أحاجيك هل للحب كالدار تجمع — Albohtry

أُحاجيكَ هَل لِلحُبِّ كَالدارِ تَجمَعُ

وَلِلحائِمِ الظَمآنِ كَالماءِ يَنقَعُ

I pose you a riddle: is there, for love, anything like a home that gathers,

and for the thirsting wanderer, anything like water that quenches?

وَهَل شَيَّعَ الأَظعانَ بَغتاً فِراقُهُم

كَمُنهَلَّةٍ تَدمى جَوىً حينَ تَدمَعُ

Did their sudden parting escort the departing caravans

like a streaming eye that bleeds with anguish when it weeps?

أَما راعَكَ الحَيُّ الحِلالُ بِهَجرِهِم

وَهُم لَكَ غَدواً بِالتَفَرُّقِ أَروَعُ

Did not the encamped tribe alarm you with their abandonment,

and at dawn will their dispersal not alarm you still more?

بَلى وَخَيالٌ مِن أَثيلَةَ كُلَّما

تَأَوَّهتُ مِن وَجدٍ تَعَرَّضَ يُطمِعُ

Yes—and an apparition of Athila, whenever

I sigh from longing, appears and awakens hope.

إِذا زَورَةٌ مِنهُ تَقَضَّت مَعَ الكَرى

تَنَبَّهتُ مِن فَقدٍ لَهُ أَتَفَزَّعُ

Whenever a visit from it ends with sleep,

I awaken, frightened by its absence.

تَرى مُقلَتي ما لا تَرى في لِقائِهِ

وَتَسمَعُ أُذني رَجعَ ما لَيسَ تَسمَعُ

My eye sees, in meeting it, what it does not see,

and my ear hears the echo of what it does not hear.

وَيَكفيكَ مِن حَقِّ تَخَيُّلُ باطِلٍ

تُرَدُّ بِهِ نَفسُ اللَهيفِ فَتَرجَعُ

An imagined falsehood suffices you in place of truth,

bringing back the grieving soul, so that it returns.

أَعَن واجِبٍ أَلا يُسامِحَ جانِبٌ

مِنَ العَيشِ إِلّا جانِبٌ يَتَمَنَّعُ

Must there be no yielding in one part

of life without another part holding back?

وَرَيعُ الشَبابِ آضَ نَهباً مُفَرَّقاً

وَكانَ قَديماً وَهوَ غُنمٌ مُجَمَّعُ

Youth's bounty has become scattered plunder,

though once it was a gathered treasure.

أُسِفُّ إِذا أَسفَفتُ أَدنو لِمَطلَبٍ

خَفٍ وَأَراني مُثرِياً حينَ أَقنَعُ

When I stoop, I stoop by drawing near to a goal

of little worth; yet I see myself rich when I am content.

نَصيبَكَ في الأُكرومَتينَ فَإِنَّما

يَسودُ الفَتى مِن حَيثُ يَسخو وَيَشجَعُ

Take your share in the two noble virtues, for only

through generosity and courage does a young man attain eminence.

يَقِلُّ غَناءُ القَوسِ نَبعٌ نِجارُها

وَساعِدُ مَن يَرمي عَنِ القَوسِ خِروَعُ

Small is a bow's usefulness, though its stock is nabʿ-wood,

if the arm of the man who shoots it is castor-wood.

فَلا تُغلِيَن بِالسَيفِ كُلَّ غَلائِهِ

لِيَمضي فَإِنَّ القَلبَ لا السَيفَ يَقطَعُ

So do not pay the utmost price for a sword

to make it strike: the heart, not the sword, does the cutting.

إِذا شِئتَ حازَ الحَظَّ دونَكَ واهِنٌ

وَنازَعَكَ الأَقسامَ عَبدٌ مُجَدَّعُ

If you wish, a weakling will win fortune instead of you,

and a mutilated slave will contest your shares with you.

وَما كانَ ما أَسدى إِلَيَّ اِبنُ يَلبَخٍ

سِوى حُمَةٍ مِن جانِبِ السَمِّ تُنزَعُ

And what Ibn Yalbakh bestowed on me was nothing

but a venomous sting drawn from poison's side.

أَجِدَّكَ ما المَكروهُ إِلّا اِرتِقابُهُ

وَأَبرَحُ مِمّا حَلَّ ما يُتَوَقَّعُ

Truly, hardship is nothing but awaiting it,

and what is expected is more grievous than what has befallen.

وَقَد تَتَناهى الأُسدُ مِن دونِ صَيدِها

شِباعاً وَتَغشى صَيدَها وَهيَ جُوَّعُ

Lions sometimes stop short of their prey

when sated, but assail their prey when hungry.

إِذا اِعتَرَضَ الخابورُ دونَ جِيادِنا

رِعالاً فَخَدُّ اِبنِ اللَئيمَةِ أَضرَعُ

When the Khabur bars the way of our steeds,

in squadrons, the vile woman's son is more abased in cheek.

وَفي سَرَعانِ الخَيلِ يُمنُ وِزارَتي

أَبِيٍّ يُحامي عَن حَريمي وَيَدفَعُ

And in the cavalry's vanguard lies my fortunate alliance

with a proud man who guards my sanctuary and wards off harm.

نُصارِعُ عَنّا الحادِثاتِ إِذا عَرَت

بِهِ وَهوَ مَشغولُ الذِراعِ فَنَصرَعُ

We wrestle calamities away from us when they strike,

with his help, though his arm is occupied, and so we throw them down.

بِمُنخَفِضٍ عَن قَدرِهِ وَهوَ يَعتَلي

وَمُنخَدِعٍ عَن حَظِّهِ وَهوَ يُخدَعُ

With one beneath his rightful rank, even as he rises,

and cheated of his share, even as he is deceived.

إِذا النَفَرُ الجانونَ لاذوا بِعَفوِهِ

تَغَمَّدَ مَغشِيَّ الفِناءِ مُوَسَّعُ

When the guilty band seek refuge in his pardon,

he enfolds them in forgiveness, his courtyard thronged, his means ample.

لَهُم عادَةٌ مِن عَفوِهِ وَعَلَيهِمِ

جَرائِرُ حابوا أَمسِ فيها وَضَيَّعوا

They are accustomed to his pardon, though against them

lie offenses in which yesterday they showed favoritism and neglect.

وَما ظَفِرَت مِنهُم خُراسانَ بِالَّتي

أَقامَت إِلَيها بُرهَةً تَتَطَلَّعُ

Yet Khurasan did not obtain from them what

it had spent some time looking toward expectantly.

يُحيطُ بِأَقصى مايُخافُ وَيُرتَجى

تَظَنّيهِمُ أَيَّ الأَصانيعِ يَصنَعُ

The utmost of what is feared and hoped for is encompassed

by their conjecture about what great deeds he will perform.

بِجَدِّ العُلا أَنَّ العَلاءَ بنَ صاعِدٍ

عَلا صاعِداً يَقصو مَداها وَيَفرَعُ

By the good fortune of glory, al-ʿAlaʾ ibn Ṣaʿid

has risen ever upward, attaining its furthest reach and surmounting it.

رَعى المُلكَ مِن أَقطارِهِ وَمُغَلِّسٌ

عَلى المُلكِ مَن وَفداهُ كِسرى وَتُبَّعُ

He guarded the kingdom in all its quarters; and early astir

over kingship is he whose two envoys are Kisra and Tubbaʿ.

تَجَهُّمُهُ رَوعُ القُلوبِ وَبِشرُهُ

بَريدٌ بِبُشرى ما يُنَوِّلُ مُسرِعُ

His scowl is terror to hearts, and his smile

a swift courier bearing glad news of what he bestows.

خَليلٌ أَتاني نَفعُهُ عِندَ حاجَتي

إِلَيهِ وَما كُلُّ الأَخِلّاءِ يَنفَعُ

A friend whose help came to me when I had need

of him—not every friend is helpful.

يُشَفِّعُني فيما يَعِزُّ وُجودُهُ

وَيَمهَدُ لي عِندَ الرِجالِ فَيَشفَعُ

He accepts my intercession for what is hard to obtain,

and smooths my way among men, then intercedes.

سُرى الغَيثِ يُروى غُزرُهُ حينَ يَنبَري

وَتَتبَعُهُ أَكلاؤُهُ حينَ يُقلِعُ

Rain passing by night, its abundance recounted when it comes forth,

and its pastures follow it when it ceases.

عَدَتكَ أَبا عيسى الخُطوبُ وَلا يَزَل

يُواتيكَ إِقبالٌ مِنَ الدَهرِ طَيِّعُ

May calamities pass you by, Abu Isa; may there always be

compliant good fortune from time, coming to favor you.

زَرَعتُ الرَجاءَ في ذَراكَ مُبَكِّراً

وَجُلَّ حَصادِ المَرءِ مِن حَيثُ يَزرَعُ

I planted hope early in your shelter,

and most of a man's harvest comes from where he sows.

وَقَد زاحَمَت حَظّي الحُظوظُ وَأَجلَبَت

طَوارِقُ مِنها صادِراتٌ وَشُرَّعُ

Other shares have jostled my share, and raised a clamor—

their visitants, some leaving the water, others entering to drink.

فَما ضَيَّعَ التَبذيرُ حَقّي وَلَم يَزلُ

إِلى جانِبِ التَبذيرِ حَقٌّ مُضَيَّعُ

Yet extravagance did not waste my due, though there has always been

beside extravagance some due left neglected.

لَولا نَوالٌ مِنكَ قَيَّدَ عَزمَتي

لَكانَ بِأَبروجِردَ خِرقٌ سَمَيدَعُ

Had not a gift from you bound my resolve,

a gallant, noble man would have been in Abrujird;

وَلَاِنقَلَبَت نَحوَ العِراقِ مُغِذَّةً

حَمولَةُ رِفدٍ مِن حَمولَةَ توضِعُ

and toward Iraq would have turned, hastening,

a gift-bearing caravan from Hamula, trotting swiftly.

كَأَنَّ رُكامَ الثَلجِ تَحتَ صُدورِها

جِبالٌ زَرودٍ كُثبُها تَتَرَبَّعُ

As though the heaps of snow beneath their breasts

were Zarud's mountains, whose dunes they graze in spring.

قِباطٌ يَؤودُ اللَيلَ تَحويلُ لَونِها

وَقَد لاحَها صِبغٌ مِنَ اللَيلِ مُشبَعُ

Fine Egyptian linens, whose color the night struggles to change,

though a deeply saturated dye of night has tinged them.

كَأَنَّ بَياضَ السِنِّ سِنِّ سُمَيرَةٍ

صَبيرٌ يُعَلّى في السَماءِ وَيُرفَعُ

As though the whiteness of the toothlike peak—the peak of Sumayra—

were a bank of cloud raised high and lifted into the sky.

تَرَقّى النُجومَ موهِناً مِن وَرائِها

طَلائِحُ قَد كادَت مِنَ الوَنيِ تَطلُعُ

Climbing toward the stars, late at night, from behind it,

are worn-out mounts, almost giving out from weariness.

كَأَنَّ الثُرَيّا سابِحٌ مُتَكَبِّدٌ

لِجَريَةِ ماءٍ يَستَقِلُّ وَيَرجِعُ

As though the Pleiades were a swimmer struggling

against a current of water, rising and falling back.

إِذا ما أَهابَت عَن تَزاوُرِ جانِبٍ

بِعَيّوقِها مِزهُوَّةً جاءَ يُهرَعُ

Whenever, turning to one side, she calls

proudly to her al-ʿAyyuq, he comes rushing.

تَأَيّا مَعَ الإِمساءِ تَتبَعُ ضَوأَهُ

وَتَسبِقُهُ فَوتَ الصَباحِ فَيَتبَعُ

He tarries at dusk while she follows his light,

and she outstrips him as morning passes, so he follows.

كَأَنَّ سُهَيلاً شَخصُ ظَمآنَ جانِحٍ

مَعَ الأُفقِ في نَهيٍ مِنَ الأَرضِ يَكرَعُ

As though Suhayl were the figure of a thirsty man bending

along the horizon, drinking from a pool on the ground.

إِذا الفَجرُ وَالظَلماءُ حِزبا تَبايُنٍ

يُخَرِّقُ مِن جِلبابِها ماتُرَقَّعُ

When dawn and darkness are two opposing camps,

he rends from her cloak whatever is patched.

أَصِحُّ فَلا أُمنى بِشَكوٍ مِنَ الهَوى

وَأَصحو فَلا أَصبو وَلا أَتَوَلَّعُ

I am well, no longer afflicted with a complaint from love,

and I am sober, no longer yielding to desire or infatuation.

فَتَذهَبُ أَيّامي الَّتي تَستَفِزُّني

بِطالاتُها إِنّي إِلى اللَهِ أَرجِعُ

So pass those days of mine that rouse me

with their idle pleasures; indeed, to God I return.

أَثائِبُ حِلمٍ أَم أُفولُ شَبيبَةٍ

خَلَت وَأَتى مِن دونِها الشَيبُ أَجمَعُ

Is it returning good sense, or the setting of youth

that has passed, with gray hair coming wholly in its place?

وَما خَيرُ يَومَيَّ الَّذي أَزَعُ الصِبا

لَهُ وَأُحَلّى بِالنُهى وَأُمَتَّعُ

Yet the better of my two days is not the one when I curb youthful passion

for its sake, and am adorned with reason and granted enjoyment.