تفتأ عجبا بالشيء تدكره — Albohtry

تَفتَأُ عَجَباً بِالشَيءِ تَدَّكِرُه

وَإِن تَوَلّى أَوِ اِنقَضى عُصُرُه

You keep recalling a thing in wonder,

even though it has passed or its time has ended.

ذَكَرتُ مِن واسِطٍ وَبارِحِها

لَيلَ السَواجيرِ ساجِياً سَحَرُه

From Wāsiṭ and its scorching wind, I recalled

the night at al-Sawājīr, its predawn still,

وَزائِرٍ زارَ مِن أَعِقَّتِهِ

يَميلُ وَزناً بِأُنسِهِ ذُعُرُه

and a visitor who came from its ravines,

his fear tipping the balance against his ease.

كَأَنَّهُ جاءَ مُنجِزاً عِدَةً

وَبِتُّ في الراقِبينَ أَنتَظِرُه

As though he had come to fulfill a promise,

I spent the night among the watchers, awaiting him.

لَم أَنسَهُ موشِكاً عَلى عَجَلٍ

مُدامِجاً في الحَديثِ يَختَصِرُه

I have not forgotten him, hurrying in haste,

condensing his talk and cutting it short,

كَأَنَّما الكاشِحونَ قَد خَرَصوا

مَكانَهُ أَو أَتاهُمُ خَبَرُه

as though the ill-wishers had guessed

his whereabouts, or word of him had reached them.

وَقاد دَعا ناهِياً فَأَسمَعَني

وَخطٌ عَلى الرَأسِ مُخلِسٌ شَعَرُه

It guided me, called in warning, and made me listen—

a sprinkling on the head, its hair streaked with gray.

شَيبٌ أَرَتني الأَسى أَوائِلُهُ

فَلَيتَ شِعري ماذا تُري أُخَرُه

Gray hair, whose first signs showed me sorrow:

if only I knew what its later stages will show!

صَغَّرَ قَدري في الغانِياتِ وَما

صَغَّرَ صَبّاً تَصغيرُهُ كِبَرُه

It lowered my worth among beautiful women; yet it has not

belittled a lover whose belittlement is his growing old.

وَلي فُؤادٌ دَنَت إِفاقَتُهُ

فَاِنزاحَ إِلّا صُبابَةً سُكرُه

And I have a heart whose sobriety draws near;

its drunkenness has lifted, save a last drop.

بَينَ التَكاليفِ وَالنُزوعِ فَما

تَأخُذُهُ لَوعَةٌ وَلا تَذَرُه

Between love's burdens and renunciation, no

burning anguish seizes it, nor does it let it go.

كُلُّ اِمرِئٍ مُرصَدٌ لِعاقِبَةٍ

ساوى إِلَيها رَجاءَهُ حَذَرُه

Every man is destined for an outcome

toward which his fear equals his hope.

لا تَسخَطِ المَصعَدَ المَهولَ إِذا

كانَ إِلى ما تَرضاهُ مُنحَدَرُه

Do not resent the fearful ascent if

its descent leads to what pleases you.

تَثوبُ حالُ الفَتى وَإِن لَجَّ صَر

فُ الدَهرِ يَجني عَلَيهِ أَو يَتِرُه

A man's fortunes return, though relentless are the turns

of time that wrong him or rob him of his due—

ثُؤوبُ ذي الأَثرِ إِن يُعِد صَنَعٌ

لَهُ صِقالاً يَوماً يَعُد لَهُ أُثُرُه

as a patterned sword recovers: if a craftsman restores

its polish one day, its pattern returns.

هَل يُلقِيَنّي إِلى رِباعِ أَبي ال

جَيشِ خِطارُ التَغويرِ أَو غَرَرُه

Will I be brought to the dwellings of Abū al-

Jaysh by the hazards of noonday travel, or its perils?

مُخَيِّمٌ في دِمَشقَ مِن دونِهِ ال

خَرقُ بَعيدٌ مِن وِردِهِ صَدَرُه

He camps in Damascus; between us lies the

wilderness, its exit far from its entrance.

أَعارَها مِن ضِيائِهِ وَغَدا

فَخراً لَها مَجدُهُ وَمُفتَخَرُه

He lent it some of his radiance, and

his glory and distinction became its pride.

كادَ دُجى اللَيلِ مِن طَلاقَتِهِ

يُقمِرُ وَالأُفقُ ساقِطٌ قَمَرُه

Night's darkness, from his beaming cheer, almost

turns moonlit, though the horizon's moon has set.

وَبَينَ أُسوانَ وَالفُراتِ زُها

رَعِيَّةٍ ما يُغِبُّها نَظَرُه

Between Aswān and the Euphrates are throngs

of subjects his watchful gaze never neglects.

تبلُغُ أَوطارُها وَتَعلَمُهُ

مُجتَمِعاً في صَلاحِها وَطَرُه

They attain their wishes and know him

to have his whole desire centered on their welfare.

يَقصُرُ شَأوُ المُلوكِ عَن مَلِكٍ

نُجِلُّهُ دونَهُم وَنَجتَهِرُه

The reach of kings falls short of a king

whom we honor above them and behold in admiration.

أَغَرُّ مِنهُم وَالشَهرُ آنَسُهُ

لِطالِبٍ ذي لُبانَةٍ غُرَرُه

More radiant than they; a month's most welcome part

to a seeker with a need is its first bright nights.

مَنّى لَهُ اللَهُ حَظَّنا مَعَهُ

وَيُغرِقُ البَحرُ وافِياً غَزِرُه

May God grant him the good fortune we have with him;

and his abundance drowns the sea in all its fullness.

وَالصُنعُ إِذ يَرتَجيهِ آمِلُهُ

مُرجاً إِلى أَن يَسوقَهُ قَدَرُه

A kindness, when its hopeful seeker awaits it,

is deferred until its destiny brings it forth,

كَالسَهمِ لا يَكتَفي بِوَحدَتِهِ ال

قانِصُ حَتّى يُعينَهُ وَتَرُه

like an arrow, which by itself does not suffice the

hunter until his bowstring comes to his aid.

وَقَد كَفى غَولَ دَهرِهِ جَبَلٌ

يَعظُمُ عَن أَهلِ دَهرِهِ خَطَرُه

A mountain has shielded him from his age's ravages,

its stature towering above the men of his age.

يُخشى شَذاهُ وَغَيرُ مُغتَبَطٍ

نَفعٌ مُرَجّىً لا يُختَشى ضَرَرُه

His sting is feared; there is no joy in

a hoped-for benefit whose harm is not feared.

إِن سارَ عادَ النَهارُ مِن رَهَجِ ال

زُحوفِ لَيلاً يَسوَدُّ مُعتَكِرُه

When he marches, day becomes, from the dust of the

advancing hosts, a night whose swirling murk grows black.

فَالجَوُّ كابي الأَوراقِ أَكلَفُها

وَالماءُ طَرقٌ نَميرُهُ كَدِرُه

So the sky's leaves are dust-dimmed and darkly mottled,

and water is trampled foul, its sweet flow turbid.

عِبءٌ عَلى الواصِفينَ تُؤثَرُ أَخ

بارُ نَداهُ وَتُقتَفى سِيَرُه

A burden to his describers; handed down are the tales

of his bounty, and his ways are followed.

إِذا عَلا في بَهاءِ مَنظَرِهِ

أَربى عَلَيهِ في الحُسنِ مُختَبَرُه

When he rises in the splendor of his appearance,

his proven character surpasses it in beauty.

كَالغَيثِ ما عَينَهُ بِبالِغَةٍ

بَعضَ الَّذي راحَ بالِغاً أَثَرُه

Like rain: its own substance cannot reach

even part of what its effects go on to reach.

لَفا عَتادٍ مِمّا يَراهُ لَنا

نُنفِقُهُ تارَةً وَنَدَّخِرُه

A small remnant of the stores he reckons ours—

we sometimes spend it and sometimes save it.

يَثلِمُ في وَفرِ لابِسٍ مِقَةً

يَكادُ حُبّاً لِحَظِّهِ يَفِرُه

It dents the wealth of one clothed in affection,

yet almost, for love of his good fortune, leaves it whole.

أَزَهرُ وَالرَوضُ لا يَروقُكَ أَو

يَحكي مَصابيحَ لَيلِهِ زَهَرُه

He is radiant—and a garden will not delight you unless

its blossoms resemble the lamps of its night.

نُخيلُ حَتّى نَرى النَجاحَ عَلى

ظاهِرِ بِشرٍ مُبينَةٍ بُشَرُه

We read the signs, until we see success upon

a cheerful countenance, its glad tidings plain.

وَالغَيمُ مَحبوكَةٌ طَرائِقُهُ

أَحجى مِنَ الصَحوِ يُبتَغى مَطَرُه

And cloud, with its paths woven tight,

is preferable to clear skies when its rain is sought.