أواني هم فألقى أواني — Almaarri

أَوانِيَ هَمٌّ فَأَلقى أَواني

وَقَد مَرَّ في الشَرخِ وَالعُنفُوانِ

A sorrow wore me down and cast away my time,

which had passed amid youth's prime and vigor.

وَضَعتُ بُوانيَّ في ذِلَّةٍ

وَأَلقَيتُ لِلحادِثاتِ البَواني

I set down my two tent poles in abasement,

and laid the poles before calamities.

ثَوانِيَ ضَيفٌ فَلَم أَقرِهِ

أَوائِلَ مِن عَزمَتي أَو ثَواني

A guest lodged with me, yet I did not offer him

first portions of my resolve, or second ones.

فَيا هِندُ وانٍ عَنِ المَكرُما

تِ مَن لا يُساوِرُ بِالهُندُواني

So, Hind, remiss in noble

deeds is whoever does not attack with an Indian sword.

زَوانِيَ خَوفُ المَقامِ الذَمي

مِ عَن أَن أَكونَ خَليلَ الزَواني

Fear of a blameworthy station turned me away

from becoming a companion of harlots.

رَوانِيَ صَبري فَأَضحَت إِلَيَّ

عُيونٌ عَلى غَفَلاتٍ رَواني

My patience quenched my thirst; then, toward me,

eyes watched for unguarded moments.

عَواني قَضاءٌ دُوينَ المُرادِ

وَما بِكرُ شَأنِكَ مِثلُ العَوانِ

Fate turned me aside just short of my desire;

your affair's virgin phase is unlike its seasoned one.

وَهَل جَعَلَ الشائِماتِ الوَميضَ

تَوانِيَ غَيرُ اِتِّصالِ التَواني

What made the watchers of lightning

linger, except the persistence of delay?

فَما لِرِكابِكَ هَذي الوُقوفِ

عَدا حادِيَيها الَّذي يَرجُوانِ

What ails these mounts of yours, standing still?

What their two camel-drivers hoped for has eluded them.

حَوانِيَ لِلوِردِ أَعناقَها

وَما عَلِمتُ أَيَّ وَقتٍ حَواني

Their necks bend toward the watering place,

and I have not known what time has encompassed me.

وَلَم يَلقَ في دَهرِهِ أَجرَبِيٌّ

هَوانِيَ فَليَنأَ عَنّي هَواني

No mangy man has ever encountered

my humiliation; let humiliation stay far from me.

وَعِندِيَ سِرٌّ بَذِيُّ الحَديثِ

كُنتُ عَنهُ في العالَمينَ الغَواني

I have a secret, coarse to speak of;

I was apart from it among mankind—the fair women [syntax unclear].

إِذا رَملَةٌ لَم تَجِئ بِالنَباتِ

فَقَد جَهِلَت إِن سَقَتها السَواني

If a sandy tract yields no vegetation,

the water-drawing beasts act foolishly if they water it.

جَرَيتُ مَعَ الدَهرِ جَريَ المُطيعِ

بَينَ اللَياحِيِّ وَالأُرجُواني

I ran with time as one obedient,

between the white and the crimson.

كَأَنِّيَ في العَيشِ لَدنُ الغُصو

نِ مَن شاءَ قَوَّمَني أَو لَواني

In life I seem a tree with supple

boughs; whoever wishes straightens me or bends me.

وَلا لَونَ لِلماءِ فيما يُقالُ

وَلَكِن تَلَوُّنُهُ بِالأَواني

Water has no color, so they say;

rather, its coloring comes from vessels.

وَفي كُلِّ شَرٍّ دَعَتهُ الخُطوبُ

شَواسِعُ مَنفَعَةٍ أَو دَواني

In every evil summoned by calamities

there are benefits, distant or near.

وَأَجزاءُ تِرياقِهِم لا تَتِمُّ

إِلّا بِجُزءٍ مِنَ الأُفعُوانِ

The ingredients of their antidote are incomplete

without a portion of the male viper.

فَلا تَمدَحاني يَمينَ الثَناءِ

فَأَحسَنُ مِن ذاكَ أَن تَهجُواني

So do not praise me with praise's right hand;

better than that is for you two to lampoon me.

وَإِنِّيَ مِن فِكرَتي وَالقَضا

ءِ ما بَينَ بَحرَينِ لا يَسجُوانِ

And I, through my thought and fate,

am between two seas that never grow calm.

وَإِنَّ النَهارَ وَإِنَّ الظَلامَ

عَلى كُلِّ ذي غَفلَةٍ يَدجُوانِ

Daylight, and darkness too,

grow dark over everyone heedless.

وَكَيفَ النَجاءُ وَلِلفَرقَدَينِ

فَضلٌ وَآلَيتُ لا يَنجُوانِ

How can one escape? The two Farqad stars

have distinction, yet I swore they would not escape.

فَلَم تَطلُبا شيمَتي ناشِئَينِ

وَعَمّا لَطَفتُ لَهُ تَحفُوانِ

You did not seek my ways as youths,

yet you probe what I approached with subtlety.

فَإِن تَقفوا أَثَري تُحمَدا

وَإِن تَعرِفا النَهجَ لا تَقفُوانِ

If you two follow my tracks, you will be praised;

if you know the path, you will not slander.

وَقَد أَمَرَ الحِلمُ أَن تَفصَحا

وَنادى بِلُطفٍ أَلا تَعفُوانِ

Forbearance has commanded you to speak plainly,

and gently called: 'Will you two not pardon?'

فَلَن تَقذَيا بِاِغتِفارِ الذُنوبِ

وَلَكِن بِغُفرانِها تَصفُوانِ

Forgiving sins will never sully you;

rather, through pardoning them you become clear.

وَلَولا القَذى طِرتُما في الهَواءِ

وَفي اللُجِّ أُلفَيتُما تَطفُوانِ

Were it not for impurities, you would fly in the air,

and in the sea's depths you would be found afloat.

فَكونا مَعَ الناسِ كَالبارِقينِ

تَعُمّانِ بِالنورِ أَو تَخفُوانِ

Be among people like two lightning flashes:

spread light over all, or shine in flashes.

فَلَم تُخلَقا مَلَكي قُدرَةٍ

إِذا ما هَفا الإِنسُ لا تَهفُوانِ

For you were not created two angels of power,

never faltering when humankind falters.

أَلَم تَرَنا عُصُرَي دَهرِنا

يَأودانِ بِالثِقلِ أَو يَأدُوانِ

Have you not seen us through our time's two periods,

as they weigh us down with their burden or beguile us?

وَما فَتِئَ الفَتَيانِ الحَياةَ

يَروحانِ بِالشَرِّ أَو يَغدُوانِ

Throughout life, the two youths have never ceased

bringing evil at evening or at dawn.

عَدُوّانِ ما شَعَرا بِالحِمامِ

فَكَيفَ تَظَنُّهُما يَعدُوانِ

Two enemies, they have never sensed death;

how, then, do you suppose they can outstrip it?

أَلا تَسمَعُ الآنَ صَوتَيهِما

بِكُلِّ اِمرِئٍ فيهِما يَحدُوانِ

Do you not hear their two voices now?

They drive onward every person within their span.

وَما كَشَفَ البَحثُ سِرَّيهُما

وَما خِلتُ أَنَّهُما يَبدُوانِ

Inquiry has not revealed their two secrets,

nor have I thought that the two would become visible.

وَكَم سَرَوا عالَماً أَوَّلاً

وَما سَرُوا فَمَتى يَسرُوانِ

How many an earlier world they stripped away;

yet they have not grown noble—when will they?

وَبَينَهُما أَهلَكَ الغابِرينَ

ما يَقرِيانِ وَما يَقرُوانِ

Between them, the people of old were destroyed

by what they offer as fare and what they pursue.

إِذا ما خَلا شَبَحي مِنهُما

فَما يُقفِرانِ وَلا يَخلُوانِ

If my bodily form is left without them,

they will not become desolate or empty.

قَلَينا البَقاءَ وَلَم يَبرَحا

بِنا في مَراحِلِهِ يَقلُوانِ

We loathe staying alive, yet they have not ceased

driving us through its stages.

وَكَم أَجلَيا عَن رِجالٍ مَضَوا

وَأَخبارُ ما كانَ لا يَجلُوانِ

How often they withdrew from men now gone;

yet they do not unveil accounts of what has been.

كَما خُلقا غَبَرا في العُصو

رِ لا يَرخُصانِ وَلا يَغلُوانِ

As they were created, they have endured through the

ages, neither cheapening nor growing dear.

تَمُرُّ وَتَحلو لَنا الحادِثاتُ

وَما يَمقَرانِ وَلا يَحلُوانِ

Events grow bitter and sweet for us,

yet they grow neither bitter nor sweet.

إِذا تَلَوا عِظَةً فَالأَنا

مُ لا يَأذَنونَ لِما يَتلُوانِ

When they recite an admonition, humankind

does not heed what they recite.

مُغِذّانِ بِالناسِ لا يَلغُبانِ

وَسَيفانِ لِلَّهِ لا يَنبُوانِ

They hurry people onward, never tiring,

and are two swords of God that never glance off.

وَلَو خُلِقا مِثلَ خَلقِ الجِيادِ

رَأَيتَهُما في المَدى يَكبُوانِ

Had they been created like noble steeds,

you would see them stumble on the course.

لَعَلَّكُما إِن تَهُبَّ الصَبا

إِلى بَلَدٍ نازِحٍ تَصبُوانِ

Perhaps, if the east wind blows,

you two will yearn toward a distant land.

فَلا رَيبَ أَنَّ الَّذي تُحبِيا

نِ أَفضَلُ مِنُ الَّذي تَحبُوانِ

Surely, the one you favor

is better than the one before whom you crawl.

فَعيشا أَبِيَّينِ لِلمُخزِيا

تِ مِثلَ السِماكينِ لا تَأبُوانِ

Live proudly, scorning disgrace,

like the two Simāk stars, refusing nothing.

إِذا شَبَّتِ الشِعرِيانِ الوَقودَ

فَفي الحُكمِ أَنَّهُما تَخبُوانِ

When the two Shiʿrā stars kindle the fuel,

it is decreed that they shall die down.

وَكونا كَريمَينِ بَينَ الأَني

سِ لا تَنمُلانِ وَلا تَأثُوانِ

Be noble among your fellows,

neither carrying tales nor slandering.

إِذا الخِلُّ أَعرَضَ لَم تُلفَيا

لِسوءِ أَحاديثِهِ تَنثُوانِ

When a friend turns away, you should not be found

repeating the worst of his talk.

وَإِن لَم تُهيلا إِلى مُعدِمٍ

طَعاماً فَيَكفيهِ ما تَحثُوانِ

Even if you do not heap up for a destitute man

food, what you give in handfuls will suffice him.

وَجَهلٌ مُرادُ كَما في المَقيظِ

عَهداً مِنَ الوَردِ وَالأُقحُوانِ

Foolish is your desire, in the summer heat,

for a season of roses and daisies.

وَما الحادِيانِ سِوى الجُندَبَي

نِ في حَرِّ هاجِرَةٍ يَنزُوانِ

The two camel-drivers are only two grasshoppers,

leaping in the heat of midday.

وَما أَمِنَ البازِيانِ القِصاصَ

وَأَن يُؤخَذا بِالَّذي يَبزُوانِ

The two hawks are not safe from retribution,

or from being seized for what they snatch.

فَإِن تُهمِلا كُلَّ ما تَخزُنانِ

فَلَم يَأتِ بِالخَزيِ ما تَخزُوانِ

If you neglect all that you store,

what you tend has brought no disgrace.

وَلا توجَدا أَبَداً كاهِنَينِ

تَروعانِ قَوماً بِما تَخزُوانِ

Never be found two soothsayers,

frightening people with what you control.

وَنُصّا إِلى اللَهِ مَغزاكُما

فَذَلِكَ أَفضَلُ ما تَغزُوانِ

Direct your campaign toward God;

that is the best aim you can campaign for.

وَلا تَعزُوا الخَيرَ إِلّا إِلَيهِ

فَيَجني الشِفاءُ بِما تَعزُوانِ

Ascribe goodness to Him alone;

then healing bears fruit through what you ascribe.

وَإِن عُرِّيَت كاسِياتُ الغُصو

نِ فَلتَكسُ بِالدِفءِ مَن تَكسُوانِ

If trees with leafy boughs are stripped bare,

let those you clothe be clothed warmly.

وَضِنّا بِعُمرِكُما أَن يَضيعَ

وَلا تُفنِيا وَقتَهُ تَلهُوانِ

Guard your lifetime jealously, lest it be lost;

do not exhaust its time in play.

بِذِكرِ إِلَهِكُما فَأبَها

لَعَلَّكُما بِالتُقى تَبهُوانِ

Heed the remembrance of your God;

perhaps through piety you will grow radiant.

فَيا رُبَّ طاهي صِلالٍ يَبيتُ

مُتَّخِذاً طَعمَهُ يَطهُوانِ

Ah, many a cook of vipers spends the night

preparing his food, while the two cook.

وَسيرا وَساعَينِ في المَكرُما

تِ لا تَدلُجانِ وَلا تَقطُوانِ

Stride broadly in noble

deeds, neither traveling by night nor shuffling.

مَطا بِكُما قَدَرٌ لا يَزالُ

جَديداهُ في غَفلَةٍ يَمطُوانِ

Fate has carried you onward; still

its two ever-new phases journey in heedlessness.

فَوَيحٌ لِخاطِئَتَي مارِدٍ

تَنُصّانِ في ما لَهُ تَخطُوانِ

So woe to a rebel's two erring feet,

hurrying toward the goal for which they tread.