رأيت الطريق إلى الوصل وعرا — Alarjani

رأيتُ الطّريقَ إلى الوَصْلِ وَعْرا

فقدَّمْتُ رِجْلاً وأَخّرْتُ أُخْرَى

I found the road to union rugged,

so I advanced one foot and held the other back.

وأودَعْتُ شَطْرَ الفؤادِ الرَّجَا

ءَ حَزْماً وفَرَّغْتُ لليأسِ شَطْرا

I lodged hope in half my heart,

as a precaution, and set aside half for despair.

وقد جعَل النّاسُ إلاّ الأقَلْ

لَ يُبدونَ عُرْفاً ويُخْفُونَ نُكرا

People have come, save the very few,

to display kindness and conceal evil.

فإنْ كنتَ من شَرِّهم خائفاً

فَظُنَّ بخَيرِهمُ الدّهرَ شَرّا

If you fear their evil,

always suspect evil even of their best.

لهم ألسُنٌ تَتواصَى بأنْ

يَعِدْنَ وفاءً ويُنْجِزْنَ غَدرا

They have tongues that counsel one another

to promise fidelity and deliver betrayal.

فضاحِكْ عَدُوَّكَ تُشغِلْ أذاه

بمَنْ أظهرَ البُغضَ عمَّن أسَرّا

So smile at your enemy, diverting his harm

toward those who show their hatred, away from those who hide it.

وأعلِمْه أنّك منه أمِنْتَ

ومن حيث يجهلُ خُذْ منه حِذرا

Let him know you feel safe from him,

but guard against him where he does not know.

وأَوْلِ صديقَكَ منكَ الجَمي

لَ مهما أَطقْتَ ولا تَبْغِ شُكْرا

Bestow kindness on your friend

as much as you can, and seek no thanks.

وكثِّرْ قلائلَ إحسانِه

ومهما أساءَ فَلقِّنْه عُذرا

Count his few kindnesses as many,

and whenever he wrongs you, prompt him with an excuse.

وعاشِرْ أخاكَ بتَرْكِ العِتابِ

ولا تُخْلِقِ الوُدَّ طيّاً ونَشْرا

Keep company with your brother without reproach,

and do not wear affection out by folding and unfolding it.

عليك بتَفْريغِ قلبِ الودودِ

لكي يجدَ الوُدُّ فيه المَقَرّا

Free your loving friend's heart of burdens,

so affection may find a home within it.

ونفسَك أَنفِقْ على النّائباتِ

وخَلِّ صديقَكَ للدّهرِ ذُخرا

Spend yourself in facing calamities,

and keep your friend in reserve against time.

وسَدِّدْ سهامكَ واشْدُدْ قُواك

تَجِدْ غَرضاً إنْ قضَى اللّهُ يُسرا

Aim your arrows true and strengthen your powers:

you will find a target if God decrees ease.

ويأْتي من الحِرْصِ أن رُبّما

نقَضْتَ أُموراً وأَبرَمْتَ أُخرى

Eagerness may sometimes lead to this:

you undo some matters and make others firm.

فحسِّنْ بجُهْدِك منك اثنتَيْ

نِ للّهِ سِرّاً وللنّاسِ جَهرا

Strive to improve two things in yourself:

your inward self for God, your outward self for people.

فنفسُك وحْدَك إصلاحُها

عليكَ وإنْ فَسَدَ النّاسُ طُرّا

Your own soul's reform is yours alone

to undertake, even if all people are corrupt.

وسِرْ غيرَ مُلتفِتٍ إنّما

إلى اللّهِ تَخْطو منَ العُمْرِ جِسرا

Proceed without looking back, for

toward God you cross a bridge made of life.

لك الشُّهْبُ والدُّهْمُ مخلوقَةٌ

فأَحسِنْ بهنّ إليهِ المَفَرّا

Gray steeds and black have been created for you,

so make good your flight upon them toward Him.

وخُذْها وصيّةَ ذي دُرْبةٍ

أَحاطَ بتَجربَةِ النّاسِ خُبرا

Take this as the counsel of an experienced man,

who has learned people's ways through experience.

ولا تَعْصِ ذا النُّصْحِ في أَمره

وأَنت بنَفْسِك من بَعْدُ أَدرى

Do not disobey the sincere adviser in his counsel;

afterward, you know yourself best.

أَعاذِلَتا لا تُطيلي المَلا

مَ في مُقْلةٍ من جوىَ القلبِ عَبْرى

O woman who reproaches me, do not prolong your blame

over an eye tearful from the heart's burning grief.

فعَينُك سَكْرَى بخَمْرِ الصِّبا

وعَيْنيَ من حَيْرةِ الدّمعِ شَكْرى

Your eye is drunk on the wine of youth,

while mine, bewildered by tears, is brimming.

ولو كنتُ أَبكي من الدّهرِ حَولاً

على كلِّ يومٍ من العُمْرِ مَرّا

Even if I wept for a year

over every day of life that passed,

لم أَقضِ به حقه إذ مضَى

ولم أكتسِبْ فيه حَمْداً وأَجرا

I would not pay its due, since it passed

without my gaining praise or reward within it.

ولمّا محا النّاسُ رَسْمَ الجميلِ

سطَرْتُ من العيسِ في البيدِ سَطرا

When people erased the trace of kindness,

I drew a line of pale camels through the wastelands.

وآليتُ ألاّ أَرحتُ المَطِيْ

يَ حتّى أُصادِفَ في النّاسِ حُرّا

I swore I would not rest my riding-camels

until I encountered a noble man among people.

فكان الرّئيسُ لدينِ الهُدَى

لتلك الأَليّةِ منّي مُبِرّا

Then the chief of the faith of guidance

enabled me to fulfill that oath of mine.

وحَبّرتُ غرّاءَ من مِدْحهِ

لأَلْقَي بها منه مَلْكاً أَغَرّا

I finely composed a radiant ode in his praise,

to meet through it a radiant king in him.

جعَلْتُ رِكابي وِشاحاً فجا

لَ لمّا جَعلْتُ له البِيدَ خَصرا

I made my riding-camels a sash, and it swayed

when I made the wastelands its waist.

وقاسَيْنَ عِشْراً إلى أن ورَدْنَ

صباحاً سَحائبَ كفَّيْهِ عَشرا

They endured ten days between waterings until they reached,

at morning, the ten rainclouds of his two hands.

أخو الجِدِّ في غُلَواء الخُطو

بِ يَملأُ يومَيْهِ نَفْعاً وضَرّا

A man of resolve amid the fury of calamities,

he fills his two days with benefit and harm.

وحَكَّمه الدَّهرُ في أَهلِه

إذا شاء ساءَ وإن شاءَ سَرّا

Time made him arbiter over its people:

if he wishes, he brings sorrow; if he wishes, joy.

له مَنطِقٌ يَبهَرُ السامِعينَ

ولا غَرْو أن يَلفِظَ البَحرُ دُرّا

His speech dazzles those who hear it;

no wonder that the sea casts forth pearls.

وضَمَّ تليدَ العُلا والطّريفَ

فطالَ بنى الدَّهْرِ نَفْساً ونَجْرا

He combined inherited nobility with newly won,

surpassing time's sons in spirit and lineage.

يَنُمُّ به نَفَسٌ للحسو

دِ يَنقَدُّ من كبِدٍ منه حَرّى

An envious man's sigh speaks of him,

torn from a liver burning because of him.

ويَكشِرُ عن حَدِّ أَنيابِه

وفي قلبِه مَرَضٌ ليسَ يَبْرا

The envious man bares the sharp edges of his fangs,

while in his heart lies a sickness that will not heal.

يكونُ على حِدَةٍ أُمّةً

ويَعدِلُ يومٌ يُرَى فيهِ عُمرا

He alone is a nation,

and a day in which he is seen equals a lifetime.

يُفيدُ النَّدى ويُبِيدُ العِدا

إذا ما الأسِنّةُ أَصبحْنَ حُمْرا

He bestows bounty and annihilates enemies

when the spearheads have turned red.

يُصرِّعُ أَشلاءهم في الثّرى

كأنّهمُ يتَساقَونَ خَمرا

He fells their bodies upon the earth,

as though they were passing wine among themselves.

وحارَ الورَى في ليالي الخطوب

فشَقَّ مُحيّاهُ للنّاسِ فَجرا

People were bewildered in calamities' nights;

his face broke open a dawn for them.

وتُبصِرُ غَيثاً ولَيثاً يَصولُ

غداةَ السّلامِ وبَدْراً وبَحرا

You behold rain and a charging lion

on the morning of peace, and a full moon and a sea.

إذا هَمَّ صَمَّم في الكاشحِينَ

كما يَتبَعُ اللّيثُ بالنّابِ ظُفرا

When he resolves, he strikes decisively at his foes,

as a lion follows its claw with its fang.

أيا سَيِّدَ الرّؤساء الكبيرُ

أَرَى في عَلائكَ للّهِ سِرّا

O great lord of chiefs,

I see in your eminence a secret of God.

نصَرْتَ الهُدَى فَنبِيُّ الهُدَى

يُجازيكَ عن نَصْرِكَ الدِّينَ نَصرا

You supported guidance, so the Prophet of guidance

rewards your support of the faith with support.

وجادَلْتَ حتّى أَريتَ الخُصومَ

صِغارَ الكواكبِ في الأُفْقِ ظُهرا

You disputed until you showed your adversaries

the tiny stars upon the horizon at noon,

لِتَحصُدَ بالسّيفِ كلَّ امرئٍ

تَعرَّض يَنثُرُ للشّرِّ بَذرا

to reap with the sword every man

who came forth scattering seeds of evil.

رعَيْتَ الممالكَ حتّى غدا

فِعالُك والمجدُ عِقداً ونَحْرا

You tended the kingdoms until

your deeds and glory became a necklace and a neck.

وحتّى كحَلْتَ بشَزْرِ الطِّعانِ

عُيوناً نظَرْنَ إلى المُلْكِ شَزرا

You lined with the kohl of oblique spear-thrusts

eyes that had looked askance at kingship.

لقد سُدْتَ قبلَ خُلُوِّ الدِّيارِ

منَ الصِّيدِ مَن كنتَ عاصَرْتَ دَهرا

You were already lord before the dwellings were emptied

of the proud nobles whose times you long had shared.

فكيف بكَ اليومَ والأَكرمونَ

غدا منهمُ ظاهرُ الأرضِ قَفرا

How much greater are you today, when the noblest

have left the face of the earth barren of them?

غدا مَلِكُ الأُمَراء الكبيرُ

يَهُزُّ بِكَ العِطْفَ تِيهاً وفَخرا

The great king of emirs has come

to sway his side through you in haughtiness and pride.

حوَتْ منك يُمناهُ سَيفاً له

رأَى أَثراً يَرتَضيهِ وأُثرا

His right hand has grasped in you a sword

whose effect and watered pattern he has found pleasing:

حساماً بحدَّيْهِ مهما انتَضا

هُ يَكْسِرُ جيشَ المُلِمّاتِ كسرا

a keen sword, with both edges, whenever he draws

it, utterly shatters calamities' army.

فلا زالَ أيّامُه بالفُتوح

مُحجّلةً تَبهَرُ الخَلْقَ غُرّا

May his days never cease, through conquests,

to be white-stockinged and white-blazed, dazzling creation.

فلم تَخْلُ يوماً من اليُمْنِ يُمْنَى

ولم تَخْلُ يوماً من اليُسْرِ يُسرى

His right hand has never lacked good fortune,

nor his left hand ever lacked ease.

فمنذُ رأَى الوجْهُ ذا البِشْرَ مِنْ

كَ كان له الدَّهرَ بالَسّعْدِ بُشْرى

For since his face beheld this gladness from

you, it has had lifelong tidings of good fortune.

ودُونَكَ فاجْتَلِ بالسّمْعِ منك

أَزُفُّ إليك ابنةَ الفِكْرِ بِكْرا

Here she is: unveil her with your own hearing;

I lead thought's virgin daughter to you as a bride.

وإنّي لأَرضاكَ للمَدْحِ كفْوءاً

كريماً وأَرضى بنُعماكَ مَهرا

I gladly accept you as a worthy match for praise,

a noble one, and accept your bounty as her dowry.

فأَمضِ على اسْمِيَ إدراريَ ال

قديمَ وأَجْرِ كما كان يُجْرى

Authorize under my name my stipend of

old, and pay it as it used to be paid.

وأَستغفِرُ اللّهَ فالحالُ فيه

تَفاوَتَ جِدّاً فيا رَبُّ غَفْرا

I ask God's forgiveness: the circumstances in this

differ greatly—O Lord, forgive me!

وكان زمانُ لئامِ الوُلاةِ

ومَنْ بسوى الشّرِّ لم يُبْقِ ذِكرا

That was the time of ignoble governors,

of men who left no memory but evil.

عليهم إذا بَعْدَ حَولٍ أُحِي

لُ لاقيتُ أَمراً من المَطْلِ إمرا

When, after a year, I was referred to them for payment,

I faced a grievous business of delay.

له اسْمٌ يُسمّى ولا جِسمَ كان

كما يَقْبَضُ الرَجُلُ الكَفَّ صِفرا

It had a name to call it by, but no substance,

like a man closing his hand on nothing.

ولكنْ عليك إذا ما أَحلْتُ

مَلأْتَ ليَ الحِجْرَ بِيضاً وصُفرا

But whenever I refer my claim to you,

you fill my lap with silver and gold.

فجَرْياً على عادةٍ في السّما

ح عُوِّدْتَ يا أَعْظَمَ النّاسِ قَدرا

So continue in the custom of generosity

you were accustomed to, O greatest of men in worth.

من القَصْرِ جُدْتَ فإنْ تُعطِهِ

بعَسكرَ تَبْنِ من المجدِ قَصرا

You gave from al-Qasr; if you grant it

at Askar, you will build a palace of glory.

وأَنت سحابٌ إذا ما مطَرتَ

عَمَمْتَ لنا القُربَ والبُعدَ قَطرا

You are a cloud that, whenever it rains,

showers both near and far for us.

فما زلْتُ منذُ مدَحْتُ المُلو

كَ يُولونَني العُرْفَ عَصْراً فعَصْرا

Ever since I began praising kings,

they have granted me kindness, age after age.

وكانوا بِبَسْطِ ندىً أحرياءَ

وأنت به منهمُ اليومَ أحْرى

They were worthy of extending generosity,

and today you are worthier of it than they.

وباعُك أطْولُ يومَ الفَخارِ

وخَيلُك في حَلبةِ المجدِ أجرى

Your reach is longer on the day of boasting,

and your horses are swifter on glory's racecourse.

وغيَرُك يُغْرَى بكَسْبِ الثَّراءِ

وكسْبُ الثّناء بهِ أنت مُغْرى

Others are enticed by gaining wealth,

but gaining praise is what entices you.

سَئمتُ بتُستَرَ طُولَ المُقامِ

فما تَرَكَ الدَّهرُ فيها مَقَرّا

I have wearied of my long stay in Tustar;

time has left no resting place there.

ولكنّها وطَنٌ والطُّيورُ

تَحِنُّ إذا هُنّ خالفْنَ وَكرا

Yet it is a homeland, and birds

yearn when they have left their nest.

لعَمْري لقد ظَلمَ الحاسِبو

نَ إذ جَعلوا جَزْلَ جدُواكَ نَزرا

By my life, the accountants have done wrong

in reckoning your abundant bounty meager.

وقد وضَعوا اسماً لَها مُحدَثاً

إذا قيلَ إدرارُ رِزقٍ أُدِرّا

They have coined a new name for it:

when they say 'a flowing allowance of sustenance,' it is made to flow.

فتلك صِلاتُ بها لي تَجودُ

وما هي عندي أداريرُ تُجْرى

These are gifts you generously bestow on me,

not, in my eyes, regular stipends paid out.

ولكنّها مِنَحٌ منك أُقْرَى

بهنّ على مِدَح فيك أَقْرا

Rather, they are grants from you with which I am entertained

in return for panegyrics I recite about you.

أعِنّي على حدَثانِ الزّمانِ

فقد يُسنِتُ الحَيُّ والضَيْفُ يُقْرى

Help me against the vicissitudes of time:

a tribe may suffer famine while its guest is entertained.

ألم يأْنِ لي مَرّةً أنْ أُراشَ

فَحتّامَ يُنْحَتُ قِدْحي ويُبْرى

Has the time not come for me, just once, to be feathered?

How long must my arrow-shaft be carved and pared?

وأعقِلُ نَضوي بحَبْل الرّجاءِ

وما زالَ للأملِ النّاسُ أسرى

I tether my lean camel with the rope of hope;

people have always been captives to hope.

فدونَك منّي مَديحاً تَراه

يُبارِي النجومَ مَسيراً ومَسْرى

Take from me a panegyric that you will see

rivaling the stars in its journeying and night-travel;

ودُرّاً كما لاح دُرًىُّ نَجمٍ

وشِعراً كما أهدَتِ النّورَ شِعْري

and pearls, like the gleam of a brilliant star;

and poetry, as Sirius bestows its light.

يقولون ما خَربَتْ تُستَرٌ

وفيها كذا تَركَ الدَّهرُ دُرّا

They say, 'Tustar has not fallen to ruin,

while time has left such pearls within it.'

فَعُمّرْتَ ما امتدَّ عُمْرُ الزّمانِ

وفي نِعَمٍ يَتوالَيْنَ تَتْرى

May you live as long as time's lifespan extends,

amid blessings following one another without cease.

فقد خلَق اللّهُ فِعْلَ الجميلِ

فُؤاداً وأودَعَهُ منك صَدرا

For God made the doing of good a heart,

and lodged it within your breast.