been to abandon all mankind,

yet here I am, lodged with all mankind.'

خلَق اللهُ من لساني حُساماً

ثُمَّ أَجرَى مديحَكمْ فيه أُثْرا

God created a sword from my tongue,

then set your praise upon it as its damask pattern.

دَأْبيَ الشُكْرُ ما حَيِيتُ لأنّي

ما أَعُدُّ الكُفْرانَ إلاّ كُفرا

Gratitude is my habit as long as I live, for I

consider ingratitude nothing but unbelief.

فَبُرودُ الإحسانِ تَخلُقُ طَيّاً

إن طَوَوْها وليس تَخْلُقُ نَشرا

The robes of kindness wear out when folded,

if kept folded, but never when spread abroad.

وإليك الغداةَ فاجتَلِها مِن

خِدْرِ فكْري يا عُمدةَ الدّين بكرا

To you this morning—unveil her

from my thought's chamber, O 'Umdat al-Din, a virgin.

وارْعَها فهْي كالمُوَصّاةِ للحس

ناءِ تَرضَى منك الكَفاءةَ مَهرا

Care for her: she is like one entrusted to a fair

woman; she accepts your equal worth as her dowry.

من قَوافٍ إذا نَزلْنا بأَملا

كٍ أَقامتْ تُقرىَ النّوالَ وتُقْرا

She is of rhymes which, when we lodge with kings,

remain, feasted with bounty and read aloud.

لو حكَى الدّهرُ بعضَهنّ بقاءً

عاش من بعدِ عُمْرِه الدَّهرُ دهرا

If time imitated some of them in endurance,

time would live another age beyond its lifespan.

يا سماءً رفيعةً من سَماحٍ

ليس يُخْلِي من قَطْرِها الدَّهرَ قُطرا

O lofty sky of generosity,

time leaves no region empty of your rain.

لم أَجِدْ من بني الزّمانِ نَجيباً

فلَعْمري قد كِدْتُ أُوهَمُ أَمرا

I found no noble man among the sons of time;

by my life, I was nearly misled into a thought.

ثُمّ لمّا أيتُكمْ صَحَّ عِنْدي

أنّ للهِ في الخليقةِ سِرّا

Then, when I saw you, I knew with certainty

that God has a secret within creation.

نحنُ إهلالُنا بوَجهِكَ لليُمْ

نِ كَفانا وأنت من بَعدُ أدرى

Our hailing your face for an auspicious beginning

has sufficed us; thereafter you know best.

اِفتتاحٌ سَعْدٌ بوَجْهِ أبى الفَتْ

حِ سعيدٍ والمَجدُ بالحُرِّ أحرى

An auspicious opening through the face of Abu al-Fath

Sa'id; glory better befits the freeborn.

فتَهَنَّ الشّهرَ الشّريفَ الّذي وا

فاك يُهدِي إليك حَمْداً وأجرا

Enjoy the noble month that has

come to you, offering praise and reward.

أنت لم تَحْوِ مِثْلَك الخَلْقُ شَخْصاً

وهْو لم يَحْوِ مثْلَه العامُ شَهرا

You—creation has never held your equal as a person;

it—the year has never held its equal as a month.

يا كريماً سَهْلَ الخليقةِ سَمْحاً

ولقد تَخلُقُ الخَليقة وَعرا

O noble man, easy-tempered and generous,

though nature may indeed create a rough character.

أرأيت الهلالَ كيف تَبدَّي

خافياً يَتركُ النّواظِرَ حَسْرى

Have you seen how the crescent appeared,

faint, leaving gazing eyes weary?

كسِوارٍ في مِعْصَمٍ من فتاةٍ

يَكْتَسِي فَضْلَ كُمِّها ثُمَّ يَعْرى

Like a bracelet upon a girl's wrist,

covered by her loose sleeve, then bared.

ثُمّ لمّا دَنا من الغَرْبِ جِدّاً

رمَقَتْهُ العيونُ يُمنَى ويُسرى

Then, when it drew very near the west,

eyes gazed at it from right and left.

هكذا كلّما تَواضَعَ ذو قَدْ

رٍ من النّاسِ كان أرفعَ قَدرا

Thus, whenever a person of standing humbles

himself among people, he rises higher in rank.

فابقْ يا أشرفَ البريّةِ طُرّاً

نَسَباً يَبهَرُ الملوكَ وصِهرا

Live on, O noblest of all creation,

in lineage that dazzles kings, and in marriage alliance,

ساكناً في بنى أبيكَ تُحاكِي

قَمَراً وُسِّطَ النُّجومَ الزُّهرا

dwelling among your father's sons, resembling

a moon set amid the radiant stars.

وأبوكُمْ مُمَتّعٌ بعُلاكم

ما حَذا الصَّومُ في الأنامِ الفِطرا

And may your father enjoy your eminence

as long as fasting follows fast-breaking among mankind.