سهر أصابك بعد طول نعاس — Albohtry

سَهَرٌ أَصابَكَ بَعدَ طولِ نُعاسِ

لِصُدودِ أَغيَدَ فاتِنٍ مَيّاسِ

Sleeplessness has struck you after long drowsiness,

Because of the aversion of a lithe, alluring, swaying beloved.

مِثلُ القَضيبِ عَلى الكَثيبِ مُهَفهَفٌ

مِن بانَةٍ أَو مِن فُروعِ الآسِ

Slender-waisted, like a branch upon a sand dune,

From a ban tree or from shoots of myrtle.

كَالبَدرِ يَأتَلِقُ الضِياءُ بِوَجهِهِ

ما شانَ وَجنَتَهُ سَوادُ نُحاسِ

Like the full moon, light gleams upon his face;

No smoky blackness has blemished his cheek.

يَرمي فَما يَشوي وَيَقتُلُ مَن رَمى

بِسِهامِ لا هَدَفٍ وَلا بُرجاسِ

He shoots, never merely grazing, and kills whomever he shoots,

With arrows—not at a target or a practice mark.

كَم لَيلَةٍ أَحيَيتُها بِحَديثِهِ

وَلَذيذِ رَشفٍ عِندَ ذَوقِ الكاسِ

How many a night I have spent awake with his conversation,

And delicious sipping when tasting the cup.

ما غَمَّضَت عَينٌ لِفَقدِ خَيالِهِ

وَالقَلبُ فيهِ بَلابِلُ الوَسواسِ

No eye closed for want of his phantom,

While the heart held the turmoil of obsessive thoughts.

كُلُّ الدَلالِ مِنَ الحَبيبِ مُعَشَّقٌ

إِلّا دَلالُ صُدودِهِ وَالياسِ

All the beloved's coquetry is adored,

Except the coquetry of his aversion and despair.

إِن كانَ جِدّاً مِنهُ سالَت مُهجَتي

أَو كانَ هَزلاً ما بِهِ مِن باسِ

If it was earnest on his part, my lifeblood flowed;

Or if it was jest, there was no harm in it.

وَلَسَوفَ يَذكُرُ خالِياً أُنسي بِهِ

وَخَلاءَهُ مِنّي وَمِن إيناسي

He will surely remember, when alone, my companionship with him,

And his emptiness without me and my comforting company.

وَتَرُدُّهُ سَهلاً إِلَيَّ عَطائِفٌ

كَم قَد عَلِقنَ لَنا بِقَلبٍ قاسِ

Affections will bring him gently back to me—

How often they have clung, for our sake, to a hard heart!

وَلَقَد شَرِبتُ بِطارِفي وَبِتالِدي

وَسَبَأتُها بِكراً بِغَيرِ مِكاسِ

I have indeed drunk away my acquired and inherited wealth,

And bought the wine untouched, without bargaining.

وَلَقَد أُنادِمُ خَيرَ شَربٍ كُلُّهُم

دَجَنوا بِحُسنِ خَلائِقِ الجُلّاسِ

I have indeed caroused with the best drinking companions, all of them

At ease through the fine manners of their fellow guests.

أَموالُهُم مَبذولَةٌ لِضُيوفِهِم

إِنَّ الكَريمَ مُسامِحٌ وَمُواسِ

Their wealth is freely offered to their guests;

The generous man is indulgent and shares what he has.

وَلَقَد أَلِفتُ خَلائِفاً وَبَطارِقاً

أَنِسوا بِكِتماني لِلِاستِئناسِ

I have indeed known caliphs and patricians,

Who felt at ease with my discretion in intimate company.

وَلَقَد صَبَرتُ عَلى صَديقٍ فاسِدٍ

ناهيكَ مِن نَكسٍ وَمِن إِتعاسِ

I have indeed endured a corrupt friend—

What a coward, what a bringer of misery!

إِن قُدتَهُ يَأبى عَلَيكَ حِرانُهُ

أَو لِنتَ عَضَّ عَلى شَكيمِ الفاسِ

If you lead him, his balkiness defies you;

Or if you are gentle, he bites down on the iron bit.

لا يَحمَدُ الرَجَلُ المُحِبُّ صَديقَهُ

مِثلَ الزُلالِ لِذائِقٍ أَو حاسِ

A loving man does not praise his friend

As a taster or sipper praises clear, sweet water,

حَتّى يَراهُ لِغَيظِهِ مُتَجَرِّعاً

يَحبوهُ في يُسرٍ وَفي إِفلاسِ

Until he sees him swallowing his anger,

And giving to him in prosperity and bankruptcy.

وَلَقَد أَقولُ لِمَن يُسَدِّدُ رُمحَهُ

خُذها كِفاحاً مِن يَدَي جَسّاسِ

I indeed say to whoever levels his spear:

Take it face-to-face from the hands of Jassas.

وَلَقَد شَدَدتُ إِذا الهُمومُ تَضَيَّفَت

رَحلي بِكورِ عُذافِرٍ جِرفاسِ

When sorrows came as guests, I indeed fastened

My saddle to the saddle-tree of a mighty, massive camel.

قَرمٍ إِذا نَكِرَتهُ أُمٌّ مَرَّةً

عَرَفَتهُ أُخرى في دِيارِ أُناسِ

A noble sire: if one mother disowned him once,

Another recognized him in people's dwellings.

دَرَّت عَلَيهِ غَزيرَةً ضَرّاتُها

تُروي الهُيامَ بِمِحلَبٍ وَعِساسِ

Her teats poured abundant milk upon him,

Quenching the thirst-crazed with milking-pail and bowls.

وَلَقَد رَكِبتُ البَحرَ في أَمواجِهِ

وَرَكِبتُ هَولَ اللَيلِ في بَيّاسِ

I have indeed ridden the sea amid its waves,

And ridden the terror of night in Bayyas.

وَقَطَعتُ أَطوالَ البِلادِ وَعَرضَها

ما بَينَ سِندانٍ وَبَينَ سِجاسِ

I have crossed the lengths of the lands and their breadth,

Between Sindan and Sijas.

وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ وَقَد سَمِعتُ بِمَن مَضى

فَإِذا زُرَيقٌ سَيِّدُ السُوّاسِ

I have indeed seen, and heard of those who passed before,

And behold, Zurayq is the master of rulers.

فَاِفخَر بِهِ وَبِمِصعَبٍ وَحَليفِهِ

إِنَّ الحُسَينَ أَجَلُّ مِن نَشناشِ

So boast of him, and of Musab and his ally;

Husayn is indeed greater than Nashnash.

لَولا الحُسَينُ وَمُصعَبٌ وَقَبيلُهُ

ما قامَ مُلكٌ في بَني العَبّاسِ

Were it not for Husayn, Musab, and his clan,

No sovereignty would have arisen among the sons of al-Abbas.

وَبِذي اليَمينَينِ الَّذي ما مِثلُهُ

لِمُشيرِ أَخماسٍ إِلى أَسداسِ

And of Dhu al-Yaminayn, who has no peer

In subtle plotting, hinting from fifths toward sixths.

يَبغي عَلِيّاً إِذ أَتى في جَحفَلٍ

حِنقينَ أَهلِ شَراسَةٍ وَمِراسِ

He sought Ali when he came amid a mighty army,

Enraged men of fierceness and experience.

فَبَدا بِجَدِّهِمُ فَدَقَّ شَباتَهُ

داسوا أَبا يَحيى أَشَدَّ دِياسِ

He began with their grandfather and crushed his spear-point;

They trampled Abu Yahya with the fiercest trampling.

وَاِنحَطَّ يَطلُبُ بابِلاً وَمَليكَها

فَأَحاطَ بِالمَلِكِ الخَليعِ الناسي

He descended, seeking Babylon and its king,

And surrounded the deposed, heedless king.

داجاهُ حيناً عَلَّهُ أَن يَرعَوي

فَأَبى وَمالَ إِلى الهِجَفِّ الجاسي

He humored him a while, hoping he might desist;

But he refused and turned to the hulking, hardhearted man.

قَد كانَ حِلمُ أَخيهِ حِلماً واسِعاً

غَمَرَ المُلوكَ وَسائِرَ الأَجناسِ

His brother's forbearance had indeed been vast,

Encompassing kings and all peoples.

لكِنَّهُ أَصغى لِهَرثَمَةَ الَّذي

خَلّاهُ بَينَ صِرارِيٍ أَطفاسِ

But he listened to Harthama, who

Left him among filthy sailors.

فَأَتَت قَوارِبُ طاهِرٍ فَتَشَبَّثَت

بِخَليفَةِ الخِصيانِ وَالنَسناسِ

Then Tahir's boats came and seized

The caliph of eunuchs and manlike creatures.

لا كَوثَرٌ أَغنى وَلا أَشياعُهُ

مِن رَهطِ بَيدونٍ وَلا فِرناسِ

Neither Kawthar availed him, nor his followers

From Baydun's clan, nor Firnas.

فَرَمى الأَمينُ بِنَفسِهِ في دِجلَةٍ

يَرجو النَجاءَ فَصارَ في الديماسِ

Then al-Amin threw himself into the Tigris,

Hoping for escape, but ended in the dungeon.

مَن كانَ يَدري أَنَّ آخِرَ أَمرِهِ

يَبقى أَسيراً في يَدِ الحُرّاسِ

Who could have known that his final fate

Would be to remain a captive in the guards' hands?

بَل كَيفَ يَنجو وَالمُطالِبُ طاهِرٌ

بِمَواقِفِ الأَرصادِ وَالأَحراسِ

Indeed, how could he escape when his pursuer was Tahir,

At the posts of watchers and guards?

فَسَعى إِلَيهِ مُبَشِّراً بِمُحَمَّدٍ

عَجِلاً فَقالَ لَهُ اشفِني بِالراسِ

Someone hurried to him, bringing good news of Muhammad,

In haste; he told him, 'Heal me with the head.'

ما فَوقَ ذا مَجدٌ يَصولُ بِهِ امرُؤٌ

فَرَّ المُماجِدُ مِن مُدى الأَحراسِ

There is no glory above this for a man to wield;

The rival in glory fled from the guards' knives.

ما حَلَّ مُذ عَقَدَ الزُرَيقُ إِزارَهُ

حَتّى اِستَقَرَّت كَرَّةُ الأَفراسِ

Zurayq never loosened his girdle after tying it,

Until the horses' charge had come to rest.

هَذي المَكارِمُ لا عَروسٌ هَمُّهُ

عَزفٌ وَقَصفٌ طاعِمٌ أَو كاسِ

These are noble deeds—not a bridegroom whose concern is

Music and revelry, being fed or clothed.

وَأَبوكَ هَدَّ جُموعَ نَصرٍ كُلَّها

وَاِبنِ السَرِيِّ وَعَسكَرى قِرياسِ

Your father crushed all Nasr's hosts,

And Ibn al-Sari's, and Qiryas's two armies.

فَتَحَ البِلادَ صَغيرَها وَكَبيرَها

مِنها الطُوانُ إِلى مَحَلِّ الماسِ

He conquered the lands, their small and their great,

From al-Tuwan to the abode of al-Mas.

مَلَكَ المَشارِقَ وَالمَغارِبَ عَنوَةً

يُدعى لَهُ بِمَنابِرٍ وَكَراسي

He took the eastern and western lands by force;

Prayers are offered for him from pulpits and seats.

حَتّى إِذا سَلِمَت مَغارِبُها لَهُ

وَصَفَت مِنَ الفُجّارِ وَالأُنّاسِ

When their western regions had submitted safely to him,

And were cleared of the wicked and the people,

زارَ العِراقَ وَلَم يَطِنها مَنزِلاً

وَأَتى الشَراةَ فَأَمسَكَت بِحِداسِ

He visited Iraq, but did not make it his dwelling,

And came to the Shurat, who held fast to Hidas.

فَأَقامَ حَتفاً لِلمُسيءِ وَرَوضَةً

لِلمُحسِنينَ كَرَوضَةِ البَسباسِ

He stood as doom for the wrongdoer and a garden

For the righteous, like a garden of fennel.

لَو لَم يَقُم في الناسِ إِلّا واحِدٌ

ما قامَ مِثلُ أَبيكَ بِالقِسطاسِ

Had only one man stood among the people,

None would have upheld justice like your father.

لَو عُدَّ فَتحُ المازِيارِ وَمِثلِهِ

أَفنى العِدادُ كَراسِفَ الأَنقاسِ

Were the conquest of al-Mazyar and its like counted,

The tally would exhaust the ink-soaked cotton pads.

وَثَوى أَخوكَ وَقَد تَوافى عِندَهُ

كَرَمُ الكِرامِ وَبَأسُ أَهلِ الباسِ

Your brother rested, with gathered within him

The generosity of the generous and the might of the mighty.

ما طاهِرٌ إِلّا أَبوهُ وَجَدُّهُ

بَرَعوا ثَلاثَتُهُم عَلى ذا الناسِ

Tahir is but his father and his grandfather;

All three surpassed these people.

وَلَقَد لَحِقتَ وَلَم تُقَصِّر دونَهُم

بَل قَد عَلِقتَ بِثُغرَةِ الأَضراسِ

You have indeed caught up, and have not fallen short of them;

Indeed, you have grasped the gap between the molars.

وَلَقَد لَبِستَ عَساكِراً بِعَساكِرٍ

بِالغورِ فيها سادَةُ الوَسواسِ

You have indeed entangled armies with armies

At al-Ghawr, with masters of evil whispering among them.

فَرَمَوا وَجالوا بِالقَنا وَتَثاقَفوا

بِسُيوفِهِم مِن بَعدِ طولِ دِعاسِ

They hurled, wheeled with spears, and fenced

With their swords after long thrusting.

وَتَعافَسوا مَن كانَ طاحَ سِلاحُهُ

وَالنَفسُ تَتلَفُ عِندَ كُلِّ عِفاسِ

Those whose weapons had fallen grappled,

And life perished at every struggle.

وَالخَيلُ تُجمِرُ بِالفَوارِسِ وَالقَنا

يَخلُجنَ خَلجَ البِئرِ بِالأَمراسِ

The horses massed with their riders, while the spears

Jerked like the hauling of a well-bucket with ropes.

وَالمَوتُ يَأشِرُ بِالسُيوفِ كَأَنَّها

بَرقٌ يَلوحُ عَلى ظُهورِ تِراسِ

Death saws with swords, as though they were

Lightning flashing upon the backs of shields.

وَتَرى المَنِيَّةَ كالِحاً أَنيابُها

ثَكلى تَمَخَّضُ مُطفِلاً بِنِفاسِ

You see Death with its fangs bared,

A bereaved mother, yet with young, laboring in childbirth.

فَقَتَلتَ جَيشَهُمُ وَجِئتَ بِسَيبِهِم

وَتَرَكتَهُم بِالغورِ كَالأَكداسِ

You slew their army and returned with their spoil,

And left them at al-Ghawr like heaps.

وَمَتى يَهيجُ مَعاشِرٌ تَرعاهُمُ

عَلِقوا بِشَغبِ وَساوِسِ الخَنّاسِ

Whenever peoples under your care stir,

Entangled in the turmoil of the retreating devil's whispers,

نَكَّلتَ بِالرُؤَساءِ مِنهُم جَهرَةً

كَي ما تُسَكِّنَ شِرَّةَ الرَجّاسِ

You openly make an example of their chiefs,

To still the agitator's fury.

وَلَقَد يَقولُ ذَوُ الحِجى لِسَفيرِهِم

حُثَّ المَطِيِّ بِواضِحٍ مَرّاسِ

The wise indeed say to their envoy:

Spur the mounts with a bright, well-tested goad.

فَإِذا لَقيتَ مُحَمَّداً فَاسجُد لَهُ

لا غَروَ مَن صَلّى أَبا العَبّاسِ

When you meet Muhammad, prostrate yourself before him;

There is no wonder in praying to Abu al-Abbas.

مَلِكٌ تَرى الأَملاكَ حَولَ رِكابِهِ

يَمشونَ قَد حَبَسوا مِنَ الأَنفاسِ

A king around whose stirrups you see other kings

Walking with their breaths held back.

يَقضي الأُمورَ وَلَيسَ يُسمَعُ نَبسَةٌ

بِخِلالِ أَشوَسِ في المَحَلِّ الشاسي

He settles affairs, and not a murmur is heard,

With a grim man's bearing in his lofty station.

كَالدَهرِ صِرفُ ثَوابِهِ وَعِقابِهِ

في العالَمينَ لِجارِحٍ أَو آسِ

Like Time are the turns of his reward and punishment

Among all mankind, for a wounder or a healer.

وَلَقَد عَلا فَوقَ الفَراقِدِ بَيتُهُ

وَعَلى الحَضيضِ قَواعِدُ الآساسِ

His house has indeed risen above the Farqad stars,

Though its foundations rest upon low ground.

وَسَما فَنالَ المَجدَ حَتّى مالَ لي

حَيٌّ سِواهُ طَلائِحَ الأَحلاسِ

He rose and attained glory, until there turned toward me

A clan other than his, their saddlecloths worn out.

وَجَرى فَأَحرَزَ كُلَّ رَهنٍ فاخِرٍ

وَرَمى فَأَحرَزَ غُرَّةَ القِرطاسِ

He raced and secured every splendid stake,

And shot and struck the target's bull's-eye.

لَو نالَ قَرنَ الشَمسِ حَلّوا بَيتَهُ

شَرَفاً عَطاءَ شَوامِخٍ وَرَواسِ

Had he reached the sun's horn, they would have adorned his house

With honor, a gift of lofty, firmly rooted heights.

وَالعَبدَلِيّونَ المِراضُ مِنَ الحَيا

مِثلَ اللُيوثِ تَميدُ في الأَخياسِ

The Abdaliyyun, weak with modesty,

Are like lions swaying in their lairs.

أَحلامُ عادٍ في النَدى إِذا اِحتَبَوا

وَالجِنُّ يَصطَرِمونَ نَومَ حِماسِ

With the wisdom of Ad in the assembly when they sit knee-bound,

And jinn ablaze in the sleep of battle-fury.

في الحَربِ لُبسُهُمُ الحَديدُ مُضاعَفاً

وَالسِلمُ لُبسُهُمُ جَميلُ لِباسِ

In war their clothing is iron doubled,

And in peace their clothing is beautiful attire.

الأَحسَنونَ مِنَ النُجومِ وُجوهُهُم

بَهَروا بِأَكرَمِ عُنصُرٍ وَنُحاسِ

Their faces are more beautiful than the stars;

They dazzled through the noblest origin and stock.

وَلَقَد خَدَمتُكَ بِالرُصافَةِ بُرهَةً

وَخَدَمتُ شَيخَكَ في قُرى بِطياسِ

I served you indeed at al-Rusafa for a time,

And served your elder in the villages of Bityas.

لي حُرمَةٌ مُذ أَربَعونَ أَعَدُّها

حِجَجاً وَلَستُ عَنِ القَديمِ بِناسِ

I have a claim to respect dating back forty—counted

As years—and I have not forgotten the old bond.

وَلَقَد رَجَعتُ إِلَيكَ بَعدَ مِلاوَةٍ

فَقَبَلتُ رَجعَةَ وامِقٍ مُستاسِ

I have indeed returned to you after a long interval,

And accepted the return of a lover seeking bounty.

فَاخفِض جَناحَكَ لي وَصُنّي إِنَّني

كَالسامِرِيِّ مَحَرَّمٌ بِمِساسِ

Lower your wing to me and protect me, for I am

Like al-Samiri, forbidden to be touched.

أَو لَاتُّرِكتُ لَقاً لِكُلِّ خَساسَةٍ

كَقَبيصَةَ الطائِيِّ أَو كَإِياسِ

Or may I not be left a castoff for every indignity,

Like Qabisa al-Ta'i or like Iyas.

يَهنيكَ جَلوَتُها فَخُذها عاتِقاً

فَوقَ المِنَصَّةِ شَمسَةَ الأَعراسِ

May her unveiling delight you: take her as a maiden,

Above the bridal dais, the little sun of weddings.

قَد قُلتُ لَمّا أَن نَظَمتُ حُلِيَّها

وَالشِعرُ يَبعَثُ فِطنَةَ الأَكياسِ

I said, when I strung her ornaments—

Poetry awakens the discernment of the clever—

لَو لِلفُحولِ تَعِنُّ لَافتَخَروا بِها

وَلِجَروَلٍ لَحَبا بَني شَمّاسِ

Had she appeared to the master poets, they would have boasted of her;

And to Jarwal, he would have gifted her to Banu Shammas.