معان من أحبتنا معان — Almaarri

مَعانٌ مِن أحِبّتِنَا مَعَانُ

تُجِيبُ الصاهِلاتِ به القِيانُ

Maʿan is a dwelling of our loved ones;

there singing-girls answer the neighing mares.

وقفْتُ به لصَوْنِ الوُدّ حتى

أذَلْتُ دموعَ جَفْنٍ ما تُصانُ

I stopped there to preserve affection, until

I spent an eyelid's tears, sparing none.

ولاحَتْ مِن بُرُوجِ البَدرِ بُعْداً

بُدورُ مَهاً تَبَرّجُها اكْتِنانُ

And from the full moon's mansions, far away, shone

oryx-like full moons, whose unveiling is concealment.

فلو سمَحَ الزّمانُ بها لضَنّتْ

ولو سَمَحَتْ لضَنّ بها الزّمانُ

Were Time to grant her, she would withhold herself;

and were she generous, Time would withhold her.

رُزِقْنَ تَمَكنّاً مِن كلّ قلْبٍ

فليسَ لغيرِهِنّ به مَكانُ

They were granted mastery of every heart,

so no others have a place therein.

وفَيْتُ وقد جُزِيتُ بِمِثْلِ فِعْلي

فها أنا لا أخُونُ ولا أُخانُ

I kept faith, and was repaid in kind;

so here I am: neither betraying nor betrayed.

وعيشَتي الشّبابُ وليسَ منها

صِبايَ ولا ذَوائِبيَ الهِجانُ

My life is youth; no part of it

is my childhood, nor my white locks.

وكالنّارِ الحَيَاةُ فمِنْ رَمادٍ

أواخِرُهَا وأوّلُها دُخانُ

And life is like fire: ashes make up

its ending, while its beginning is smoke.

إلامَ وفيمَ تَنْقُلُنا رِكابٌ

وتأمُلُ أن يكُونَ لنا أوَان

To what end, and why, do riding camels bear us,

hoping that our time will come,

فنَجْزِيهَا على الحُسنى وأهْلٌ

لما ظَنّتْ خَلائقُك الحِسانُ

so we may repay their kindness? Worthy

of their hopes are your noble qualities.

وكانَتْ كالنّخِيلِ فظَلّ كلّ

ومُشْبِهُه من الضُّمْرِ الإهانُ

Once like palm trees, each now stands

so wasted that its likeness is a bare date-stalk.

تخَيّلتِ الصّبَاحَ مَعِينَ مَاءٍ

فما صَدَقَتْ ولا كذَبَ العِيانُ

They imagined morning a spring of water;

their fancy was false, yet their sight did not lie.

فكاد الفَجْرُ تَشْرَبُه المَطَايا

وتُمْلأ منه أسْقِيهٌ شِنانُ

The mounts almost drank the dawn,

and worn waterskins were all but filled with it.

وقد دَقّتْ هَوادِيهِنّ حتى

كأنّ رقابَهُنّ الخَيْزرانُ

Their necks had grown so slender

that their necks seemed bamboo reeds.

إذا شربَتْ رأيْتَ الماءَ فِيها

أُزَيْرِقَ ليس يَسْتُرُهُ الجِرَانُ

When they drank, you saw the water within them,

faintly blue, unhidden by their throat-skin.

ستَرْجِعُ عنكَ وهْيَ أعَزّ إبْلٍ

إذا إبِلٌ أضَرّ بها امْتِهانُ

They will return from you the most honored of camels,

when other camels have been harmed by drudgery.

لها فَرَحاً فُوَيْقَ الأرضِ أرْضٌ

ومِن تحْتِ اللُّجَينِ لها لِجانُ

In joy they tremble a little above the ground,

and beneath the silver they have beaten leaves for fodder.

تَرَى ما نالت الأضْيافُ نَزْراً

ولو مُلِئَتْ من الذّهَبِ الجِفانُ

You deem whatever guests receive a trifle,

even if the serving bowls are filled with gold.

ويُطلَبُ منكَ ما هوَ فيكَ طبْعٌ

ومَطْلُوبٌ من اللّسِنِ البَيانُ

They ask of you what is your very nature,

and eloquence is sought from the eloquent.

ومُمْتحِنٍ لقاءكَ وهو موْتٌ

وهل يُنْبي عن المَوْتِ امْتِحانُ

Many a man tries facing you, though it is death—

but can a trial bring news of death?

ومُضْطَغِنٍ عليكَ وليس يُجْدي

ولا يُعْدي على الشمس اضْطِغانُ

Many a man bears you a grudge, though it avails nothing;

nor can resentment win redress against the sun.

ورُبّ مُساتِرٍ بهَوَاكَ عَزّتْ

سَرائرُه وكُلُّ هوىً هَوَانُ

Many a man conceals his love for you; ennobled

are his secret thoughts, though all passion is abasement.

أحَبّكَ في ضَمائِرِهِ ونادى

ليُعْلِنَها وقد فاتَ العِلانُ

He loved you in his inmost thoughts, and called out

to proclaim it, though proclamation was already too late.

وَصَلّى ثُمّ أذّنَ مُسْتقِيلاً

وقَبْلَ صَلاتِهِ وَجَبَ الأذانُ

He prayed, then called to prayer, seeking to make amends,

though the call was due before his prayer.

تَضَمّنُ منْكَ ذي الدنيا مَليكاً

عليه لكلّ مَكْرُمَةٍ ضَمانُ

This world embraces, in you, a king

who stands surety for every noble deed.

كأنّ بحارَها الحيوانُ فيها

وقُرْبُكَ خُلْدُها وهْيَ الجِنانُ

Its seas seem the water of life within it,

your nearness its eternity, and the world itself Paradise.

وتُعْذَلُ حينَ لم تُجْنَنْ سُرُوراً

وتُعْذَرُ حيثُ ليس لها جَنَانُ

It is blamed for not going mad with joy,

and excused, since it has no heart.

ولو طَرِبَ الجَمادُ لكَانَ أوْلى

شُرُوبِ الرّاحِ بالطّرَبِ الدّنانُ

If lifeless things could feel delight, most deserving

of delight among wine-drinkers would be the wine-jars.

ولمّا دالَتِ العَرَبُ اغْتِصَاباً

وأضْحَتْ جُلُّ طاعتِها دِهانُ

And when the Arabs took power by force,

and most of their obedience became dissembling,

وعادتْ جاهِلِيَتُها إليها

فصارتْ لا تَدينُ ولا تُدانُ

and their pagan ignorance returned to them,

so they neither obeyed nor were governed,

سَطَوْتَ ففي وَظيفِ الصّعْبِ قيْدٌ

بذاكَ وفي وَتيرَتِهِ عِرانُ

you struck: on the unruly beast's shank lies a fetter

through that deed, and in its septum a nose-peg.

وقد يَنْمي كبيرٌ مِن صَغِيرٍ

ويَنْبُتُ من نَوَى القَسْبِ اللِّيانُ

A great thing may grow from something small,

and date palms sprout from hard-date stones.

وعَنّتْ في سَماءِ بَني عَدِيٍّ

نُجُومٌ ما يُغَبّيها عَنانُ

In the sky of Banu ʿAdi appeared

stars no clouds can hide.

فما عَبَدَتْ سِوَى الرّحمن رَبّاً

إذِ المعْبودُ نَسْرٌ والمُدانُ

They worshiped no lord but the Merciful,

when Nasr was worshiped and obeyed.

إذا البِرْجِيسُ والمِرّيخُ رامَا

سِوَى ما رُمتَ خانهُما الكِيانُ

If Jupiter and Mars should seek

anything but your aim, nature would betray them.

هُما العَبْدانِ إنْ بَغَياكَ غَدْراً

فما فَعَلا إبَاقٌ أو دِفانُ

They are two slaves; if they sought to betray you,

their act would be a slave's flight or hiding.

تُقارِنُ بين أشْتاتِ المَنايا

بضَرْبٍ ليس يُحْسِنُه قِرانُ

You bring together disparate kinds of death

with a stroke no planetary conjunction can match.

ولولا قوْلُكَ الخَلاّقُ رَبّي

لكان لنَا بطَلْعَتكَ افْتِتَانُ

Were it not for your saying, 'The Creator is my Lord,'

we would be bewitched by your countenance.

تَخُبّ بكَ الجيادُ كأنّ جَوْناً

على لَبّاتِهِنّ الأرْجُوانُ

The steeds trot with you, as though a dark cloud

were the crimson upon their breasts.

مُضَمَّرَةً كأنّ الحِجْرَ منها

اذاما آنَسَتْ فَزَعاً حِصانُ

Lean-trained, each mare among them seems,

whenever she senses alarm, a stallion.

بَناتُ الخَيْلِ تَعْرِفُها دَلوكٌ

وصارخَةٌ وآلِسُ واللُّقانُ

Daughters of steeds, whom Daluk knows,

and Sarikha, Alis, and al-Luqan.

كأنّ قَطاةَ أعْجَزِهَا قَطاةٌ

أُديفَ بمَحْجِرَيها الزّعْفرانُ

The croup of the slowest seems a sandgrouse,

with saffron blended around its eyes.

كأنّ جَناحَها قلْبُ المُعادي

وَلِيَّكَ كلّما اعْتَكَرَ الجَنانُ

Its wing seems the heart of one opposing

your ally, whenever the heart is troubled.

مُعِيدٌ مُبْدِئٌ فالأمّ ممّا

فعَلْتَ البِكْرُ وابْنَتُها العَوانُ

You repeat and originate: among what

you have done, the mother is a virgin, her daughter a matron.

وكائنْ قد وَرَدْتَ بها غَدِيراً

ولِلْمُهُجاتِ بالرّيّ ارْتِهَانُ

How many a pool you have reached with them,

while lives hung in pledge upon a drink.

به غَرْقَى النّجُومِ فبيْنَ طافٍ

ورَاسٍ يَسْتَسِرّ ويُسْتَبانُ

There stars lie drowned: some floating,

others anchored, now hidden, now revealed.

أجَدَّ به غَواني الجِنّ لَعْباً

فأعْجَلَها الصّبَاحُ وفيه جانُ

The beauties of the jinn played in earnest there;

morning hurried them away, with a jinni still there,

فَصِيمٌ نِصْفُهُ في الماء بادٍ

ونِصْفٌ في السّماء به تُزانُ

cleft in two: half visible in the water,

and half in the sky, which it adorns.

كأنّ اللّيلَ حارَبَها ففِيهِ

هِلالٌ مِثْل ما انعَطَفَ السّنانُ

As though night had fought them: within it

is a crescent like a bent spearhead.

ومِن أُمّ النّجُومِ عليه دِرْعٌ

يُحاذِرُ أن يُمَزّقَها الطّعَانُ

And from the Mother of Stars it wears a coat of mail,

fearing spear-thrusts might rend it.

وقد بَسَطَتْ إلى الغَرْبِ الثرَيّا

يداً غُلقَتْ بأنْمُلِهَا الرّهانُ

The Pleiades have stretched toward the west

a hand whose fingertips lie forfeited as pledges.

كأنّ يَمِينَها سَرَقَتْكَ شيئاً

ومَقْطوعٌ على السَّرَقِ البَنانُ

As though its right hand had stolen something from you—

and fingers are cut off for theft.

إذا ضُرِبَتْ خِيامُكَ في مَكانٍ

فذلك حيثُ يُلتَقَطُ الجُمانُ

When your tents are pitched in a place,

there is where pearls are gathered.

وتَدّخِرُ الكَواعِبُ من حَصاهُ

وحُقّ لها ادّخارٌ واخْتِزَانُ

Budding maidens hoard its pebbles,

and rightly may they hoard and treasure them.

كِلا كفّيْكَ في سَلْمٍ وحَرْبٍ

يكُونُ الخوْفُ مِنها والأمانُ

Both your hands, in peace and war,

bring fear and safety alike.

فليس بشاغِلِ اليُمْنى حُسامٌ

وليس بشاغِلِ اليُسْرَى عِنانُ

No sharp sword preoccupies your right hand,

nor do reins preoccupy your left.

فكُنْ في كلّ نائِبَةٍ جَريئاً

تُصِبْ في الرّأيِ إن خُطِئَ الهِدانُ

Be bold, then, in every calamity;

you will judge rightly when the timid man is wrong.

وَسائلْ من تَنَطّسَ في التّوَقّي

لأيّةِ عِلّةٍ ماتَ الجَبان

Ask whoever is meticulous in taking precautions

what ailment caused the coward's death.

فإنَّ تعاوُنَ الأمْلاكِ جَهْلٌ

على مَلِكٍ بخالِقِهِ يُعانُ

For kings' joining forces is folly

against a king whose Creator aids him.

يُعَبِّرُ سَيْفُه لفْظَ المَنايا

كما شَرَحَ الكلامَ التّرْجُمانُ

His sword interprets death's utterance,

as an interpreter explains speech.

ويَسْلُكُ رُمْحُه في كلّ باغٍ

كما سَلَكَ المَضِيقَ الأُفْعُوانُ

His spear threads through every rebel,

as a great serpent threads a narrow passage.

ويُكْنَى باسْمِهِ عن كلّ مجْدٍ

وكلُّ اسْمٍ كِنايَتُهُ فُلانُ

His name serves as a byword for every glory,

while every name has 'So-and-so' for its substitute.

ويُعْدَمُ عنْدَه في الجودِ مَطْلٌ

ومُعْدُومٌ مع العِتْقِ الحِرَانُ

With him no delay is found in giving,

and noble breeding knows no balking.

إذا سَمَيْتَهُ في أرْضِ جَدْبٍ

نَزَلْتَ وكلُّ رابيَةٍ خِوانُ

If you utter his name in a barren land,

you alight, and every hillock is a dining-table.

تَطاوَلَتِ الوِهادُ هوىً وشوْقاً

إليه كما تَقَاصَرَتِ الرِّعانُ

The lowlands stretch upward in love and longing

for him, just as the mountain spurs bow down.

ستَفْديكَ المكارِمُ راضِياتٍ

وما مِنها بفِدْيتِكَ امْتِنانُ

The noble virtues will gladly ransom you,

nor boast of a favor in ransoming you.

إذا صَالَتْ فأنْتَ لها يَمِينٌ

وإنْ نَطَقَتْ فأنتَ لها لِسانُ

When they attack, you are their right hand,

and when they speak, you are their tongue.