نقمت الرضى حتى على ضاحك المزن — Almaarri

نَقمتُ الرّضَى حتى على ضاحكِ المُزْنِ

فلا جادَني إلا عَبوسٌ منَ الدَّجنِ

I resented contentment even in the smiling raincloud;

so may none rain upon me but a scowling cloud of gloom.

فَلَيتَ فَمي إن شامَ سِنّي تبَسُّمي

فمُ الطّعنةِ النّجْلاءِ تَدْمى بلا سِنِّ

Would that my mouth, if my smile unsheathes my teeth,

were the mouth of a gaping stab-wound, bleeding without a tooth.

كأنّ ثَناياهُ أوَانِسُ يُبْتَغَى

لها حُسنُ ذِكْرٍ بالصّيانةِ والسّجنِ

As though its front teeth were maidens, for whom is sought

an honorable name through protection and confinement.

أبي حَكَمَتْ فيهِ اللّيالي ولم تَزَلْ

رِماحُ المَنايا قادِراتٍ على الطّعنِ

The nights passed judgment on my father; always have

the spears of death had power to pierce.

مضَى طاهر الجثمان والنّفس والكرَى

وسُهدِ المنى والجَيبِ والذيلِ والرُّدنِ

He departed pure in body, soul, and sleep,

and in sleepless longing, in bosom, hem, and sleeve.

فيا لَيتَ شِعري هل يَخِفّ وَقارُهُ

إذا صَارَ أُحْدٌ في القِيامَةِ كالعِهْنِ

Oh, would that I knew: will his solemn dignity grow light

when Uhud becomes like dyed wool at the Resurrection?

وهلْ يرِدُ الحوْضَ الرّويَّ مُبادِراً

معَ النّاسِ أمْ يأبَى الزّحامَ فَيَستأني

And will he reach the thirst-quenching pool in haste

with the people, or shun the crowd and take his time?

حِجىً زادَهُ من جُرْأةٍ وسَماحةِ

وبعضُ الحجى داعٍ إلى البخلِ والجُبنِ

A wisdom that increased his courage and generosity,

though some wisdom calls to miserliness and cowardice.

على أُمّ دَفْرٍ غَضْبَةُ اللّهِ انّها

لأجْدَرُ أُنْثَى أنْ تَخونَ وأن تُخني

May God's wrath fall upon Umm Dafr, for she

is surely the female likeliest to betray and destroy.

كَعابٌ دُجاها فَرْعُها ونَهارُها

مُحيّاً لها قامتْ له الشمسُ بالحُسنِ

A nubile maiden: her darkness is her hair, and her daylight

her face, whose beauty the sun provides.

رآها سليلُ الطّينِ والشّيبُ شامِلٌ

لها بالثّرَيّا والسّماكَينِ والوَزْنِ

The offspring of clay saw her, gray hair already covering

her in the Pleiades, the two Simaks, and Wazn,

زمانَ تَوَلّتْ وأدَ حَوّاءَ بِنتِها

وكم وأدَتْ في إثْرِ حَوّاء مِن قَرْنِ

when she undertook the live burial of her daughter Eve;

how many generations she buried alive after Eve!

كأنّ بنيها يُولَدونَ وما لهَا

حليلٌ فتخشَى العارَ إن سَمحتْ بابْنِ

As though her sons were born while she had

no husband, and feared disgrace if she let a son survive.

جَهِلْنا فلم نَعلمْ على الحِرْص ما الذي

يُرادُ بنا والعِلْمُ للّهِ ذي المَنِّ

We were ignorant: despite our eagerness, we never learned what

is intended for us; knowledge belongs to God, possessor of bounty.

إذا غُيّبَ المَرْءُ استَسَر حَديثُهُ

ولم تُخْبِرِ الأفكارُ عَنْهُ بما يُغْني

When a man is buried, his story becomes hidden,

and thoughts bring no sufficient news of him.

تَضِلّ العُقولُ الهِبْرِزِيّاتُ رُشْدَها

ولم يَسلَمِ الرّأيُ القويُّ من الأفْنِ

Brilliant minds lose their way,

and strong judgment has not escaped mental weakness.

وقد كانَ أربابُ الفَصاحَةِ كُلّما

رأوا حَسَناً عَدّوهُ من صَنعةِ الجنِّ

The masters of eloquence would, whenever

they saw something beautiful, deem it the handiwork of jinn.

وما قارَنتْ شخصاً من الخلقِ ساعةً

منَ الدّهرِ إلا وَهيَ أَفْتَكُ من قِرْنِ

Never did she accompany any person in creation for an hour

of time without being deadlier than an adversary.

وَجَدْنا أذى الدّنيا لَذيذاً كأنّما

جَنى النّحلِ أصنافُ الشّقاء الذي نجني

We found the world's hurt sweet, as though

the kinds of misery we reap were the bees' harvest.

فما رَغبتْ في الموْتِ كُدرٌ مَسيرُها

إلى الوِرْدِ خِمسٌ ثم يَشرَبنَ من أَجنِ

The dusky sandgrouse have not desired death, though their journey

to water is a five-day round; then they drink stagnant water.

يُصادِفنَ صَقراً كلَّ يوْم وَلَيْلَةٍ

وَيَلْقَيْن شَرّاً مِن مَخالبِهِ الحُجنِ

They encounter a falcon every day and night,

and suffer harm from its hooked talons.

ولا قَلِقاتُ اللّيلِ باتَت كأنّها

من الأينِ والإدلاجِ بعضُ القنا اللُّدنِ

Nor the restless night-beasts, spending the night as though

from weariness and night-travel, they were supple spear-shafts.

ضَرَبْنَ مَليعاً بالسّنابكِ أرْبَعاً

إلى الماء لا يَقدِرْنَ منهُ على مَعْنِ

They beat a barren waste with their hooves for four nights,

toward water, yet cannot obtain a drop of it.

وخوْفُ الرّدى آوَى إلى الكَهفِ أهلَهُ

وكَلّفَ نوحاً وابنَهُ عَمَلَ السّفنِ

Fear of death drove the cave's people into its shelter,

and compelled Noah and his son to build ships.

وما استَعذَبَتهُ روحُ موسى وآدَمٍ

وقد وُعِدا من بعدِه جَنَّتَيْ عَدْنِ

Nor did the souls of Moses and Adam find it sweet,

though after it they had been promised two gardens of Eden.

أمَوْلى القَوافي كم أراكَ انْقِيادُها

لك الفُصَحَاءَ العُرْبَ كالعَجم اللُّكنِ

O master of rhymes, how often has their submission

to you shown you eloquent Arabs as stammering foreigners!

هَنيئاً لكَ البيتُ الجَديدُ مُوَسِّداً

يَمينَكَ فيهِ بالسّعادةِ واليُمْنِ

May the new home bring you joy, as you pillow

your right hand there with happiness and good fortune.

مُجاوِرَ سَكْنٍ في دِيارٍ بَعيدَةٍ

من الحيّ سَقياً للدّيار وللسَّكنِ

Dwelling beside companions in abodes far

from the living—may rain bless those abodes and their dwellers!

طَلَبتُ يَقيناً مِنْ جُهَيْنَةَ عنهُمُ

ولن تخبريني يا جُهينَ سوَى الظّنِّ

I sought certain news of them from Juhaynah;

yet you will never tell me, Juhayn, anything but conjecture.

فإنْ تَعْهَديني لا أزالُ مُسائِلاً

فإنّيَ لم أُعْطَ الصّحيحَ فأستَغني

If you know me as one who never ceases asking,

it is because I have not been given the truth that would suffice.

وإنْ لم يَكُنْ للفَضْلِ ثَمّ مَزِيّةٌ

على النّقص فالوَيلُ الطويلُ من الغَبنِ

If excellence has no advantage there

over deficiency, then long is the woe of being wronged.

أمُرّ بِرَبْعٍ كُنْتَ فيهِ كأنّمَا

أمُرّ منَ الإكرامِ بالحِجرِ والرُّكْنِ

I pass the abode where you once were, as though

in reverence I were passing the Hijr and the Corner.

وإجْلالُ مَغْناكَ اجتِهادُ مُقَصِّرٍ

إذا السّيفُ أوْدى فالعفاءُ على الجَفْنِ

Honoring your abode is the effort of one who falls short;

when the sword is gone, let dust cover the sheath.

لقد مَسَخَتْ قلبي وفاتُكَ طائراً

فأقْسَمَ أنْ لا يَسْتَقِرّ على وَكْنِ

Your death has surely transformed my heart into a bird,

which swore never to settle on a perch.

يُقْضّي بَقايا عَيْشِهِ وجَناحُهُ

حَثيثُ الدّواعي في الإقامةِ والظّعنِ

It passes the remainder of its life, its wing

driven by urgent impulses, whether staying or departing.

كأنّ دُعاء الموتِ باسْمِكَ نَكْزَةٌ

فَرَتْ جَسَدي والسّمُّ يُنفثُ في أُذني

As though death's calling you by name were a serpent's bite

that ripped my body, while poison is breathed into my ear.

تَئنّ ونَصْبي في أنينِكَ واجِبٌ

كما وَجَبَ النّصْبُ اعترافاً على إنِّ

You groan; my anguish at your groaning is inevitable,

as the accusative is admittedly required after inna.

ضَعُفْتَ عن الإصْباحِ واللّيلُ ذاهبٌ

كما فَنيَ المِصْباحُ في آخرِ الوَهْنِ

You grew too weak to reach morning while night was departing,

as a lamp burns out in the last hours of night.

وما أكثرَ المُثني علَيكَ ديانَةً

لو أنَّ حِماماً كانَ يَثنيهِ مَن يُثني

How many praise you out of piety—

if only death could be turned aside by those who praise!

يوافيكَ من ربّ العُلى الصّدقُ بالرّضَى

بَشيراً وتلقاكَ الأمانَةُ بالأمْنِ

Truthfulness comes to you from the Lord on high with His favor,

bearing glad tidings, while trustworthiness greets you with safety.

ويَسكْني شهيدُ المَرْءِ غيرِكَ هَيْبَةً

وبُقْيا وإنْ يُسألْ شهيدُكَ لا يكني

The witness of anyone but you silences me out of awe

and forbearance; but your witness, if questioned, speaks without disguise.

يُصَرِّحْ بقَوْلٍ دونَهُ المِسكُ نَفحةً

وفِعْلٍ كأمْواهِ الجِنانِ بِلا أَسْنِ

He tells plainly of speech whose fragrance surpasses musk,

and deeds like the gardens' waters, free of staleness.

يَدٌ يَدَتِ الحُسْنى وأنفاسُ رَبّها

تُقىً ولسانٌ ما تحرّكَ باللَّسْنِ

A hand that bestowed kindness, and its owner's breaths

were piety; a tongue that never stirred in abusive speech.

فليتَكَ في جَفني مُوارىً نَزاهَةً

بِتِلْكَ السّجايا عن حَشايَ وعن ضِبني

Would that you lay buried in my eyelid, too pure,

with those virtues, for my entrails or my flank.

ولو حَفَرُوا في دُرّةٍ ما رَضِيتُها

لجِسْمِكَ إبْقاءً عَلَيْهِ منَ الدّفنِ

Even if they dug within a pearl, I would not accept it

for your body, wishing to protect it from burial.

ولو أوْدَعُوكَ الجوّ خِفْنا مَصيفَهُ

ومَشتاهُ وازدادَ الضّنينُ منَ الضّنِّ

Even if they entrusted you to the air, we would fear its summer

and its winter; the one who holds you dear would grow more protective.

فيا قبرُ واهٍ مِنْ تُرابكَ لَيّناً

علَيهِ وآهٍ مِنْ جنادِلِكَ الخُشنِ

O grave, ah for your soil, soft

upon him! And alas for your rough boulders!

لأُطبِقتَ إطباقَ المَحارَةِ فاحتَفِظْ

بلؤلؤةِ المَجْدِ الحَقيقَةِ بالخزْنِ

Surely you have been closed like an oyster-shell; so guard

the pearl of glory, worthy of safekeeping.

فهلِ أنتَ إن ناديتُ رَمسكَ سامِعٌ

نداءَ ابنِكَ المَفجوعِ بل عبدِكَ القِنِّ

Will you, if I call to your grave, hear

the cry of your bereaved son—rather, your slave-born bondsman?

سأبكي إذا غنّى ابنُ وَرْقاءَ بَهجةً

وإن كانَ ما يَعنيهِ ضِدَّ الذي أعْني

I shall weep when the gray dove's son sings joyfully,

although what he means is the opposite of what I mean.

ونادِبَةٌ في مِسْمَعي كُلُّ قَيْنَةٍ

تُغَرَدُ باللّحْنِ البَرِيّ عن اللّحنِ

Every singing woman is a mourner in my hearing,

warbling a melody free of error.

وأحمِلُ فيكَ الحُزْنَ حَيّاً فإن أمُتْ

وألقَكَ لم أسلُكْ طرِيقاً إلى الحُزْنِ

I bear grief for you while alive; if I die

and meet you, I shall tread no path to grief.

وبَعدَكَ لا يَهوى الفُؤادُ مَسَرّةً

وإن خانَ في وَصْلِ السّرورِ فلا يَهني

After you, the heart desires no happiness;

and if it proves false by embracing joy, may it find no delight.