دع من دموعك بعد البين للدمن — Alsharif Alradi

دَع مِن دُموعِكَ بَعدَ البَينِ لِلدِمَنِ

غَداً لِدارِهِمُ وَاليَومَ لِلظُعُنِ

Save some of your tears after parting for the abandoned camps:

tomorrow for their dwelling, today for the departing caravans.

هَل وَقفَةٌ بِلوى خَبتٍ مُؤَلِّفَةٌ

بَينَ الخَليطَينِ مِن شامٍ وَمِن يَمَنِ

Can a halt at Khabt's sand-bend bring together

the two companies, from Syria and from Yemen?

عُجنا عَلى الرَكبِ أَنضاءً مُحَزَّمَةً

أَثقالُها الشَوقُ مِن بادٍ وَمُكتَمِنِ

We turned toward the caravan on lean, tightly girt mounts,

their burdens longing, both manifest and concealed.

مَوسومَةً بِالهَوى يُدرى بِرُؤيَتِها

أَنَّ المَطايا مَطايا مُضمِري شَجَنِ

Branded with passion, their very sight revealed

that these were mounts of men harboring sorrow.

ثُمَّ اِنثَنَينا عَلى يَأسٍ وَقَد وَجِلَت

نَواظِرٌ بِمَجاري دَمعِها الهَتِنِ

Then we turned back despairing, while eyes had quailed

amid the channels of their pouring tears,

تَرومُ رَدَّ نُفوسٍ بَعدَ طَيرَتِها

عَلى قَوادِمَ مِن وَجدٍ وَمِن حَزَنِ

seeking to recall souls after their flight

on pinions of passionate longing and sorrow.

تَعريسَةٌ بَينَ رَملَي عالِجٍ ضَمِنَت

بَلَّ الغَليلِ لِقَلبِ المَوجَعِ الضَمِنِ

A brief night's halt between ʿAlij's two sand tracts promised

to slake the thirst of a stricken, ailing heart.

بِتنا سُجوداً عَلى الأَكوارِ يَحمِلُنا

لَواغِبٌ قَد لَطَمنَ الأَرضَ بِالثَفَنِ

We spent the night bowed over camel-saddles, carried

by weary mounts that had struck the earth with their calloused pads.

أَهفو إِلى الريحِ إِن هَبَّت يَمانِيَةً

تَحدو زَعازِعُها عيراً مِنَ المُزُنِ

I yearn toward the wind when it blows from Yemen,

its squalls urging onward a caravan of rainclouds.

أَبى ضَميرِيَ إِلّا ذِكرَهُ وَأَبى

تَعَرُّضُ البَرقِ إِلّا أَن يُؤَرِّقَني

My heart insists on remembering him, and

the lightning's flashing insists on keeping me awake.

شَوقٌ أَلَمَّ وَما شَوقي إِلى أَحَدٍ

سِوى الَّذي نامَ عَن لَيلي وَأَيقَظَني

Longing has beset me, yet I long for no one

but him who slept heedless of my night and kept me awake.

إِن زاغَ قَلبي فَإِنَّ الهَجرَ أَحرَجَني

وَإِن صَبَرتُ فَإِنَّ اليَأسَ صَبَّرَني

If my heart has strayed, estrangement drove me to distress;

and if I endure, despair has taught me endurance.

وَكَم رَمَتني مِنَ الأَقدارِ مُنبِضَةٌ

لَم تَثنِ باعي وَلَم يَحرَج لَها عَطني

How many a twanging bow of fate has shot at me,

yet none bent my arm or cramped my spirit.

ما كُنتُ أَعلَمُ وَالأَيّامُ عالِمَةٌ

أَنَّ اللَيالي تُقاعيني لِتَنهَشَني

I did not know—though the days knew—

that the nights were coaxing me only to bite me.

قَد أَدمَجَ الهَمُّ في عُنقي حَبائِلَهُ

وَلَزَّةُ الهَمِّ تُنسي لَزَّةَ القَرَنِ

Care has wound its snares tightly around my neck;

care's tight grip makes one forget the grip of the tether.

إِن يَبلَ ثَوبي فَإِنّي أَكتَسي حَسبي

أَو تودَ خَيلي فَإِنّي أَمتَطي مُنَني

If my garment wears out, I clothe myself in ancestral honor;

or if my horses perish, I ride upon my strength.

وَأَدخُلُ البَيتَ لَم تَأذَن قَعائِدُهُ

عَلى الحَصانِ أَمامَ القَومِ وَالحُصُنِ

I enter the house without its matrons' leave,

to visit the chaste lady before the menfolk and chaste women.

لا أَطلُبُ المالَ إِلّا مِن مَطالِبِهِ

وَلا يَفي لِيَ بَذلُ المالِ بِالمِنَنِ

I seek wealth only from its rightful sources;

nor does a gift of wealth compensate me for indebtedness.

إِنَّ البَخيلَ الَّذي قَد باتَ يُؤنِسُني

مِثلُ الجَوادِ الَّذي قَد باتَ يَمطُلُني

The miser who now offers me pleasant company

is like the generous man who now keeps putting me off.

لَقَد تَقَدَّمَ بي فَضلي بِلا قَدَمٍ

أَعظِم بِأَمرٍ عَلى ذي السِنِّ قَدَّمَني

My merit has advanced me without seniority;

how great a thing, to set me ahead of elders!

لا يَبرَحُ المَجدُ مَرفوعاً دَعائِمُهُ

ما دامَ مُعتَمِداً مِنّا عَلى رُكُنِ

Glory's pillars shall remain raised high,

so long as it leans on a cornerstone from among us:

مِن أُسرَةٍ تُنبِتُ التيجانَ هامُهُمُ

مَنابِتَ النَبعِ في الأَطوادِ وَالقُنَنِ

from a family whose heads put forth crowns

as nabʿ trees grow on mountains and summits.

المَجدُ أَنوَطُ مِن كَفٍّ إِلى عَضُدٍ

فيهِم وَأَقوَمُ مِن رَأسٍ عَلى بَدَنِ

Glory is more firmly joined than hand to upper arm

among them, and more upright than head upon body.

مَن مُبلِغٌ لي أَبا إِسحَقَ مَألُكَةً

عَن حِنوِ قَلبٍ سَليمِ السِرِّ وَالعَلَنِ

Who will convey for me to Abu Ishaq a message

of a heart's affection, pure in secret and in public?

جَرى الوَدادُ لَهُ مِنّي وَإِن بَعُدَت

مِنّا العَلائِقُ مَجرى الماءِ في الغُصُنِ

Affection flowed from me to him, though distant

were our ties, as water flows within a branch.

لَقَد تَوامَقَ قَلبانا كَأَنَّهُما

تَراضَعا بِدَمِ الأَحشاءِ لا اللَبَنِ

Our two hearts have loved each other, as though

they had nursed together on the blood of our vitals, not milk.

مُسَوِّدٌ قَصَبَ الأَقلامِ نالَ بِها

نَيلَ المُحَمِّرِ أَطرافَ القَنا اللُدُنِ

Blackening the reeds of pens, he has won through them

the gains of one who reddens the tips of supple spears.

إِن لَم تَكُن تُورِدُ الأَرماحَ مَورِدَها

فَما عَدَلتَ إِلى الأَقلامِ عَن جُبُنِ

If you do not bring spears to their watering place,

you did not turn to pens out of cowardice.

وَالطاعِنُ الطَعنَةَ النَجلاءَ عَن جَلَدٍ

كَالقائِلِ القَولَةَ الغَرّاءَ عَن لَسَنِ

One who deals a gaping spear-thrust through fortitude

is like one who utters a radiant saying through eloquence.

حارَ المُجارونَ إِذ جارَوكَ في طَلَقٍ

وَأَجفَلوا عَن طَريقِ السابِقِ الأَرِنِ

Your rivals were bewildered when they raced you,

and bolted from the track of the spirited front-runner.

ضَلّوا وَراءَكَ حَتّى قالَ قائِلُهُم

ماذا الضَلالُ وَذا يَجري عَلى السَنَنِ

They lost their way behind you, until their spokesman said,

"Why this straying, while he runs along the straight course?"

ما قَدرُ فَضلِكَ ما أَصبَحتَ تُرزَقُهُ

لَيسَ الحُظوظُ عَلى الأَقدارِ وَالمِهَنِ

What you now receive does not match your merit;

fortune is not apportioned according to worth and toil.

قَد كُنتُ قَبلَكَ مِن دَهري عَلى حَنَقٍ

فَزادَ ما بِكَ مِن غَيظي عَلى الزَمَنِ

Before you, I was already angry with my age;

your plight has increased my wrath at time.

كَم راشَنا وَبَرانا غَيرَ مُكتَرِثٍ

بِما نُعالِجُ بَريَ القِدحِ بِالسَفَنِ

How often it feathered us and shaved us down, heedless

of what we endured, as a shaft is pared with a rasp.

أَلقى عَلى آلِ وَضّاحٍ حَوِيَّتَهُ

وَحَكَّ بَركاً عَلى سَيفِ بنِ ذي يَزَنِ

It cast its saddle-pad upon the house of Waddah,

and ground its breast upon Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan.

وَمِثلَها أَنشَبَ الأَظفارَ في مُضَرٍ

وَمَرَّ يَحرُقُ بِالأَنيابِ لِليَمَنِ

Likewise it sank its claws into Mudar,

and went on gnashing its fangs at Yemen.

إِن يَدنُ قَومٌ إِلى داري فَآلَفُهُم

وَتَنأَ عَنّي فَأَنتَ الروحُ في البَدَنِ

If people draw near my house and I befriend them,

while you are far away, you are still the soul within the body.

فَالمَرءُ يَسرَحُ في الآفاقِ مُضطَرِباً

وَنَفسُهُ أَبَداً تَهفو إِلى الوَطَنِ

For a man roams the horizons, moving to and fro,

while his soul forever yearns toward home.

وَالبُعدُ عَنكَ بَلاني بِاستِكانِهِمُ

إِنَّ الغَريبَ لَمُضطَرٌّ إِلى السَكَنِ

Distance from you has afflicted me with dependence on them;

a stranger is indeed compelled to seek companionship.

أَنتَ الكَرى مُؤنِساً طَرفي وَبَعضُهُمُ

مِثلُ القَذى مانِعٌ عَيني مِنَ الوَسَنِ

You are sleep, bringing comfort to my eye; yet some of them

are like grit, keeping my eye from slumber.

كَم مِن قَريبٍ يَرى أَنّي كَلِفتُ بِهِ

يُمسي شَجايَ وَتُضحي دونَهُ شَجَني

How many a man nearby thinks I am devoted to him:

he is my choking grief at dusk; you, apart, my yearning by day.

وَصاحِبٍ طالَ ما ضَرَّت صَحابَتُهُ

عَكَفتُ مِنهُ عَلى أَطغى مِنَ الوَثَنِ

And many a companion whose company has long harmed me—

in him I clung to one more tyrannical than an idol.

مُستَهدِفٌ لِمَرامي العَيبِ جانِبُهُ

يَكادُ يَنعَطُّ بُرداهُ مِنَ الظِنَنِ

His side stands exposed to the shafts of blame;

his two cloaks almost split apart with suspicions.

ذي سَوءَةٍ إِن ثَناها مَحفِلٌ كَثُرَت

لَها المَضارِبُ فَوقَ الصَدرِ بِالذَقَنِ

His is a shame that, if a gathering recounts it, provokes many

blows of chin upon the breast.

إِذا اِحتَمَيتُ بِهِ أَحمي عَلى كَبِدي

كَيفَ اِجتَناني إِذا أَسلَمنَني جُنَني

When I seek his protection, he scorches my liver;

how can I take shelter when my shields have forsaken me?

لا تَجعَلَنَّ دَليلَ المَرءِ صورَتَهُ

كَم مَخبَرٍ سَمجٍ عَن مَنظَرٍ حَسَنِ

Never make a man's appearance your guide to him;

how many an ugly inward nature lies behind a beautiful exterior!

إِنَّ الصَحائِفَ لا يَقريكَ باطِنُها

نَفسَ الطَوابِعِ مَوسوماً عَلى الطِيَنِ

Indeed, the contents of pages do not present to you

the very image of the seals stamped upon clay.

أَشتاقُكُم وَدَواعي الشَوقِ تُنهِضُني

إِلَيكُمُ وَعَوادي الدَهرِ تُقعِدُني

I long for you, and the calls of longing raise me

toward you, while time's assaults keep me seated.

وَأَعرِضُ الوُدَّ أَحياناً فَيُؤنِسُني

وَأَذكُرُ البُعدَ أَطواراً فَيوحِشُني

At times I contemplate our affection, and it comforts me;

at others I remember the distance, and it makes me lonely.

هَذا وَدِجلَةُ ما بَيني وَبَينَكُمُ

وَجانِبُ العَبرِ غَيرُ الجانِبِ الخَشِنِ

All this, though only the Tigris lies between me and you,

and the crossing's shore is not a rugged one.

وَمُشرِفٍ كَسَنامِ العودِ مُلتَبِسٍ

كَالماءِ لُزَّ بِأَضلاعٍ مِنَ السُفُنِ

And a raised span, like an old camel's hump, close-knit

like water, is lashed together with ribs of boats,

كَالخَيلِ رُبِّطنَ دُهماً في مَواقِفِها

وَالبُزلِ قُطِّرنَ بَينَ الحَوضِ وَالعَطَنِ

like black horses tethered in their stations,

and mature camels strung in file between trough and watering-ground.

قَد جاءَتِ النَفثَةُ الغَرّاءُ ضامِنَةً

ما يوبِقُ النَفسَ مِن عُجبٍ وَمِن دَرَنِ

The radiant outpouring has arrived, containing

what ruins the soul: vanity and stain.

أَنبَطتُ مِن حُسنِها ماءً بِلا نَصَبٍ

وَحُزتُ مِن نَظمِها دُرّاً بِلا ثَمَنِ

I drew water from its beauty without toil,

and gained pearls from its verse without payment.

أَنشَدتُها فَحَدا سَمعي غَرائِبُها

إِلى الضَميرِ حَداءَ الرَكبِ لِلبُدُنِ

I recited it; its marvels drove my hearing

to the heart, as riders chant their stout camels onward.

جازَت إِلى خاطِري عَفواً وَخُيِّلَ لي

مِمّا اِستَبَت أُذُني أَن لَم تَجُز أُذُني

It passed effortlessly into my mind, yet it seemed to me,

from how it captivated my ear, that it had not passed beyond my ear.

فَاِقتَد إِلَيكَ أَبا إِسحَقَ قافِيَةً

قَودَ الجَوادِ بِلا جُلٍّ وَلا رَسَنِ

Then draw to yourself, Abu Ishaq, a rhymed poem,

as one leads a noble steed, without saddlecloth or halter.

كادَت تَقاعَسُ لَو ما كُنتَ قائِدَها

تَقاعُسَ البازِلِ المَجنوبِ في الشَطنِ

It would all but have balked, had you not been its leader,

like a mature, side-ailing camel balking on its long tether.

تَستَوقِفُ الرَكبَ إِن مَرَّت مُعارِضَةً

تُهدي عَقيلَتَها العَذراءَ مِن يَمَنِ

It halts the caravan if it crosses its path,

offering its cherished virgin as a gift from Yemen.