أقفر من سكانه المعهد — Almlk Alamjad

أقفرَ مِن سكانِه المعهدُ

فهل لقربٍ منهمُ موعدُ

The familiar dwelling lies deserted of its inhabitants.

Is there, then, an appointed time to be near them?

هيهاتَ لا قربُهمُ يُرتَجى

ولا غرامي بهمُ يَنْفَدُ

Far from it! Their nearness cannot be hoped for,

nor does my passion for them run out.

ولا دموعي بعدَ توديعِهم

تَرْقا ولا نارُ الهوى تَبرُدُ

Nor do my tears, after bidding them farewell,

cease, nor does the fire of love grow cold.

نأوا فلا الدارُ كعهدي بها

ولا أحبائي كما أعهَدُ

They have gone far away: the dwelling is not as I knew it,

nor are my loved ones as I remember.

وقفتُ في الأطلالِ مستخبراً

هل أتهمَ الأحبابُ أو أنجدوا

I stood among the ruins, asking for news:

Had my loved ones gone to Tihamah or to Najd?

فلم تُجبني مِن أسىً نالَها

عليهمُ أحجارُها الركَّدُ

But they did not answer me, for grief had overtaken them

over my loved ones—its motionless stones.

وكانَ لي في نطقِها راحةٌ

لو نطقتْ أرسُمها الهُمَّدُ

And in their speech I would have found relief,

had its lifeless traces spoken.

أسألُها عنهمْ وفي أضلُعي

زفيرُ وجدٍ قلَّما يَخْمَدُ

I ask them about the absent ones, while within my ribs

is a sigh of longing that seldom subsides.

ضلالةً أسألُ عن حورِها

ما لا يعي منها ولا يُسعِدُ

Foolishly, about its dark-eyed beauties, I question

what in it neither understands nor offers solace.

بَعُدتُمُ يا أهلَها بعدَما

أدناكُم الدهرُ فلا تُبْعُدوا

You have gone far away, O its people, after

time brought you near—may you not be far away!

ولم أجدْ لمّا ترحّلتُمُ

على النوى والبينِ مَن يُنجِدُ

And when you departed, I found no one

to help me bear distance and separation.

أنشدُ في آثاركمْ بعدَكُمْ

قلباً بغيرِ الوصلِ لا يُنشِدُ

Among your traces, after you, I seek

a heart that will not sing without union.

قد كانَ موجوداً فمذْ غِبتُمْ

ضاعَ فلا يُلفى ولا يوجَدُ

It once was there, but since you vanished,

it has been lost, neither found nor recovered.

أأجحدُ الوجدَ ولي أدمعٌ

شهودُها تُثْبِتُ ما أجحَدُ

Shall I deny my longing, when I have tears

whose testimony proves what I deny?

لا تحسبوا قلبي جوًى بعدكمْ

يَقَرُّ أو طرفي أسىً يَهجُدُ

Do not suppose my heart, burning with longing after you,

rests, or that my eyes, in sorrow, sleep,

ولا هدوئي ممكناً بعدَما

أصبحَ مِن دونكمُ الفَدْفَدُ

nor my tranquility possible, now that

the vast wilderness lies between us.

وثوَّرَتْ نجبكمُ للنوى

تَقْدُمُهنَّ العِرْمسُ الجَلْعَدُ

And your choice camels were roused for departure,

the sturdy, massive she-camel leading them,

وغرَّدَ الحادونَ في اِثرِها

ليتَ حُداةَ العيسِ لا غرَّدوا

and the camel-drivers sang in her wake.

Would that the dun camels' drivers had never sung!

والبينُ ما زالَ له مَوْرِدٌ

مستوبِلٌ يكرهُهُ الورَّدُ

And separation has always had a watering place

unwholesome, hated by those who come to drink.

هل يُبْلِغَنَّي حيَّكمْ بالحِمى

وبالعقيقِ البازلُ الأقودُ

Will I be brought to your clan at al-Hima

and at al-Aqiq by the mature, long-necked camel?

اِذا ونتْ أو كَرَبتْ عيسُكم

تلغبُ اهوى وهو بي يُسئدُ

When your dun camels flag or come close

to exhaustion, I speed onward as he carries me through the night.

فلا الفلا تمنعُه حثَّهُ

ولا اللَّوى والقُورُ والقَرْدَدُ

Neither the deserts prevent his pressing onward,

nor curving sands, flat-topped hills, or rocky heights.

له على غاربهِ سائقٌ

لا يعرفُ الأينَ ولا يرقُدُ

Upon his withers he has a driver

who knows no fatigue and never sleeps.

ملَّ ظلامُ الليلِ من عزمهِ

فيه إذا ما هجدَ الهُجَّدُ

The darkness of night grew weary of his resolve

within it, while the sleepers slept.

ما عارضٌ هَيْدَبُهُ مكثِبٌ

مُطَرَّزٌ مِن برقِه مُرْعِدُ

No raincloud, its rain-fringe drawing near,

embroidered with its lightning, thundering,

مجلجِلٌ شؤبوبُه دافقٌ

فهو على وجهِ الثرى مُزْبِدُ

rumbling, its downpour gushing,

so that it foams over the earth's face,

أغزرُ مِن دمعي وقد أزمعتْ

على الرحيلِ العُرُبُ النهَّدُ

is more copious than my tears, now that they have resolved

to depart—the amorous, full-breasted women.

يا سربُ نعمانَ لقد شاقني

لما سنحتَ الرشاُ الأغيدُ

O herd of Nu'man, indeed it stirred my longing,

when you appeared—that graceful fawn!

مرَّ أمامَ السَّرْبِ يعطو وقد

وَلَّهَ عقلي جِيدُه الأجيَدُ

He passed before the herd, reaching for foliage, and

his long, graceful neck had bewildered my mind.

يَخْجَلُ غصنُ البانِ مِن قَدَّه

اذا تثنى قده الأملد

The ban-tree's bough is shamed by his stature

when his supple figure sways.

لي من جنى مبسمه مشرب

لم يُغنني مِن غيرِه موردُ

I have a draught from the fruit of his smiling mouth;

no other watering place has satisfied me.

يوعدُني الوصلَ ولكنَّهُ

يُخِلفُني بالمَطْلِ ما يوعدُ

He promises me union, but

through delay he breaks the promise he makes me.

أطالَ بالمطلِ سَقامي الى

أنْ ملَّ أسقامي بهِ العُوَّدُ

By his delays he prolonged my sickness until

those visiting me grew weary of my sickness for him.

ليالي القربِ هل لكِ أن تعودي

لقد أسرفتِ في طولِ الصدودِ

Nights of nearness, will you return?

You have gone too far in your long estrangement.

حميداتٍ كما أهوى سراعاً

فاِنَّ العمرَ بالعيشِ الحميدِ

Swiftly, delightful as I desire,

for life lies in living well.

سقى أيامنَا بالنَّعْفِ دمعي

وطيبَ زمانِنا بلِوى زَرودِ

May my tears water our days at al-Na'f

and our time's sweetness at the curving sands of Zarud.

وحيّا المزنُ أكنافَ المصلى

يسوقُ عِشارَه حَدْوُ الرعودِ

And may the rainclouds greet al-Musalla's environs,

thunder's camel-song driving their pregnant she-camels.

ملاعبٌ خُرَّدٍ بيضٍ حسانٍ

صقيلاتِ الطُّلى هِيفِ القدودِ

Playgrounds of bashful, fair, beautiful maidens,

with gleaming necks and slender figures.

نأينَ وفي الربوعِ لهنَّ عَرْفٌ

أقامَ بهنَّ مِن رَدْعِ النُّهودِ

They went far away, but their fragrance remains in the dwellings,

lingering there from scented traces upon their breasts.

ألا يا ضرَّةَ القمرينِ رِقَّي

لمكتئبٍ مِنَ البلوى عَميدِ

Ah, rival of sun and moon, show compassion

to one dejected, stricken by affliction,

يُذيلُ الدمعَ في الأطلالِ ممّا

يُعانيهِ مِنَ الشوقِ الشديدِ

who lets his tears trail among the ruins because of

the fierce longing he endures.

كأنَّ دموعَه فيها لآلٍ

تناثرَ دُرُّهُنَّ مِنَ العقودِ

As though his tears there were pearls

whose pearls had scattered from necklaces.

وكانَ يرى فراقَ اليومِ صعباً

فكيف يكونُ في الأمدِ البعيدِ

He had found a day's separation hard;

how, then, will it be over a long span?

ملكتِ فؤادَه بكحيلِ طرفٍ

وفاحمِ طُرَّةٍ وبياضِ جيدِ

You possessed his heart with a kohl-darkened eye

and a jet-black forelock and a neck's whiteness.

ورمتِ زيادةً في الحبَّ منّي

وليس على غرامي مِنْ مزيدِ

And you sought still greater love from me,

though nothing can be added to my passion.

أعينيني على سَهَرِ الليالي

اِذا جَنَّ الظلامُ على الهُجُودِ

Help me through the sleepless nights

when darkness shrouds the sleepers.

فقبلَ البينِ كنتُ أُخالُ جلداً

فلمّا حَلَّ لم أكُ بالجليدِ

For before separation, I was thought steadfast;

but when it came, I was not steadfast.

وَمنّيني بعودِ العيشِ غضّاً

فاِنّ الحرَّ يقنعُبالوعودِ

And give me hope that life will return fresh,

for a freeborn man is content with promises.

فكم يسعى بيَ الواشونَ ظلماً

إليكِ وسقمُ جسمي مِن شهودي

How often the slanderers wrongfully carry tales about me

to you, while my body's sickness is among my witnesses.

وجودي لي بوصلكِ بعدَ هجرٍ

رضيتُ به لعلَّكِ أن تجودي

And grant me union with you after estrangement

I accepted, hoping that you might be generous.

وعودي بي إلى المعهودِ ممّا

به عُوَّدتُ مِن كرمِ العهودِ

And bring me back to what I once knew,

the generous pledges to which I was accustomed.

لعلَّ الدارَ أن تدنو نواها

ويورِقَ بعدَ طولِ اليُبْسِ عُودي

Perhaps the far-off dwelling will draw near,

and my branch leaf again after its long dryness.

فقد سئمتْ مصاحبتي المَهارى

وشدَّي للحدائج والقُتودِ

For the Mahri camels have wearied of my company

and of my tightening the litters and saddles,

وخَوضي بحرَ كلَّ سرابِ قفرٍ

عليها واعتسافي كلَّ بيدِ

and of my wading through the sea of every desert mirage

upon them, and striking blindly across every wilderness,

وتعليلي نجائبَها بهادٍ

اِذا كلتْ مِنَ المسرى وهِيدِ

and of my coaxing their choice camels with 'had!'

and 'hid!' when they tire from night travel.

على أكوارِها أنضاءُ شوقٍ

يؤودُ قواهمُ حملُ البرودِ

Upon their saddles ride those wasted by longing,

whose strength is overtaxed by the burden of cloaks.

ترامى بالأزمَّةِ خاضعاتٍ

لواغبَ في هبوطٍ أو صعودِ

They press onward under the reins, heads bowed,

weary, whether descending or climbing.

اِذا ما القيظُ اظمأها فدمعي

سَيُغنيها عنِ العَذْبِ البَرودِ

When summer heat makes them thirsty, my tears

will spare them the need for sweet, cool water.

لها ولِمنْ عليها منهُ وِردٌ

اِذا حَنَّ العِطاشُ إلى الورودِ

For them and their riders, from it there is a draught

when the thirsty yearn to come to water.

واِنْ ضلَّتْ سأهديها إذا ما

ألاحَ الركبُ من أرجِ الصعيدِ

And if they stray, I shall guide them when

the caravan grows parched from the heat of the ground.

تؤمُّ حبائباً مذ بِنَّ أمستْ

تُخّدَّدُ أدمعي وَرْدَ الخدودِ

They head toward beloved women; since those women left,

my tears have furrowed the roses of my cheeks.

لئن قُربَّنَ بعدَ البينِ منّي

وراجعَ عازبٌ الوصلِ الشريدِ

If they are brought near me after separation,

and union returns, absent and wandering,

فذلكَ مِنَّةٌ للدهرِ عندي

واِقبالٌ مِنَ الحظَّ السعيدِ

that will be, to me, a favor from time,

and the coming of happy fortune.