ما عند عينك في الخيال الزائر — Alsharif Alradi

ما عِندَ عَينِكَ في الخَيالِ الزائِرِ

أَطُروقُ زَورٍ أَم طَماعَةُ خاطِرِ

What does your eye find in the visiting phantom—

a guest's night visit, or a fancy's wishful longing?

باتَ الكَرى عِندي يُزَوِّرُ زَورَةً

مِن قاطِعٍ نائي الدِيارِ مُهاجِرِ

Sleep spent the night with me, conjuring a visit

from one who broke his ties, far from home, estranged.

أَحذاكَ حَرَّ الوَجدِ غَيرِ مُساهِمٍ

وَسَقاكَ كَأسَ الهَمِّ غَيرَ مُعاقِرِ

He bestowed longing's heat on you without sharing it,

and made you drink grief's cup without drinking with you.

إِنَّ الطَعائِنَ يَومَ جَوِّ سُوَيقَةٍ

عاوَدنَ قَلبي عِندَ يَومِ الحاجِرِ

Indeed, the spear-wounds of the day at Jaww Suwayqah

returned to my heart on the day at al-Hajir.

سارَت بِهِم ذُلُلُ الرِكابِ فَلا رِوىً

لِلظامِياتِ وَلا لَعاً لِلعاثِرِ

Docile riding-camels carried them away—may there be no drink

for the thirsty, nor 'Rise again!' for the stumbler.

كَم في سُراها مِن سُروبِ مَدامِعٍ

تَقفو سُروبَ رَبارِبٍ وَجَآذِرِ

How many streams of tears, during their night journey,

followed the herds of wild cows and calves!

حَلَبَت ذَخائِرَها المَدامِعُ بَعدَكُم

في أَربُعٍ قَبلَ العَقيقِ دَواثِرِ

After you, the tear-ducts milked out their reserves

in ruined dwelling-sites before al-Aqiq.

يَبكينَ حَيّاً خَفَّ غَيرَ مُقايِضٍ

بِهَوىً وَحَيّاً قَرَّ غَيرَ مُزاوِرِ

They weep for a clan that left, offering nothing in exchange

for love, and a clan that stayed without visiting.

لَو تَحفِلونَ بِزَفرَةٍ مِن واجِدٍ

أَو تَسمَعونَ لِأَنَّةٍ مِن ذاكِرِ

If only you heeded a sigh from a grieving lover,

or listened to a groan from one who remembers!

لا تَحسَبوا أَنّي أَقَمتُ فَإِنَّما

قَلبُ المُقيمِ زَميلُ ذاكَ السائِرِ

Do not think I stayed behind; for truly

the heart of the one who stayed accompanies that departing traveler.

قالوا المَشيبُ فَعِم صَباحاً بِالنُهى

وَاِعقُر مَراحَكَ لِلطَروقِ الزائِرِ

They said, 'Gray hair! May your morning be bright with reason;

and slaughter your high spirits for the guest who comes by night.'

لَو دامَ لي وُدُّ الأَوانِسِ لَم أُبَل

بِطُلوعِ شَيبٍ وَاِبيِضاضِ غَدائِرِ

Had the maidens' affection lasted for me, I would not have cared

about gray hair appearing or tresses turning white.

لَكِنَّ شَيبَ الرَأسِ إِن يَكُ طالِعاً

عِندي فَوَصلُ البيضِ أَوَّلُ غائِرِ

But if gray hair is rising on my head,

for me, union with fair women is the first to set.

وَاهاً عَلى عَهدِ الشَبابِ وَطيبِهِ

وَالغَصِّ مِن وَرَقِ الشَبابِ الناضِرِ

Alas for the days of youth and their sweetness,

and the tender leaves of flourishing youth!

واهاً لَهُ ما كانَ غَيرَ دُجُنَّةٍ

قَلَصَت صُبابَتُها كَظِلِّ الطائِرِ

Alas for it! It was only a dark night

whose last remnant shrank like a bird's shadow.

سَبعٌ وَعُشرونَ اِهتَصَرنَ شَبيبَتي

وَأَلَنَّ عودي لِلزَمانِ الكاسِرِ

Twenty-seven years have lopped off my youth

and softened my stem for time, the breaker.

كانَ المَشيبُ وَراءَ ظِلٍّ قالِصٍ

لِأَخي الصِبا وَأمامَ عُمرٍ قاصِرِ

Gray hair lay beyond a receding shadow

for youth's companion, and before a short life.

وَأَرى المَنايا إِن رَأَت بِكَ شَيبَةً

جَعَلَتكَ مَرمى نَبلِها المُتَواتِرِ

I see that death, if it sees a gray hair on you,

makes you the target of its successive arrows.

تَعشو إِلى ضَوءِ المَشيبِ فَتَهتَدي

وَتَضِلُّ في لَيلِ الشَبابِ الغابِرِ

It gropes toward gray hair's light and finds its way,

and loses its way in the night of lingering youth.

لَو يُفتَدى ذاكَ السَوادُ فَدَيتُهُ

بِسَوادِ عَيني بَل سَوادِ ضَمائِري

Were that blackness redeemable, I would ransom it

with the black of my eye—nay, the black core of my innermost being.

أَبياضُ رَأسٍ وَاِسوِدادُ مَطالِبٍ

صَبراً عَلى حُكمِ الزَمانِ الجائِرِ

A white head and blackened hopes?

Patience with the judgment of unjust time!

إِن أَصفَحَت عَنهُ الخُدودُ فَطالَما

عَطَفَت لَهُ بِلَواحِظٍ وَنَواظِرِ

If cheeks have turned away from him, how often

they once turned toward him with sidelong glances and gazes!

وَلَقَد يَكونُ وَما لَهُ مِن عاذِلٍ

فَاليَومَ عادَ وَما لَهُ مِن عاذِرِ

Once he lived with none to reproach him;

but today he finds himself with none to excuse him.

كانَ السَوادُ سَوادَ عَينِ حَبيبِهِ

فَغَدا البَياضُ بَياضَ طَرفِ الناظِرِ

The blackness was the black of his beloved's eye;

then the whiteness became the white of the beholder's eye.

لَو لَم يَكُن في الشَيبِ إِلّا أَنَّهُ

عُذرُ المَلولِ وَحَجَّةٌ لِلهاجِرِ

If gray hair held nothing but its being

the fickle lover's excuse and the deserter's pretext!

سالِم تَصاريفَ الزَمانِ فَمَن يَرُم

حَربَ الزَمانِ يَعُد قَليلَ الناصِرِ

Make peace with time's vicissitudes, for whoever seeks

war with time returns with few supporters.

مَن كانَ يَشكو مِن رَشاشِ خُطوبِه

فَلَقَد سَقاني بِالذَنوبِ الوافِرِ

Whoever complains of the spray of its calamities—

it has made me drink from a brimming bucket.

أَبلِغ ظِباءَ الحَيِّ أَنَّ فُؤادَهُ

قَطَعَ العَلاقَةَ وَاِرعَوى لِلزاجِرِ

Tell the clan's gazelles that his heart

has severed its attachment and heeded the rebuker.

أَورَدنَني فَعَلِمتُ أَنَّ مَوارِدي

لَولا النُهى لَم أَدرِ أَينَ مَصادِري

They led me to water; I learned that at my watering places,

but for reason, I would not know where my ways of return lay.

فالَتُّ لُبّاً مِن عَلائِقِ صَبوَةٍ

وَنَشِطتُ قَلباً مِن جَوىً مُتَخامِرِ

So I freed my mind from the bonds of youthful passion,

and unbound my heart from all-pervading anguish.

أَنا مَن عَلِمتُنَّ الغَداةَ نَقِيَةً

أُزُري وَضامِنَةَ العَفافِ مَآزِري

I am the man you knew this morning: spotless are

my wraps, and my loincloths guarantee chastity.

فَاِعرِفنَ كَيفَ شَمائِلي وَضَرائِبي

وَاِنظُرنَ كَيفَ مَناقِبي وَمَآثِري

So recognize what my qualities and dispositions are,

and see what my virtues and noble deeds are.

كَمُعاقِدِ الجَبَلِ الأَشَمِّ مُعاقِدي

وَمُجاوِرِ البَيتِ الحَرامِ مُجاوِري

My ally is like one allied with the lofty mountain,

and my neighbor like a neighbor of the Sacred House.

لَم يَشتَمِل قَلبي الرَجاءَ وَلَم يَكُن

طَرفي جَنيبَةَ كُلِّ بَرقٍ نائِرِ

My heart has not wrapped itself in hope, nor has

my gaze been a led mount for every shining lightning-flash.

وَأَبَيتُ أَن تَرِدَ المَطالِبَ هِمَّتي

أَو أَن يُسِفَّ إِلى المَطامِعِ طائِري

And I refused to let my ambition seek favors,

or let my bird fly low toward objects of greed.

أَسعى عَلى أَثَرِ النَوائِبِ مُنصِفاً

مِنها وَآسي كُلَّ عِرقٍ ناغِرِ

I follow in the wake of calamities, exacting redress

from them, and heal every throbbing vein.

قُل لِلأَعادي جَنِّبوا عَن ساحِلي

لا يُغرِقَنَّكُمُ التِطامُ زَواخِري

Tell the enemies, 'Keep clear of my shore,

lest the crashing of my surging seas drown you.'

لَولا خُمولُكُمُ لَقَد قُلِّدتُمُ

عاراً بِنَظمِ غَرائِبي وَسَوائِري

Were it not for your obscurity, you would have been garlanded

with disgrace by the stringing of my rare, far-traveling verses.

أَخزَيتُمُ ذا كِبرَةٍ وَتَكاوُسٍ

وَفَضَلتُمُ ذا وَدعَةٍ وَقُراقِرِ

You have shamed one old and decrepit,

and surpassed one given to ease and chatter.

فَتَناذَروا نابَ الشَجاعِ مَشى بِهِ

نِجحُ الدُجى وَيَدُ العَقورِ الخادِرِ

So warn one another of the serpent's fang, driven on by

the aid of darkness, and the paw of the ravening lion in its lair.

يا ساعِياً لِيَنالَ مَطمَحَ غايَتي

أَينَ الذَوائِبُ مِن مَدَقِّ الحافِرِ

O you who strive to attain the height of my goal,

how far are the crests from the hoof's stamping-place!

إِذهَب بِسَبّي إِن سَبَبتُكَ فاخِراً

قَد نَوَّهَت بِكَ ضَربَةٌ مِن باتِرِ

Take my insult as a boast, if I insult you;

a blow from a keen sword has made you renowned.

مِن عارِ هَذا الدَهرِ نَيلُكَ لِلعُلى

وَجُنونُ هَذا المَنجَنونِ الدائِرِ

Among this age's disgraces are your attainment of high rank

and the madness of this turning waterwheel.

قَومي الأُلى لَحَبوا إِلى نَيلِ العُلى

وَضَحَ الطَريقِ لِمُنجِدٍ أَو غائِرِ

My people are those who blazed, toward the attainment of high rank,

the open road for those bound for highland or lowland.

أَخَذوا المَعالي عَن مُتونِ قَواضِبٍ

تَرِدُ الغِوارَ وَعَن ظُهورِ ضَوامِرِ

They won high honors from the backs of keen swords

that plunge into raids, and from the backs of lean steeds;

وَعَنِ الرِماحِ يَشيطُ في أَطرافِها

بِالطَعنِ كُلُّ مَغامِرٍ وَمُغاوِرِ

and from spears, on whose points there perishes

beneath their thrusts, every daring fighter and raider.

قَومٌ إِذا اِشتَجَرَت عَليهِم خُطَّةٌ

زَعَموا النَوائِبَ بِالقَنا المُتَشاجِرِ

A people who, when a tangled crisis besets them,

take on calamities with interlacing spears.

وَإِذا التَقَت أَيديهِمُ في أَزمَةٍ

ساجَلنَ أَذنِبَةَ السَحابِ الماطِرِ

And when their hands meet in a crisis,

they rival the buckets of the rain-bearing clouds.

لا نارُهُم نارٌ مُغَمَّضَةٌ وَلا

أَبياتُهُم بِالغائِطِ المُتَزاوِرِ

Their fire is no hidden fire, nor

are their tents in an out-of-the-way hollow.

وَتَسوفُ أَفواهُ المُلوكِ أَكُفَّهُم

سَوفَ السَوامِ رَبيعَ رَوضٍ باكِرِ

And the mouths of kings sniff their palms

as grazing herds sniff a meadow's early spring growth.

شُجَعاءُ أَفئِدَةٍ بِغَيرِ صَوارِمِ

خُطَباءُ أَلسِنَةٍ بِغَيرِ مَنابِرِ

Brave of heart without keen swords,

eloquent of tongue without pulpits.

ذَمَروا قُلوبَ المادِحينَ وَإِنَّما

مَدحُ المُلوكِ شَجاعَةٌ لِلشاعِرِ

They emboldened the hearts of their praisers; for

praising kings is courage for a poet.

يَتَغايَرونَ عَلى السَماحِ كَأَنَّما

يَتَغايَرونَ عَلى وِصالِ ضَرائِرِ

They vie jealously in generosity, as though

vying jealously for union with rival wives.

أُهدي إِلى قَومي نَصيحَةَ حازِمٍ

طَبٍّ بِأَدواءِ الضَغائِنِ خابِرِ

I offer my people the counsel of a resolute man,

skilled and experienced in the diseases of rancor.

لا تَنظُروا الجاني لِمَحوِ ذُنوبِهِ

بِمُلَفَّقاتِ تَنَصُّلٍ وَمَعاذِرِ

Do not give the offender time to erase his offenses

with patched-up denials and excuses.

لَن تَظفَروا بِالعِزِّ حَتّى تَصبُغوا

ثَوبَ المَعالي بِالنَجيعِ المائِرِ

You will not win honor until you dye

the garment of high achievement with flowing blood.

لا تَعتَبوا إِلّا بِأَلسِنَةِ القَنا

فَلَهُنَّ إِطآرُ البَعيدِ النافِرِ

Reproach only with the tongues of spears;

for they can bend the far-off fugitive.

وَدَعوا التَظاهُرَ بِالحُلومِ فَإِنَّها

سَبَبُ اِنبِعاثِ جَرائِمٍ وَجَرائِرِ

Abandon the display of forbearance, for it

is a cause of crimes and offenses breaking out.

لا تُخدَعَنَّ فَما عُقوبَةُ قادِرٍ

إِلّا بِأَحسَنَ مِن تَجاوُزِ قادِرِ

Do not be deceived: punishment by one with power

is surely better than pardon by one with power.