إلى خيال خيال في الظلام سرى — Alarjani

إلى خيالٍ خَيالٌ في الظّلام سَرَى

نَظيُره في خَفاء الشَّخصِ إن نُظِرا

A phantom traveled through the darkness to a phantom,

its counterpart in bodily concealment, were both to be seen.

سارٍ ألَمّ بسارٍ كامنَيْنِ مَعاً

عن النّواظرِ في لَيلٍ قدِ اعتكَرا

A night-traveler visited a night-traveler, both hidden together

from watching eyes in a night grown murky.

كلاهما غابَ هذا في حِجابِ ضنىً

عنِ العيونِ وهذا في حِجابِ كَرى

Both were concealed: this one behind a veil of wasting sickness,

away from eyes, and that one behind a veil of sleep.

تَشابَها في نُحولٍ وادّراعِ دُجىً

وخَوْضِ أهوالِ بيدٍ واعْتيادِ سُرى

They resembled each other in thinness and in donning darkness as armor,

in braving the terrors of deserts and habitually traveling by night.

فليسَ بينهما إلا بواحدةٍ

فَرْقٌ إذا ما أعادَ النّاظرُ النَّظرا

There is only one thing between them

that differs, when the observer looks again:

بأنّه ما دَرى السَّيفُ الطَّروقُ بما

لاقَى من اللَّيلِ والصَّبُّ المَشوقُ دَرى

the night-visiting sword knew nothing of what

it encountered in the night, while the yearning, lovesick lover knew.

سَرى إليّ ولم يَشتَقْ ومن عَجَبٍ

إلى المَشوقِ إذَنْ غيرُ المشَوقِ سَرى

It traveled to me without yearning; how strange

that one without yearning should travel to the yearning one!

ظَبْيٌ من الإنْسِ مَجبولٌ على خُلُقٍ

للوَحشِ فهْو إذا آنْستَه نَفَرا

A gazelle of humankind, fashioned with a disposition

belonging to wild beasts: whenever you befriend him, he bolts.

مُعَقْرَبُ الصُّدغِ يَحِكي نُورُ غُرَّتِه

بَدْراً بدا بظلامِ اللّيلِ مُعتَجِرا

With scorpion-curled temple-locks, his brow's radiance resembles

a full moon appearing, turbaned in the night's darkness.

مُذْ سافَر القلبُ من صَدْري إليه هوىً

ما عادَ بعدُ ولم أعرِفْ له خَبَرا

Since my heart traveled from my breast to him out of love,

it has not returned, nor have I learned any news of it.

وهْو المُسيءُ اختياراً إذا نَوى سَفَراً

وقد رأى طالعاً في العَقْربِ القَمَرا

It chose badly when it intended a journey,

having seen the moon rising in Scorpio.

أشكو إلى اللهِ لا أشكو إلى أحَدٍ

أنّ الزّمانَ أحالَ العُرّفَ والنُّكُرا

I complain to God; I complain to no one else

that time has reversed kindness and cruelty,

وأنّ عَصري على أنْ قد تَجمَّلَ بي

ما إن أصادِفُ فَضْلي فيه مُعتَصَرا

and that my age, although adorned by me,

offers me no yield from my excellence.

أتَى بشَرحٍ بَسيطٍ للحوادثِ لي

دَهْري وصَنَّف حَظّي فيه مختصَرا

A lengthy exposition of calamities was brought me

by my lifetime, which compiled my fortune therein in brief.

علَتْ منازلُ أملاكٍ رجَوتُهمُ

وما أرى بيَ من إنعامِهمْ أثَرا

High rose the stations of kings in whom I placed my hopes,

yet I see no trace upon me of their beneficence.

كلٌّ إلى المُشتِري في الأُفْقِ ذو نَظَرٍ

والشّأْنُ فيمن إليه المُشتري نَظَرا

Everyone gazes toward Jupiter on the horizon;

what matters is whom Jupiter looks toward.

أُخَيَّ والحُرُّ بالأحرارِ مُعتَرِفٌ

من اللّيالي إذا ما صَرْفُها غَدَرا

My dear brother—a noble man recognizes noble men—

through the nights, when their vicissitudes betray.

إن قَصّرتْ قُدرةٌ عن عادةٍ عُهِدَتْ

فاعذُرْ فأكرمُ مَن صاحَبْتَ مَن عَذَرا

If means fall short of a custom once known,

forgive: the noblest companion is the one who forgives.

ولي هُمومٌ توالَتْ بي طَوارقُها

حتّى حوَى خاطري من قَطْرِها غُدُرا

I have worries whose night-visitations followed one another upon me,

until my mind held pools formed from their rain.

وما رَضِيتُ لضيفِ الهَمِّ قَطُ سوى

شحمِ السّنامِ من العَنْسِ الأَمونِ قِرى

Never have I accepted as hospitality for sorrow, my guest, anything

but hump-fat from a sturdy, trustworthy she-camel.

فَثُرْ بِها أيّها الحادي على عجَلٍ

فكم تَرى سفَراً عن مَغنَمٍ سَفَرا

So set her moving, camel-driver, with all haste:

how often you see a journey uncover a prize!

وقلّما أمكنَ الإنسانَ في دَعَةٍ

أن يَجمعَ الوطنَ المألوفَ والوَطَرا

Rarely can a person, while remaining at ease,

combine the familiar homeland with the desired goal.

وَاحْدُ المطايا إلى أرضِ العراق بنا

فما أَرى بيَ عن زَورائها زَوَرا

Drive the riding-camels with song, carrying us toward Iraq;

I feel no aversion to its al-Zawra.

واقْصِدْ كريماً له عبدُ الكريمِ أَبٌ

تَجِدْ هُماماً لأمرِ المجدِ مُؤْتَمِرا

Seek a generous man whose father is Abd al-Karim;

you will find a high-minded man obedient to glory's command.

مُحسَّدُ المجدِ والعُلْيا إذا رُمِقَتْ

مُحمّدُ الإِسْمِ والأوصافِ إن ذُكرا

Envied for glory and eminence whenever they are glimpsed,

Muhammad in name and praiseworthy in qualities, when both are mentioned.

فما أَرى لي منَ الأيامِ إن ظَلَمَتْ

إلاّ مُؤيِّدَ دينِ اللّهِ مُنتَصِرا

When the days wrong me, I see no champion

except Mu'ayyid Din Allah.

هو الّذي إن سَخا دَهْري برؤيتهِ

من بعدِ ما شَفّ قلبي بُعدُه فِكَرا

He is the one who, if my lifetime generously grants me sight of him,

after his absence has worn my heart thin with anxious thought,

في الحالِ أَغدو إذا استقبلتُ طلعتَه

لِما مضَى من ذُنوب الدّهرِ مُغْتَفِرا

makes me become, the instant I greet his countenance,

forgiving of all time's bygone sins.

فاحْلُلْ بِسامي ذُراه وَاغْدُ مُنتَجِعاً

سَمْحاً إذا شامَ راجٍ بَرقَهُ مُطِرا

So alight at his lofty heights, and go seeking bounty

from a generous man, rain-bearing when a hopeful seeker sights his lightning.

مُوكّلاً باللّيالي جُودُ أَنمُلِه

فكلّما كسَرتْ من فاضلٍ جَبَرا

The generosity of his fingers is charged with watching the nights:

whenever they break a worthy man, it mends him.

كلوءُ مُلْكٍ برأْيٍ ما يزالُ له

يُعِدُّه وَزَراً كُلُّ امرئٍ وَزرا

A guardian of the kingdom, with counsel always held

as a refuge by every man who seeks shelter.

فضْلُ الخطابِ له فصْلُ الخُطوبِ به

إن كان مُنتَظَماً أو كان مُنتثَرا

Excellence of discourse is his; through it crises are resolved,

whether it is ordered in verse or scattered in prose.

ليثٌ إذا صالَ لم تَثْبُتْ له نفَساً

لُيوثُ شَرٍّ تَصدَّتْ أو ليوثُ شَرى

A lion: when he attacks, not for a breath can stand against him

lions of evil confronting him, or lions of Shara.

يَراعُه نابَ عن نابٍ وعن ظُفُرٍ

له فلم يَستعرْ ناباً ولا ظُفُرا

His reed pen has stood in place of fang and claw

for him; he has borrowed neither fang nor claw.

بكفِّه إن مضَتْ قلتُ الحسامُ مضَى

شَباتُها أَو جَرتْ قلتُ القضاءُ جرى

When its point cuts in his hand, I say, 'The sword has cut';

when it flows instead, I say, 'The decree has flowed.'

يُغني العُفاةَ كما يُفْني العداةَ به

كأنّه البحرُ يَحوي النَّفْعَ والضَّررا

With it he enriches petitioners just as he destroys enemies,

as though it were the sea, containing benefit and harm.

قد جاء في فترةٍ لكنّه فَطِنٌ

مُذْ جَدّ في كسبِه للحمد ما فتَرا

He came during a lull, yet he is discerning;

since striving to earn praise, he has never slackened.

كم ذادَ عنّا وكم قد بات ناظِرُه

يُنيمُنا ويُقاسي دونَنا السَّهرا

How often he defended us; how often his eye spent the night

letting us sleep and enduring wakefulness on our behalf!

وما تَغيَّر عنه عَهدُ مكرمةٍ

ألا فلا لَقِيَتْ أيّامُه الغِيَرا

No pledge of generosity has changed with him;

may his days therefore never encounter adverse change!

غيثٌ من الجودِ لا يدعو سوى الجَفَلى

إذا أَبى الغيثُ إلاّ دَعوةَ النّقَرى

A rain of generosity, inviting everyone without distinction,

when rain insists on inviting only a chosen few.

يُغِنى عنِ القَطرِ عامَ الجدْبِ نائلُه

إذا انهمَى لبني الآمالِ وانهَمرا

His bounty makes rain unnecessary in a year of drought,

when it streams and pours forth for the children of hope.

يُرضي الرعيّةَ والرّاعي بسِيرتِه

ولم يَكادا معاً أَن يُرضِيا سِيَرا

He pleases both subjects and ruler with his conduct,

though the two have scarcely ever approved the same conduct.

للأُمَّةِ الدَّهرَ يَسعَى والإمام معاً

سعْياً له العَبْدُ والمعبود قد شَكَرا

For the community and the imam together he toils throughout time,

a toil for which both servant and Worshipped One have thanked him.

له استنابَ الإمامُ المُقْتَفي شرفاً

لمّا اقتفى أَمرَ رَبِّ العرشِ واقْتفرا

The imam al-Muqtafi appointed him his deputy, an honor,

when he followed the command of the Lord of the Throne and traced its path.

أَلقى فصيحَ لسانٍ عنه في يَدِه

يَبينُ عمّا نهَى في المُلكِ أَو أَمَرا

He placed in his hand an eloquent tongue to speak on his behalf,

making clear what he forbids or commands in the kingdom.

يَكْفي الأقاليمَ أَن يُمضي له قلماً

فلا يضاهي به بِيضاً ولا سُمُرا

For the provinces, his wielding a pen on his behalf suffices;

he compares neither bright swords nor brown spears with it.

يَسوسُ أَطرافَها في كفِّه طَرَف

من أَرقَشٍ وكَفاها ذاكَ مُفتَخَرا

Their farthest regions are governed by a tip in his hand

of a speckled reed, and that is honor enough for them.

يَخُطُّ سَوداءَ في بيضاءَ من كتُبٍ

كأنّما هيَ عينٌ أُودِعَتْ حَوَرا

He writes black upon white in documents,

as though they were an eye endowed with deep black against shining white.

كأنَّ سِحْرَ بيانٍ في كتابتِه

أعدَى به كُلِّ طَرْفٍ أحورٍ سَحَرا

As though the magic of eloquence in his writing

had passed its enchantment to every dark eye with brilliant whites.

لا عَيبَ في دُرِّ لَفْظٍ منه يُودِعُه

كتْباً سوى أنّه بالنِّقْس قد سُطِرا

There is no flaw in the pearls of speech he deposits

in writings, except that they have been inscribed in ink.

لولا شِعارٌ إماميٌّ رَعاهُ لمَا

كسَتْ سوادَ مِدادٍ كفّه الدُّررا

Were it not for an imam's emblem that he observed,

his hand would never have clothed those pearls in black ink.

بل كان في ذَهبٍ يَجلو البنانُ به

دُرَّ البيانِ إذا ما بَحْرُه زَخرا

Instead, his fingers would polish with gold

the pearls of eloquence whenever its sea swelled.

إنّ الخليفةَ والتّأييدَ يَكنُفُه

لمّا اغتدَى لكفاةِ المُلْكِ مُختَبِرا

The caliph—with support surrounding him—

when he set about testing the kingdom's capable servants,

لم تَحْوِ إلاّ سديداً واحداً يَدُه

وللكنانةِ مَلاْءَى أسهُماً نثَرا

held in his hand only a single sure-aimed arrow,

though he scattered enough arrows to fill a quiver.

سديدُ دولةِ ماضٍ عَزْمُه فمتَى

رمَى أصابَ به أغراضَه الكُبَرا

The state's sure-aimed arrow, with unyielding resolve: whenever

the caliph shoots, through him he strikes his greatest targets.

إن أصبحَ الدَّهرُ ليلاً داجياً فلقد

بدَتْ مساعيهِ فيه أنجماً زُهُرا

If time becomes a dark night,

his endeavors appear within it as brilliant stars.

يا مَن سَوابقُ أيّامي بحَضْرتِه

كانٍتِ لأوجُهِها أفعالُه غُرَرا

O you, in whose presence my earlier days

had your deeds as shining blazes upon their faces,

إنّي لشاكرُ ما أسلفْتَ من نِعَمٍ

عندي ومَن كَفَر النُعمَى فقد كفَرا

I am indeed thankful for the blessings you bestowed earlier

upon me; whoever denies a blessing has proved ungrateful.

أنت الرّبيعُ وفَضْلي في تَرقُّبِه

كالعُودِ عاد إلى الإيراقِ مُفتَقِرا

You are spring; my excellence, awaiting that spring,

is like a branch once more in need of leafing.

فَهُزَّ لي عِطْفَ مولانا الوزيرِ وقُلْ

عنّي ومهما أقُلْ من قَولٍ اشْتَهَرا

So stir our lord the vizier's compassion for me, and say

on my behalf—and whatever I say becomes known—

جُدْ لي بنَظرةِ صِدقٍ منكَ واحدةٍ

حتّى أقولَ لريْبِ الدّهرِ كيفَ تَرى

'Grant me one sincere glance from you,

so I may ask time's mischief, “How does it look to you?”

ومُرْ زماناً صفَحْنا عن جرائمِه

يَحِتْم بعُذْرٍ فلم يذْنِبْ منِ اعْتذرا

And command the age, whose crimes we have pardoned,

to take refuge in an excuse: one who apologizes has not sinned.

جَدِّدْ ندَى رَسْمِ إنعامَيْنِ قد قَدُما

فالرَّسْمُ كالرَّسْم إن طالَ المَدى دَثرا

Renew the bounty of two established grants, now long grown old;

an allowance, like a campsite's trace, fades when time grows long.'

بَقِيتُما في نَعيمٍ واردَيْنِ معاً

عَيشاً أبَى لكما عن وِرْدهِ الصَّدَرا

May you both remain in bliss, drawing together

from a life that refuses you departure from its watering-place.

فكم بغَى حاسدٌ لاقَى صفاءَكما

إلقاءهُ كدَراً فيه فما قَدَرا

How many an envier, finding your shared clarity, sought

to cast murk into it, yet could not!

يا ماجداً لم أَزُرْ مأْنوسَ سُدّتِه

إلاّ رأَى فُرصةً للحمدِ فابْتَدَرا

O noble one, never did I visit his welcoming threshold

without his seeing an opportunity for praise and hastening to seize it.

كم قد أُضيعُ أنا حَظّي ويَحفظُه

وكم نَسيِتُ أنا نَفْسي وقد ذَكرا

How often I squander my own share, while he preserves it;

how often I forget myself, while he remembers!

متى لنا ولكم تُقصَى الفَوائتُ من

قولٍ وفعلٍ يَروقُ السَّمْعَ والبَصَرا

When shall we and you recover what has slipped away—

words and deeds that delight both ear and eye?

متى نَعودُ إلى العاداتِ ثانيةً

قُلْ لي أذلكَ في وُسْعِ الزّمانِ تُرى

When shall we return once more to our accustomed ways?

Tell me: is that within time's power, do you think?

في كأْسِ عُمْريَ ما أبقَى الزَّمانُ سوى

سُؤْرٍ قليلٍ ببُعْدي منك قد كَدِرا

In the cup of my lifetime, time has left nothing but

a little remaining draught, clouded by my distance from you.

فالْحَقْ بقيّةَ أنفاسي فجُملَتُها

شُكْرٌ لسالفِ نُعماكَ الّذي بَهَرا

So reach the remnant of my breaths; all of them

are thanks for your past grace, which dazzled.

عُذْري حوادثُ دَهري وهْي ظاهرةٌ

كُفيتَها فاقْبَلِ العُذْرَ الّذي ظَهَرا

My excuse is my lifetime's calamities, and they are evident;

may you be spared them, so accept the excuse made plain.

قَصّرتُ إذ لم أَجِدْ لي منك مُقتَرَباً

وعُدْتُ إذْ لم أجِدْ لي عنك مُصطَبرا

I fell short when I found no way to draw near to you,

and returned when I found no patience for being away from you.

فدونكمْ هَدْيَ شِعْرٍ ساقَ مُشعِرُه

مَن لو أطاقَ مَسيراً حَجّ واعتَمرا

So take this sacrificial offering of verse, driven forth by its consecrator,

one who, if he could endure the journey, would perform hajj and umrah.

وما نأَتْ دارُ مَن تدنو فواضِلُه

ولم يكُن غائباً مَن شُكرُه حضَرا

The home of one whose generous gifts draw near is not distant,

nor is one absent whose thanks are present.

وإنّ أرفعَ من قَصرٍ لشائدِه

بَيتٌ إذا سار مِن شِعْري لمَنْ شَعَرا

Loftier for its builder than a palace

is a verse of my poetry, once it travels to one who understands.

بَقِيتَ للمدحِ والمُدّاحِ تَسمَعُهمْ

في ظلِّ مُلْكٍ نفَى عن صَفْوهِ الكَدرا

May you remain for praise and panegyrists, hearing them,

in the shade of a reign that banished murk from its purity,

مادام غَرْسُ الأيادي في مَواضعها

يُرَى لها شُكْرُ أحرارِ الوَرى ثَمَرا

as long as benefactions planted in their proper places

are seen to bear the gratitude of noble people as fruit.