من رأي قبل ثناياك مداما — Alarjani

مَن رأَي قبلَ ثناياكِ مُداماً

جَعلوا مَنزِلَها الدُّرَّ فداما

Who ever saw, before your front teeth, wine

whose dwelling they fitted with a strainer of pearls?

تَمترِي من عارضٍ إيماضُه

يخطِفُ القلبَ إذا أبدَى ابتساما

You draw it from a cloud whose lightning

steals the heart whenever it shows a smile.

عارِضٌ تَجلوهُ نُعْمٌ غُدوةً

غَيرةَ العارِضِ تَحدوهُ النَّعامى

A gleaming row Nu‘m polishes at dawn,

to the envy of the cloud driven by the south wind.

كلّما شِيمَ سقاني أَدمُعي

وسقَى المِسكَ سِواكاً والمُداما

Whenever its flash is watched, it makes me drink my tears,

and waters a toothstick with musk and wine.

قاتلَ اللهُ أراكاً بالحِمَى

أبداً يُملي على القلْبِ الغراما

God confound the arak tree in al-Hima,

forever dictating passion to the heart!

يَصِفُ الثَّغْرَ لها يابِسُه

ويُحاكي رَطْبُه منها القَواما

Its dry wood describes her mouth,

and its fresh wood imitates her stature.

يا أراكَ الجِزْعِ هَبْ لي رِيقَها

ولأطرافِكَ فاستَسْقِ الغَماما

O arak of the valley bend, grant me her saliva,

and ask the clouds to water your tips.

أَرِدُ الماءَ وتَمَتاُح اللُّمَى

ساء هذا يا ابنةَ القومِ اقْتِساما

I go to water while you draw from dark lips:

what a poor division, daughter of the tribe!

لو قضَى بالعدلِ قاضٍ بَيْنَنا

وكِلانا ذابِلٌ يشكو الأُواما

If a judge judged justly between us,

both of us withered and complaining of burning thirst,

لسَقاهُ القَطْرُ ما سُقِّيتُه

وسَقاني الثّغْرُ ما يَسْقي البَشاما

rain would give it what I was given to drink,

and her mouth would give me what it gives the basham tree.

بأبي من سرِّ قيس غادة

قرط الناس لها أذني الملاما

May my father ransom a maiden of the noblest stock of Qays,

for whose sake people have hung reproach in my ears.

غالَطَتْني إذْ كَستْ جسمي الضّنَى

كُسوةً عَرَّتْ من اللّحْمِ العظاما

She deceived me when she clothed my body in wasting sickness,

a garment that stripped the bones of flesh.

ثمّ قالت أنت عندي في الهوَى

مثلُ عَيْني صدَقتْ لكنْ سَقاما

Then she said, “In love, you are to me

like my eye.” She spoke truly—but in sickness.

كنتُ من قَتْلَي ليالي هَجْرِها

حُشِيَتْ منهنَّ أحشائي كِلاما

I was among those slain by the nights of her abandonment;

they filled my entrails with wounds.

خِفْتُهُ حتّى إذا ما لَيْلُه

نالَ منها الطَّرْفُ ثأراً فأناما

I feared it until, on its night,

the eye took vengeance on her and put her to sleep.

قلتُ لمّا قتلتْني في الهوَى

حلَّتِ الخمرُ وقد كانت حراما

I said, when she killed me with love:

“Wine has become lawful, though it was forbidden.”

هل تَرى الرَّكبَ بشَرقيّ الحِمَى

يَشرَئبّونَ إلى وادي الخُزامى

Do you see the caravan east of al-Hima,

craning their necks toward Wadi al-Khuzama?

كُلَّما لاحتْ لهمْ أطلالُه

جاذَبتْ راكِبَها العِيسُ الزِّماما

Whenever its ruins appeared to them,

the pale camels tugged the reins against their rider.

يأْمَنُ السَّيْرَ بنا أَعلامُها

ولقد تَشْجو الدِّيارُ المُسْتَهاما

Its landmarks need not fear our passage,

yet dwellings sadden the love-distraught.

فنَبذْنا نظْرةً نحوَ الحِمَى

ثُمَّ أَهدَيْنا منَ البُعْدِ السَّلاما

So we cast a glance toward al-Hima,

then offered our greeting from afar.

لا نِساءُ الحَىّ حيًّتْنا ولا

بخيامِ الحَيّ شَبَّهْنا الخِياما

Neither did the tribe's women greet us,

nor did we liken the tents to the tribe's tents.

طَرْبةٌ تَشْهَدُ كَفّي بَعْدَها

أنّها مرَّتْ على عَيْني مَناما

A moment of rapture, after which my hand testifies

that it passed across my eye as a dream.

لم يكنْ غيرَ ليالٍ وَصلُها

كم عسى أنْ يُجْتَلى البدْرُ التِّماما

Union with her lasted only a few nights:

how long can one gaze upon the moon at its fullest?

قُلْ لأحبائي وإنْ شَطَّ النَّوى

بعد عيشٍ ناعمٍ لو كانَ داما

Tell my loved ones, though separation has carried them far,

after a life of ease—if only it had lasted:

كيف أَتاكُمْ ووَجْدي دائباً

يَسكبُ الدّمعَ على خَدّي سِجاما

How did it reach you, while my longing ceaselessly

pours tears in torrents down my cheek?

كلّما أذكرُ يوماً لكمُ

لم يَطُلْ عنديَ أن أبكيهِ عاما

Whenever I recall a day with you,

a year spent weeping for it does not seem long.

مِن مُديرٍ كأسَ دمع ساهراً

مغرماً قد رقَدتْ عنه النَّدامى

From one passing round a cup of tears, awake all night,

love-stricken, his drinking companions asleep without him.

كلّما حنَّ إلى ذاتِ الغَضا

أنشأَتْ أنفاسُه فيها اضْطِراما

Whenever he yearns for Dhat al-Ghada,

his breaths kindle a blaze there.

ذاكراً أحورَ مِن سِرْبِ المَها

لا يُوافي طَيْفُه إلاّ لِماما

Remembering a dark-eyed one from the herd of oryx,

whose phantom comes only rarely,

حلَّ من قلبيَ بَيْتاً فارغاً

فهْو فردٌ فيه لا يَخْشَى زِحاما

he settled in an empty house within my heart,

alone there, fearing no crowd.

فاتِلاً من صُدْغهِ أطْنابَه

ناصباً من قَدّهِ فيه دِعاما

Twisting its tent ropes from his sidelock,

setting pillars there from his stature,

حاطَهُ القلبُ وقد أسلَمني

فإلامَ الغدْرُ يا قلبُ إلاما

my heart protected him, though it betrayed me:

how long this treachery, my heart, how long?

هكذا الدَّهرُ رماني صَرْفُه

بهمُومٍ قد أقامَتْ ما أقاما

Thus Time's vicissitudes struck me

with sorrows lasting as long as Time endures.

رجَعَ الأيّامُ فيما وهبَتْ

لُؤْمَ طَبْعٍ ومتى كانتْ كراما

The days took back what they bestowed,

out of innate meanness—and when were they generous?

وبناتُ الدَّهرِ في غَدْرَتها

كبَنيهِ لا يُراقبْنَ ذِماما

Time's daughters, in their treachery,

are like its sons: they respect no covenant.

كم أُناسٍ خلْتُهمْ لي جُنَناً

يومَ رَوْعٍ فغدَوا فيَّ سهاما

How many people I thought shields for me

on a day of terror became arrows lodged in me!

أمَّهُمْ دهريَ فائتَمّوا بهِ

هل أبٌ لم يَرْضَهُ الاِبْنُ إماما

My Time led them, and they followed it:

what father does his son not accept as a guide?

تَبِعَ الظّلَّ يُحاكي غُصْنَه

كيفما مالَ لرِيحٍ واسْتَقاما

The shadow follows, copying its branch

however it bends to a wind or stands upright.

يا أخا الغَوْثِ وما الغَوْثُ سوى

أنْ يُلَفَّ الغَوْرُ بالنَّجْدِ اعْتزاما

O brother in aid—and what is aid but

resolutely joining lowland to highland?

إنّما وُدِّي وقد جَرّبْتَه

عُروةٌ وُثْقَى فلا تَخْشَ انْفِصاما

My affection, which you have tested,

is a firm bond; fear no breaking.

وإذا كان المَودّاتُ جَناحاً

لم يكنْ أقدامُها إلاّ القُدامى

If affections are a wing,

their foremost ones are its leading flight feathers.

فاخْشَ يا صاحِ أحاديثَ غَدٍ

إنْ تَصاحَبْنا ولا تَخْشَ الحِماما

So fear tomorrow's tales, my friend,

if we keep company, but do not fear death.

نحن رِدْآنِ وأضحَى واحداً

قرْنُنا الدَّهرُ فلا تَرْضَ انْهزاما

We are two allies, and one alone

is our opponent, Time; do not accept defeat.

كنْ ليَ الماءَ إذا خفْتُ صدىً

وسَنا النّارِ إذا خُضْتُ الظَّلاما

Be water for me when I fear thirst,

and firelight when I venture into darkness:

رَجُلاً يُوقظْهُ تحْريكُه

إنّما الطِّفْلُ إذا حُرّكَ ناما

a man whom shaking rouses,

for only a child falls asleep when rocked.

إنْ تُرِدْ والمجدُ رَوضٌ عازبٌ

في ذُرا العزّ جميماً وجِماما

If you seek—glory being a far-off pasture—

lush grass and plentiful water at honor's heights,

فأثِرْها حاكياتٍ في الفَلا

حينَ يَعْصِفُنَ نُعامَى أو نَعاما

then rouse them, resembling in the wilderness,

as they rush, the south wind or ostriches.

لا سنامَ الأرضِ أبقَى وَخْدها

لا ولا الأرضُ لها أبقَتْ سَناما

Their swift strides spared no hump of the earth,

nor did the earth spare them a hump.

أفنَتِ الأرضُ قصاصاً مَتْنَها

حينَ أفنَى مَتْنَها النِّضوُ لِطاما

The earth wore away their backs in requital,

when the gaunt mount pounded away the earth's back.

تُودِعُ السَّيْرَ نهاراً خائناً

يأكلُ الظّلَّ إذا ما هو صاما

It entrusts its journey to a treacherous day,

which devours shade even while fasting,

أو دُجَى ظلماءَ تُمسي بَطْنُها

من جَنينِ الصُّبْحِ للسّاري عَقاما

or to pitch-dark night, whose womb at evening

is barren of the unborn dawn for the night traveler.

أخطأ المطلَعَ ذا الصُّبْحُ فهل

عَمِيَ النّاظرُ منه أو تَعامى

This dawn has missed its rising-place; has

its eye gone blind, or feigned blindness?

ما اعتلَى الأفْقَ رداءٌ بل هَوَى

منه فاعتمَّ به رأسي اعْتماما

No cloak rose over the horizon; rather it fell

from it, and my head wore it as a turban.

أنا والدِّهرُ كقِرنَيْ مَعْرَكٍ

فتبصَّرْ أيُّنا أوفَى انْتِقاما

Time and I are like two opponents in battle:

see which of us is more thorough in revenge.

حينَ أبدَتْ يَدُه من شَيْبتي

صارماً منّي على المَفْرَقِ شاما

When its hand displayed, from my gray hair,

a keen blade it sheathed upon my hair's parting,

سَلَّ منصوراً على أحداثِه

من حُسامِ الدّينِ تأميلي حُساما

victorious against its calamities, it drew—

my hope—a sword from Husam al-Din.

مُخْبِراً عن أثْرِه آثارُه

ماضياً يَغْتَنِمُ الحمدَ اغْتناما

Its traces proclaiming its effect,

keen-edged, seizing praise as spoil.

صَقَل البِشْرُ مُحَيّا وجهه

فَجلا عن ناظرِ الحُرِّ القَتاما

Cheerfulness polished the countenance of his face

and cleared the dust from the noble man's eye.

مُشْرِعاً بحراً إذا مدَّ يداً

مُطْلِعاً بدراً إذا حَطَّ اللّثاما

Opening a sea to drink from when he extends a hand,

raising a full moon when he lowers his veil.

كُلّما اهتزَّ به نادى النَّدَى

أشمسَ الوافدُ منه وأغاما

Whenever generosity's assembly thrilled at him,

the visitor found sunshine from him and clouds.

بأبي الخَطّابِ لي مُنتَصَرٌ

من خطوبِ الدّهرِ إن جُرْنَ احتكاما

In Abu al-Khattab I have a defender

against Time's calamities, if they judge unjustly,

وحُسامٌ ماسحٌ أعناقَها

عكْسُه وَصفٌ له دُرّي اهْتماما

and a sword that wipes away their necks:

its reverse describes him—my pearls, a token of care.

بحُسامٍ قد نَماهُ عَضُدٌ

ثمَّ أوطاهُ منَ الأكفاء هاما

In Husam, whom ‘Adud raised,

then made tread the heads of his equals.

لن تَرَى نَدْباً هُماماً كاملاً

غيرَ مَنْ عُدَّ أباً نَدْباً هُماما

You will see no perfect, noble, high-spirited man

except one whose father was reckoned noble and high-spirited.

يا ابْنَ مَنْ شُدَّتْ يدُ المُلْكِ بهِ

فغدا يحمي من الجُنْدِ السّواما

O son of him through whom kingship's hand was strengthened,

who came to protect the grazing herds against the troops.

وكفاهُمْ منه أن يَجْمَعَهُمْ

عارِضٍ يغدو من الجودِ رُكاما

It sufficed them that he gather them:

a cloud piled high with generosity,

عارِضٌ والجيشُ كالقَطْرِ له

يَمْطُرُ النَّعْماءَ والموتَ الزُّؤاما

a cloud whose army is like raindrops,

raining blessings and swift, deadly death.

عُوِّدَ الصّبْرَ على إعْناتِهمْ

مثْلَما لا يُسأمُ الرُّكْنُ اسْتلاما

He was trained in patience under their importunity,

as the sacred Corner never tires of ritual touching.

تأخذُ الأقوامُ من آدابه

وأبَى القابسُ أن يَجني الضِّراما

Peoples draw upon his cultivated manners,

and the borrower of fire refused to gather flame.

لو جلا عن وجهِ أدْنَى عِلْمِه

لانْثَنى نَقْصُ بني الدَّهْرِ تماما

If he unveiled the face of even his slightest knowledge,

the deficiency of Time's children would turn to perfection.

يُتَهادَى كُلُّ ما فاهَ بهِ

فهو الدُّرُّ انْتِشاراً وانْتظاما

All that he utters is passed around as a gift:

pearls, scattered or strung.

بَهَرتْ آياتُها فانْقَسَمَ ال

حُسْنُ بينَ اللّفظِ والمعنى انْقساما

Its verses dazzled, and divided—

was beauty between wording and meaning.

رُتَبّ منها و من عَلْيائها

تَملِكُ الحاسدَ أنفاً ورَغاما

Ranks within it, and its lofty heights,

seize the envier's nose and rub it in dust.

يا إماماً جاعلاً سُدَّتَه

طالبَ الفضلِ لعَيْنَيْهِ إماما

O leader who, at his threshold, makes

the seeker of bounty a guide for his own eyes,

ملكَ الفضلَ فحامَى دُونَه

وكذا مَن أصبحَ المسالكَ حامى

he possessed excellence and defended it,

as does one who becomes a protector of the roads.

هاكَها مِن واردٍ عن ظَمأ

بعدما لابَ بها دهراً وحاما

Take it from one arriving thirsty at water,

after circling and hovering around it for an age:

قُرطُ آذانِ الأُلَى أصغَوا لها

مُلِئِ اللُّؤْلُؤَ فَذّاً وتُؤاما

an earring for the ears of those who listened,

filled with pearls, single and paired.

ويَراها حاسدٌ من حَسَدٍ

صَمَماً في الأذْن منها وصماما

An envier sees it, out of envy,

as deafness in the ear and a plug caused by it.

فاْبَق للمجدِ والعَلْياء ودُمْ

في ظلالِ العزِّ والنُّعْمَى دَواما

Remain for glory and high honor, and endure

forever in the shade of honor and blessings,

مُبْلياً غِمْدَ اللّيالي عِزّةً

تَصدُقُ الضّربَ ولا تَخْشَى انْئلاما

wearing out the nights' scabbard in might,

striking true, without fear of injury.