لعينيه على العشاق إمره — Alkadhi Alfadil

لِعَينَيهِ عَلى العُشّاقِ إِمرَهْ

وَلَيسَ لَهُم إِذا ما جارَ نُصرَهْ

His two eyes hold command over lovers,

and they have no help when he wrongs them.

فَأَمّا الهَجرُ مِنهُ فَهوَ إِلفٌ

وأَمّا الوَصلُ مِنهُ فَهوَ نَدرَهْ

Estrangement from him is familiar,

but union with him is rare.

إِذا ما سَرَّهُ قَتلي فَأَهلاً

بِما قَد ساءَني إِن كانَ سَرَّهْ

If my death delights him, then welcome

to what has distressed me, if it pleased him.

تَلِفتُ بِشَعرِهِ وَسَمِعتُ غَيري

يَقولُ سَلِمتُ مِن تَلَفي بِشَعرَه

I perished through his hair, and heard another

say, "I escaped destruction by a hair."

لَقَد خَدَعَتكَ أَلحاظٌ مِراضٌ

وَتَمَّمَ بِالفُتورِ عَلَيكَ سِحرَه

Languid glances have indeed deceived you,

and he perfected his spell over you through languor.

فَيا حَذِرَ البَصيرَةِ كَيفَ حَتّى

وَقَعتَ كَما رَأَيتُ وُقوعَ غِرَّه

O you of wary insight, how was it that

you fell, as I saw, like an unwary soul?

فَإِنَّ الحَربَ تَزرَعُها بِلَفظٍ

وَإِنَّ الحُبَّ تَجنيهِ بِنَظرَه

For war is sown with an utterance,

and love is reaped with a glance.

وَبَعدُ فَإِنَّ قَلبي في يَدَيهِ

فَإِن هُوَ ضاعَ مِنهُ أَذاعَ سِرَّه

Furthermore, my heart is in his hands;

if it slips from him, it divulges its secret.

وَأَعظَمُ حَسرَةٍ أَنّي بِدائي

أَموتُ وَفي فُؤادي مِنهُ حَسرَه

My greatest regret is that, of my illness,

I die, with regret for him within my heart.

لَقَد جَمَعَ الإِلَهُ لِناظِرَيهِ

بِنَضرَةِ خَدِّهِ ماءً وَخُضرَه

God has gathered for those who behold him,

in his cheek's freshness, water and greenery.

وَحُمرَتُهُ بِماءِ العَينِ تُذكَى

وَما جَفَّت بِها لِلشِعرِ زَهرَه

Its redness is kindled by the eye's water,

and no blossom of poetry has withered there.

وَعِندي أَنَّهُ لَبَنٌ وَخَمرٌ

وَقالَ حَسودُهُ ماءٌ وَجَمرَه

To me, it is milk and wine;

his envier says, "Water and an ember."

وَإِبريقُ المُدامِ بِريقٍ فيهِ

وَلَم أَشرَب فَكَيفَ وَجَدتُ سُكرَه

And the wine-jug has saliva within it;

I have not drunk, so how have I felt its intoxication?

حَكى الإِبريقَ في عُنُقٍ وَريقٍ

وَقَد حَلّى الحَبابُ الدُرُّ ثَغرَه

He resembles the ewer in neck and saliva,

and pearl-like bubbles have adorned his mouth.

يُرَوِّعُ قُرطَهُ مِن بُعدِ مَهوىً

فَإِن يُرعَدْ فَقَد أَبدَيتُ عُذرَه

He terrifies his earring with the long drop;

if it trembles, I have made its excuse plain.

وَلَولا جودُهُ ما كانَ ظُلماً

يُغَلِّظُ رِدفَهُ وَيُرِقُّ خَصرَه

Were it not for his bounty, it would not be an injustice

to fill out his rump and make his waist slender.

وَلَولا بُخلُهُ ما كانَ نَظمي

لَهُ شَفَتانِ تَستَلِمانِ ثَغرَه

Were it not for his stinginess, my verse would not

have two lips that kiss his mouth.

وَأَعجَبُ مِن ذُبولِهِما ظَماءً

وَقَد مَنَعا الوَرى مِن وِردِ خَمرَه

I marvel at their withering from thirst,

when they have barred mankind from drinking his wine.

بِحُمرَةِ خَدِّهِ لِلشَعرِ خُضرَه

وَقَد زانَ البَياضَ سَوادُ طُرَّه

Within his cheek's redness, his hair has greenery,

and his forelock's blackness has adorned the whiteness.

فَيا شَمساً تَبَدَّت لي عِشاءً

وَيا قَمَراً وَلَيسَ يغيبُ بُكرَه

O sun that appeared to me at nightfall,

O moon that does not set at dawn!

قَد اِستَخدَمتَ في الأَفكارِ سِرّي

وَما أَطلَقَت لي بِالوَصلِ أُجرَه

You have put my inner self to work in thoughts,

yet you have paid me no wage in union.

وَقَد ضَمِنَ اِغتِرامي عَنكَ صَبري

وَكَم مِن ضامِنٍ يُبلى بِكَسرَه

My patience has stood surety for my debt on your behalf;

how many a guarantor is tried by bankruptcy!

وَلَم أَرَهُ عَلى الأَيّامِ إِلّا

عَقَدتُ مَحَبَّةً وَحَلَلتُ صُرَّه

Never did I see him through the days without

binding affection and untying a purse.

وَلا عاتَبتُهُ إِلّا ثَناهُ

عَلَيَّ الغَيظُ وَهوَ عَليَّ شَفرَه

I never reproached him without anger turning him

against me—he is a razor against me.

وَلا اِستَمطَرتُ سُحبَ العَينِ إِلّا

بَقيتُ بِأَدمُعي في الشَمسِ عُصرَه

I never sought rain from the eye's clouds without

being left, with my tears, a squeezed remnant in the sun.

بَكَيتُ عَلَيكَ يا مَولايَ حَتّى

صُرِعتُ وَلَيسَ في عَينَيَّ قَطرَه

I wept for you, my lord, until

I fell stricken, with not a drop in my eyes.

وَكَم زَمَنٍ نُواصِلُهُ وَكُنّا

نَقولُ لِذاكَ كَيفَ قَطَعتَ عِشرَه

Many a time we kept him company, and would

say to that one, "How could you break our fellowship?"

صَبَبتُ عَلَيهِ لَمّا زادَ دَمعي

فَأَنكَرَهُ فَقُلتُ الماءُ نَثرَه

I poured my tears upon him when they increased;

he rejected it, so I said, "The water is a spray."

وَخَوَّفَني مِنَ الأَوزارِ فيهِ

وَمَن لِمُحِبِّهِ لَو نالَ وِزرَه

He warned me of sins concerning him,

and who will help his lover if he incurs his sin?

وَحَلَّمَني هَواهُ فَصِرتُ فيهِ

أُسامِحُ كُلَّ مَن لَحِقَتهُ ضَجرَه

His love made me forbearing, so through it I came

to forgive everyone overtaken by irritation.

بَدا بَدَراً جَلاهُ لَيلُ شَعرٍ

وَقَد أَهدى لَهُ الشَفَقَ المَزَرَّه

He appeared a full moon, unveiled by the night of hair,

and his buttoned robe bestowed on him twilight's glow.

وَجُملَةُ ما أُريدُ بِأَن يَراني

مَكانَ الخَيطِ مِنهُ وَهوَ إِبرَه

All I desire is that he should see me

as the thread to him, while he is the needle.

وَقُلتُ لَهُ لَقَد أَحرَقتَ جَسمي

وَأَنتَ بهِ فَكَيفَ سَكَنتَ سِرَّه

I said to him, "You have burned my body,

and you are within it—how have you inhabited its heart?

فَلَو قَبَّلتَني وَقَبِلتَ مِنّي

فَقالَ أَخافُ بَعدَ الحَجِّ عُمرَه

If only you would kiss me and accept a kiss from me!"

He said, "I fear an Umrah after the Hajj."

تَمَيدَنَ خَدُّهُ لِخُيولِ لَثمي

وَصَولَجَ صُدغَهُ وَالخالُ أُكرَه

His cheek became a playing field for the horses of my kisses;

he made his temple-lock a polo mallet, and his mole a ball.

إِذا عايَنتُهُ وَبَدا رَقيبي

فَيا لَكَ حُمرَةً نُسِخَت بِصُفرَه

When I behold him and my watcher appears,

O, what redness is effaced by pallor!

أَراني كُنتُ في وَطَنِ التَصابي

وَأَشعارُ المَشيبِ دَليلُ سَفرَه

I see that I was in the homeland of youthful folly,

and the hairs of grayness are a sign of departure.

وَما أَخصَبتَ يا نَورَ الأَقاحي

وَإِن أَجدَبتَني إِلَا لِمَطرَه

You flourished, O bloom of daisies,

though you left me barren, only because of a shower.

وَيَنهَرُني نَهارُ الشَيبِ زَجراً

وَلَيلُ شَبيبَتي قَد كانَ سُترَه

The daylight of gray hair sternly rebukes me,

while the night of my youth had been a veil.

وَإِن رابَتكَ أَقوالي فَإِنّي

حَمَلتُ وَقارَهُ وَحَمَلتُ وِقرَه

If my words cause you doubt, I

have borne its dignity and borne its burden.

وَلَيسَ يُجَوِّزُ الأَيّامَ إِلّا ال

تَخَيُّرُ وَالتَخيُّلُ لِلمَسَرَّه

Nothing gets one through the days except the—

choosing and imagining of delight,

وَخِلٌّ لا يُخِلُّ بِشَرطِ وُدٍّ

وَلا يُبدي لَعَينِكَ وَجهَ عِذرَه

and a friend who does not breach affection's terms,

nor show your eyes the face of an excuse.

وَبَعضُ الحِلمِ في الأَوقاتِ جَهلٌ

وَيُعجِبُني الحَليمُ وَلَو بِمَرَّه

Some forbearance is, at times, ignorance;

yet I admire the forbearing man, even on one occasion.

وَكَم قَد سَرَّ في سَمعي مَلامٌ

أَخَذتُ لُبابَهُ وَتَرَكتُ قِشرَه

How often reproach has pleased my hearing!

I took its kernel and left its husk.

وَما في الأَرضِ أَشعُرُ مِن أَديبٍ

يَقولُ الشِعرَ في البُخَلاءِ سُخرَه

There is none on earth more poetic than a man of letters

who makes verse to mock the misers.

يَروقُنيَ الكَريمُ وَلَو بِفلسٍ

وَلا أَهوى البَخيلَ وَلَو بِبَدرَه

The generous man pleases me, even with a copper coin;

I do not love the miser, even with a moneybag.

وَكُلُّ مَذاقَةٍ تَحلو وَتُحلي

سِوى طَعمِ السُؤالِ فَما أَمَرَّه

Every taste is sweet and sweetens,

except the taste of begging—how bitter it is!

مَرَرتُ عَلى حُطامٍ مِن حُطامٍ

وَيَملِكُني الصَديقُ بِحُسنِ عِشرَه

I passed by debris among debris,

and a friend possesses me through good companionship.

وَأَمّا سوءُ حَظّي مِن صَديقي

فَذاكَ مِنَ الرُسومِ المُستَقِرَّه

As for my ill luck with my friend,

that is among the settled customs.

وَخِلٍّ كانَ مودِعَ كُلِّ سِرٍّ

فَكُنتُ أَصونُهُ وَأَصونُ سِرَّه

And a friend who entrusted every secret—

I used to protect him and protect his secret.

حَفِظتُ عُهودَهُ وَأَضاعَ عَهدي

وَلَم يَكُ لي بِطُرْقِ الغَدرِ خِبرَه

I kept his pledges, and he broke my covenant;

I had no experience of treachery's ways.

وَكَم آمَنتُهُ خَدعي وَمَكري

وَلَم آمَن خَديعَتَهُ وَمَكرَه

How often I kept him safe from my deceit and guile,

while I was not safe from his deceit and guile!

بَذَلتُ لَهُ عَلى العِلّاتِ خَيري

وَلَكِن ما كَفاني اللَهُ شَرَّه

Despite his faults, I bestowed my kindness upon him,

but God has not shielded me from his evil.

وَما أَدخَلتُ نارَ الهَجرِ قَلباً

بَقي مِن حُبِّهِ مِثقالُ ذَرَّه

I never brought estrangement's fire into a heart

where an atom's weight of love for him remained.

سَتُرجِعُهُ لِيَ الأَيّامُ طَوعاً

وَتَعطِفُهُ التَجارِبُ وَهوَ مُكَره

The days will return him to me willingly,

and experience will bend him, though unwilling.

لِيَ الثِقَةُ الَّتي مَلَأَت يَميني

مِنَ الثِقَةِ الَّذي أَملَيتُ شُكرَه

Mine is the trust that filled my right hand,

from the trusted man whose praise I dictated.

أُذِمُّ الدَهرَ مِن ذَمّي بِمَدحي

وَذَمَّ خَليلَهُ مَن ذَمَّ دَهرَه

I shield Time from my censure with my praise;

whoever censures his age has censured his friend.

رَبِيُّ رِياسَةٍ وَأَبِيُّ نَفسٍ

وَرَأسُ سِيادَةٍ وَأَمينَ حَضرَه

Reared in leadership, proud of soul,

a head of lordship and a court's trustee,

مِنَ القَومِ الَّذينَ لَهُم حَديثٌ

إِذا نُشِرَ اِستَطابَ المِسكُ نَشرَه

one of a people whose story,

when spread abroad, musk finds sweet in fragrance.

وُجوهُ رِياسَةٍ لَهُمُ وُجوهٌ

وَسِرُّ الجودِ في تِلكَ الأَسِرَّه

Faces of leadership, they have faces,

and generosity's secret lies in those features.

تَفانَوا في سَبيلِ المَجدِ لَكِن

لَهُم ذِكرٌ أَطالَ اللَهُ عُمرَه

They perished in the path of glory, yet

theirs is a remembrance whose life God has prolonged.

لَقَد أَحبَبتُهُ سَلَفاً رَميماً

فَعادَ لِإِثرِهِ في المَجدِ أَثرَه

I loved him in a forebear crumbled to dust;

then his legacy in glory returned in his footsteps.

وَما أَخشى عَلَيكَ عِثارَ سَبقِ

أَيَخشى نَيِّرُ الآفاقِ عَثرَه

I do not fear for you a stumble in the race;

does the luminary of the horizons fear a stumble?

وَعَثرُ السَمحِ لَمحٌ فَاِرتَقِبها

حُظوظاً أَبطَأَت لِتَجي بِكَثرَه

A generous man's stumble is a flash; so await

fortunes delayed to arrive in abundance.

وَقَد تَتَضاعَفُ الأَنواءُ جِدّاً

إِذا الأَقمارُ كانَت مُستَسِرَّه

The rains may indeed redouble greatly

when the moons are hidden.

وَلِلأَيّامِ في الحُكمِ اِختِلافٌ

وَهَمُّ عَشِيَّةِ يُمحى بِبُكرَه

The days differ in their judgments,

and an evening's sorrow is erased by morning.

فَيا مَن سَرَّهُ مِنّي قُصوري

إِذا المَسبوقُ يوضِحُ مِنكَ عُذرَه

O you who rejoiced at my shortcomings,

when the outstripped one finds his clear excuse in you.

حَسِبتُ كِتابَهُ خَدّاً صِقيلاً

ذَكَرتُ عِذارَهُ فَلَثَمتُ سَطرَه

I thought his letter a polished cheek;

I recalled his facial down and kissed its line.

وَشِعرٍ ما حَسِبتُ أَخَفَّ روحاً

وَأَثقَبَ زُهرَةً وَأَغَضَّ زَهرَه

And a poem—I imagined none lighter in spirit,

more brilliant as a star, or fresher as a blossom.

جَلاهُ عَلَيَّ في أَثوابِ لَيلي

فَأَبصَرَ مِنهُ لَيلُ الهَمِّ فَجرَه

He unveiled it before me in the robes of my night,

and from it the night of sorrow saw its dawn.

وَفَجَّرَتِ البَلاغَةُ مِنهُ بَحراً

أَرَدتُ عُبورَهُ فَخَشيتُ عَبرَه

Eloquence brought forth a sea from it;

I wished to cross it, but feared a tear.

إِذا غَرِقَ اِمرُؤُ في سيفِ بَحرٍ

فَلا تَذكُر عَلى شَفَتَيكَ قَعرَه

When a man drowns at a sea's edge,

do not mention its depths upon your lips.

أَلَذُّ مِنَ الرِضا مِن بَعدِ سُخطٍ

وَأَعذَبُ مِن وِصالٍ بَعدَ هَجرَه

More delicious than contentment after anger,

and sweeter than union after estrangement.

قَليلُ اللَفظِ لَكِن في المَعاني

إِذا حَصَّلتَها بِالنَقدِ كَثرَه

Few in words, yet in its meanings,

abundant when you examine them critically.

وَيُؤنِسُ ثُمَّ يُؤيِسُ مِثلَ بَحرٍ

تَراهُ فَيَستَهينُ الغَمرُ غَمرَه

It offers comfort, then despair, like a sea

you see, whose depths the novice underestimates.

وَفي شِعرِ الوَرى غُرٌّ وَدُهمٌ

وَهَذا كُلُّ بَيتٍ مِنهُ غُرَّه

In people's poetry are white-blazed ones and dark ones,

but every verse of this is a white blaze.

قَوافٍ شارِداتٌ طالِعاتٌ

لِإِمرَةِ قادِرٍ لَم تَعصِ أَمرَه

Wayward rhymes, rising

under a master's rule, never disobeying his command.

وَجِئتَ بِها عَلى قَدرٍ فَجاءَت

تُرينا مِنكَ في التَقديرِ قُدرَه

You brought them with due measure, and they came

showing your power in measuring.

وَلَيسَ كَمَن يُغيرُ عَلى المَعاني

فَإِن ظَهَرَ اِدَّعى بِالنَقدِ غِرَّه

He is not like one who plunders meanings,

then, if exposed, pleads an oversight in criticism.

رَقيقُ الطَبعِ مُرهَفُهُ فَأَمّا

خَواطِرُهُ فَمِثلُ السَيفِ خَطرَه

His nature is delicate and finely honed; as for

his thoughts, they flash like the stroke of a sword.

وَقَد عَرَفَ الأُمورِ وَعَرَّفَتهُ

فَصارَ لَهُ بعُقبَى الأَمرِ خِبرَه

He has known affairs, and they have taught him,

so he has gained experience of how affairs end.

وَما يُخفي غِناهُ عَن صَديقٍ

وَلَكِن ما أَراهُ أَراهُ فَقرَه

He does not hide his wealth from a friend,

yet what he showed him showed him his poverty.

جَزاكَ اللَهُ خَيراً عَن صَديقٍ

بِتَخفيفِ الأَسى أَثقَلتَ ظَهرَه

May God reward you with good on behalf of a friend:

by lightening his sorrow, you have burdened his back.

عَرائِسُ يَجتَليها وَجهُ نَقدي

فَتَنقُدُ مِن صَفاءِ الوُدِّ مَهرَه

Brides unveiled by the gaze of my criticism,

so you pay their dowry from affection's purity.

لَئِن سَهُلَت لَقَد صَعُبَت وَأَضحَت

كَرَوضٍ دونَهُ الطُرُقاتُ وَعرَه

Though they came easily, they proved difficult, and became

like a garden approached by rugged paths.

فَلا تَعتَدَّ كُلَّ النَظمِ شِعراً

فَتَحسَبَ كُلَّ سَودا مِنهُ تَمرَه

Do not count all versification as poetry,

and suppose every black thing in it a date.

تَعِلَّةُ حاضِرٍ وَنَشيدُ سَفرٍ

وَمَرشَفُ ناهِلٍ وَأَنيسُ قَفرَه

A solace for one at home, a chant for travelers,

a sip for a thirsty drinker, a companion in the wilderness.

تُخَفِّضُ فَترَةَ الأَفكارِ عَنّي

وَكَم دَبَّت لَها بِالسُكرِ فَترَه

They relieve me of the weariness of thought,

and how often drunken languor crept over those thoughts!

فَخُذها بِنتَ لَيلَتِها اِرتِجالاً

وَلَكِن أَصبَحَت شَمطاءَ سُحرَه

Take it, the daughter of its night, improvised,

yet it became gray-haired before dawn.

لَئِن طالَت لَقَد طابَت وَراقَت

عَلى نَظَرِ الخواطِرِ حُسنَ نَظرَه

Though it is long, it is pleasing and charming,

a lovely sight to the gaze of the mind.

وَسارَت أَو غَدَت لِلنَجمِ نَجماً

فَطَيَّرَها وَأَوقَعَ ثَمَّ نَسرَه

It journeyed—or became a star for the star;

he sent it flying, and brought his eagle down there.

تُعَرِّفُني إِلَيهِ وَلا أَراهُ

وَتَعقِدُ لي مِنَ الفُضَلاءِ أُسرَه

It makes me known to him, though I do not see him,

and binds a family of men of merit to me.

عَقائِلُ سَنَّ شَرعُ الشِعرِ أَنّي

أبٌ مَن شاءَ كُنتُ بِهِنَّ صِهرَه

Noble daughters—the law of poetry ordained that I am

a father; to anyone who wishes, through them I am his in-law.

مَلَكتُ قِيادَها بِيَمينِ فِكري

وَقَد عُتِقَت لِوَجهِ المَجدِ حُرَّه

I took their reins in the right hand of my thought,

and they were set free for glory's sake.

أَطالَ اللَهُ عُمرَكَ في سُعودٍ

تَجُرُّ ذُيولَها فَوقَ المَجَرَّه

May God prolong your life amid good fortunes

that trail their skirts above the Milky Way.