أودى فليت الحادثات كفاف — Almaarri

أوْدَى فلَيتَ الحادِثاتِ كَفَافِ

مالُ المُسيفِ وعنبرُ المُستافِ

He has perished—would that calamities would cease!

The destitute man's wealth, and ambergris to the seeker of fragrance,

الطّاهرُ الآباءِ والأبناءِ وال

أثوابِ والآرابِ والأُلاّفِ

pure in forefathers and sons, in

garments, limbs, and companions.

رغتِ الرُّعودُ وتلك هَدّة واجبٍ

جبلٍ هَوَى في آلِ عَبد مَنافِ

The thunders bellowed: that is the crash of a falling

mountain brought low among the clan of Abd Manaf.

بَخِلَتْ فلَمّا كانَ لَيلةُ فَقْدِه

سَمَحَ الغَمامُ بدَمْعِهِ الذَّرّافِ

They had been miserly; when the night of his loss came,

the clouds freely shed their streaming tears.

ويقالُ إنّ البَحرَ غاضَ وإنّها

ستَعُودُ سِيفاً لُجّةُ الرَّجّافِ

They say the sea has receded, and that

the surging sea's deep will become a shore.

ويحِقّ في رُزْءِ الحسين تغيّرُ ال

حَرَسَينِ بَلْهَ الدُّرَّ في الأصْدافِ

At Hussein's loss, change is fitting for the

two guardians, night and day—let alone pearls in their shells.

ذهبَ الذي غدَتِ الذّوابلُ بعدَه

رُعْشَ المُتونِ كليلةَ الأطرافِ

Gone is he after whom the slender spears became

trembling in their shafts, blunted at their tips.

وتعطفتْ لعِبَ الصِّلالِ من الأسَى

فالزُّجُّ عند اللّهْذَم الرّعّافِ

They bent in grief with the writhing of vipers,

their butt-spikes beside their broad, blood-spouting heads.

وتيَقّنَتْ أبطالُها ممّا رأتْ

أن لا تُقَوّمها بغَمْزٍ ثِقافِ

Their champions knew for certain from what they saw

that no straightening tool could set them right by pressure.

شغَلَ الفوارِسَ بَثُّها وسيوفُها

تحتَ القَوائمِ جَمّةُ التَّرْجافِ

Their anguish absorbed the horsemen, while their swords

beneath their hilts trembled violently.

ولَو أنّهُمْ نكَبوا الغُمودَ لهالَهم

كمَدُ الظُّبَى وتفلّلُ الأسيافِ

Had they removed the scabbards, they would have been appalled

by the blades' dark grief and the swords' notched edges.

طارَ النّواعبُ يوْم فادَ نَواعياً

فنَدَبْتَهُ لِمُوافِقٍ ومُنافِ

The cawing birds flew as death-heralds the day he died;

then you lamented him to friend and foe.

أسَفٌ أسَفّ بها وأُثْقِلَ نَهضُها

بالحُزْنِ فهْيَ على الترابِ هَوافِ

Grief brought them low, and their rising was burdened

with sorrow, so they fluttered low above the earth.

ونَعيبُها كنحيبِها وحِدادُها

أبداً سَوادُ قَوادمٍ وخَوَافِ

Their cawing is like their sobbing, and their mourning

is forever the blackness of primary and secondary feathers.

لا خابَ سَعيُكَ من خُفافٍ أسحمٍ

كسُحيمٍ الأسَديّ أو كخُفافِ

May your striving never fail, light, jet-black one,

like Suhaym al-Asadi or like Khufaf,

من شاعرٍ للبَينِ قال قصيدةً

يرثي الشّريف على رَوِيّ القافِ

a poet who composed a poem for parting,

mourning the Sharif with qaf as its rhyme-letter.

جُونٍ كبِنتِ الجونِ يصرُخُ دائباً

ويَميسُ في بُرْدِ الحزينِ الضّافي

A black one, like the Black One's daughter, crying ceaselessly,

and strutting in the mourner's ample mantle.

عُقِرَتْ ركائبُك ابنَ دَأيةَ غادياً

أيُّ امرئ نَطْقٍ وأيُّ قَوَافِ

May your mounts be hamstrung, Ibn Daya, going forth at dawn!

What an eloquent fellow, and what rhymes!

بُنيَتْ على الإيطاءِ سالمَةً منَ ال

إقواءِ والإكفاءِ والإصرافِ

Built on repeated rhyme-words, yet free of

i/u rhyme-vowel discord, conflicting rhyme-letters, and a-vowel discord.

حسَدَتْهُ مَلْبَسَهُ البُزاةُ ومَن لها

لمّا نَعاهُ لها بلُبْسِ غُدافِ

The falcons envied his attire; who could give them,

when he announced his death to them, a raven's garb?

والطّيْرُ أغْرِبَةٌ علَيهِ بأسْرِها

فُتْخُ السَّراةِ وساكناتُ لَصَافِ

All the birds are crows in mourning for him,

the eagles of al-Sarat and the dwellers of Lasaf.

هلاّ استَعاضَ من السّريرِ جَوادَه

وثّابَ كلّ قرارَةٍ ونِيافِ

Why did he not exchange his bier for his steed,

a leaper over every hollow and height?

هيهاتَ صادمَ للمَنايا عسكَراً

لا يَنْثَني بالكَرّ والإيجافِ

Alas, he faced an army of death

that neither charging nor galloping could turn back.

هَلاّ دَفَنتُمْ سَيفَه في قَبرِهِ

معَهُ فذاكَ لَهُ خَليلٌ وافِ

Why did you not bury his sword in his grave

with him? It is his faithful friend.

إنْ زارَهُ المَوْتَى كساهُم في البِلى

أكفانَ أبْلَجَ مُكْرِمِ الأضْيافِ

If the dead visit him, amid decay he clothes them

in shrouds from a bright-browed man who honors guests.

واللّهُ إنْ يَخْلَعْ علَيهِمْ حُلّةً

يَبعَثْ إلَيْهِ بمِثْلِها أضْعافِ

And God, if the departed bestows a robe upon them,

sends him its like many times over.

نُبِذَتْ مَفاتيحُ الجِنانِ وإنّما

رضْوانُ بَينَ يَدَيْهِ للإتحافِ

The keys of Paradise are cast aside; rather,

Ridwan stands before him solely to offer gifts.

يا لابسَ الدّرْعِ الذي هوَ تحتَها

بحرٌ تَلَفّعَ في غَديرٍ صَافِ

O wearer of mail, who beneath it is

a sea wrapped in a clear pool!

بيضاءُ زُرْقُ السُّمْرِ وارِدةٌ لها

وِرْدَ الصّوادي الوُرْقِ زُرْقَ نِطافِ

White mail: the blue points of brown spears approach it

as thirsty gray doves approach blue pools.

والنَّبْلُ تَسقُطُ فوْقَها ونصالُها

كالرّيشِ فهْوَ على رَجَاها طافِ

Arrows fall upon it, and their heads

are like feathers, floating along its edge.

يُزْهى إذا حِرْباؤها صَليَ الوَغَى

حِرْباءُ كلّ هَجيرَةٍ مِهْيافِ

When its chameleon-rivet scorches in battle, pride swells

in the thirsty chameleon of every blazing noon.

فَلِذاكَ تُبْصِرُهُ لِكبْرٍ عادَهُ

يُوفي على جِذْلٍ بكلّ قِذافِ

Thus you see it, through pride that has come upon it,

rising atop a stump in every remote tract.

الرّكْبُ إثرَكَ آجِمونَ لزادِهمْ

واللُّهْجُ صادِفَةٌ عنِ الأخْلافِ

The riders following you are sick of their provisions,

and eager sucklings turn away from the teats.

والآنَ ألقَى المَجدُ أخمصَ رِجله

لم يَقْتَنِعْ جَزَعاً بمِشيَةِ حافِ

Now Glory has cast away the sole of its foot,

not content, in anguish, with a barefoot gait.

تَكبيرَتانِ حِيالَ قَبرِكَ للفَتى

مَحْسُوبَتانِ بعُمْرَةٍ وطَوَافِ

Two takbirs beside your grave, for a man,

count as an umrah and ritual circumambulation.

لوْ تَقْدِرُ الخَيْلُ التي زايَلْتَها

أنْحَتْ بأيديها على الأعرافِ

If the horses you parted from could,

they would strike their manes with their forelegs.

فارَقْتَ دهرَكَ ساخِطاً أفعالَهُ

وَهْوَ الجَديرُ بِقلّةِ الإنْصافِ

You left your age indignant at its deeds,

and it deserves little fairness.

وَلَقيتَ رَبّكَ فاستَرَدّ لك الهُدى

ما نالَتِ الأيّامُ بالإتْلافِ

You met your Lord; guidance won back for you

what the days had ravaged.

وسَقاكَ أموَاهَ الحَياةِ مُخَلَّداً

وكساكَ شَرْخَ شَبابِكَ الأفْوَافِ

He gave you the waters of life to drink, immortal,

and clothed you, in your youth's prime, in striped robes.

أبْقَيْتَ فينا كَوْكَبَينِ سناهما

في الصّبحِ والظّلماءِ ليسَ بخافِ

You left among us two stars whose radiance

is not hidden in morning or darkness.

مُتَأنّقَينِ وفي المَكارِمِ أرْتَعَا

مُتَألَقَينِ بسُؤدَدٍ وعَفافِ

Refined, they grazed freely among noble deeds,

shining with nobility and chastity.

قَدَرَينِ في الإرْداء بل مَطَرَين في ال

إجْداءِ بل قَمَرَينِ في الإسدافِ

Two fates in dealing death—rather, two rains in

giving—rather, two moons in the gathering dark.

رُزِقا العَلاءَ فأهْلُ نَجدٍ كُلّما

نَطَقا الفَصاحَةَ مثلُ أهلِ دِيافِ

They were granted loftiness; the people of Najd, whenever

the two speak eloquently, are like the people of Diyaf.

ساوَى الرّضيُّ المُرْتَضى وتَقاسَما

خِطَطَ العُلى بتَناصُفٍ وتَصافِ

Al-Radi equaled al-Murtada, and the two shared

the stations of glory with fairness and mutual affection.

حِلْفا ندىً سبَقا وَصَلّى الأطهَرُ ال

مَرْضي فيا لثلاثةٍ أحْلافِ

Two allies of bounty raced ahead; next came the purest, the

well-approved one—O what three allies!

أنتم ذَوُو النّسَبِ القَصير فطَولُكم

بادٍ على الكُبَراءِ والأشْرافِ

You possess a short lineage, yet your stature

is manifest above the mighty and the noble.

والرّاحُ إنْ قيل ابنةُ العِنَبِ اكتفت

بأبٍ عن الأسماء والأوْصافِ

And wine, when called the grape's daughter, is content

with a father, needing neither names nor descriptions.

ما زاغَ بَيتُكمُ الرّفيعُ وإنما

بالوَجْدِ أدرَكَه خفيُّ زِحاف

Your lofty house has not swerved; only

grief has brought upon it a subtle metrical change.

والشمسُ دائمةُ البَقاء وإن تُنَلْ

بالشّكْوِ فهْيَ سريعة الإخْطافِ

The sun endures forever, and if it is touched

by illness, it is quick to recover.

ويُخالُ موسى جَدُّكُمْ لجلالِهِ

في النّفْس صاحبَ سورةِ الأعرافِ

Your ancestor Musa, for his grandeur, seems

to the mind like Moses of the surah al-Araf.

المُوقِدي نارِ القِرَى الآصالَ وال

أسْحارَ بالأهْضامِ والأشعافِ

You kindlers of hospitality's fire, in the evenings and

the predawn hours, in lowlands and on heights:

حمْراءَ ساطِعةَ الذوائبِ في الدّجى

ترْمي بكلّ شَرارةٍ كطِرَافِ

red, its tresses blazing in the dark,

casting every spark like a leather tent.

نارٌ لها ضَرَمِيّةٌ كَرَمِيّةٌ

تأرِيثُها إرْثٌ عن الأسْلاف

A fire endowed with blazing ardor and generosity,

its kindling inherited from the forebears.

تَسقيك والأرْيَ الضريبَ ولو عَدَتْ

نَهْيَ الإلهِ لثَلّثَتْ بسُلافِ

It gives you water and thickened honey; had it defied

God's prohibition, it would add choice wine as a third.

يُمْسي الطّريدُ أمامَها وكأنّهُ

أسَدُ الشَّرَى أوْ طائرٌ بشَرَافِ

The fugitive spends the evening before it as though he were

a lion of al-Shara or a bird at Sharaf.

وإذا تضَيّفَتِ النّعامُ ضِياءها

حُمِلَ الهَبيدُ لها مع الألْطافِ

When ostriches come as guests to its light,

colocynth seeds are brought them with kindly offerings.

مُفْتَنّةٌ في ظِلّها وحَرورِها

تُغْنيكَ في المَشْتَى وفي المُصْطافِ

Versatile in its shade and its heat,

it provides for you in winter and summer.

زَهْرَاءُ يحلُمُ في العواصفِ جمرُها

وتَقَرّ إلا هَزّةَ الأعْطافِ

Radiant, its embers are forbearing in the gales,

and it stays still, except for the swaying of its flanks.

سطَعتْ فما يَسطيعُ إطْفاءً لها

زُحَلٌ ونورُ الحقّ ليس بطافِ

It blazes; it cannot be put out

by Saturn, and the light of truth is never quenched.

تَصِلُ الوُقودَ ولا خُمودَ ولو جرى

باليَمّ صَوْبُ الوابِلِ الغَرّافِ

It burns on without dying, even if

a torrent of drenching rain should sweep the sea along.

شُبّتْ بعالِيَةِ العِرَاقِ ونورُها

يَغْشَى مَنَازِلَ نائِلٍ وإسافِ

It was kindled in Upper Iraq, and its light

covers the dwellings of Na'il and Isaf.

وقُدُورُهْم مثلُ الهِضَابِ رَواكِداً

وجِفانُهُمْ كَرحِيبةِ الأفيافِ

Their pots stand still like hills,

and their bowls are like wide expanses of desert.

من كُلّ جائشةِ العَشِيّ مُفِيئةٍ

بالمَيْرِ خَيرَ مَرَافدٍ وصِحاف

From every pot seething at evening, replenishing

with provisions the finest serving bowls and platters:

دَهْماءَ راكبةٍ ثلاثةَ أجْبُلٍ

عِظَماً وإن حُسبَتْ ثلاثَ أثافِ

a black pot resting upon three mountains

in magnitude, though counted as three hearthstones.

يا مالكَيْ سَرْحِ القَريضِ أتتكما

منّي حَمولَةُ مُسْنِتينَ عِجافِ

O two masters of poetry's grazing herd, there has come to you

from me the pack-train of lean, drought-stricken men.

لا تَعِرفُ الوَرَقَ اللَّجينَ وإنْ تُسَلْ

تُخْبِرْ عن القُلاّم والخِذْرافِ

It knows no shining silver coin; if questioned,

it speaks of saltwort and khidhraf herbage.

وأنا الذي أُهْدي أقلّ بَهارَةٍ

حُسْناً لأحْسَنِ رَوْضةٍ مِئْنافِ

And I am he who offers the humblest blossom,

in beauty, to the loveliest fresh, ungrazed meadow.

أوْضَعتُ في طُرُقِ التشرّفِ سامياً

بكُما ولم أسلُكْ طريقَ العافي

I hastened along the paths of honor, aspiring upward

through you both, not taking the supplicant's road.