أودى فليت الحادثات كفاف — Almaarri

أوْدَى فلَيتَ الحادِثاتِ كَفَافِ

مالُ المُسيفِ وعنبرُ المُستافِ

He has perished—would that calamities would cease!—

the pauper's wealth and the scent-seeker's ambergris.

الطّاهرُ الآباءِ والأبناءِ وال

أثوابِ والآرابِ والأُلاّفِ

Pure in forebears, descendants, and

garments, limbs, and companions.

رغتِ الرُّعودُ وتلك هَدّة واجبٍ

جبلٍ هَوَى في آلِ عَبد مَنافِ

The thunders bellowed; that was the crash of a falling

mountain, toppled among the house of Abd Manaf.

بَخِلَتْ فلَمّا كانَ لَيلةُ فَقْدِه

سَمَحَ الغَمامُ بدَمْعِهِ الذَّرّافِ

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

the clouds grew generous with their streaming tears.

ويقالُ إنّ البَحرَ غاضَ وإنّها

ستَعُودُ سِيفاً لُجّةُ الرَّجّافِ

They say the sea has ebbed, and that

the surging sea's depths will become a shore.

ويحِقّ في رُزْءِ الحسين تغيّرُ ال

حَرَسَينِ بَلْهَ الدُّرَّ في الأصْدافِ

At the loss of al-Husayn, it is fitting that the

two watchers, night and day, should change—let alone pearls in shells.

ذهبَ الذي غدَتِ الذّوابلُ بعدَه

رُعْشَ المُتونِ كليلةَ الأطرافِ

Gone is the man after whom the slender spears became

trembling of shaft and blunted of point.

وتعطفتْ لعِبَ الصِّلالِ من الأسَى

فالزُّجُّ عند اللّهْذَم الرّعّافِ

They writhed like playing vipers in their grief,

their butt-spikes beside their blood-dripping points.

وتيَقّنَتْ أبطالُها ممّا رأتْ

أن لا تُقَوّمها بغَمْزٍ ثِقافِ

Their champions knew for certain, from what they saw,

that no straightening tool could straighten them by pressure.

شغَلَ الفوارِسَ بَثُّها وسيوفُها

تحتَ القَوائمِ جَمّةُ التَّرْجافِ

Their anguish engrossed the horsemen; their swords,

beneath the horses' legs, shook violently.

ولَو أنّهُمْ نكَبوا الغُمودَ لهالَهم

كمَدُ الظُّبَى وتفلّلُ الأسيافِ

Had they stripped away the scabbards, they would have been appalled

by the blade-edges' grief and the chipping of the swords.

طارَ النّواعبُ يوْم فادَ نَواعياً

فنَدَبْتَهُ لِمُوافِقٍ ومُنافِ

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

so you mourned him before ally and adversary.

أسَفٌ أسَفّ بها وأُثْقِلَ نَهضُها

بالحُزْنِ فهْيَ على الترابِ هَوافِ

Sorrow brought them low; their rising was weighed down

by grief, so they fluttered over the dust.

ونَعيبُها كنحيبِها وحِدادُها

أبداً سَوادُ قَوادمٍ وخَوَافِ

Their cawing is like sobbing; their mourning garb

is forever the blackness of primary and secondary feathers.

لا خابَ سَعيُكَ من خُفافٍ أسحمٍ

كسُحيمٍ الأسَديّ أو كخُفافِ

May your efforts never fail, swift black one,

like Suhaym al-Asadi or like Khufaf—

من شاعرٍ للبَينِ قال قصيدةً

يرثي الشّريف على رَوِيّ القافِ

a poet who, at parting, uttered an ode

elegizing al-Sharif, its rhyme-letter qaf.

جُونٍ كبِنتِ الجونِ يصرُخُ دائباً

ويَميسُ في بُرْدِ الحزينِ الضّافي

Black as the daughter of al-Jawn, he cries unceasingly,

and sways proudly in the mourner's ample cloak.

عُقِرَتْ ركائبُك ابنَ دَأيةَ غادياً

أيُّ امرئ نَطْقٍ وأيُّ قَوَافِ

May your mounts be hamstrung, Ibn Da'yah, as you set out!

What an eloquent fellow, and what rhymes!

بُنيَتْ على الإيطاءِ سالمَةً منَ ال

إقواءِ والإكفاءِ والإصرافِ

Built on repeated rhyme-words, yet free from

clashing u/i endings, mismatched rhyme-consonants, and clashing a-endings.

حسَدَتْهُ مَلْبَسَهُ البُزاةُ ومَن لها

لمّا نَعاهُ لها بلُبْسِ غُدافِ

The hawks envied his attire; who could provide them,

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

والطّيْرُ أغْرِبَةٌ علَيهِ بأسْرِها

فُتْخُ السَّراةِ وساكناتُ لَصَافِ

All birds are crows in mourning for him:

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

هلاّ استَعاضَ من السّريرِ جَوادَه

وثّابَ كلّ قرارَةٍ ونِيافِ

Why did he not exchange the bier for his charger,

which leapt across every hollow and height?

هيهاتَ صادمَ للمَنايا عسكَراً

لا يَنْثَني بالكَرّ والإيجافِ

Alas! He confronted an army of deaths

that neither charges 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? For that was his faithful friend.

إنْ زارَهُ المَوْتَى كساهُم في البِلى

أكفانَ أبْلَجَ مُكْرِمِ الأضْيافِ

If the dead visited him, he would clothe them amid decay

in shrouds from a bright-faced man who honored guests.

واللّهُ إنْ يَخْلَعْ علَيهِمْ حُلّةً

يَبعَثْ إلَيْهِ بمِثْلِها أضْعافِ

And should he bestow a robe upon them, God

would send him its like many times over.

نُبِذَتْ مَفاتيحُ الجِنانِ وإنّما

رضْوانُ بَينَ يَدَيْهِ للإتحافِ

The keys of Paradise are cast aside; instead,

Ridwan stands before him to offer gifts.

يا لابسَ الدّرْعِ الذي هوَ تحتَها

بحرٌ تَلَفّعَ في غَديرٍ صَافِ

O wearer of the mail, who beneath it is

an ocean wrapped in a limpid pool!

بيضاءُ زُرْقُ السُّمْرِ وارِدةٌ لها

وِرْدَ الصّوادي الوُرْقِ زُرْقَ نِطافِ

Gleaming white mail, which the blue points of brown spears approach

as thirsty gray doves approach blue pools of water.

والنَّبْلُ تَسقُطُ فوْقَها ونصالُها

كالرّيشِ فهْوَ على رَجَاها طافِ

Arrows fall upon it, their points

like feathers; they float along its rim.

يُزْهى إذا حِرْباؤها صَليَ الوَغَى

حِرْباءُ كلّ هَجيرَةٍ مِهْيافِ

When its chameleon-stud feels battle's heat, proud grows

the chameleon of every scorching, parching noon.

فَلِذاكَ تُبْصِرُهُ لِكبْرٍ عادَهُ

يُوفي على جِذْلٍ بكلّ قِذافِ

That is why you see it, with pride come upon it,

perched high on a stump in every far-flung waste.

الرّكْبُ إثرَكَ آجِمونَ لزادِهمْ

واللُّهْجُ صادِفَةٌ عنِ الأخْلافِ

The caravan after you is sick of its provisions,

and eager sucklings turn away from the teats.

والآنَ ألقَى المَجدُ أخمصَ رِجله

لم يَقْتَنِعْ جَزَعاً بمِشيَةِ حافِ

Now Glory has cast down the arch of its foot,

not content in anguish merely to walk barefoot.

تَكبيرَتانِ حِيالَ قَبرِكَ للفَتى

مَحْسُوبَتانِ بعُمْرَةٍ وطَوَافِ

For a man, two cries of 'God is great' before your grave

count as a lesser pilgrimage and a circumambulation.

لوْ تَقْدِرُ الخَيْلُ التي زايَلْتَها

أنْحَتْ بأيديها على الأعرافِ

If the horses you have left had the power,

they would tear at their manes with their forelegs.

فارَقْتَ دهرَكَ ساخِطاً أفعالَهُ

وَهْوَ الجَديرُ بِقلّةِ الإنْصافِ

You left your age indignant at its deeds;

it well deserves to be shown scant fairness.

وَلَقيتَ رَبّكَ فاستَرَدّ لك الهُدى

ما نالَتِ الأيّامُ بالإتْلافِ

You met your Lord, and Guidance won back for you

what the days had ravaged and destroyed.

وسَقاكَ أموَاهَ الحَياةِ مُخَلَّداً

وكساكَ شَرْخَ شَبابِكَ الأفْوَافِ

and gave you life's waters to drink, making you immortal,

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

أبْقَيْتَ فينا كَوْكَبَينِ سناهما

في الصّبحِ والظّلماءِ ليسَ بخافِ

You left among us two stars whose radiance

is hidden neither in morning nor in darkness.

مُتَأنّقَينِ وفي المَكارِمِ أرْتَعَا

مُتَألَقَينِ بسُؤدَدٍ وعَفافِ

Two refined men, grazing among noble virtues,

radiant with lordliness and chastity.

قَدَرَينِ في الإرْداء بل مَطَرَين في ال

إجْداءِ بل قَمَرَينِ في الإسدافِ

Two dooms in slaying, rather two rains in

giving—rather two moons amid the darkness.

رُزِقا العَلاءَ فأهْلُ نَجدٍ كُلّما

نَطَقا الفَصاحَةَ مثلُ أهلِ دِيافِ

They were granted eminence; the people of Najd, whenever

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

ساوَى الرّضيُّ المُرْتَضى وتَقاسَما

خِطَطَ العُلى بتَناصُفٍ وتَصافِ

Al-Radi matched al-Murtada, and the two divided

the domains of eminence with equity and mutual affection.

حِلْفا ندىً سبَقا وَصَلّى الأطهَرُ ال

مَرْضي فيا لثلاثةٍ أحْلافِ

Two allies in bounty led; al-Athar followed, the

well-approved—what a trio of allies!

أنتم ذَوُو النّسَبِ القَصير فطَولُكم

بادٍ على الكُبَراءِ والأشْرافِ

Yours is a short pedigree; your towering stature

stands plain above the great and noble.

والرّاحُ إنْ قيل ابنةُ العِنَبِ اكتفت

بأبٍ عن الأسماء والأوْصافِ

Wine, when called the daughter of the grape, is content

with one father, needing no names or epithets.

ما زاغَ بَيتُكمُ الرّفيعُ وإنما

بالوَجْدِ أدرَكَه خفيُّ زِحاف

Your lofty house has not swerved; only

a subtle metrical shortening has overtaken it through grief.

والشمسُ دائمةُ البَقاء وإن تُنَلْ

بالشّكْوِ فهْيَ سريعة الإخْطافِ

The sun endures forever, and though it be touched

by sickness, it swiftly passes on.

ويُخالُ موسى جَدُّكُمْ لجلالِهِ

في النّفْس صاحبَ سورةِ الأعرافِ

Your grandfather Musa, for his majesty, is imagined

in the mind as the figure in the surah al-A'raf.

المُوقِدي نارِ القِرَى الآصالَ وال

أسْحارَ بالأهْضامِ والأشعافِ

You who kindle hospitality's fire at evening and

before dawn, in the hollows and on the summits—

حمْراءَ ساطِعةَ الذوائبِ في الدّجى

ترْمي بكلّ شَرارةٍ كطِرَافِ

red, with blazing tresses in the darkness,

hurling sparks like leather tents.

نارٌ لها ضَرَمِيّةٌ كَرَمِيّةٌ

تأرِيثُها إرْثٌ عن الأسْلاف

A fire with a blazing, generous nature,

its kindling an inheritance from the forebears.

تَسقيك والأرْيَ الضريبَ ولو عَدَتْ

نَهْيَ الإلهِ لثَلّثَتْ بسُلافِ

It gives you water and thick white honey; had it crossed

God's prohibition, it would have added pure wine as a third.

يُمْسي الطّريدُ أمامَها وكأنّهُ

أسَدُ الشَّرَى أوْ طائرٌ بشَرَافِ

At evening, the fugitive before it seems

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

وإذا تضَيّفَتِ النّعامُ ضِياءها

حُمِلَ الهَبيدُ لها مع الألْطافِ

When ostriches seek hospitality in its light,

colocynth seeds are brought them along with gifts.

مُفْتَنّةٌ في ظِلّها وحَرورِها

تُغْنيكَ في المَشْتَى وفي المُصْطافِ

Versatile in its shade and its heat,

it provides for you in winter and in summer.

زَهْرَاءُ يحلُمُ في العواصفِ جمرُها

وتَقَرّ إلا هَزّةَ الأعْطافِ

Radiant, its embers composed amid the tempests,

it rests, save for a swaying of its flanks.

سطَعتْ فما يَسطيعُ إطْفاءً لها

زُحَلٌ ونورُ الحقّ ليس بطافِ

It blazed, and cannot be extinguished by

Saturn; the light of truth is never quenched.

تَصِلُ الوُقودَ ولا خُمودَ ولو جرى

باليَمّ صَوْبُ الوابِلِ الغَرّافِ

Its burning is unbroken, never fading, even if

the torrent of pouring rain brought down a sea.

شُبّتْ بعالِيَةِ العِرَاقِ ونورُها

يَغْشَى مَنَازِلَ نائِلٍ وإسافِ

It was kindled in upper Iraq, and its light

covers the dwelling-places of Na'il and Isaf.

وقُدُورُهْم مثلُ الهِضَابِ رَواكِداً

وجِفانُهُمْ كَرحِيبةِ الأفيافِ

Their cauldrons are like hills, standing firm,

their serving bowls like wide expanses of desert.

من كُلّ جائشةِ العَشِيّ مُفِيئةٍ

بالمَيْرِ خَيرَ مَرَافدٍ وصِحاف

Each a cauldron seething at evening, replenishing

the finest bowls and platters with provisions.

دَهْماءَ راكبةٍ ثلاثةَ أجْبُلٍ

عِظَماً وإن حُسبَتْ ثلاثَ أثافِ

Black, mounted upon three mountains

in size, though reckoned three hearthstones.

يا مالكَيْ سَرْحِ القَريضِ أتتكما

منّي حَمولَةُ مُسْنِتينَ عِجافِ

O two masters of the grazing herds of verse, there comes to you

from me a lean pack-train of famine-stricken folk.

لا تَعِرفُ الوَرَقَ اللَّجينَ وإنْ تُسَلْ

تُخْبِرْ عن القُلاّم والخِذْرافِ

It knows no silver coinage; if questioned,

it tells of saltwort and khidhraf.

وأنا الذي أُهْدي أقلّ بَهارَةٍ

حُسْناً لأحْسَنِ رَوْضةٍ مِئْنافِ

I am the one who offers the least of blossoms

in beauty to the loveliest, ungrazed meadow.

أوْضَعتُ في طُرُقِ التشرّفِ سامياً

بكُما ولم أسلُكْ طريقَ العافي

I hastened along the ways of honor, rising high

through you both; I did not take the supplicant's road.