Sol 6.1

  1. اِلامَ يراكَ المجدُ في زيِّ شاعرِ

    وقد نحَلتْ شوْقاً فُروعُ المنابرِ

    How long will glory see you in a poet's garb,

    while the pulpits' heights have wasted away with longing?

  2. كتمْتَ بصيت الشعر علماً وهمَّةً

    ببعضهما ينقادُ صعْبُ المَفاخرِ

    Beneath poetry's renown you have hidden learning and ambition,

    with a little of either, even stubborn glory would yield.

  3. لئن سرَّكَ التَّجويدُ فيما نظمْته

    فنظمُ القوافي غيرُ نظْمِ العَساكرِ

    If excellence in what you have composed delights you,

    ordering rhymes is not the same as ordering armies.

  4. لعمرُ أبيك الخير انك فارسٌ ال

    مقالِ ومحيي الدَّارساتِ الغوابرِ

    By your good father's life, you are a knight of

    speech, and a reviver of things effaced by bygone ages.

  5. وانكَ أغْنيتَ المَسامِعَ والنُّهى

    بقولكَ عما في بُطونِ الدَّفاترِ

    You have spared ears and minds the need,

    through your words, for what lies within books.

  6. وانك فقْت الشمس والشمس جونة

    شُموخاً وذكْراً بين بادٍ وحاضرِ

    You have surpassed the sun—the sun now dark—

    in loftiness and renown among nomad and townsman.

  7. ونازلت بأوَ المُتْرفينَ فَعُرْتَهُ

    بقاصِفَةٍ لا تَسْتَذِلُّ لِجائرِ

    You challenged the pride of the pampered and laid it low

    with a shattering blast that will not bow to a tyrant.

  8. تُشاوس باب المُلْك طرفاً وحْوله

    طَوايحُ من تحْديقِها بالنَّواظرِ

    You glare defiantly at the gate of kingship, while around it

    lie those felled by their staring eyes.

  9. ولكنكَ المُظْمي أسِنَّةَ سُمْرهِ

    وقد أمكنت من دقِّها في الحَناجرِ

    Yet you are he who keeps his dusky lances' points thirsty,

    though enabled to drive them into throats.

  10. اذا عَسلتْ نحو النُّحورِ زجَرْتها

    ببأسٍ حَجا أفْراطَها غيرَ فاخرِ

    When they quiver toward the upper chests, you check them

    with courage that restrains their excesses, without boasting.

  11. أراك ظننت الحزم في طاعة النُّهى

    وكلُّ النُّهى في الأقْصَرِ المُتناحرِ

    I see you thought prudence lay in obeying reason,

    yet all reason lies in the closest clash of combat.

  12. ولا خيرَ في فضلِ تباعدَ عِزُّه

    ولو فاقَ أضْواء النُّجومِ الزواهر

    There is no good in excellence whose power is far removed,

    even if it surpasses the light of radiant stars.

  13. يذُلُّ شديد الأيد أن يقطع الطُّلى

    اذا لمْ يُعِنْهُ غربُ أبيضَ بانرِ

    Even the strong-armed man is humbled in seeking to sever necks

    if the edge of a bright, cleaving blade does not aid him.

  14. سقى الله ريْعان الشباب على النَّوى

    سكوبَ الحَيا من صَيِّبات البواكر

    May God water youth's prime, though it lies far away,

    with life-giving rain pouring from early-morning clouds.

  15. اذا الشِّرَّةُ الورهاء في طلب العُلى

    شجاعٌ تَحاماهُ نفوسُ العَشائرِ

    When reckless vigor in the pursuit of high rank

    was a champion dreaded by the very souls of the clans.

  16. فانْ جارَ شيبُ العارضين على الصبا

    فليس على عزمِ المعالي بجائرِ

    Though gray upon the cheeks has encroached on youth,

    it has not encroached upon the resolve for greatness.

  17. أقولُ لِخلٍّ بالعراقِ يَسُرُّهُ

    مُقامي ويأبى لي شعارَ المُسافرِ

    I say to a friend in Iraq, whom it delights

    that I remain, who refuses me a traveler's garb—

  18. حريصٍ على عِلْمي الخفيِّ ودُونَه

    جَدائلُ حَزمٍ مُحصداتُ المرائر

    one eager for my hidden knowledge, guarded by

    braids of resolve whose strands are tightly twisted:

  19. اِذا اسَتْنطقَتْني في هواهُ مودَّةٌ

    مَحا الرأيُ حُبّاً آذناً بالفَواقِرِ

    Whenever affection urged me to speak out of love for him,

    judgment suppressed a love that heralded crushing calamities.

  20. تنكَرَّ منْ كتمانِ سرِّي ولو درى

    بخُرق زماني بات في الصمت عاذري

    He took offense at my concealing my secret; had he known

    the folly of my age, he would have excused my silence.

  21. تطاولَ هَمِّي فابْغني ذا نَباهَةٍ

    يُجلِّي دُجى ظلْمائه عن خواطري

    My care has grown prolonged: seek for me a discerning man

    who will clear its gloomy night from my thoughts.

  22. فباتَ لموحَ الطَّرف والعصر أغبر ال

    مطالعِ والأيامُ شُوشٌ لناظِرِ

    He spent the night casting keen glances; the age was dust-dark at its

    horizons, and the days were confused to the beholder.

  23. فلما اسْيجالَ الرأي وانهزمتْ به

    روَّيتُه عن غادِرٍ بعد غادرِ

    When he had let his judgment range, and through it was driven back

    his deliberation, from one traitor after another,

  24. ورَدَّ اليَّ الأمْرَ رَدَّ مُسَلِّمٍ

    إِلى عالمٍ بالدهْرِ والناسِ ماهِرِ

    and he returned the matter to me, surrendering it

    to one skilled in time and humankind,

  25. سهرتُ لبرْقٍ منْ ديارِ رَبيعةٍ

    ولم أكُ للبرْقِ اللَّموعِ بساهرِ

    I kept vigil for lightning from the lands of Rabi'a,

    though I was not one to keep vigil for flashing lightning.

  26. فألمحتهُ وهْناً سَنى مُتَبَرِّجٍ

    تألَّقَ عن مُغدودق السَّحِّ ماطرِ

    I glimpsed it deep in the night, a radiance unveiled,

    flashing from a cloud pouring abundant rain.

  27. ينوضُ على الحصْباءِ لكنَّ وّدْقَه

    مدى الشمس يُروي كل برٍّ وفاجرِ

    It rises over the pebbled ground, yet its rain

    reaches as far as the sun, watering righteous and wicked alike.

  28. وما البرْقُ اِلا البِشْر عند أسِرةٍ

    بوجهِ عماد الدين رَبِّ المَفاخرِ

    That lightning is only the gladness along the lines

    upon Imad al-Din's face, lord of glorious deeds.

  29. بأبْلَج وضَّاحٍ يزيدُ طَلاقَةً

    اذا الخطب أرسى في الوجوهِ البواسر

    A bright and radiant face, growing more cheerful

    when calamity settles upon scowling faces.

  30. بوجهِ مرير البأس غَمْرٍ رداؤهُ

    وشيكٍ إِلى نصْرِ الصَّريخ المحاذرِ

    The face of one fierce in battle, his mantle overflowing,

    swift to rescue the frightened man who cries for help.

  31. مُعفِّرِ من أعيا على الجيش حربُه

    وحامي حمى مَن بات مِن غير ناصرِ

    He casts into dust the foe whose warfare defied an army,

    and guards the sanctuary of one left without a defender.

  32. وسالب ضوء الشمس في رونق الضحى

    من الطَّرد حتى ماتنِمُّ بجاشِرِ

    He robs the sun of light in the brilliance of forenoon,

    pursuing it until it reveals no one out at pasture.

  33. اذا فاخرتْهُ في بَهاءٍ ومَنْظَرٍ

    أباحَ حِمى أضْوائِها للْحوافرِ

    If it rivals him in splendor and appearance,

    he opens the sanctuary of its rays to hoofs.

  34. وترْهبُه زهْرُ النجوم فتَحْتمي

    به عند أطرافِ الرماحِ الشَّواجرِ

    The bright stars fear him and seek refuge

    in him at the tips of clashing spears.

  35. فانْ غَربتْ في نحر كلِّ مَدَجَّجٍ

    واِلا لَقىً معْزولةٌ بالبَواتِرِ

    If they set, they set in the throat of every armored warrior;

    otherwise they lie cast aside by cleaving swords.

  36. تشكَّى فِراق المُرهفاتِ غمودُه

    وقد عَصبتْ بالوصلِ هام المَساعر

    His scabbards lament parting from the sharpened blades,

    which have bound themselves in union around battle-kindlers' heads.

  37. فتُقْفرُ من اِقفارها حين تُنْتضى

    منازلُ صيدٍ منْ مُطاعٍ وآمِرِ

    Their scabbards' emptiness, when they are drawn, lays waste

    the dwellings of proud lords, obeyed men and commanders.

  38. رزينٌ اذا طاشت حُبى القوم راجحٌ

    يخِفُّ تبيرٌ وهو ثَبْتُ الأواصرِ

    Grave when the people's knee-bands fly loose, so weighty

    that Tabir grows light while he stands firmly anchored.

  39. تزيد على فحْش الذُّنوبِ أناتهُ

    كأنَّ الرِّضا من موجباتِ الجرائرِ

    His forbearance exceeds the enormity of sins,

    as though offenses themselves obliged him to be pleased.

  40. اذا أوطأ الجبَّارَ حافِرَ طِرْفهِ

    غَدا لاثماً وجه النَّديم المُعاشِرِ

    When he has placed the tyrant beneath his steed's hoof,

    he turns to kiss his intimate drinking companion's face.

  41. وخابِطِ ليْلٍ بالعَراءِ تُميلُهُ

    عن السَّمت أثْباجُ الدُّجى والمحاذرِ

    And many a man stumbling through night in the open, driven

    from his path by darkness's surges and his fears,

  42. طريدٍ عن الأحْياء ضُرّاً وخيفةً

    دَجا حَظُّهُ ما بين مُقْوٍ وواترِ

    an exile from the settlements through hardship and dread,

    his lot grown dark between wasteland and a blood-enemy,

  43. سرى يستخين الطْرف والسمع حزْمه

    ويأتمنُ الوهْمَ البعيدَ المَصائرِ

    journeyed by night, his caution mistrusting eye and ear,

    yet trusting his far-reaching conjecture.

  44. نوارُ السَّجايا لا يحلُّ مُعَرَّساً

    على أمنْهِ اِلا كحُسْوةِ طائرِ

    Skittish by nature, he does not settle to rest,

    even when safe, save for a bird's brief sip.

  45. بَرَتْهُ حدابيرُ السنين فجعجعتْ

    حِماهُ وحَلَّتْ فوقَه بالكَراكرِ

    The gaunt camels of the years wore him down and hemmed in

    his refuge, settling their calloused breasts upon him.

  46. عوارق غُبرٌ لا الوميض بصادقٍ

    لديها ولا الغيْمُ المُسِفُّ بماطِرِ

    Dust-gray bone-gnawers: no lightning proves true

    with them, nor does the low-hanging cloud yield rain.

  47. أناخ بمُحيْي العدل فانكشفتْ لهُ

    مواحلُه عن أغْيد النَّبْتِ ناضِرِ

    He knelt his mount before the reviver of justice; there opened for him

    his barren wastes, revealing tender, verdant growth.

  48. فباتَ مُجاراً مُطْعَماً في فِنائِهِ

    تَحاماهُ أيدْي النَّائباتِ العَواقرِ

    So he spent the night protected and fed in his courtyard,

    with the hands of maiming calamities keeping clear of him.

  49. ومجْرٍ تَضلُّ الطَّيرُ في حَجراته

    بعيد المَدى جَمَّ القَنا والضَّوامر

    And an army whose expanses bewilder the birds,

    far-reaching, abundant in spears and lean steeds,

  50. صَؤوتٍ كأن الرَّعْد فيه اِشارةٌ

    على الخفض من ألغاطهِ والزَّماجر

    so clamorous that thunder within it is a mere hint

    of quiet beside its uproar and roaring.

  51. دَجا ليلهُ والصُّبْحُ في عُنْفوانه

    بكل مُثارٍ بينَ خُفٍّ وحافرِ

    Its night darkened though morning was in its prime,

    with every dust cloud raised between camel-pad and hoof.

  52. عليه الرجالُ الدَّارعون كأنهم

    مَواردُ جِنٍّ في متونِ كواسِرِ

    Upon it are armored men, as though they were

    haunts of jinn upon the backs of birds of prey.

  53. قستْ خيلهُ والراكبو الخيل بالقنا

    فلم تَرَ اِلاَّ كافِراً فوقَ كافرِ

    Its horses and horsemen stood rigid with lances,

    so you saw only an armored one atop another.

  54. يهزُّون مرْبوعاتِ غُلْبٍ جليدةٍ

    على الطَّعْنِ في يوم النِّزال صوابر

    They brandish medium-length lances, thick and tough,

    steadfast in thrusting on the day of close combat.

  55. وناداكَ نورُ الدين طالبَ نُصْرةٍ

    فألْفاك اذ ناداكَ أكرمَ ناصِرِ

    Nur al-Din called upon you, seeking aid,

    and when he called, he found you the noblest helper.

  56. دلفْتَ له في جحفلٍ ذي غواربٍ

    ووِدٍّ سليم الغْيبِ صفْو السرائر

    You advanced to him with a host of towering crests,

    and affection true in absence, pure in its secrets.

  57. فقرَّ بك الاسْلامُ عيْناً وأهْلُهُ

    ولا زلْتَ مرهوباً مُطاعَ الأوامرِ

    Through you the eyes of Islam and its people were cooled;

    may you ever be feared, your commands obeyed.

  58. أتابِكُ اِن سُميِّتَ في المهْدِ غازياً

    فسابقهٌ معدودةٌ في البَشائرِ

    Atabeg, if you were named Ghazi in the cradle,

    it was an early sign counted among glad tidings.

  59. وفيتَ بها والدين قد مالَ روْقهُ

    وصدَّقْتها والكُفْرُ بادي الشعائرِ

    You fulfilled it when the faith's horn had drooped,

    and proved it true when unbelief's rites were plain to see.

  60. سَرى بيَ عزمٌ أيْقظَتْه مودَّةٌ

    وكان نَؤوماً عنْ ندى كلِّ كابِرِ

    A resolve bore me through the night, awakened by affection,

    though it had slept through every great man's bounty.

  61. فأعْرض بعضي عن ملوكٍ كثيرةٍ

    وأصبح للودِّ العِماديِّ سائري

    So part of me turned away from many kings,

    and the rest of me belonged to love for Imad.