تبسم في ليل الشباب مشيب

فأصبح برد الهم وهو قشيب

Gray hair smiled in the night of youth;

so sorrow's cloak appeared, fresh and new.

وأنكرت ما قد كنتما تعرفانه

وقد يحضر الرشد الفتي ويغيب

And I found unfamiliar what you two had once known;

sound judgment may attend a young man, then depart.

ومن شارف الخمسين عاماً فإنه

وإن عاش بني الأهل فهو غريب

Whoever approaches fifty years, indeed he—

even living among his kinsmen—is a stranger.

وما أبقت الدنيا علينا وإنما

سهام المنايا مخطئ ومصيب

The world has not spared us; there are only

death's arrows, some missing, some striking home.

على أن أنفاس الحياة شهية

وأرواحنا تغنى بها وتذوب

Yet the breaths of life are sweet,

and our souls are enriched by them and melt away.

تجرعنا الأيام كأساً مريرة

وظاهرها يحلو لنا ويطيب

The days make us swallow a bitter cup,

though their outward appearance is sweet and pleasant to us.

ونزري عليها جاهدين بألسن

تخالفها بالاعتقاد قلوب

We strenuously disparage them with tongues

that our hearts contradict in their convictions.

كأن عقول الخلق سرب حمام

تحوم على أحواضها وتلوب

Mortals' minds are like a flock of doves,

hovering above their watering pools and circling thirstily.

وكم ضاع تدبير الفتى وهو حازم

ومالت به الآمال وهو لبيب

How often a young man's planning fails, though he is resolute,

and hopes turn him aside, though he is wise.

وكم غره منها سراب بقيعة

تصدقه العينان وهو كذوب

How often a mirage on a plain, born of those hopes, deceives him:

both eyes believe it, though it lies.

ومن عاش في ظل القناعة لم يبل

جفاه عدو أو جفاه حبيب

Whoever lives in the shade of contentment cares not

whether an enemy shuns him or a beloved shuns him.

خليلي قولا لليالي نيابة

ومازال خل المرء عنه ينوب

My two friends, speak to the nights on my behalf;

a man's friend has always stood in for him.

تغير بعد الصالح العيش فاغتدت

محاسن أيامي وهن عيوب

Life changed after al-Salih, and thus

the beauties of my days became blemishes.

رضيت رضى المغلوب عن أخذ ثأره

ولي غضب في النائبات أديب

I resigned myself like one defeated, unable to take revenge;

yet my anger amid misfortunes is disciplined.

دعوتكم أن تصفوا من نفوسكم

فهل منكم عند الدعاء مجيب

I called on you to be sincere from your very souls;

is there among you anyone who answers the call?

وإلا فما عندي سوى الصبر قدرة

ألا إن صبر الصابرين قريب

Otherwise, I have no power except patience.

Know that even the patience of the patient is brief.

وغيضت من زهر الدموع طوالعاً

لها في غروب المقلتين غروب

And I drained away rising stars of radiant tears,

whose setting lies in the corners of my two eyes.

أيجدب خدي من ربيع مدامعي

وربعي من نعمى يديه خصيب

Should my cheek grow barren of the springtime of my tears,

while my dwelling is fertile with the bounty of his hands?

وتذهب عني لوعة الحزن والأسى

ولي جيئة في رزقه وذهوب

And should the burning pain of grief and sorrow leave me,

while I come and go amid his provision?

وأقصرت من ندبي له كل ساعة

وفي كبدي الحرى عليه ندوب

And should I cease lamenting him at every hour,

while my burning liver bears scars for him?

أينسى وفي العينين صورة وجه

ه الكريم وعهد الانتقال قريب

Can he be forgotten, while both eyes hold the image of his face—

so noble—and his departure is still recent?

أراني إن حاولت نظم قصيدة

فلي غزل من ذكره ونسيب

I find that, whenever I attempt to compose a poem,

my love verse and amatory prelude arise from remembering him.

يميل بي التشبيب نحو رثاته

كما مال طوعاً في القياد جنيب

The love prelude inclines me toward his elegy,

as a led horse willingly yields to the rein.

وتجذبني أغراض وجدي ولوعتي

إليه وأغراض النفوس ضروب

The impulses of my longing and burning grief draw me

to him; the soul's purposes are of many kinds.

فهل عنده أن الدخيل من الجوى

مقيم بقلبي ما أقام عسيب

Does he know that the intruder of burning grief

dwells in my heart as long as Asib stands?

وإن برقت سني لذكر حكاية

فإن فؤادي ماحييت كئيب

Though my tooth gleams at the mention of a tale,

my heart remains sorrowful as long as I live.

ولو أنصفت نعماك ما طعم الكرى

ولا باشرت لين المهاد جنوب

Had I done justice to your favors, no sleep would have been tasted,

nor would any side have touched the softness of a bed.

ولولا الحيا من دولة ناصرية

لما غفرت للنائبات ذنوب

Were it not for modesty before the Nasiri dynasty,

misfortunes' sins would never have been forgiven.

طلعت طلوع الشمس والبدر غائب

فعفى طلوع ما جناه مغيب

You rose like the sun while the full moon was absent;

a rising effaced the harm a setting had done.

وأقبلت الدنيا إليك تنصلاً

تقبل أذيال الثرى وتتوب

The world came toward you, disavowing its wrongs,

kissing the trailing skirts of the dust and repenting.

ولا منكر إن ثاب عازب رأيها

فقد تعزب الآراء ثم تثوب

It is no wonder if its wandering judgment returns,

for judgments may stray, then return.

وما زلت غفاراً لكل جريمة

تضيق باع الحلم وهو رحيب

You have always forgiven every crime

that narrows the reach of forbearance, broad though it is.

لك الدهر عبد والملوك رعية

تعاقب قوماً تارة وتثيب

Time is your slave, and kings your subjects;

you sometimes punish a people, and reward them.

وهذا قميص لو سواك أراده

غدا وهو من ثوب الحياة سليب

This is a shirt that, if anyone but you sought it,

he would be stripped of the garment of life.

وقطت بأطراف الرماح مطارف

عليه وغطت بالسيوف جيوب

Rich cloaks were cut by the tips of spears

over it, and collar openings were covered with swords.

أبت ذاك من أبناء زريك عصبة

صباح عدو صحبته عصيب

A band of the sons of Zurayk refused that:

an enemy's morning in their company is dire.

ملوك ترينا السلم والحرب كلما

تجلى جلوس عندهم وركوب

Kings who show us peace and war whenever

their sitting and riding come into view.

وأنت سنان في القناة التي هم

جميعاً أنابيب لها وكعوب

You are the spearhead on the shaft for which they

are all the hollow sections and joints.

بك التأمت بعد انصداع شعوبهم

قبائل من آمالهم وشعوب

Through you were reunited, after their peoples' division,

tribes and peoples of their hopes.

تحمل أثقال الوزارة عندهم

أغر بحد الحادثات لعوب

The burdens of their vizierate were shouldered

by a radiant man who plays at calamities' sharp edge.

يرى غائب الأشياء حتى كأنما

تناجيه من فرط الذكاء غيوب

He sees what is hidden, as though

unseen matters whisper to him through his exceptional intelligence.

يروع قلوباً أو يروق نواظراً

بوجه كثير البشر وهو مهيب

He awes hearts or delights gazing eyes

with a face full of cheer, yet imposing.

يلين لنا طوراً ويصلب تارة

كذاك القنا يهتز وهو صليب

He is gentle with us at one time, firm at another;

so does the spear sway, though it is hard.

نهضت بهذا الأمر نهضة حازم

يسكن قلب الحزم وهو نهيب

You rose to this charge with a resolute man's resolve,

calming the heart of resolve, though it is ravaged.

وقام بتدبير الزمان وأهله

خبير بداء المعضلات طبيب

The management of time and its people was undertaken

by an expert physician who knows the malady of tangled problems.

وسومتها ملمومة ناصرية

تكف جماح الدهر وهو شبوب

And you sent it forth, a massed Nasiri host,

restraining time's unruliness while it rears.

إذا شجرات الخط فيها تشاجرت

فليس لريح بينهن هبوب

When the trees of al-Khatt intertwine within it,

no wind can blow between them.

يليق بك الملك العظيم لأنه

أخ لك من دون الورى ونسيب

Great kingship befits you, for it is

your brother and kinsman, to the exclusion of all others.

تفرعتها من دولة صالحية

نما في العلى أصل لها وقضيب

You climbed its branches from a Salihi dynasty,

whose root and branch grew in loftiness.

وقد جمعت فيك السيادة كلها

وغصنك من ماء الشباب رطيب

All lordship has been gathered in you,

while your bough is moist with the water of youth.

فما شيمة للمجد إلا وقد غدا

لها منك حظ وافر ونصيب

There is no trait of glory that has not gained

an ample portion and share of you.

سماحة كف لايزال نوالها

يعلم كف الغيث كيف تصوب

The generosity of a hand whose bounty keeps

teaching the rain's hand how to pour;

وهيبة بأس لو أذمت بنانها

لشرخ شباب لم يرعه مشيب

and awe-inspiring strength: were its fingers to promise safety

to youth in its prime, gray hair would not frighten it.

مددت بساط العدل حتى تصاحبت

بعدلك شاة في الفلاة وذيب

You spread the carpet of justice until they became companions—

through your justice, a sheep and a wolf in the wilderness.

وباشرت أحكام المظالم حسبة

لك الله فيها بالثواب حسيب

You administered judgments on grievances seeking God's reward;

God reckons your reward for them.

تناهيت في الإنصاف والعدل فانتهت

عقارب من جور لهن دبيب

You reached the utmost in fairness and justice, putting an end

to the scorpions of oppression that crept about.

وساويت في ميزان عدلك بيننا

فخاف بريء واستقام مريب

You made us equals in the balance of your justice,

so the innocent grew fearful, and the suspect became upright.

وأوجبت فرض الحج بعد سقوطه

فأضحى له بعد السقوط وجوب

You reinstated the duty of pilgrimage after it had lapsed,

so after its lapse it again became obligatory.

ويسرت قصد البيت من بعد عسرة

فضاقت بحار بالورى وسهوب

You eased the journey to the House after hardship,

until seas and plains grew crowded with mankind.

فللفلك في طامي البحار تحدر

وللعيس في بحر السراب رسوب

Thus ships descend across the swelling seas,

and pale camels sink into a sea of mirage.

وكان لبيت الله في كل موسم

عويل على زواره ونحيب

In every season, God's House had known

wailing and sobbing for its visitors.

ينادي ملوك الأرض شرقاً ومغرباً

ألا سامع يدعى به فيجيب

It called to the kings of the earth, east and west:

Is there no hearer who, when called upon, will answer?

فلما أتت أيامك البيض لانقضت

وخطبتها للزمان خطوب

Then, when your bright days came—may they never end—

and calamities sought their hand for Time,

بذلت عن الوفد الحجيج تبرعاً

مواهب لم يسمح بهن وهوب

you freely bestowed, on behalf of the pilgrim delegation,

gifts no lavish giver had ever granted.

سبقت بها أهل العراق وغيرهم

وأنت إلى كسب الثواب وثوب

With these you outstripped the people of Iraq and others,

ever leaping toward the earning of reward.

تركت بها في الأخشبين نضارة

وكان بوجه الأخشبين شحوب

With these you left freshness in al-Akhshabayn,

whose face had formerly been pale.

وحطت به عن ذمة بن فليتة

وذمة أهل الأبطحين ذنوب

Through this, sins were lifted from Ibn Fulayta's responsibility

and from that of the people of al-Abtahayn.

وأبقيتها وقفاً على البر خالصاً

وفي بر قوم خالص ومشوب

You preserved it as an endowment purely for benevolence,

while people's benevolence may be pure or mixed.

إذا جف عود الزرع فهي مريعة

وإن جف در الضرع فهي حلوب

When the stalk of crops dries, it remains lush;

when the udder's flow dries, it still gives milk.

وهنئت عاماً لو أعبر عبارة

غدا وهو مثلي في علاك خطيب

May you be blessed with a year that, if it could utter words,

would become, like me, an orator proclaiming your exalted glory.