شيمي لحاظك عنا ظبية الخمر — Alsharif Alradi

شَيمي لَحاظَكِ عَنّا ظَبيَةَ الخَمَرِ

لَيسَ الصِبا اليَومَ مِن شَأني وَلا وَطَري

Sheathe your glances away from us, gazelle of the thicket.

Youthful passion today is neither my concern nor my desire.

ماتَ الغَرامُ فَما أُصغي إِلى طَرَبٍ

وَلا أُرَبّي دُمُوعَ العَينِ لِلسَهَرِ

Passion is dead; I lend no ear to rapture.

Nor do I nurture my eye's tears for sleepless nights.

مَن يَعشَقُ العِزَّ لا يَعنو لِغانِيَةٍ

في رَونَقِ الصَفوِ ما يُغني عَنِ الكَدَرِ

Whoever loves honor does not bow to a beautiful woman.

In the splendor of clarity lies enough to dispense with murk.

شُغِلتُ بِالمَجدِ عَمّا يُستَلَذُّ بِهِ

وَقائِمُ اللَيلِ لا يَلوي عَلى السَمَرِ

Glory has occupied me, away from all that gives delight.

And one who keeps night vigil does not turn to evening talk.

طَوَيتُ حَبلَ زَمانٍ كُنتُ أَندُبُهُ

إِذا جَذَبتُ بِهِ باعاً مِنَ العُمُرِ

I have wound up the cord of a time I used to lament,

whenever I drew along it a fathom of my life.

لا يُبعِدِ اللَهُ مَن غارَت رَكَائِبُهُم

وَأَنجَدَ الشَوقُ بَينَ القَلبِ وَالبَصَرِ

May God not cast far away those whose riding camels descended to the lowlands,

while longing rose to the uplands between heart and sight.

يا وَقفَةً بِوَراءِ اللَيلِ أَعهَدُها

كانَت نَتيجَةَ صَبرٍ عاقِرِ الوَطَرِ

O that halt behind the night, which I remember—

it was the offspring of patience barren of fulfillment.

وَالوَجدُ يَغصِبُني قَلباً أَضَنُّ بِهِ

وَالدَمعُ يَمنَعُ عَيني لَذَّةَ النَظَرِ

And longing robs me of a heart I jealously guard,

and tears deny my eye the pleasure of looking.

طَرَقتُهُم وَالمَطايا يُستَرابُ بِها

وَاللَيلُ يَرمُقُني بِالأَنجُمِ الزُهُرِ

I visited them by night, while the mounts aroused suspicion,

and the night watches me with shining stars.

أُصانِعُ الكَلبَ أَن يُبدي عَقيرَتَهُ

وَالحَيُّ مِنّي إِذا أَغفوا عَلى غَرَرِ

I placate the dog lest it raise its voice,

and the tribe, when they fall asleep, is in peril from me.

وَفي الخِباءِ الَّذي هامَ الفُؤادُ بِهِ

نَجلاءُ مِن أَعيُنِ الغِزلانِ وَالبَقَرِ

And in the tent with which my heart was smitten

was a wide-eyed beauty, her eyes like gazelles' and wild cattle's.

أَبرَزتُها فَتَحاضَرنا مُباعَدَةً

عَنِ الخِيامِ نُعَفّي الخَطوَ بِالأُزُرِ

I brought her out, and we raced together away

from the tents, effacing our footprints with our wraps.

ثُمَّ اِنثَنَيتُ وَلَم أَدنَس سِوى عَبَقٍ

عَلى جُنوبي لِرَيّا بُردِها العَطِرِ

Then I turned back, with no stain but a lingering scent

on my sides, from the fragrance of her perfumed mantle.

لا أَغفَلَ المُزنُ أَرضاً يَعقِلونَ بِها

وَلا طَوى عَنهُمُ مستَعذَبَ المَطَرِ

May the rainclouds not neglect the land where they hobble their camels,

nor withhold from them the sweetness of rain.

جَرَّ النَسيمُ عَلى أَعطافِ دارِهِمُ

ذَيلاً وَأَلبَسَها مِن رِقَّةِ السَحَرِ

The breeze trailed across the flanks of their dwelling

a hem, and clothed it in the softness of the predawn hour.

وَما بُكائي عَلى إِلفٍ فُجِعتُ بِهِ

إِلّا لِكُلِّ فَتىً كَالصارِمِ الذَكَرِ

And my weeping for a companion whose loss struck me

is only for every youth like a keen, well-tempered sword.

ما حارَبوا الدَهرَ إِلّا لانَ جانِبُهُ

إِنَّ المُشَيَّعَ أَولى الناسِ بِالظَفَرِ

Never did they wage war on Time but its side grew yielding;

indeed, the courageous man is most deserving of victory.

يا لِلرِجالِ دُعاءٌ لا يُشارُ بِهِ

إِلّا إِلى غَرَضٍ بِالذُلِّ وَالحَذَرِ

'Men, to the rescue!' is a cry that points

only to a target marked by humiliation and fear.

رِدّوا الرَحيلَ فَإِنَّ القَلبَ مُرتَحِلٌ

وَسافُروا إِنَّ دَمعَ العَينِ في سَفَرِ

Halt your departure, for my heart is departing;

and travel on: my eye's tears are on a journey.

وَيَومَ ضَجَّت ثَنايا بابِلٍ وَمَشَت

بِالخَيلِ في خِلَعِ الأَوضاحِ وَالغُرَرِ

And on the day Babylon's passes clamored and marched

with horses robed in white markings and forehead blazes,

قُمنا نِجَلّي وَراءَ اللَثمِ كُلَّ فَتىً

كَأَنَّ حِليَتَهُ في صَفحَةِ القَمَرِ

we rose to unveil behind the face-veils every youth,

as though his features were on the face of the moon.

إِنّي لَأَمنَحُ قَوماً لا أَزورُهُمُ

مَجَّ القَنا مِن دَمِ الأَوداجِ وَالثُغَرِ

I do indeed bestow on a people I do not visit

the spears' spewing of blood from jugular veins and mouths:

طَعناً كَما صَبَّحَ الغُدرانَ مُمتَحِنٌ

رَمى فَشَتَّتَ شَملَ الماءِ بِالحَجَرِ

thrusts like a tester who came upon pools at dawn,

threw a stone, and scattered the gathered water.

وَجاهِلٍ نالَ مِن عِرضي بِلا سَبَبٍ

أَمسَكتُ عَنهُ بِلا عَيِّ وَلا حَصَرِ

And many an ignorant man attacked my honor without cause;

I held back from him, without faltering or being tongue-tied.

حَمَتهُ عَنّى المَخازي إِن أُعاقِبَهُ

كَذاكَ تُحمى لُحومُ الذَودِ بِالدَبَرِ

Disgrace shielded him from me, should I punish him,

as the flesh of a camel herd is protected by saddle sores.

وَمَهمَهٍ كَشِفارِ البيضِ مُطَّرِدٍ

بِالآلِ عارٍ مِنَ الأَعلامِ وَالخَمَرِ

And many a wilderness, like the edges of gleaming swords, stretching on

with mirage, stripped of landmarks and cover,

إِذا تَدَلَّت عَليهِ الشَمسُ أَوحَشَها

تَوَلُّعُ المَورِ بِالأَنهارِ وَالغُدُرِ

whenever the sun leaned down over it, she was frightened

by the shimmer's infatuation with rivers and pools.

غَصَصتُ تُربَتَهُ بِالعيسِ مالِكَةً

عَلى النَجاءِ رِقابَ الوِردِ وَالصَدَرِ

I choked its soil with pale camels, commanding

at speed the necks of approach to water and return.

أَطوي البِلادَ إِلى ما لا أَذِلُ بِهِ

مِنَ البِلادِ وَما أَطوي عَلى خَطَرِ

I traverse lands toward those where I will not be humbled

among the lands, and I do not travel on a gamble:

مَجاهِلاً ما أُظُنُّ الذِئبَ يَعرِفُها

وَلا مَشى قائِفٌ فيها عَلى أَثَرِ

unknown wastes I do not think the wolf knows,

nor has a tracker walked there following a trace.

يَنسى بِها اليَقِظُ المِقدامُ حاجَتَهُ

وَيُصبِحُ المَرءُ فيها مَيِّتَ الخَبَرِ

There the vigilant, daring man forgets his purpose,

and there a man becomes one whose tidings have died.

لا تَبعَدَنَّ أَمانِيَّ الَّتي نَشَزَت

عَلى الزَمانِ بِأَيدي الأَينُقِ الصُعُرِ

May my hopes never perish, those that rose

above Time on the forelegs of wry-necked she-camels,

إِلَيكَ لَولاكَ ما لَجَّ البُعادُ بِها

تَرى المَنازِلَ بِالإِدلاجِ وَالبُكَرِ

toward you; but for you, distance would not have pressed them on.

They see the halting-places on night journeys and at early dawn.

يا اِبنَ النَبِيِّ مَقالاً لا خَفاءَ بِهِ

وَأَحسَنُ القَولِ فينا قَولُ مُختَصِرِ

O son of the Prophet, here are words with nothing hidden,

and the best speech among us is the speech of one who is concise.

رَأَيتُ كَفَّكَ مَأوى كُلَّ مَكرُمَةٍ

إِذا تَواصَت أَكُفُّ القَومِ بِالعَسَرِ

I saw your palm as the refuge of every noble deed

when the people's palms counseled one another to be tightfisted.

لَطابَ فَرعُكَ وَاِهتَزَّت أَراكَتُهُ

في المَجدِ إِنَّ المَعالي أَطيَبُ الشَجَرِ

Your branch has surely flourished, and its arak tree has swayed

in glory; lofty attainments are the finest of trees.

ما كُلُّ نَسلِ الفَتى تَزكوا مَغارِسُهُ

قَد يُفجَعُ العودُ بِالأَوراقِ وَالثَمَرِ

Not all a man's offspring flourish where they are planted;

the stem may be bereft of leaves and fruit.

إِنَّ الرِمّاحَ وَإِن طالَت ذَوائِبُها

مِنَ العِدى تَتَواصى عَنكَ بِالقِصَرِ

Truly, spears, though their tips are long—

the enemy's—counsel one another to fall short of you.

تَسُلُّ مِنكَ اللَيالي سَيفَ مَلحَمَةٍ

يَستَنهِضُ المَوتَ بَينَ البيضِ وَالسُمرِ

The nights draw from you a sword of battle

that rouses Death amid bright swords and dusky spears,

مُشَيَّعُ الرَأيِ إِن كَرَّت أَسِنَّتُهُ

جَرُّ القَنا بَينَ مُنآدٍ وَمُنأَطِرِ

resolute in judgment; when his spearheads charge,

he drags the lances, some bent and others bowed.

فَاِسلَم إِذا نَكَبسَ المَركوبُ راكِبَهُ

وَاِستَأسَدَ الدَهرُ بِالأَقدارِ وَالغِيَرِ

So may you remain safe when the mount throws its rider,

and Time turns lionlike through fates and reversals.