بكر العواذل أن رأين خصاصتي — Alarjani

بَكَر العواذِلُ أَنْ رأيْنَ خَصاصتي

يُسْرِفْنَ في عَذَلي وفي تَفْنيدي

The reproaching women came early when they saw my poverty,

lavishing blame on me and calling me foolish.

ويُشِرْنَ بالتَّطوافِ في طَلَبِ الغِنى

ويُسِمْنَ قَطْعَ تهائمٍ ونُجود

They counsel roaming far in search of wealth,

and demand the crossing of lowlands and highlands.

والبحرُ لي جارٌ فلِمْ أَطْوي الفَلا

حتى أَنالَ تَيمُّماً بصَعيد

With the sea my neighbor, why should I cross the wastes

only to attain dry ablution with earth?

هذا وليّ الدين وابْنُ زعيمه

قصْدي له دونَ الورى وقَصيدي

Here is the faith's protector, son of its champion;

he alone among mankind is my destination and my song.

فاثْنِ العِنانَ إلى رحيبِ فِنائه

من دونِ أَفنيةِ الملوكِ الصِّيد

Turn your reins toward his spacious courtyard,

rather than the courts of stately kings.

كم طارقينَ وما طَريقُ فتىً إلى

ناديهِ يومَ نَداهُ بالمَسْدود

How many visitors come! No young man's path to

his assembly on the day of his bounty is barred.

أَمسَوا وفوداً في ذُراه وأصبحوا

من سَيْبهِ وهمُ مُناخُ وفود

At evening they were delegations in his lofty abode; by morning,

through his bounty, they themselves were hosts to delegations.

حامي الحقيقةِ قد أَوى دينُ الهدى

منه إلى رُكنٍ أَعزَّ شديد

Defender of honor: the faith of guidance has found refuge

in him, a mighty and steadfast pillar.

والدولةُ الغّراءُ لائذةٌ به

في كلُ يومِ حفيظةٍ مَشْهود

The illustrious state seeks shelter in him

on every momentous day of fierce defense.

يا كاسِباً شَرفَ العلاء ووارِثاً

هُنّئْتَ وَصْلَك طارفاً بتَليد

O you who earn the honor of eminence and inherit it,

blessed be your joining newly won glory to ancestral glory!

فلقد سَمْوتَ بهِمّةٍ عُلْوِيّةٍ

قطَعتْ نِياطَ الحاسِد المَكْبود

You have risen through a lofty resolve

that severed the heartstrings of the grief-stricken envier.

أَوسَعْت أَهل الفَضْلِ إفْضالاَ فقد

ظَفِروا بعَيشٍ من نَداك رغيد

You have lavished favors on the worthy, and so

through your bounty they have won a life of ease.

ففَداك مَنْ بارَى عُلاك ونَقْصُه

وصْفاً لفَضْلِك ليس بالمَحْدود

May he who rivals your eminence ransom you; his failure

to describe your excellence knows no bounds.

ورَعاك مَنْ أَعْلَى مَحلَّك فاعتلَى

فوق النجومِ برغْمِ كلِّ حَسود

May He who raised your station guard you; it has risen

above the stars, despite every envier,

من رُكنِ مَجْدٍ شَيّدتْهُ يَدُ العُلا

بندىً وبأسٍ أَيّما تَشْييد

a pillar of glory built by the hand of eminence,

with bounty and valor—how splendidly built!

عَشِقَ النّدى والجُود في عَهْدِ الصِّبا

فمَلامُه في ذاك غيرُ مُفيد

He loved generosity and openhandedness in his youth,

so reproaching him for that is of no use.

وعَطاؤه شَرفٌ تَعوَّدَهُ وما

شَرفٌ سِواهُ في الفتى بحَميد

His giving is an honor he has made his habit; no

other honor in a young man is praiseworthy.

مُتناصِفُ الآدابِ يَمْشُقُ دائماً

لبياضِ قرطاسٍ سَوادَ كُبود

Equally accomplished in the arts, he constantly inscribes

the blackness of livers on the whiteness of paper.

يَستَخْدِمُ الأسيافَ والأرماحَ وال

أَقلامَ كاستخدامِه لِعَبيد

He employs swords and spears and

pens as he employs slaves.

يُمناهُ محرابٌ إليه صَلاتُها

من طاعةٍ لكَماله المَعْبود

His right hand is a prayer-niche; toward it they pray,

obedient to his perfection, which they worship:

بِيضٌ قيامٌ خلْفَ سُمْرٍ رُكَّعٍ

طعْناً ورُقشٌ بالجباهِ سُجود

white swords stand behind dusky spears that bow

in thrusting, while speckled pens prostrate on their foreheads.

لكنْ يُؤدّي السّيفُ فَرْضَ صَلاتِه

بتَمامِ أَركانٍ له وحُدود

Yet the sword performs its obligatory prayer

with all its prescribed movements and limits:

فيقومُ في يَدِه ويَركعُ في الطُّلَى

ضَرْباً ويَسجُدُ في الصَّفا المخْدود

it stands in his hand and bows into necks

in striking, and prostrates in the gashed rock.

يا ذا الذي ما افَترَّ خُوزِستانُ عن

مِثْلٍ له يومَ النَّدى ونَديد

O you—Khuzistan has never parted its lips to reveal

your equal or peer upon a day of bounty.

لي منك مولىً وابنُ مَولىً لم أَزلْ

منه أَخُصُّ بنَيْلِ كُلِّ مَزيد

In you I have a patron, son of a patron who has always

singled me out for ever greater gifts.

ما زِلْتُ من لُبْسي لتَشْريفاتِه

مُتتابِعَ الإبلاءِ والتّجْديد

Through wearing his robes of honor, I was always

wearing them out and receiving them anew.

كم قِيدَ منه إليّ كلُّ مُطَهَّمٍ

نَهْدٍ كَقَصْرٍ أعتَليهِ مَشيد

How often he had well-formed steeds led to me,

stalwart as lofty palaces I could mount:

من أَشقَرٍ يَبْدو كخدّ خَريدةٍ

خَجِلَتْ فما زادتْ سوى تَوْريد

a chestnut gleaming like a secluded maiden's cheek

when she blushes, growing only rosier;

أَو من كُمَيْتٍ كالكُمَيْتِ مُشارِكٍ

في لَونِه لسَمِيّهِ القِنْديد

or a bay, like wine, sharing

its color with its namesake, strong red wine;

أَوأَدْهمٍ كالليّلِ إلاّ غُرَّةً

كالصبحِ شَقّتْ جُنْحَه بعَمود

or a black horse, like night except for a blaze

like dawn, splitting its darkness with a shaft of light;

أَو أَشهبٍ كالصُّبحِ إلاَّ ناظراً

كاللّيلِ تَشْبيهاً بلا تَبْعيد

or a gray, like dawn except for an eye

like night—a comparison not far-fetched;

أَو أَصفرٍ في اللّونِ دينارٌ وفي

تَقْويمهِ مئةٌ بلا تعْديد

or a yellow horse, a dinar in color, and in

value a hundred, without any counting;

أَو آبَنوسِيِّ الجوانبِ أَبلَقٍ

في الخيلِ لا يُؤْتَى له بنَديد

or an ebony-flanked piebald

whose equal among horses cannot be found;

كالسّيفِ في غِمْدٍ تَخرَّق يَغْتدى

لا كلّ مَسْلولٍ ولا مَغْمود

like a sword in a torn sheath, it appears

neither wholly drawn nor wholly sheathed.

فالطَّرْفُ منه يَجولُ لاستِحسانهِ

ويحَارُ في التّصويبِ والتّصْعيد

The eye roams over it in admiration,

bewildered between looking down and looking up.

كنتُ المخيَّر في لُهاه هكذا

من أَين قُدْتُ نَداهُ كان مَقودي

I had my choice among his gifts; so it was:

wherever I led his bounty, it followed my lead.

عَهْدي كذاك مضَى بجَزْلِ نَوالِه

والدّهرُ مَعْروفٌ بنَقْضِ عُهود

Thus passed my days amid his abundant gifts,

though time is known for breaking pledges.

يَسْقي ثَراهُ كجُودِ كَفِّك يا ابنَه

غَيْثٌ عطاياهُ بلا تَصْريد

May his grave be watered, O his son, with bounty like your hand's,

by rain whose gifts are unstinted.

وبَقِيتَ في الدّنيا تَدومُ كذِكْرِه

فالِذّكْرُ للماضي خُلوصُ خُلود

May you remain in this world, enduring like his memory:

for remembrance is pure immortality for the departed.

واعذِرْ إنِ استَرسلتُ طالبَ بِغيةٍ

من حيث طالَ لمِثْلِها تَعْويدي

Pardon me if I speak freely in seeking what I wish,

for I have long been accustomed to such favors.

ولقد سَئمْتُ من المُقامِ بمَوطنٍ

مُتَطاوِلَ التَكْديرِ والتَنْكيد

I have grown weary of remaining in a land

where vexation and distress are prolonged.

ولقد حننت إلى العراق ومن به

كحنين ظمآن إليه مرود

I have yearned for Iraq and those within it,

with the yearning of a thirsty man drawn toward it.

شوقاً إلى دارِ الخلافةٍ إنّما

لَثمِي ثَراها مُنتَهى مَقْصودي

Longing for the caliphate's abode; indeed,

kissing its earth is the utmost of my desire.

والمجلسِ الاعَلى لسلطانِ الورى

فمتى يكونُ تُرى عليه وُفودي

And for the highest assembly of mankind's sovereign—

when, I wonder, shall I arrive there?

وكذا إلى المَولَى الوزيرِ المُرتَجى

تاجٍ عَلادينَ الإلهِ عَقيد

And likewise for the lord, the minister in whom hopes are placed,

a crown bound high upon the faith of God.

صَدْرٌ له الإسلام قلبٌ تَنْطوِي ال

أحشاءُ منه على التُّقَى والجود

A breast whose heart is Islam, whose

inmost parts enfold piety and generosity.

لم يَرْمِ إلاّ رَمْيةً من رَأيهِ الدْ

دُنيا بسهْمٍ قد أصابَ سَديد

He shot only once with his judgment at the

world, with a straight arrow that struck its mark,

حتّى تَتابَعَتِ الفُتوحُ تَتابُعاً

من يُمْنِه ومُقامه المَحْمود

until victories followed one another,

through his good fortune and praiseworthy station.

شَردَتْ جُموعُ المارِقينَ مهابةً

وأوَى إلى الأوطانِ كلُّ شَريد

The hosts of the rebels scattered in awe,

and every exile returned home.

أزِفَ الرّحيلُ ومِن وَداعِ أحبّتي

لم يَبْقَ إلاّ نَظْرةَ التّزويد

Departure draws near; of farewells to my loved ones

nothing remains but a glance to take as provision.

وعزيمتي طَيُّ الفلاةِ ومَرْكبِي

من آل أخدَر لا العتاقِ القُود

I am resolved to cross the desert, yet my mount

is of Akhdar's stock, not the tall thoroughbreds.

من آلِ أعوجَ ليسَ مَرْكوبي ولا

من آل أرحبَ نِسبةً والعِيد

My mount is not of A'waj's stock, nor

descended from Arhab or al-'Id.

فاخلُفْ أبَاك بقَوْدِ طِرْفٍ واغْتنِمْ

تأسيسَ مَجْدٍ تبتنيهِ جَديد

So succeed your father by leading me a steed, and seize

the founding of fresh glory that you build anew.

فَلَوَ انّ غيْرَك كان لم أسْتَهْدهِ

لكنْ لماءٍ قد ألِفْتُ وُرودي

Had it been anyone but you, I would not have asked him for a gift;

but I come to water I have long frequented.

وأضاءه ابنُ ذُكاءً أيضاً نُورَها

هو مِن ذُكاءَ يُعَدُّ غيرَ بَعيد

And the son of Dhuka', her radiance, has lit it too;

he is reckoned not far removed from Dhuka'.

أَحكي الحَمامَ مُطَوَّقاً بنَوالِ مَن

ما خاطري لجَميلهِ بكَنود

I resemble a dove, collared with the bounty of one

for whose kindness my heart is not ungrateful.

أُثْنِي كما يَشْدو الحَمامُ مُغَرِّداً

مُتقابِلَ التّطويقِ بالتَغْريد

I sing praise as a dove warbles its song,

repaying the gift of a collar with singing.

دُمْ للعُلا في ظِلّ أشْرفِ دَوْلَةٍ

مَوْصولةِ التأييدِ بالتَّأْييد

Endure for glory beneath the noblest state's shade,

its support joined to support.