خطوب لا يقاومها البقاء — Alsharif Alradi

خُطوبٌ لا يُقاوِمُها البَقاءُ

وَأَحوالٌ يَدِبُّ لَها الضَراءُ

Calamities that life cannot withstand,

And circumstances into which adversity creeps;

وَدَهرٌ لا يَصُحُّ بِهِ سَقيمُ

وَكَيفَ يَصُحُّ وَالأَيّامُ داءُ

And an age in which no sick man recovers—

And how could he recover, when the days are disease?

وَأَملاكٌ يَرَونَ القَتلَ غُنماً

وَفي الأَموالِ لَو قَنِعوا فِداءُ

And kings who count killing as gain,

And in wealth lies ransom, if only they were content.

هُمُ اِستَولَوا عَلى النُجَباءِ مِنّا

كَما اِستَولى عَلى العودِ اللِحاءُ

They seized control of the noble among us,

As bark takes hold of wood.

مُقامٌ لا يُجاذِبُهُ رَحيلٌ

وَلَيلٌ لا يُجاوِرُهُ ضِياءُ

A stay with which no departure contends,

And a night that no light neighbors.

سَيَقطَعُكَ المُثَقَّفُ ما تَمَنّى

وَيُعطيكَ المُهَنَّدُ ما تَشاءُ

The straightened spear will allot you what you desire,

And the Indian blade will give you what you wish.

بَلَونا ما تَجيءُ بِهِ اللَيالي

فَلا صُبحٌ يَدومُ وَلا مَساءُ

We have experienced what the nights bring,

So neither morning lasts nor evening.

وَأَنضَينا المَدى طَرَباً وَهَمّاً

فَما بَقِيَ النَعيمُ وَلا الشَقاءُ

We wore out our span in delight and sorrow,

So neither bliss nor misery remained.

إِذا كانَ الأَسى داءً مُقيماً

فَفي حُسنِ العَزاءِ لَنا شِفاءُ

If sorrow is an abiding illness,

Then in graceful consolation lies our cure.

وَما يُنجي مِنَ الأَيّامِ فَوتٌ

وَلا كَدٌّ يَطولُ وَلا عَناءُ

And no escape saves one from the days,

Nor prolonged toil nor hardship.

تَنالُ جَميعَ ما تَسعى إِلَيهِ

فَسِيّانِ السَوابِقُ وَالبِطاءُ

They reach everything they pursue,

So the swift and the slow are alike.

وَما يُنجي مِنَ الغَمَراتِ إِلّا

ضِرابٌ أَو طِعانٌ أَو رِماءُ

And nothing saves one from perils except

Sword-blows, or spear-thrusts, or arrow-shots,

وَرُمحٌ تَستَطيلُ بِهِ المَنايا

وَصَمصامٌ تُشافِهُهُ الدِماءُ

And a spear with which death asserts its might,

And a keen sword that blood meets mouth to mouth.

وَإِنّي لا أَميلُ إِلى خَليلٍ

سَفيهِ الرَأيِ شيمَتُهُ الرِياءُ

And I do not incline toward a friend

Foolish in judgment, whose nature is hypocrisy.

يُسَوَّمُني الخِصامَ وَلَيسَ طَبعي

وَما مِن عادَةِ الخَيلِ الرُغاءُ

He forces quarreling upon me, though it is not my nature;

And camel-bellowing is no habit of horses.

أَقولُ لِفِتيَةٍ زَجَروا المَطايا

وَخَفَّ بِهِم عَلى الإِبلِ النَجاءُ

I say to young men who urged their mounts onward,

And whom swift travel bore lightly upon their camels,

عَلى غَوراءَ تَشتَجِرُ الأَداوى

بِعَرصَتِها وَتَزدَحِمُ الدِلاءُ

At a deep well where water-flasks jostle

In its open ground, and buckets crowd together:

رِدوا وَاِستَفضِلوا نُطَفاً فَحَسبي

مِنَ الغُدرانِ ما وَسِعَ الإِناءُ

Come to the water, and leave some drops over; enough for me

From the pools is what the vessel holds.

وَبَعدَكُمُ أَناخَ إِلى مَحَلٍّ

يُطَلِّقُ عِندَهُ الدَلوَ الرِشاءُ

And after you, he made camp at a place

Where the well-rope divorces the bucket.

تَقَلَّصُ عَن سَوائِمِهِ المَراعي

وَتَخرُزُ دِرَّةَ الضَرعِ الرُعاءُ

Pastures recede from its grazing herds,

And shepherds stitch shut the udder's milk-flow.

إِذا ما الحُرُّ أَجدَبَ في زَمانٍ

فَعِفَّتُهُ لَهُ زادٌ وَماءُ

If ever a freeborn man meets drought in an age,

His self-restraint is provisions and water for him.

أَرى خَلقاً سَواسِيَةً وَلَكِن

لِغَيرِ العَقلِ ما تَلِدُ النِساءُ

I see people all alike; yet

What women bear is for anything but reason.

يُشَبَّهُ بِالفَصيلِ الطِفلُ مِنهُم

فَسيّانِ العَقيقَةُ وَالعَفاءُ

A child among them is likened to a weaned camel calf,

So birth-hair and camel-fur are alike.

تَصونُهُمُ الوِهادُ وَأَيُّ بَيتٍ

حَمى اليَربوعَ لَولا النافِقاءُ

The hollows shelter them; and what dwelling

Could protect a jerboa but for its hidden escape-hole?

هُمُ يَومَ النَدى غَيمٌ جَهامٌ

وَفي اللَأواءِ ريحٌ جِربِياءُ

On the day of generosity, they are a rainless cloud,

And in hardship, a cold north wind.

قِرىً لا يَستَجيرُ بِهِ خَميصٌ

وَنارٌ لا يُحَسُّ بِها الصِلاءُ

Hospitality no hungry man turns to for refuge,

And a fire whose warmth cannot be felt,

وَضَيفٌ لا يُخاطِبُهُ أَديبٌ

وَجارٌ لا يَلَذُّ لَهُ الثَواءُ

And a guest whom no courteous man addresses,

And a neighbor who finds no pleasure in staying.

هَوى بَدرُ التَمامِ وَكُلُّ بَدرٍ

سَتَقذِفُهُ إِلى الأَرضِ السَماءُ

The moon at its fullness has fallen; and every full moon

The sky will cast down to earth.

وَعِلمي أَنَّهُ يَزدادُ نوراً

وَيَجذِبُهُ عَنِ الظُلمِ الضِياءُ

And I know that he grows ever brighter,

And radiance draws him away from oppression.

أَمُرُّ بِدارِهِ فَأُطيلُ شَوقاً

وَيَمنَعُني مِنَ النَذَرِ البُكاءُ

I pass by his house, then linger in longing,

And weeping keeps me from making vows.

تَعَرَّضُ لي فَتُنكِرُها لِحاظي

مُعَطَّلَةً كَما نُقِضَ الخِباءُ

It appears before me, but my eyes do not recognize it,

Deserted, as though the tent had been dismantled.

كَأَنّي قائِفٌ طَلَبَ المَطايا

عَلى جَدَدٍ تُبَعثِرُهُ الظِباءُ

As though I were a tracker seeking the mounts

On firm ground churned up by gazelles.

دِيارٌ يَنبُتُ الإِحسانُ فيها

وَنَبتُ الأَرضِ تَنّومٌ وَآءُ

Dwellings where beneficence grows,

And the earth's vegetation is tannūm and āʾ.

وَقَد كانَ الزَمانُ يَروقُ فيها

وَيَخرَبُ حُسنَها الحَدَقُ الظَماءُ

And time once was delightful there,

And thirsty eyes ravage their beauty.

وَدارٌ لا يَلَذُّ بِها مُقيمٌ

وَلا يُغشى لِساكِنِها فِناءُ

And a dwelling where no resident finds delight,

Nor is its courtyard visited for its inhabitant.

تُخَيَّبُ في جَوانِبِها المَساعي

وَيُنقَصُ في مَواطِنِها الإِباءُ

Efforts are frustrated throughout its confines,

And proud defiance is diminished in its precincts.

وَما حَبَسَتكَ مَنقَصَةٌ وَلَكِن

كَريمُ الزادِ يُحرِزُهُ الوِعاءُ

And no failing confined you; rather,

Choice provisions are secured by their container.

فَلا تَحزَن عَلى الأَيّامِ فينا

إِذا غَدَرَت وَشيمَتُنا الوَفاءُ

So do not grieve over the days' treatment of us,

If they betray us, while fidelity is our nature.

فَإِنَّ السَيفَ يَحبِسُهُ نِجادٌ

وَيُطلِقُهُ عَلى القِمَمِ المَضاءُ

For a sword is held back by a baldric,

And keenness unleashes it upon heads.

لَئِن قَطَعَ اللِقاءَ غَرامُ دَهرٍ

لَما اِنقَطَعَ التَوَدُّدُ وَالإِخاءُ

Though time's relentless torment has severed our meeting,

Affection and brotherhood have surely not been severed.

وَما بَعَثَ الزَمانُ عَلَيكَ إِلّا

وُفورُ العِرضِ وَالنَفسُ العِصاءُ

And nothing roused time against you except

Your abundant honor and your unyielding soul.

وَلَو جاهَرتَهُ بِالبَأسِ يَوماً

لَأَبرَأَ ذَلِكَ الجَرَبَ الهِناءُ

And had you openly challenged it with might one day,

The tar-salve would surely have cured that mange.

وَكُنتَ إِذَ وَعَدتَ عَلى اللَيالي

تَمَطَّرَ في مَواعِدِكَ الرَجاءُ

And whenever you promised in defiance of the nights,

Hope rained down within your promises.

وَأَعجَلَكَ الصَريخُ إِلى المَعالي

كَما يَستَعجِلُ الإِبلَ الحُداءُ

And the cry for help hastened you to noble deeds,

As the camel-driver's chant hastens camels.

وَأَيُّ فَتىً أَصابَ الدَهرُ مِنّا

تُصابُ بِهِ المُروءَةُ وَالوَفاءُ

And what a young man time has struck among us—

With him, chivalry and fidelity are stricken.

صَقيلُ الطَبعِ رَقراقُ الحَواشي

كَما اِصطَفَقَت عَلى الرَوضِ الأَضاءُ

Polished in nature, shimmering at the edges,

As pools ripple upon the meadow.

يَنالُ المَجدَ وَضّاحُ المُحَيّا

طَويلُ الباعِ عِمَّتُهُ لِواءُ

He wins glory, radiant of countenance,

Long of reach, his turban a banner.

كَلامٌ تَستَجيبُ لَهُ المَعالي

وَوَجهٌ يَستَبِدُّ بِهِ الحَياءُ

Speech to which lofty deeds respond,

And a face over which modesty holds sole sway.

فَلا زالَت هُمومُكَ آمِراتٍ

عَلى الأَيّامِ يَخدُمُها القَضاءُ

So may your ambitions remain forever in command

Over the days, with destiny serving them.

تَجولُ عَلى ذَوابِلِكَ المَنايا

وَيَخطِرُ في مَنازِلِكَ العَلاءُ

May death roam upon your slender spears,

And eminence stride proudly through your dwellings.