أقبلت تنجلي وتسحب ذيلا — Butrus Karama

أقبلت تنجلي وتسحب ذيلاً

ذات قدٍّ يميس تيهاً ودلا

She approached, coming into view and trailing a train,

with a figure swaying proudly and coquettishly.

غادة تفتن الظباءَ بجيدٍ

وغصون النقا اهتزازاً وميلا

A maiden whose neck enchants the gazelles,

and whose swaying and bending enchant the dune-grown branches.

اطلعت كوكب الصباح لدينا

من جبين عل الجمال تولى

She brought forth the morning star before us

from a brow where beauty, perhaps, held sway.

أخت بدرٍ رقت حديثاً وخصراً

فاسترقت منا جناناً وعقلا

A sister of the full moon, delicate in speech and waist,

she enslaved our hearts and minds.

وغذتنا فجرد القدُّ رمحاً

سمهريّا واشهر الطرف نصلا

And she nourished us; her figure bared a spear,

straight and sturdy, and her glance unsheathed a blade.

يا لقومي من ذات تيهٍ سبتني

بالتجني وليس تنصف خلا

O my people, help against a proud woman who captured me

through unjust reproaches, never treating a lover fairly.

ظبية من ظباء لبنان لا من

ظبياتٍ ترعى بعسفان رملا

A gazelle from Lebanon's gazelles, not from

gazelles that graze on the sands at Usfan.

شغلتني وكنت قبلاً خليّا

فدعتني لا استطيعنَ شغلا

She preoccupied me, though once I was carefree,

then called me; I could do no work.

من مجيري من لحظها حين يرنو

يجفون يرشن سحراً ونبلا

Who will protect me from her gaze when it looks

through eyelids that feather spells and arrows?

أطرباني بذكرها يا نديميّ

وزيدا ولز ملاما وعدا

Delight me with mention of her, my two companions,

and add more, even blame and reproach [wording uncertain].

يا مهاة لها لحشاشة مرعى

عمركِ اللَه قد فتكت فمها

O oryx, whose pasture is the last spark of my life,

I adjure you by God: you have slain me—so gently!

أتقي اللَه في فواد حليمٍ

صيرته عيناك مجنون

Fear God in your treatment of a forbearing heart

that your two eyes have driven mad.

إن بعدي يا ميُّ انحل جسمي

وفؤادي بنار هجرك يصلي

Indeed, my separation, O Mayy, has wasted my body,

and my heart burns in the fire of your desertion.

لا تظني البعاد مني سلّوا

أو جفاءً أو أن قلبي ملّا

Do not think my absence means forgetting love,

or coldness, or that my heart has grown weary.

لا وحبيك ما سلوت ولكن

قد رأيت الصدود أبقى وأولى

No, by my love for you, I have not forgotten; but

I have found withdrawal more sustaining and more fitting.

ان لحظيك عاهداني على أن

لا أطيع السلوان جدّاً وهزلا

Your two glances made a pact with me that

I would not yield to forgetting, in earnest or in jest.

لست أنسى أيام أنسٍ تقضت

وليالٍ مضينَ يا ميُّ وصلا

I do not forget the days of intimacy that passed,

and nights spent in union, O Mayy.

هزني ذكرها الطروب غراماً

كاهتزازي لمدح أعظم مولى

The joyous memory of her stirred me with longing,

as I am stirred by praising the greatest lord:

الشهابي البشير رب المعالي

والهمام الشهير جوداً وعدلا

Bashir al-Shihabi, lord of lofty honors,

the valiant man renowned for generosity and justice.

سيد المجد والمكارم شهم

ذو أيادٍ تحكي السحائب نيلا

Master of glory and noble virtues, a man of valor,

whose benefactions rival the clouds in bounty.

جهبذ غنمهُ الثناءُ فاضحت

لعلاه ذرى السماك محلا

A master whose reward is praise; now

al-Simak's heights have become the abode of his greatness.

بدر صدر العلاء قد أخذ الحس

ن تماماً وبالكمال تحلى

A full moon in eminence's bosom, he has taken beauty

in full, and adorned himself with perfection.

حازم ذو عزيمة تخجل السي

ف مضاءً وتجعل الحزن سهلا

Resolute, with a will that shames the sword

in keenness, and makes rugged ground smooth.

ماجدٌ ساد همةً ومقاما

وتسامى فتكاً وحلماً وبذلا

A noble man, supreme in aspiration and station,

excelling in deadly might, forbearance, and giving.

أسد يقهر الأسود إذا ما

سل سيفاً أو هزّ للحرب ذبلا

A lion who subdues lions whenever

he draws a sword or brandishes slender spears for war.

كم كمي أرداه يوم نزالٍ

وخميس من فتك يمناه ولّى

How many an armored warrior he felled on a day of combat,

and how many an army fled his right hand's deadly blows!

يا رعى اللَه بيت دين التهاني

وسقاها الحياءُ طلّاً ووبلا

May God protect Bayt Din, home of rejoicing,

and may rain water it with dew and downpours.

فاخرت بالبشير كل محلٍّ

واستعزت به جمالاً ونبلا

It vied with every place in pride through Bashir,

and through him grew proud in beauty and nobility.

يا كريماً طابت بطيب ثناه

فنحات الأزهارِ أيان يتلى

O generous man, whose sweet praise sweetens

the flowers' fragrant wafts whenever it is recited.

تتهنى بخلعةٍ ذات سعدٍ

ودلالٍ لم ترضى غيرك أهلا

May you rejoice in a robe of honor endowed with good fortune

and coquetry, which deemed none but you worthy.

بنت عزٍّ تنال منك سموّاً

ما تمادى الزمان حولاً فحولا

A daughter of glory, it gains elevation from you

as long as time stretches on, year after year.

تتثنى إلى لقاك وتهتزُّ

كصب أدار ذكر الاخلا

It sways toward meeting you and quivers,

like a lover turning over the memory of dear companions.

زادك اللَه سودداً وسعوداً

وهناءً وزادك اللَه فضلا

May God increase your eminence and good fortune,

and happiness; may God grant you greater grace.

خذ بعفو فتاة فكر تدانت

من عبيد تهدي من المدح فصلا

Accept indulgently a maiden of thought who draws near,

from a humble servant, offering a passage of praise.

وتهنّى بخلعةٍ أرخوها

دم سليماً دامت لعلياك تجلى

And rejoice in a robe of honor whose date they recorded:

Remain safe; may it ever be displayed for your eminence.