يا طلل الحي بذات الصمد — Bashar Ibn Burd

يا طَلَلَ الحَيِّ بِذاتِ الصَمدِ

بِاللَهِ حَدِّث كَيفَ كُنتَ بَعدي

O ruin of the tribe at Dhat al-Samad,

By God, tell me how you have been since I left.

أَوحَشتَ مِن دَعدٍ وَنُؤيِ دَعدِ

بَعدَ زَمانٍ ناعِمٍ وَمَردِ

You lie desolate, bereft of Da'd and Da'd's encircling trench,

After a time of ease and youthful vigor.

عَهداً لَنا سَقياً لَهُ مِن عَهدِ

إِذ نَحنُ أَخيافٌ بِما نُؤَدّي

A time we shared—may rain bless that time!

When we differed in how we fulfilled our pledges:

يُخلِفنَ وَعداً وَنَفي بِوَعدِ

فَنَحنُ مِن جَهدِ الهَوى في جَهدِ

They broke a promise, while we kept a promise.

So we passed from love's hardship into hardship.

نَلهو إِلى نَورِ الخُزامى الثَعدِ

في زاهِرٍ مِن سَبِطٍ وَجَعدِ

We played beside the tender lavender blossoms,

Amid flowering growth, some straight and some curled,

ما زالَ مِن حَرجِ الصَبا في رَندِ

يَختالُ في ماءِ النَدى المُنَدّي

Ever amid the east wind's thickets, among laurels,

Swaying proudly in the moistening water of dew,

حَتّى اِكتَسى مِثلَ عُيونِ البُردِ

رَوضاً بِمَغنى واهِبِ بنِ فِندِ

Until it donned a robe like the patterned eyes of a mantle:

A meadow at the dwelling of Wahib ibn Find.

أَهدى لَهُ الدَهرُ وَلَم يَستَهدِ

أَفوافَ أَنوارِ الحَداءِ المُجدي

Time bestowed upon it, without being asked,

The variegated robes of bountiful hada blossoms.

يَلقى الضُحى رَيحانُهُ بِسَجدِ

بُدِّلتُ مِن ذاكَ بُكىً لا يُجدي

Its fragrant herbs greeted the forenoon with bowed heads.

In place of that, I was given unavailing weeping.

آذَنَ طِلباتُ الصِبى بِصَدِّ

طالَبَني أَمرٌ وَلَيسَ يُجدي

The objects of youthful longing announced rejection.

A matter pressed upon me, yet brought no profit.

فَهَنَّ لا يَشفينَني بِبَردِ

وَقَد أَراني في الصِبى الأَجَدِّ

So those women bring me no cooling cure.

Yet I once saw myself in freshest youth

كَالبَدِّ فيهِنَّ لِأَهلِ البَدِّ

هَذا وَبَلّاني مَسيرُ الأَزدِ

Like an idol among them, to the idol's devotees.

Such was I; then the departure of the Azd afflicted me.

سِربٌ تَراءى كَنِظامِ العَقدِ

حُلوُ الحَديثِ حَسَنُ التَصَدّي

A flock of women appeared, like beads strung on a necklace,

Sweet in speech, graceful in their appearance.

واهاً لِأَسماءَ اِبنَةِ الأَشَدِّ

قامَت تَراءى إِذ رَأَتني وَحدي

Ah, for Asma', daughter of al-Ashadd!

She stood displaying herself when she saw me alone,

كَالشَمسِ بَينَ الزِبرِجِ المُنقَدِّ

سُلطانَ مُبيَضِّ عَلى مُسوَدِّ

Like the sun between rents in a cloud-veil:

The dominion of brightness over darkness.

ضَنَّت بِخَدٍّ وَجَلَت عَن خَدِّ

ثُمَّ اِنثَنَت كَالنَفسِ المُرتَدِّ

She withheld one cheek and unveiled another,

Then turned away like a breath drawn back.

وَرُحتُ مِن عِرقِ الهَوى أُصَدّي

يا عَجَباً لِلعاجِزِ المُسَدّي

And I went away, thirsting from the very vein of passion.

How strange, the helpless weaver of schemes!

حُدِدتُ عَن حَظّي وَلَم أَجَدِّ

ما ضَرَّ أَهلَ النوكِ ضَعفُ الكَدِّ

I was barred from my share and found no luck.

Weak effort did fools no harm;

وافَقَ حَظّاً مَن سَعى بِجَدِّ

قُل لِلزُبَيرِ السائِلي عَن وُلدي

Whoever strove with good fortune attained his share.

Say to al-Zubayr, who asks me about my children:

الحُرُّ يوصى وَالعَصا لِلعَبدِ

وَلَيسَ لِلمُحلِفِ مِثلُ الرَدِّ

The free man is counseled; the stick is for the slave.

Nothing answers an oath-demander like refusal.

فَاِرضَ بِنَصفٍ وَأَزِح في القَصدِ

النَصفُ يَكفيكَ مِنَ التَعَدّي

So accept fairness, and move toward moderation.

Fairness suffices to keep you from transgression.

وَصاحِبٍ كَالدُمَّلِ المُمِدِّ

أَرقُبُ مِنهُ مِثلَ يَومِ الوِردِ

And many a companion, like a suppurating boil,

From whom I awaited something like a watering-day:

حَمَلَتهُ في رُقعَةٍ مِن جِلدي

صَبراً وَتَنزيهاً لِما يُؤَدّي

I bore him on a patch of my own skin,

Patiently, keeping myself above what he offered,

حَتّى اِنطَوى غَيرَ فَقيدِ الفَقدِ

وَما دَرى ما رَغبَتي مِن زُهدي

Until he vanished, his loss unmourned.

He never knew my desire from my disdain.

وَطامِسِ السَمتِ جُموحِ الوِردِ

خالٍ لِأَصواتِ الصدى المُصَدّي

And many a tract with effaced paths and elusive water,

Deserted save for the cries of echoing owls:

أَرضاً تَرى حِرباءَها كَالقِردِ

يَميدُ في رَأدِ الضُحى المُمتَدِّ

Ground where you see its chameleon like a monkey,

Swaying in the spreading light of early forenoon.

لِلقورِ في رَقراقِها تَرَدّي

زَوراءَ تُخفي عَجَباً وَتُبدي

The flat-topped hills tumble in its shimmering haze,

Crooked country concealing wonders and revealing them,

مِن لامِعاتٍ كَالسَعالي البَدِّ

تَلمَعُ قُدّامي وَطوراً بَعدي

With flashing forms like scattered she-ghouls,

Flashing before me, and sometimes behind me.

كَأَنَّ قُصوى أُكمِها تُسَدّي

لا بَل تُصَلّي تارَةً وَتَردي

Its furthest hills seem to weave—

No, rather to pray at times, and gallop,

تَرقَدُّ في رَيعانِها المُرقَدِّ

وَعاصِفٍ مِن آلِها المُشتَدِّ

Racing through its racing early shimmer,

And the gusting sweep of its fierce mirage.

صَدَعتُها بِالعَيهَمِ العَلَندِ

يَلقى الضُحى بِمَنسِمِ مُكِدِّ

I cleaved it with a tireless, towering camel,

Meeting the forenoon on a hard-worked foot,

وَنَظَرٍ راعٍ وَهادٍ نَهدِ

وَهامَةٍ مَلمومَةٍ كَالصَلدِ

With a vigilant gaze and a lofty neck,

And a rounded head like solid rock.

جَشَمتُهُ أَفضى وَشيحَ الجِلدِ

طَيَّ السَخاوِيِّ بِغَيرِ نِدِّ

I burdened it, broad-bodied and spare of hide,

With traversing the soft-soiled plains, without a peer.

ما زالَ يَشدو تارَةً وَيَخدي

في بَطنِ عَيثٍ وَظَهرٍ صَلدِ

It kept moving on, now striding swiftly,

Through soft hollows and over hard uplands:

أَملَسُ لا يُهدى بِهِ مُهَدِّ

حَتّى اِنتَهى مِثلَ صَليفِ القِدِّ

Smooth ground where no guide can find the way,

Until it became like the edge of a leather thong.

فَاِنصَدَعَت عَن راكِبٍ مُجِدِّ

وَرّادِ أَمواهٍ كَماءِ السِخدِ

Then the wilderness opened before an earnest rider,

Frequenting waters like the fluid of birth,

وَغارِبٍ أَخفى لِخافي البَلدِ

رَيّانَ يَلقى مَعَ طولِ الشَدِّ

And a ridge concealed in the land's hidden reaches,

Lush and moist, offering, despite the long gallop,

مُكَعبَراً نَداءَه المُثَدّي

فيهِ لِصيرانِ الفَلا تَغَدّي

Its nourishing moisture gathered into rounded drops.

There the herds of the wilderness grazed in the morning.

لَم يُغذَ بِالفَيضِ وَلا بِالعِدِّ

إِلّا بِماءِ المُعصِراتِ الهُدِّ

It was nourished neither by overflow nor perennial springs,

But only by the water of thundering rainclouds.

مُختَلِفَ التيجانِ في التَنَدّي

كُلِّلَ بِالأَصفَرِ بَينَ الوَردِ

Its crowns differed as it drank the dew:

Crowned in yellow among roses,

وَبِالبَنَفسِ المُشرِقِ الرِخوَدِّ

وَالجَونِ مَشبوباً بِلَونِ الفَهدِ

And in bright, soft violets,

And dark blooms kindled with the leopard's coloring,

موفٍ عَلى حَوذانِهِ كَالنَقدِ

مِن زاهِرٍ أَحمَرَ لَم يَسوَدِّ

Rising over its buttercups like coin,

With red blossoms not yet darkened.

يَغدو كَغادي الشَرقِ في التَغَدّي

مُنبَلِقاً مِثلَ عُيونِ الجُردِ

At morning feeding, like an early comer from the east,

Variegated like the eyes of sleek horses.

تَحارُ فيهِ الشَمسُ ذاتُ الوَقدِ

إِذا حَدا ذُبابُهُ المُحَدّي

The blazing sun is bewildered within it.

When its singing flies begin their chant,

عارَضَهُ المُكّاءُ كَالمُستَعدي

صَبَّحتُهُ في ظِلِّ مُزنٍ سَمدِ

The lark answers like one calling for help.

I reached it at dawn beneath a lofty raincloud,

غُدَيَّةً قَبلَ غُدُوِّ السُبدِ

بِعاقِرٍ جَدّاءَ أَو أَجَدِّ

One early morning before the nightjar's morning flight,

On a barren, dry-uddered camel, or one drier still,

يَطلُبُ شَأوَ اليَعمُلاتِ الجُدِّ

بَل هَل تَرى لَمعَ الحُبَيِّ الفَردِ

Seeking the pace of sturdy, hardworking camels.

But do you see the flashes of the solitary piled cloud,

وافي مِنَ العَينِ بِنَجمِ السَعدِ

تَحدو بِهِ ريحٌ وَريحٌ تَهدي

Coming from the rain-bearing quarter with the star of fortune?

One wind drives it onward, and another guides it,

كَأَنَّ أَنواحُ النِساءِ الجُدِّ

في عَرصَةٍ يَلمَعنَ بِالفِرَندِ

As though bands of dry-breasted mourning women

Flashed watered blades in an open court.

قَد طَبَّقَ الغَورَ وَأَعلى نَجدِ

يَستَنُّ فيهِ كَالنَعامِ الرُبدِ

It has blanketed al-Ghawr and upper Najd;

Within it, lightning runs like dusky ostriches.

إِذا سَناهُ اِنشَقَّ غَيرَ المُكدي

أَضاءَ لِلشامَةِ بَعدَ الرَقدِ

When its unfailing radiance splits open,

It lights for the watcher, after sleep,

جونَ الرُبى مِثلَ جِبالِ الكُردِ

مُنبَعِقِ القَصفِ هَزيمِ الرَعدِ

Dark hills like the mountains of the Kurds,

Bursting with crashes, booming with thunder.

قُلتُ لَهُ حينَ حَفا في العَهدِ

وَغَرَّقَ الوَهدَ وَغَيرَ الوَهدِ

I said to it when it faithfully honored its pledge,

And flooded the hollows and the ground beyond them

بِسَبَلٍ مِثلِ زُلالِ الشَهدِ

اِسلَم وَحُيِّيتَ أَبا المِلَدِّ

With a downpour like the pure liquid of honey:

Live safe and be greeted, Abu al-Miladd!

أَنتَ جَنى العودِ وَمَوتُ الرِئدِ

مُتَوَّجُ الآباءِ ضَخمُ الرِفدِ

You are the fruit of the tree and the death of your peer,

Crowned through your forefathers, lavish in gifts,

مِفتاحُ بابِ الحَدَثِ المُنسَدِّ

نِعمَ مَزارُ المُعتَفي وَالوَفدِ

The key to misfortune's bolted door.

A splendid destination for gift-seekers and delegations!

وَأَنتَ لِلجُندِ وَغَيرِ الجُندِ

مُشتَرَكُ النَيلِ وَرِيُّ الزَندِ

For soldiers and those who are not soldiers, you are

A bounty shared by all, a fire-stick rich in sparks.

تَسبِقُ مَن جاراكَ قَبلَ الشَدِّ

بِالحِلمِ وَالجودِ وَضَربِ الكَردِ

You outstrip whoever races you before the running starts,

Through forbearance, generosity, and driving blows.

ما زِلتَ مَعروفاً مَعَ الأَرَدِّ

أَغَرَّ لَبّاساً ثِيابَ المَجدِ

You have ever been renowned among the formidable,

Radiant, wearing the garments of glory.

ما كانَ مِنّي لَكَ غَيرُ الوُدِّ

ثُمَّ ثَناءٌ مِثلُ ريحِ الوَردِ

From me to you there has been nothing but affection,

Then praise like the fragrance of roses.

نَسَجتُهُ في المُحكَماتِ النَدِّ

فَاِلبَس طِرازي غَيرَ مُستَبَدِّ

I wove it into well-wrought verses, fragrant as incense.

So wear my embroidery, not claiming it exclusively.

لِلَّهِ أَيّامُكَ في مَعَدِّ

ثُمَّ بَني قَحطانَ ثُمَّ عَبدِ

God be praised for your days among Ma'add,

Then the sons of Qahtan, then 'Abd:

يَوماً بِذي صُبيَةَ عِندَ الحَدِّ

وَعِندَهُ اِستَودَعتَ أَرضَ الهِندِ

A day at Dhu Subya, by the frontier,

And there you entrusted the land of India,

بِالمُقرِباتِ المُبعِداتِ الجُردِ

إِذا الفَتى أَكدى بِها لَم تُكدِ

With sleek steeds, bringing near and carrying far.

When a youth faltered on them, they did not falter.

تُلحِمُ أَمراً وَأُموراً تُسدي

وَاِبنُ حَكيمٍ إِذ أَتاكَ يَردي

You weave one affair's weft and set up others' warp.

And Ibn Hakim, when he came galloping against you,

في العَدَدِ المُعلَنكِسِ الأَعَدِّ

راحَ بِحَدٍّ وَغَدا بِحَدِّ

Amid thronging numbers, fully equipped,

Went out fierce and came on fierce,

يَحفِزُ دَفّاعاً كَطَردِ الصَردِ

حَفزَ اللاواذِيِّ عُبابَ المَدِّ

Driving his surging host like a shrike in pursuit,

As the Lawadhi boatman thrusts through the surging tide.

كَأَنَّهُ مِن غُلَواءِ الجُردِ

في العَسكَرِ المُسلَنطِحِ المُقوَدِّ

As though, in the headlong rush of sleek horses,

Within the sprawling, elongated army,

أَصَمُّ لا يَسمَعُ صَوتَ الرَعدِ

حَبَيتَهُ بِحَتفِهِ المُعَدِّ

He were deaf, unable to hear the thunder's voice.

You bestowed upon him his prepared doom,

بَعدَ طِعانٍ صادِقٍ وَجَلدِ

فَاِنهَدَّ مِثلَ الجَبَلِ المُنهَدِّ

After true lance-thrusts and sword-blows.

So he collapsed like a collapsing mountain.

وَاِنفَرَجَت عَن أَسَدٍ أَلَدِّ

وَعَن نُمورٍ حَولَهُ وَأُسدِ

And the host parted to reveal a fiercely contending lion,

And tigers around him, and lions,

صَرعى كَصَرعى الخَندَريسِ المُردِ

بُعداً وَلا تَرثِ لَهُم مِن بُعدِ

Fallen like those felled by deadly old wine.

Away with them! Do not pity their ruin.

كُلَّ اِمرِئٍ رَهنٌ بِما يُؤَدّي

وَرُبَّ ذي تاجٍ كَريمِ المَجدِ

Every person is held in pledge by what he does.

And many a wearer of a crown, of noble glory,

كَآلِ كِسرى وَكَآلِ بُردِ

أَنكَبَ جافٍ عَن طَريقِ الرُشدِ

Like the house of Khusrau and the house of Burd,

Crooked, swerving from the path of right:

فَصَلتَهُ عَن مالِهِ وَالوُلدِ

يا بِنتَ أَفصى مِن بَني العُرُندِ

You cut him off from his wealth and children.

O daughter of Afsa, of the sons of al-Urund,

قولي لِعَبدِ القَيسِ إِن لَم تُجدِ

لا تَفرَحي بِالجَلَبِ الأَشَدِّ

Say to 'Abd al-Qays, though your words may not avail:

Do not rejoice in your mighty mustering.

فَاِنتَظِري عُقبَةَ بَعدَ الوَخدِ

سِيّانَ مَن يَغزو وَمَن في اللَحدِ

Await 'Uqba after his swift march.

Those who wage war and those in the grave are alike.

قَد جاءَكِ الدَهرُ بِأَمرٍ إِدِّ

بِعُقبَةَ المِشغَبِ ثُمَّ المُجدي

Time has brought you a terrible thing:

'Uqba, the stirrer of strife, then the benefactor,

يَهُزُّ أَعلى سَيفِهِ الأَحَدِّ

في جَحفَلٍ كَالعارِضِ المُسوَدِّ

Brandishing the tip of his keenest sword,

Within an army like a dark storm-cloud,

يَشُقُّ مَتنَ الصَحصَحانِ الجَردِ

بِالعَلَمَينِ في الحَديدِ السَردِ

Cleaving the surface of the vast, bare plain,

With two banners amid linked iron armor,

وَكُلِّ جَيّاشِ العَشايا نَهدِ

في لِبدِهِ وَالمَوتُ فَوقَ اللِبدِ

And every high-chested steed, surging at evening,

In its saddle-pad, with death above the pad.