سلم على الدار بذي تنضب — Bashar Ibn Burd

سَلِّم عَلى الدارِ بِذي تَنضُبِ

فَشَطِّ حَوضى فَلِوى قَعنَبِ

Greet the dwelling at Dhu Tandub,

then Hawda's bank, then Qa'nab's sand-bend.

وَاِستَوقِفِ الرَكبَ عَلى رَسمِها

بَل حُلَّ بِالرَسمِ وَلا تَركَبِ

And halt the caravan at its traces;

rather, camp among the traces, and do not ride on.

لَمّا عَرَفناها جَرى دَمعُهُ

ما بَعدَ دَمعِ العانِسِ الأَشيَبِ

When we recognized it, his tears flowed—

what comes after a gray-haired bachelor's tears?

طالِب بِسُعدى شَجَناً فائِتاً

وَهَل لِما قَد فاتَ مِن مَطلَبِ

Seek in Su'da a longing now lost—

can what has passed ever be pursued?

وَصاحِبٍ قَد جُنَّ في صِحَّةٍ

لا يَشرَبُ التِرياقَ مِن عَقرَبِ

And a companion, mad despite good health,

who drinks no antidote against a scorpion,

جافٍ عَنِ البيضِ إِذا ما غَدا

لَم يَبكِ في دارٍ وَلَم يَطرَبِ

aloof from fair-skinned women: when he went out,

he wept at no dwelling, nor felt longing.

صادَيتُهُ عَن مُرَّ أَخلاقِهِ

بِحُلوِ أَخلاقي وَلَم أَشغَبِ

I coaxed him away from his bitter ways

with the sweetness of my own, without quarrelling.

حَتّى إِذا أَلقى عَلَينا الهَوى

أَظفارَهث وَاِرتاحَ في المَلعَبِ

Until, when love had cast upon us

its claws, and reveled in the playground,

أَصفَيتُهُ وُدّي وَحَدَّثتُهُ

بِالحَقِّ عَن سُعدى وَعَن زَينَبِ

I gave him my pure affection and told him

the truth about Su'da and Zaynab.

أَقولُ وَالعَينُ بِها غُصَّةٌ

مِن عَبرَةٍ هاجَت وَلَم تَسكُبِ

I speak while my eye is choked

with a tear that surged but did not flow.

إِن تَذهَب الدارُ وَسُكّانُها

فَإِنَّ ما في القَلبِ لَم يَذهَبِ

If the dwelling and its people disappear,

what is in the heart has not disappeared.

لاغَروَ إِلاّدارُ سُكّانِنا

تُمسي بِها الرُبدُ مَعَ الرَبرَبِ

The only wonder is our people's dwelling:

gray ostriches spend the evening there with herds of oryx.

تَنتابُها سُعدى وَأَترابُها

في ظِلِّ عَيشٍ حافِلٍ مُعجِبِ

Su'da and her age-mates would frequent it

in the shade of an abundant, delightful life.

مَرَّ عَلَينا زَمَنٌ مُصعَبٌ

بَعدَ زَمانٍ لَيسَ بِالمُصعَبِ

A harsh time passed over us

after a time that was not harsh.

فَاِجتَذَّ سُعدى بِحَذافيرِها

غَيرَ بَقايا حُبِّها المُصحَبِ

It tore Su'da away entirely,

except the remnants of abiding love for her.

قَد قُلتُ لِلسائِلِ في حُبِّها

لَمّا دَنا في حُرمَةِ الأَقرَبِ

I told the questioner about my love for her,

when he drew close with a near kinsman's privilege:

يا صاحِ لا تَسأَل بِحُبّي لَها

وَاِنظُر إِلى جِسمِيَ ثُمَّ اِعجَبِ

My friend, do not ask about my love for her;

look at my body, then marvel

مِن ناحِلِ الأَلواحِ لَو كِلتَهُ

في قُلبِها مَرَّ وَلَم يَنشَبِ

at one so wasted in frame that, if you measured him

inside her bracelet, he would pass without catching.

شَتّانَ مَجدودٌ وَمَن جَدُّهُ

كَالكَعبِ إِن تَرحَل بِهِ يَرتُبِ

How different are a lucky man and one whose fortune

is like a knucklebone: travel with it, and it stays fixed.

أَغرى بِسُعدى عِندَنا في الكَرى

مَن لَيسَ بِالداني وَلا المُصقَبِ

In dreams, the most enamored of Su'da among us

is one neither near nor close at hand.

مَكِّيَّةٌ تَبدو إِذا ما بَدَت

بِالميثِ مِن نَعمانَ أَو مَغرِبِ

A Meccan woman, she appears, whenever she appears,

at al-Mayth in Na'man, or at Maghrib.

عُلِّقتُ مِنها حُلُماً كاذِباً

يا لَيتَ ذاكَ الحُلمَ لَم يَكذِبِ

I became attached to a false dream of her—

if only that dream had not lied!

وَمَلعَبِ النونِ يُرى بَطنُهُ

مِن ظَهرِهِ أَخضَرَ مُستَصعَبِ

And many a playground of fish, whose belly is visible

through its back, green and hard to master,

عَطشانَ إِن تَأخُذ عَلَيهِ الصَبا

يَفحُش عَلى البوصِيِّ أَو يَصخَبِ

ever thirsty: if the east wind blows across it,

it rages against the ship or roars,

كَأَنَّ أَصواتاً بِأَرجائِهِ

مِن جُندُبٍ فاضَ إِلى جُندُبِ

as though the sounds throughout its reaches

spilled from one cricket into another.

رَكِبتُ في أَهوالِهِ ثَيِّباً

إِلَيكَ أَو عَذراءَ لَم تُركَبِ

I rode amid its terrors a once-wed vessel,

toward you—or a virgin never ridden.

لَمّا تَيَمَّمتُ عَلى ظَهرِها

لِمَجلِسٍ في بَطنِها الحَوشَبِ

When I set my course upon her back

for a seat within her bulky belly,

هَيَّأتُ فيها حينَ خَيَّستُها

مِن حالِكِ اللَونِ وَمِن أَصهَبِ

I made ready aboard her, when I moored her,

men dark in hue and men ruddy.

فَأَصبَحَت جارِيَةً بَطنُها

مَلآنُ مِن شَتّى فَلَم تُضرَبِ

So she became a running maiden, her belly

full of many kinds, though she had never been mated.

لا تَشتَكي الأَينَ إِذا ما اِنتَحَت

تُهدى بِهادٍ بَعدَها قُلَّبِ

She complains of no fatigue whenever she sets her course,

guided by a resourceful guide behind her,

راعي الذِراعَينِ لِتَحريزِها

مِن مَشرَبٍ غارَ إِلى مَشرَبِ

watching both arms to keep her safe,

from one deep watering-place to another.

إِذا اِنجَلَت عَنها بِتَيّارِهِ

وَاِرفَضَّ آلُ الشَرَفِ الأَحدَبِ

When it cleared away from her with its current,

and the mirage of the rounded ridge dispersed,

ذَكَرتُ مِن هِقلٍ غَدا خاضِباً

أَو هِقلَةٍ رَبداءَ لَم تَخضِبِ

I recalled a male ostrich, setting out red-stained,

or a gray hen ostrich, not yet stained.

تَصِرُّ أَحياناً بِسُكّانِها

صَريرَ بابِ الدارِ في المِذنَبِ

At times she creaks with her rudder,

like a house-door creaking at the watercourse.

بِمِثلِها يُجتازُ في مِثلِهِ

إِن جَدَّ جَدَّت ثُمَّ لَم تَلعَبِ

In one like her one crosses waters like these;

when matters grow serious, she is serious and never plays.

دُعموصُ نَهرٍ أَنشَبَت وَسطَهُ

إِن تَنعَبِ الريحُ لَها تَنعَبِ

A river's tadpole, she lodged in its midst;

if the wind croaks at her, she croaks back.

إِلى إِمامِ الناسِ وَجَّهتُها

تَجري عَلى غارٍ مِنَ الطُحلُبِ

I directed her toward the people's imam,

running over a hollow of waterweed,

إِلى فَتىً تَسقي يَداهُ النَدى

حيناً وَأَحياناً دَمَ المُذنِبِ

toward a young man whose hands pour bounty

at times, and at others the blood of the guilty.

إِذا دَنا العَيشُ فَمَعروفُهُ

دانٍ بِعَيشِ القانِعِ المُترِبِ

When livelihood draws near, his bounty

draws near with sustenance for the destitute petitioner.

زَينُ سَريرِ المُلكِ في المُغتَدى

وَغُرَّةُ المَوكِبِ في المَوكِبِ

The royal throne's adornment at the morning audience,

and the procession's shining brow in procession.

كَأَنَّ مَبعوثاً عَلى بابِهِ

يُدني وَيُقصي ناقِداً يَجتَبي

As though an envoy at his gate

admits and excludes, discerning whom to choose.

إِذا رَماهُ النَقَرى بِاِمرِئٍ

لانَ لَهُ البابُ وَلَم يُحجَبِ

When a special invitation sends a man his way,

the door yields to him, and he is not barred.

دَأَبتُ حَتّى جِئتُهُ زائِراً

ثُمَّ تَعَنَّيتُ وَلَم أَدأَبِ

I toiled until I came to visit him,

then bore hardship, yet did not weary.

ما اِنشَقَّتِ الفِتنَةُ عَن مِثلِهِ

في مَشرِقِ الأَرضِ وَلا مَغرِبِ

No turmoil ever brought forth his equal

in the earth's east or west,

أَطَبَّ لِلدينِ إِذا رَنَّقَت

عَيناهُ مِن طاغِيَةٍ مُجرِبِ

a better physician for the faith when clouded

are its eyes by a mangy tyrant.

أَلقى إِلَيهِ عُمَرٌ شيمَةً

كانَت مَواريثَ أَبٍ عَن أَبِ

Umar passed down to him a disposition

inherited from father to father:

قودَ المَطايا بِعَمى مارِقٍ

عوتِبَ في اللَهِ فَلَم يُعتِبِ

driving the mounts through a renegade's blindness,

one rebuked in God's cause, who would not make amends.

إِنَّ يَزيداً فَاِدنُ مِن بابِهِ

في الضيقِ إِن كانَ أَوِ المَرحَبِ

Indeed Yazid—so draw near his gate,

in hardship, if that be your lot, or in ease—

أَجدى عَلى الناسِ إِذا أَمحَلوا

يَوماً وَأَكفى لِلثَأَى المُنصِبِ

is most helpful to people when drought strikes,

at any time, and best equipped to mend a wearisome breach.

دِعامَةُ الأَرضِ إِذا ما وَهَت

سَماؤُهُ عَن لاقِحٍ مُقرِبِ

A pillar of the earth when it grows feeble,

his sky bereft of a cloud pregnant and near birth.

الجالِبُ الأُسدَ وَأَشبالَها

يَزُرنَ مِن دورَينِ في المِجلَبِ

He brings the lions and their cubs,

visiting from Dawrayn in the mustered host,

بِعَسكَرٍ ظَلَّت عَناجيجُهُ

في القودِ مِن طِرفٍ وَمِن سَلهَبِ

with an army whose chargers spent the day

being led, noble steeds and long-bodied horses,

مَجنوبَةَ العَصرَينِ أَو عَصرَها

بِسَيرِ لا وانٍ وَلا مُتعَبِ

led alongside morning and evening, or for a single spell,

at a pace neither slack nor exhausting.

يَتبَعنَ مَخذولاً وَأَشياعَهُ

بِالعَينِ فَالرَوحاءَ فَالمَرقَبِ

They pursue a forsaken man and his followers

at al-'Ayn, then al-Rawha', then al-Marqab,

حَتّى إِذا اِستَيقَنَ مِن كَبوَةٍ

وَكُنَّ مِنهُ لَيلَةَ المِذَّبِ

until, when he knew his downfall was certain,

and they were a night's hard march from him,

خَرَجنَ مِن سَوداءَ في غِرِّةٍ

يَردينَ أَمثالَ القَنا الشُرَّبِ

they emerged from Sawda' in an unguarded moment,

galloping like spears that drink deep.

لَمّا رَأَوا أَعناقَها شُرَّعاً

بِالمَوتِ دونَ العَلَقِ الأَغلَبِ

When they saw their necks thrust forward,

bearing death before the mighty, precious prize,

كانوا فَريقَينِ فَمِن هارِبٍ

وَمُقعِسٍ بِالطَعنِ لَم يَهرُبِ

they were two groups: some fleeing,

and some thrown back by spear-thrusts, not escaping,

مِثلَ الفَزارِيِّ الَذي لَم يَزَل

جَداهُ يَكفي غَيبَةَ الغُيَّبِ

like al-Fazari, whose unfailing

bounty filled the place of absent men.

أَنزَلنَ عَبدَ اللَهِ مِن حِصنِهِ

إِذ جِئنَهُ مِن حَيثُ لَم يَرهَبِ

They brought 'Abd Allah down from his fortress,

when they came upon him from where he feared no threat.

وَاِنصَعنَ لِلمَخدوعِ عَن نَفسِهِ

يَذُقنَ ما ذاقَ فَلَم يُصلَبِ

And they turned toward the man cheated of his life,

tasting what he had tasted, though he was not crucified.

وَلَو تَرى الأَزدِيَّ في جَمعِهِ

كانَ كَضِلّيلِ بَني تَغلِبِ

Had you seen al-Azdi among his host,

he was like the errant one of Banu Taghlib,

أَيّامَ يَهزُزنَ إِلَيهِ الرَدى

بِكُلِّ ماضي النَصلِ وَالثَعلَبِ

in the days when they brandished death toward him

with every spear keen in blade and tang,

حَتّى إِذا قَرَّبَهُ حَينُهُ

مِنها وَلَولا الحَينُ لَم يَقرُبِ

until, when his appointed death brought him close

to them—without that doom he would not have approached—

خاضَ اِبنُ جُمهورٍ وَلَو رامَها

مُطاعِنُ الأُسدِ عَلى المَشرَبِ

Ibn Jumhur plunged in, though had they been sought

by one who spears lions at the watering-place...

وَزُرنَ شَيبانَ فَنامَت بِهِ

عَينٌ وَلَم تَأرَق عَلى مُذنِبِ

And they visited Shayban; there fell asleep

an eye that lost no sleep over a sinner.

أَجلى عَنِ المَوصِلِ مِن وَقعِها

أَو خَرَّ مِن حُثحوثِها المُطنِبِ

He withdrew from Mosul under their blows,

or fell before their sustained, rushing pursuit.

هُناكَ عادَ الدينُ مُستَقبَلاً

وَاِنتَصَبَ الدينُ عَلى المَنصِبِ

There the faith returned, welcomed,

and the faith stood upright upon its pedestal.

وَعاقِدُ التاجِ عَلى رَأسِهِ

يَبرُقُ وَالبَيضَةُ كَالكَوكَبِ

And he who binds the crown upon his head

flashes, his helmet like a star.

لا يَضَعُ اللَأمَةَ عَن جِلدِهِ

وَمِحمَلَ السَيفِ عَنِ المَنكِبِ

He takes no armor from his skin,

nor the sword-baldric from his shoulder.

جَلّابُ أَتلادٍ بِأَشياعِهِ

قُلتُ لَهُ قَولاً وَلَم أَخطُبِ

A gatherer of ancestral wealth with his followers,

I spoke a word to him, making no oration:

لَو حَلَبَ الأَرضَ بِأَخلافِها

دَرَّت لَكَ الحَربُ دَماً فَاِحلُبِ

Were he to milk the earth by its teats,

war would yield you blood—so milk it!

يا أَيُّها النازي بِسُلطانِهِ

أَدلَلتَ بِالحَربِ عَلى مِحرَبِ

O you who leap in your authority,

you have vaunted war against a seasoned warrior.

الغِيُّ يُعدي فَاِجتَنِب قُربَهُ

وَاِحذَر بُغى مُعتَزَلِ الأَجرَبِ

Delusion is contagious; keep clear of it,

and beware rebellion, as one shuns the mangy.

أَنهاكَ عَن عاصٍ عَدا طَورَهُ

وَأَلهَبَ القَصدَ عَلى المُلهِبِ

I warn you against a rebel who overstepped his bounds

and set resolve ablaze against the kindler of flames.

لا تَعجَلِ الحَربَ لَها رَحبَةٌ

تُغضِبُ أَقواماً وَلَم تَغضَبِ

Do not hasten war; it has a wide arena,

it enrages peoples, though it feels no rage.

إِن سَرَّكَ المَوتُ لَها عاجِلاً

فَاِستَعجِلِ المَوتَ وَلا تَرقُبِ

If it delights you to die for it soon,

then hasten death, and do not wait.

ما أُحرِمَت عَنكَ خَطاطيفُهُ

فَاِرقَ عَلى ظَلعِكَ أَو قَبقِبِ

Its hooks have not been withheld from you;

so climb as your limp allows—or growl!

إِنَّ الأُلى كانوا عَلى سُخطِهِ

مِن بَينِ مَندوبٍ وَمُستَندِبِ

Those who had incurred his displeasure,

whether summoned or summoning helpers,

لَمّا دَنا مَنزِلُهُ أَطرَقوا

إِطراقَةَ الطَيرِ لِذي المِخلَبِ

when his camp drew near, bowed their heads,

as birds bow before the taloned one.