من القاتلات الصب بالهجر في الهوى — Alarjani

من القاتلاتِ الصَّبَّ بالهَجْرِ في الهوى

وما لِقتيلِ الغانياتِ مُقيد

One of those who slay the lovesick through abandonment in love—

and no one avenges the man whom beauties slay.

فإمّا تَريْنِي قد جزِعْتُ لبَينِكُم

فإنّي على ريْبِ الزّمانِ جليد

If you see that I have grieved at parting from you,

I am nevertheless steadfast against time's reversals.

ومِمّا شجاني أن عفَتْ مِن ديارِها

معاهِدُ لم تُذْمَمْ لهُنَّ عُهود

What grieves me, too, is that among her dwellings have faded

familiar haunts whose bygone days were never faulted.

وألقَتْ بياضاً في سوادِي بمَرِّها

من الدّهرِ بِيضٌ مايَنِين وسُود

And as they passed, they cast whiteness into my dark hair—

time's tireless white days and black nights.

ويَأْبَى جديدُ الدهرِ أن يُعدمَ البِلى

عليه وحاشا وُدَّكنَّ جديد

Time's renewal refuses to let decay be absent

from anything new—save your love.

وماضٍ منَ الأيّامِ أمَّا ادِّكارُهُ

فدانٍ وأمّا عهْدُه فَبعيد

And bygone days—as for their remembrance,

it is near, though their time is far away.

إذا ذَكرتْه النَّفْسُ فاضَتْ مدامِعٌ

وعاد المُعنَّى للصَّبابةِ عِيد

When the soul recalls them, tears overflow,

and longing's festival revisits the tormented lover.

أُهوِّنُ خطْبَ النّاظِرَيْنِ فإنّما

هما اثْنانِ كلٌّ بالدُّموعِ يجود

I make light of the plight of my two eyes, for

they are only two, each generous with tears.

ولكنّما أَرْثي لقلبي فإنّه

يُلاقِي جُنودَ الهمِّ وهوْ وحيد

But it is my heart I pity, for it

faces armies of sorrow all alone.

خليليَّ ضاف الشَّوقُ رحْلِيَ طارِقاً

فهَبَّتْ قلوبٌ والعُيونُ رُقود

My two friends, longing came as a night guest to my saddle,

so hearts awoke while eyes lay asleep.

وأقبَل زَوْرٌ طافَ في نَعْسةِ السُّرى

وأعناقُنا فوق الرّكائبِ غِيد

And a visitor came round during a doze on the night journey,

while our necks bent languidly above the riding camels.

خيالٌ تَجلَّى آخِرَ الليَّلِ وجْهُه

فصَحْبِي إليه في الرِّحالِ سُجود

A phantom whose face appeared at the night's end,

with my companions in their saddles bowed before it.

وقد لاحَ للسّاري من الصُّبْحِ ساطِعٌ

أمالَ خِباءَ الليّلِ منه عَمود

A bright shaft of dawn had already shone for the night traveler,

a pillar of it tilting the tent of night.

أقولُ وتحت الرَّكْبِ تخْتَلِسُ الخُطا

ضوامِرُ أشباهُ الأزِمَّةِ قُود

I speak, while beneath the riders the strides are snatched

by lean, long-necked mounts, slender as reins:

إذا زُرْتِ بي بابَ الوزيرِ وأُلقِيَتْ

بمُنتَجَعِ الآمالِ عنكِ قُتود

When you bring me to the vizier's gate and are relieved

of your saddles where hopes find pasture,

أَعدْناكِ عزّاً والإباضُ ذوائبٌ

لأيدِيكِ منّا والسَّريحُ خُدود

we shall send you back honored, your hobbles to us like tresses

on your forelegs, and your saddle-straps like cheeks.

فِسِيرِي إلى أكنافِ أبيضَ ماجِدٍ

مَغانيهِ روْضٌ للعُفاةِ مَجود

So journey to the shelter of a fair and noble man,

whose dwellings are a rain-drenched garden for supplicants.

إلى ظِلِّ مَلْكٍ بالمعالي مُتَوَّجٍ

له الأرضُ دارٌ والأنامُ عبِيد

To the shade of a king crowned with lofty deeds,

whose home is the earth and whose servants are mankind.

يُقَلِّدُهم طوْقيْ نجيعٍ ونائل

إذا شاء بأْسٌ من يديْهِ وجُود

He collars them with twin torques of blood and gifts,

as he wills, through his hands' might and bounty.

ولمّا رأَينا العَدْلَ ولنّى كأنّه

بأطْرافِ آفاقِ البلادِ شَريد

And when we saw justice turn away, as though

a fugitive at the farthest edges of the land,

وقد رفَعَتْ سِجْفَ الخطوبِ حوادثٌ

وباحَتْ بأسرارِ المَنونِ غُمود

and events had lifted the curtain on calamities,

and scabbards had divulged the secrets of death—

ففي كُلِّ شِبْرٍ بالخِلافِ خوارج

وفي كُلِّ أرضٍ للغُواةِ جُنود

in every handspan, rebels in revolt,

and in every land, armies of the misguided,

ولا مَلِكٌ تُنْهَى إليه ظُلامَةٌ

ولا وزَرٌ يأْوِي إليه طَريد

with no king to whom a grievance could be brought,

and no refuge where an outcast could find shelter—

تَجرَّدَ لُطْفُ اللّهِ من بَعْدِ فتْرةٍ

كذاك لإمْهالِ البُغاةِ حُدود

God's grace came forth after a pause:

thus the reprieve of rebels has its bounds.

وقام نصيرُ الدِّينِ ضامِنَ نَصْرِه

على حينَ شيطانُ الضَّلالِ مَريد

And Naṣīr al-Dīn arose, guaranteeing the faith's victory,

when the devil of error was defiant.

فظلَّتْ عيونُ الخَلْقِ وهْي قريرةٌ

وأصبَح ظِلُّ الأمْنِ وهْو مديد

So the people's eyes remained tranquil,

and the shade of safety spread long.

فقُلْ للرَّعايا يشْكرُوا لزمانِه

فمُرتقَبٌ للشّاكرِين مَزيد

Tell the subjects to give thanks for his age,

for those who give thanks may expect increase.

فقد عادتِ الدُّنيا لنا مُستَقيمةً

بأَرْوعَ سهْمُ الرَّأْيِ منه سديد

The world has indeed been set right again for us

by a magnificent man whose arrow of judgment strikes true.

وأَصبَح هذا المُلكُ من بَعْدِ عُطْلِه

زماناً ومِلْءُ الجِيدِ منه عقود

And this kingdom, after remaining unadorned

for a time, now has its neck filled with necklaces from him.

يُدبِّرُهُ سَعْدٌ وأَثْبَتُ قائمٍ

على الدّهرِ أَمْرٌ دبَّرتْه سُعود

Saʿd governs it; and what stands most firmly

through time is a cause guided by auspicious stars.

وما كان إلاّ دُرّاً انْحَلَّ سِلْكُه

إلى أن أعاد النَّظْمَ منه مُعِيد

It was only pearls whose thread had come undone,

until a restorer strung them into order again:

فتىً كَمُلتْ فيه المَحاسِنُ كلُّها

فلم يبْق فيه ما يَعيبُ حَسود

a young man in whom all virtues have reached perfection,

leaving nothing in him for an envier to fault.

وساد كُفاةَ المُلْكِ قِدْماً بفَضْلِه

وذو النَّقْصِ إذ تخْلو الديارُ يسود

Long ago his merit made him lord of the state's able servants;

even a flawed man rules when the dwellings are empty.

وما نال مُلْكاً بالمُنَى ولربّما

تَنبَّهُ للقومِ النِّيامِ جُدود

He did not win a kingdom through wishes, though often

good fortune wakes on behalf of sleeping men.

ولكنْ بطُولِ الخوضِ في غمَراتها

وبطْشُ المنايا بالرِّجالِ شَديد

But through long plunging into its perilous depths,

while death's assault upon men is fierce,

ومهْزوزةِ الأعطافِ سُمْرٍ كأنّها

إذا خطَرتْ للنّاعماتِ قُدود

and through brown spears with quivering flanks, as though

when they sway, they were the figures of tender women;

وخوّاضةٍ ماءَ الرِّقابِ من العِدا

لها صَدرٌ ما ينْقَضِي وورُود

and blades that wade in the lifeblood of enemy necks,

with endless departures from the water and returns to drink;

وخيْلٍ كعِقْبانِ الشُّرَيفِ مُشيحةٍ

عليها الكُماةُ الدّارِعون قُعود

and horses like al-Shurayf's eagles, battle-ready,

with armored champions seated upon them.

سِهامٌ لمَنْ يَحْمِلْنَهُ يومَ نجْدةٍ

وأما لِمَنْ يطْلُبْنَه فَقُيود

Arrows for those they carry on a day of valor,

but fetters for those they pursue.

فَقُلْ للعِدا هذا بدِيءُ عِقابِه

فإنْ سَرَّكم ما تعْلمون فعُودوا

Tell the foes: this is the beginning of his punishment;

if what you have known pleased you, then return!

أما راعكُم يومٌ جلافيه بأْسَه

فكادتْ له الأرضُ الفَضاءُ تَميد

Did the day when he displayed his might not terrify you,

till the wide earth nearly reeled before him?

ومُستَدْرِجُ الأعداءِ من تحت حِلْمِه

فيَفْترشون الأمنَ وهْو يَكيد

And he lures his enemies beneath his forbearance,

so they make safety their bed while he plots.

ستَعلمُ أبناءُ الشِّقاقِ إذا انتَهى

مدى حِلْمِه ماذا بِذاك يُريد

The sons of discord will learn, when there ends

the span of his forbearance, what he intends by it.

إليكَ حثَثْنا السُّفْنَ والعِيسَ فارتَمتْ

غِمارٌ بأصحابي تُخاضُ وبيد

To you we urged ships and pale camels, and on they rushed,

with my companions through deep waters and deserts.

كأنّا نُبارِي الشُّهْبَ في كُلِّ قُنَّةٍ

فمِنّا هُبوطٌ تارةً وصُعود

As though we raced the bright stars on every summit,

now descending, now ascending.

وما النّجمُ أعْلى من صِحابي مَحلَّةً

ونحن إلى سامِي ذُراك وُفود

No star has a loftier station than my companions,

as we come as envoys to your soaring heights.

وإنّ امْرأً في النّاسِ يتْعَبُ عاجِلاً

ويَعلمُ عُقْبَى أمرِه لسَعيد

Surely a man who toils now among men,

knowing his affair's outcome, is fortunate indeed.

وَلِيتُ بأرْجانَ القضاءَ ولم أكنْ

عرَفْتُ بها أنّ الخُطوبَ شُهود

I assumed the judgeship in Arrajān, not having

known that calamities there stood as witnesses.

وقد كنتُ أرضَى بالقليلِ قناعةً

زماناً لرِيحِ الفضلِ فيه رُكود

I had been satisfied with little, in contentment,

in a time when the wind of bounty lay still.

فأمّا إذا ما عنَّ بحْرٌ لِوارد

فلا عُذْرَ أن يعلُو الوُجوهَ صَعيد

But when a sea appears before one seeking water,

there is no excuse for dust to cover faces.

نعَمْ نُوَبٌ أَلْوَتْ بما قد حَويْتُه

فلم يبْقَ منه طارِفٌ وتليد

Yes, misfortunes swept away what I had gathered,

leaving neither newly gained nor inherited wealth.

سِوى أملٍ عَلَّقْتُه بِكَ راحِلاً

ومن أين للآمالِ عنك مَحيد

Save a hope I attached to you as I set out—

and where could hopes turn away from you?

إذا أنت سُدْتَ الناسَ في ظِلَّ دولةٍ

وأورقَ منها بالمُنَى لك عُود

If you rule the people in a dynasty's shade,

and from it a branch puts forth leaves of hope for you,

فبِتْ ساهِراً وامْلأْ عُيونَهمُ كرىً

إذا شِئْتَ أن تحْيا وأنتَ حَميد

then keep vigil, and fill their eyes with sleep,

if you wish to live and be worthy of praise.

وما المالُ إلاّ للمعالي ذَريعةٌ

ولا الذِكْرُ إلاّ للكِرامِ خُلود

Wealth is only a means to lofty deeds,

and renown is but immortality for the noble.

ودُونَك فاسْمَعْ من ثنائي بديعةً

تُقِيمُ مع الأيّامِ وهْي شَرود

Here, then—listen to a marvel of my praise,

which stays with the days, though ever roaming.

وما حِليةُ الأملاكِ مِمّا أَصوغُه

سِوى دُرَرٍ أسماؤهُنَّ قصيد

The adornment I fashion for kings

is nothing but pearls that bear the name of poetry.

تَجيءُ على سَومِ الأراذلِ رذْلةً

وإنْ هِيَ قِيلتْ في الجَوادِ تجود

It is base at the bidding of base men,

but when spoken of a generous man, it excels.

بقِيت ولا أبقَى الردى لك كاشحاً

فإنّك في هذا الزَّمانِ فَريد

May you endure, and may death leave no foe of yours alive,

for you are peerless in this age.

عُلاك سِوارٌ والممالكُ مِعْصَمٌ

وجُودُك طوْقٌ والبَرِيّةُ جِيد

Your eminence is a bracelet, and the kingdoms a wrist;

and your bounty a necklace, and mankind a neck.