أتراها تظنني الطيف لطفا — Alarjani

أَتُراها تَظُنُّني الطَّيفَ لُطْفاً

فَتراني وليسَ تَرفَعُ طَرْفا

I wonder, does she think me a phantom for my delicacy,

seeing me, yet never raising her gaze?

كُلّما زُرتُها تَخالُ خَيالاً

زار منّي فَتَكْسِرُ الطَّرْفَ ظَرفا

Whenever I visit her, she imagines a specter

has come from me, and coyly lowers her eyes.

عَجِبتْ أنّني وقد نَزَفَتْني

في اكْتِئابي لَواعجُ الشّوْقِ نَزفا

She marvels that, though I have been drained

by longing's burning pangs in my dejection,

أَتبدَّى للعَينِ شَخْصاً ولا أُو

جَدُ شَيئاً إنْ أَلْمسَتْنِيَ كَفّا

I appear to the eye as a figure, yet am not

found to be anything if she touches me with her palm.

جَلَّ سُقْمي ودَقَّ جِسْمي نُحولاً

فهْو يَخْفَى وما بِه ليس يَخْفَى

My illness has grown great, my body thin with wasting;

it is hidden, while what afflicts it is not.

أَيُّها النّائمونَ عن سَهَرِ الصّبْ

بِ إذا هَوَّم الخَلِيُّ وأغْفَى

O sleepers, heedless of the lovelorn one's vigil,

when the carefree man nods and slumbers,

ما عرفْتُ الرُّقادَ بالعَينِ طَعْماً

فَصِفوهُ أعرِفْهُ بالأُذْنِ وَصْفا

I have never tasted sleep with my eyes;

describe it, that I may know it by the ear.

سَلَبتْنيهِ ظَبيةٌ تَركَتْني

مُقْلتاها ما عِشْتُ للوَجْدِ حِلْفا

A gazelle stole it from me, leaving me,

through her two eyes, passion's sworn companion all my life.

غادَةٌ وَرْدُ خَدِّها وَسْطَ شَوْكٍ

مِن قَنا قَومِها إذا شِئْتُ قَطْفا

A delicate girl: her cheek's rose lies among thorns

of her people's spears whenever I wish to pluck it.

وهْي بَيضاءُ تُلبِسُ الوُشْحَ غُصْناً

من أَراكٍ وتُودِعُ الأُزْرَ حِقفَا

Fair-skinned, she clothes in sashes a branch

of arak, and encloses a sand dune in her waistcloths.

تتَجلّى شَمساً وتَنفَحُ مِسْكاً

وتَثنّى خُوطاً وتَنظُر خِشْفا

She shines forth as a sun and breathes musk,

sways as a supple shoot and gazes as a fawn.

رمَتِ العَينُ جَمرةَ الخدِّ منها

بحصَى الدُّرِّ غُدوةَ البَيْنِ خَذْفا

Her eye pelted the ember of her cheek

with pearl-pebbles on the morning of parting.

ثُمّ سارَتْ وفي الجَوانحِ منّي

خُرَقٌ غادرَتْ فؤاديَ رَضْفا

Then she departed, while within my ribs

were rents that left my heart like fire-heated stones.

فتَبِعْتُ الغادينَ أَخطَفُ آثا

رَ مَطاياهمُ بِخَدَّيَّ خَطْفا

I followed those departing, snatching up the tracks

of their mounts with both my cheeks.

فَسقَى عَهدهَا وإن نقضَتْه

خِلْفُ مُزْنٍ لم يَخْشَ راجيهِ خُلْفا

May her covenant, though she broke it, be watered

by a raincloud's teat that fails no hopeful seeker.

جارةٌ جاورتْ وجارَتْ ولم أُلْ

فَ قديماً أَرضَى مَع الجَوْرِ إلْفا

A neighbor who lived beside me and wronged me; never was I

known before to accept a companion despite injustice.

هي قَيسيّةٌ ونحن يَمانو

نَ ولا غَرْو أن نَبِرَّ ونُجْفَى

She is Qaysi, and we are Yemenis;

no wonder that we show kindness and are shunned.

أَشبهَتْ عَيْنَها سُيوفَ رجالٍ

في الوغَى يومَ تَنسِفُ الهامَ نَسْفا

Her eye resembled the swords of men

in battle, on the day they sweep heads away.

وهْي منّي تَقتَصُّ عن قَتْلِ قَومي

قَومَها إن رنَتْ قِصاصاً مُوفَّى

She exacts from me vengeance for my people's slaying

of her people, whenever she gazes—a requital paid in full.

رُبَّ حَيٍّ عِداً قَرعْنا قَناهمْ

بقَنانا والشّرُّ أنْفى

Many a hostile tribe—whose spears we struck

with our own; evil is the stronger deterrent.

وصُدورُ الرِّماحِ أعيَتْ قَديماً

كُلَّ مَن سامَنا منَ النّاسِ خَسفا

The points of spears have long thwarted

all who sought to inflict abasement upon us.

تُصبِحُ الحادثاتُ مَوتورةً مِنْ

نا فما تَستَطيعُ أن تَتَشفّى

Misfortunes find themselves bereaved at our hands,

yet cannot slake their thirst for vengeance.

وإذا رَنّقت خَلائقَ قَومٍ

ظَلَّ أخلاقُنا بها تَتَصَفّى

When they muddy the dispositions of a people,

our own character grows purer through them.

يُحمَدُ العاجزونَ في نُوَبِ الدَّهْ

رِ إذا ما عصَفْنَ بالناسِ عَصْفا

The helpless are praised amid the turns of time

when these storm violently against mankind.

ويَزيدُ النّارَ القَويّةَ وَقْداً

كُلُّ رِيحٍ بها الضّعيفةُ تُطْفا

And the mighty fire grows fiercer in flame

with every wind by which the feeble one is quenched.

فأقِيما بها الهَواديَ وَسْطَ الْ

بِيدِ حتّى تُصَفَّ للسّيْرِ صَفّا

So you two, set their necks upright there, amid the

wastes, until they are marshaled in rows for travel.

ودَعاها تَطْوِي وتَنْشُرُ وَخْداً

من مُتونِ الفَلا العريضةِ صُحْفا

And let them, at a brisk trot, fold and unfold

pages from the broad backs of the wilderness.

سَطْرُ عِيسٍ إلى بَياضِ فَلاةٍ

نقلَتْه الحُداةُ حَرْفاً فحَرْفا

A line of pale camels onto the whiteness of a desert,

transcribed by the camel-drivers, letter after letter.

ناحلاتِ الأشباحِ مثْلِ المَداري

وهْي تَفْلي شَعْراً من اللّيْلِ وَحْفا

Slender of frame, like combing-pins,

combing out the thick hair of the night.

قطَعتْ عَرْضَ كلِّ خَرْقٍ مَخوفٍ

يَملأ المِسْمَعَيْنِ شَدْواً وعَزْفا

They crossed the breadth of every fearsome waste

that fills both ears with singing and music.

قادحاتِ الحصَى كأنّ خُطاها

تَقذِفُ الجَوَّ منه بالشُّهْبِ قَذْفا

Striking sparks from pebbles, as though their footsteps

pelted the air with meteors from them,

مُسرِعاتٍ حتّى تَخالَ فُوَيْقَ ال

أرضِ منها طَيْراً يَمُرُّ مُسِفّا

so swift that you would imagine, just above the

earth, that they were birds skimming low.

يَحلِفُ المَرءُ إنّها لا تَمَسُّ ال

أرضَ من فَرْطِ خِفّةِ الوَطْءِ خُفّا

One swears they do not touch the

earth with a foot, so exceedingly light is their tread.

فاستقَلّتْ وللحُداةِ ارْتِجازٌ

خَلْفَها وهْي تَخْطِفُ الخَطْوَ خَطْفا

They set off while the camel-drivers chanted rajaz

behind them, and they snatched their strides swiftly,

برِجالٍ على الرِّحالِ نَشاوَى

للسُّرى تُلزِمُ القُتودَ الأكُفّا

bearing men upon the saddles, reeling

from night travel, their palms pressed to the saddle-bows.

فِتْيةٍ من بني الرّجاءِ كرامٍ

قَصدوا من مُؤيِّدِ الدِّينِ كهْفا

Noble young men, sons of hope,

who sought a refuge in Mu'ayyid al-Din.

فطِلابُ العُلا لدى ابْنِ عَليٍّ

لِعليلِ الآمالِ يا صاحِ أَشْفى

For seeking eminence with Ibn Ali

is more healing, my friend, for ailing hopes.

مَلِكٌ يَقْتَفي الكرامَ ويَغْدو

عنْدَه الوفْدُ بالكَرامةِ يُقْفَى

A king who follows the noble, and morning finds

delegations at his court attended with honor.

أَلجَمَ الدَّهْرُ بالثُّريّا لنا اللّيْ

لَ إليه حتّى امتطَيْناهُ طِرْفا

Time bridled the night for us with the Pleiades,

toward him, until we rode it as a noble steed.

قلتُ للرَّكْبِ يَخْبِطونَ اعْتِسافاً

حينَ خافوا للدَّهْرِ خَبْطاً وعَسْفا

I said to the caravan as they blundered aimlessly,

fearing time's blows and oppression:

اِصْرِفُوا أوجُهَ المَطيِّ إليه

ثُمّ لا تَحذَروا من الدَّهْرِ صَرْفا

Turn the faces of your mounts toward him,

then fear no reversal from time.

واجْعَلوا عندهُ الأزمّةَ عُقْلاً

واغْرِفوا كيف شِئْتُمُ البحرَ غَرْفا

Make your reins into hobbles at his door,

and scoop from the sea as freely as you please.

عندهُ عِلّةُ المَسائل والسّا

ئلِ بالفَضْلِ والَتفضُّلِ تُشْفى

With him the malady of requests and of the petitioner

is healed by bounty and beneficence.

مَعْلَمُ العِلْمِ عادَ منه جَديداً

بَعدما كانَ رَسْمُه قد تَعفَّى

Through him the landmark of learning has been renewed,

after its traces had been effaced.

يَجْتلي السَّمْعُ منه أبكارَ أَفْرا

دٍ إذا شاءَ زَفَّها لك زَفّا

The ear beholds his virgin utterances, peerless

ones he brings to you in bridal procession whenever he wishes.

وإذا ما انْتَضَى له الفِكْرُ رأْياً

خِلْتَه رافعاً عنِ الغَيْبِ سِجْفا

Whenever thought unsheathes an opinion for him,

you imagine him lifting a veil from the unseen.

ذو بيانٍ يَحكي الكواكبَ زُهْراً

وبنانٍ تَحكي السّحائبَ وُطْفا

His eloquence rivals the stars in brilliance,

and his fingers rival rain-heavy clouds.

عَمَّ إنعامُه وتَكْفي جَليلَ الْ

خَطْبِ أقلامُه وإنْ كُنَّ عُجْفا

His beneficence embraces all; his pens suffice against great

calamity, though they are lean.

كُلَّما نَمّقَتْ بيُمْناهُ سَطْراً

زادَتِ المُلْكَ قُوّةً وهْي ضَعْفَى

Whenever they adorn a line in his right hand,

they strengthen the kingdom, though themselves frail.

ولها دَمعةٌ تُميتُ وتُحيي

وهْي في الطِّرسِ رَطبةٌ لم تَجَفّا

They have a tear that kills and brings to life,

still moist upon the parchment, not yet dried.

وكأنّ الكتابَ سِلْكٌ عليه

دُرَرُ النُّطْقِ منه تُرصَفُ رَصْفا

The written page seems a thread upon which

the pearls of his speech are strung in order.

كَلِماتٌ خُلِقْنَ منه على الأع

داء سَيْفاً عَضْباً وللمُلْكِ زَغْفا

Words fashioned by him to be, against enemies,

a sharp sword, and for the kingdom, supple mail.

كلّما أَطمَع المُعاديَ فَتْحٌ

عكَستْه عليه فارتَدَّ حَتْفا

Whenever a victory tempts an adversary,

they turn it back upon him, and it becomes his death.

يا صَفيّاً لدَولةِ المَلِكِ الأعْ

ظَمِ أصفَى له الوَلاءَ وأَضْفى

O chosen friend of the greatest king's state,

who makes his loyalty to him pure and abundant,

وصَدوقاً يُري الأمورَ بعَيْنَي

هِ مَليكَ الدُّنيا إذا شاءَ كشْفا

and truthful man, who shows affairs through his own eyes

to the world's sovereign whenever he wishes them unveiled:

فَتراهُ للمُلْكِ وهْو كَلوءُ الدْ

دَهْرِ يَرعاهُ ناظِراً مُستَشِفّا

you see him for the kingdom, ever vigilant,

guarding it through time, watchful and discerning.

ويَعُمُّ الدُّنيا بإشْراِقه مِنْ

ه سَناً بالبلادِ والنّاسِ حَفّا

And he bathes the world in the radiance that comes

from him, a light encompassing lands and people.

أَشرَقتْ ثُمّ أشرَقَتْ فعلَيْها

لا نُجودٌ ولا تَهائمُ تَخْفَى

It shone, then shone again, so that in it

neither highlands nor lowlands are concealed.

فِعْلَ نَدْبٍ وافى السّياسةِ طَبٍّ

مازجٍ للأنامِ لُطْفاً وعُنْفا

The work of a gallant man, accomplished and skilled in statecraft,

who mingles gentleness and severity for mankind;

وقديمِ العلاءِ مِن بَيْتِ مَجْدٍ

لم يَجِدْ فيه مُنشِدُ الدَّهْرِ زَحْفا

of ancient eminence, from a house of glory

where time's reciter has found no metrical lapse.

رُبَّ عُرْفٍ ما زالَ يَحمِلُ عنه الرْ

ركْبُ ذِكْراً كأنّه المِسْكُ عَرفا

Many a favor of his the caravan still carries

in remembrance, fragrant as musk.

عَوَّد البَسْطَ كَفّهُ طاعةَ الجُو

دِ فلم يَستَطعْ لها العَذْلُ كَفّا

He trained his palm to open, obedient to generosity,

so reproach could never restrain it.

خَلَفٌ عَدّهُ الزّمانُ نَجيبياً

من بَنيهِ وغَيْرَه عَدَّ خَلْفا

A worthy successor whom time reckoned noble-born

among its sons, counting others degenerate offspring.

ففَداهُ مِن الرَّدى كُلُّ نِكْسٍ

يَدَّعي نِسبةَ العُلا وهْو يُنفَى

May every base man ransom him from death,

who claims descent from greatness, yet is disowned.

وضَع النَّقْصُ منه فازْدادَ كِبْراً

ويَزيدُ التّصغيرُ في الاِسْمِ حَرْفا

Deficiency lowered him, yet he grew prouder;

a diminutive adds a letter to a name.

يا حَسوداً قد عَيَّ بالمجدِ حِمْلاً

أَلْقِ عِبءَ العَلاء وانْجُ مُخفِّا

O envious man, exhausted by carrying glory,

cast off the burden of eminence and escape lightly laden.

وصريعاً للخطْبِ بالبُعْدِ منه

عنْده اسْتَكْفِ حادثَ الدَّهرِ تُكْفَا

And you whom calamity has felled through distance from him,

seek his protection against time's mishap, and you will be protected.

خلَقَ اللهُ من حُسَيْنٍ أخي الإح

سانِ شَخْصاً على المكارمِ وَقْفا

God created in Husayn, brother of beneficence,

a man devoted wholly to noble deeds.

جِئْتُه وافداً فأَغْنَى ومُشْتا

قاً فأَدنَى وزائراً فتَحفَّى

I came to him a delegate: he enriched me; I came yearning:

he drew me near; I came visiting: he welcomed me warmly.

وبدا لي فقُلتُ لم أَرَ كاليو

مِ هُماماً أقَلَّ كُفْؤاً وأَكْفَى

He appeared before me, and I said: never have I seen, as today,

a great man with fewer peers, or more capable.

آخِرٌ يَفضُل الأوائلَ مَعنىً

مثْلما يَفضُلُ الرَّويُّ الرِّدْفا

Though later, he surpasses the first in substance,

as the rhyme consonant surpasses its preceding long vowel.

فهْو أَوفَى الأنامِ عِرْفانَ ذي فَضْ

لٍ وأَوْفاهُمُ لذي الفَضْلِ عُرْفا

He is the fullest of mankind in recognizing those of merit,

and the most lavish toward the meritorious in kindness.

صاغَ بِرّاً وصُغْتُ شُكْراً ولكنْ

ظَلَّ قَولي لفِعْلِه يَتَقَفّى

He fashioned kindness; I fashioned thanks, but

my words remained in the footsteps of his deeds.

فيَصوغُ العَلياءَ للجِيدِ طَوْقاً

وأَصوغُ الثّناءَ للأُذْنِ شِنْفا

He fashions eminence into a necklace for the neck,

and I fashion praise into an earring for the ear.

أَيُّهذا الّذي كَبِرْتَ عنِ الوَصْ

فِ فعَطْفاً على الأصاغِرِ عَطْفاً

O you who have grown beyond description,

show kindness, kindness to the lesser ones.

ما لِمَدْحي لدَيْكَ قَدْرٌ ولكنْ

كرَمُ الطّبْعِ هَزَّ لي منك عِطْفا

My praise has no worth in your eyes, yet

your generous nature moves you to incline toward me.

وعُهودٌ قَدُمْنَ لي في مُوالا

تِكَ يَعطِفْنَ لي فؤادَكَ عَطْفا

And pledges, long established for me in my allegiance

to you, bend your heart toward me.

وودادٌ من دَمعةِ الماءِ أضحَتْ

وهْي حَيْرَى في مُقْلةِ الغَيمِ أَصْفى

And an affection purer than the watery tear that lingers

bewildered in the pupil of the cloud.

كم بأبوابِكَ الرَّفيعةِ يُلْفَى

طالِبُ الجاهِ والنّوالِ ويُكْفَى

How many at your lofty gates are found—

seekers of rank and bounty, their needs fulfilled—

من عُفاةٍ لهمْ عَطاؤكَ يُجْنَى

وعُتاةٍ عنهمْ بحِلْمِكَ يُعْفَى

suppliants for whom your gifts are harvested,

and rebels whom your forbearance pardons.

لا خلَتْ منك دَولةٌ زادَها اللّ

هُ جَمالاً مذْ عُدْتَ للضِّعْفِ ضِعْفا

May the state never be bereft of you; God has increased

its beauty since you became a doubling upon a doubling.

مُسبَغاً ظِلُّكَ الظّليلَ عليها

وعلَينا ما حَنّتِ النِّيبُ مُضْفَى

May your sheltering shade lie amply over it

and over us, outspread as long as old she-camels low.

وإذا ما خلَعْتَ ألْفاً منَ الأع

وامِ في العِزّ عُدْتَ تَلبَسُ ألفا

And whenever you cast off a thousand years

in glory, may you return to don a thousand more.