يغب الغيث أكناف البلاد — Alhees Bess

يغبُّ الغيثُ أكنافَ البلادِ

ويُخلف بارقُ السحبِ الغوادي

Rain visits the land's reaches only at intervals,

and the lightning of the morning clouds breaks its promise;

ويغبرُّ الشتاء ومنه يُرجى

نمو الروض أو رِيُّ الصَّوادي

and winter grows dust-dry, though from it one hopes

for meadows to grow or the thirsty to drink their fill.

وسيف الدولة الملكُ المُرَّجى

سَحوحُ الجُوْدِ مُنْهلُّ العِهادِ

Yet Sayf al-Dawla, the king in whom hope is placed,

pours forth bounty, his renewing rains streaming down.

يبيد نواله فقرَ المَقاوي

وحَدُّ حُسامه مُهج الأعادي

His largesse wipes out the poverty of the destitute,

and his sword's edge, the lives of his enemies.

إذ افتخرت ملوك الأرض طُراً

بتعديد المساعي والأيادي

When all the kings of earth boasted

by recounting their noble deeds and favors,

شآها عند مُعتبر المعالي

طيلُ الرمحِ واليد والنجادِ

he outstripped them when high merits were weighed,

long of spear and hand and sword-belt.

طليقُ الوجه أغلب مزْيديٌّ

مُضيءُ النارِ مرفوعُ العِمادِ

Open-faced, lionlike, a Mazyadid,

his fire burns bright, his tent-pole towers high.

حماهُ الصبر من وقْع الرزايا

فما يُصْمى بداهيةٍ نَآدِ

Patience has shielded him from the blows of calamities,

so no grievous disaster strikes him down.

ولما أن بلاهُ الدهرُ خُبْراً

وعَجْماً في المُلمَّاتِ الشدادِ

And when Time had tested him by close scrutiny,

and assayed him amid grievous afflictions,

وأبصر منه طوداً ذا هضابٍ

وقوراً لا يُزعزعُ بالعَوادِي

and found in him a mountain with lofty ridges,

steadfast, unshaken by assailing troubles,

أذلَّ له القياد وكان صعباً

على الأحرار مُمتنعَ القِيادِ

it yielded him its reins, though it had been unruly

toward noble men, refusing to be led.

هو الغاني ببلغته وحمْدٍ

عن النَّشب المُجمَّع والتِّلادِ

He is content with sustenance and praise,

needing neither amassed possessions nor ancestral wealth.

وواهبُها ألوفاً رابحاتٍ

مُكرمةً عن الوعْد المُعادِ

He grants them in thousands that bring gain,

too honored to be delayed by repeated promises;

وباعثُها إلى الغاراتِ تهْفو

سِراعاً مثل مبثوثِ الجرادِ

and sends them flying forth on raids,

swift as locusts scattered wide:

فيوماً بالمشارق في مغارٍ

ويوماً بالمغارب في جِلادِ

one day on a raid in the east,

another day in sword-fights in the west.

أجلْت الخيلَ في الآفاقِ حتى

تخوَّفتِ السماءُ من الطرادِ

You sent your horses ranging to the horizons, until

the sky itself grew fearful of the pursuit.

وباراكَ المُلوكُ فكنت منهم

مكان الشامخاتِ من الوهادِ

Kings strove to rival you, but among them you stood

as lofty peaks stand above the lowlands.

وكم بخلوا ومالُكَ مُستباحٌ

يظلُّ رغائباً في كل نادِ

How often they were miserly, while your wealth lay freely open,

ever a bounty of choice gifts in every gathering.

وكم رقدوا وأنت من التَّروي

لكسبِ المجد ممتنعُ الرُّقادِ

How often they slept, while you, absorbed in thought

on winning glory, denied yourself sleep.

وكم برموا وأنت رحيبُ بالٍ

تُلاقي الهولَ جذْلانَ الفؤادِ

How often they grew weary, while you, untroubled in spirit,

met terror with a joyous heart.

منحتك مهجة كرُمتْ وعزَّت

ولم تكُ للنوالِ المُستفادِ

I gave you my soul, noble and precious,

and not for the sake of bounty received.

ولكني هويتُكَ للمعالي

وما أوتيتَ من شيمٍ وعادِ

Rather, I loved you for your lofty deeds

and the traits and habits bestowed on you.

وطاب تواضعي لك مثل كِبْري

على الكُبراء في وطءِ الوسادِ

My humility before you was as sweet as my pride

over the grandees when occupying the cushioned seat.

ولستُ بشاعرٍ قدراً ولكن

فصيحٌ بالعُلى والمدح شادِ

I am not a poet by rank, but

an eloquent man singing of greatness and praise.

أطع فيَّ العُلى وازجر رجالاً

سعوا في شأن مجدي بالفسادِ

Heed high honor in my case, and rebuke those men

who sought to undermine my glorious standing.

فإنَّ الجاهلينَ بغير خُلْفٍ

لأهل الفضل مُذْ خُلِقُوا أعادِ

For the ignorant, without dispute,

have been enemies to men of merit since their creation.

ولم يزل البعيدُ الشَّوف مرْمىً

لأقوال اللئام من العِبادِ

The man of far-reaching vision has always been a target

for the words of the basest of men.

أرَوْني لينةً وسكونَ عِطْفٍ

وغَرُّوني بشيء كالوداد

They showed me gentleness and a calm bearing,

and deceived me with something resembling affection,

وقد كمنَ الأذى والشرُّ فيهم

كُمُونَ النار في جوفِ الزِّنادِ

while harm and evil lay hidden within them,

as fire lies hidden in the heart of firesticks.

وقالوا أنه رجلٌ مَريرٌ

متى نُسخطهُ يأخذُ في البِعادِ

They said, "He is a strong-willed man;

once we anger him, he will begin to keep away.

فيخلو وجه مولانا ونخلوا

عن المُتزمتين أولي السَّدادِ

Then our master's face will be ours alone, and we shall be free

of those stern men of sound judgment."

ودون فراقِ سيدِ آل عوفٍ

مخاضُ النار أو خرْط القَتادِ

But before I forsake the lord of the house of Awf,

I would wade through fire or strip a thorn tree bare.

وما أهديته من صفو ودي

فليس مدى الزمان بمستعاد

And the pure affection I have offered him

shall never be taken back through all of time.

وقالوا هبه يرفعه علينا

فكيف على خُؤلته الحِدادِ

They said, "Suppose he raises him above us—

but how above his fierce maternal uncles?"

وما رفعي بمبتدعٍ ولكن

أضَلَّ دليلهمْ طُرقَ الرشادِ

My advancement is nothing new, but

their guide has lost the paths of right guidance.

أنا الرجل المقرُّ بفخر فضلي

وهمَّتي الاصادقُ والأعادِي

I am the man whose proud merit

and ambition friends and foes alike acknowledge.

وقد رفعتني الكُبراءُ قِدْماً

وأوطئْتُ المفارقَ والهَوادِي

The great have long since raised me high,

and made me tread upon heads and necks.

فإن حربٌ فعمروٌ في زُبيدٍ

وإنْ نُطْقٌ فقُسٌّ في إيادٍ

If it is war, I am Amr among Zubayd;

if eloquence, Quss among Iyad.

ولم أمنحك هذا الرأس إلا

لترفعني على السبع الشِّدادِ

I offered you this head only

that you might raise me above the seven mighty heavens.

أرى المُغتاب لي منهم كعاوٍ

إلى ضرغامةٍ في الخيس عادِ

I see whoever among them maligns me as a howling cur,

rushing at a lion within its thicket;

أو الساعي ليجرح حدَّ سَيْفٍ

بأنْمُلِه هذا الجهلُ بادِ

or one who tries to wound a sword's edge

with his fingertips—such ignorance is plain.

سعوا وكرُمْتَ فانقلبوا بخُسرٍ

وما ظفروا بإدراكِ المُرادِ

They schemed, but you were noble, so they returned in loss,

and never attained what they desired.

إذا التوفيق أعوزَ في المساعي

فليس يُفيدُ فرطُ الاجتهادِ

When good fortune fails one's endeavors,

no excess of striving is of any use.

وكم بدروبِ بغدادٍ حديثاً

يسرُّك نشره في كل نادِ

How many tales there are in Baghdad's streets

whose telling in every gathering would delight you:

بأنكَ قد بلغت بي الثُّريّا

وأني للترقي في ازديادِ

that you have raised me to the Pleiades,

and that I keep ascending ever higher.

فكن حيث الظنون فكل كسبٍ

سوى الذكرِ الجميلِ إلى نَفادِ

So live up to these hopes, for every gain,

except a good name, must come to an end.