حاذر الحب إن في الحب شرا — Elias Abu Shabaki

حاذِرِ الحُبَّ إِنَّ في الحُبِّ شَرّا

فَهوَ نارُ القَلبِ تصهُر صَهرا

Beware of love: there is evil in love.

For it is the heart's fire, melting it utterly.

إِن يَكُن في الرِجال قَلبٌ غدور

فَقُلوبُ النِساءِ أَقرَبُ غَدرا

If among men there is a treacherous heart,

Women's hearts are more prone to treachery.

وَفَتاةٍ أَعارَها البَدرُ نوراً

فَأَضاءَت بَينَ الكَواكِبِ بَدرا

And there was a maiden to whom the full moon lent light,

So she shone among the stars as a full moon.

تَغمِزُ الكُحل في غضاضَة جَفنَي

ها دَلالاً فَيرجِع الكحلُ سِحرا

She presses kohl into the softness of those eyelids

Of hers, coquettishly, and the kohl becomes magic.

رامَ مِنها فَتى مراماً شَريفاً

كلُّ ما شاءَه الفَتى كانَ طُهرا

A young man sought an honorable purpose with her;

All the young man wanted was purity.

وَالهَوى شارِد البَصائِر أَعمى

ليسَ يَدري بِما بهِ العَقل أَدرى

And love is blind, its insight gone astray;

It does not know what reason knows better.

قَد أَحبَّ الفَتيُّ فيها جمالاً

وَأَحَبَّت فيه ثَراءً وَقَدرا

The youth loved beauty in her,

And she loved wealth and status in him.

ما مَضى بَعضُ أَشهُرِ الحُبِّ حَتّى

ماتَ عَن ثَروَةٍ أَبوهُ فَأَثرى

Barely a few months of love had passed when

His father died, leaving a fortune, and he grew rich.

أُمهُ وَهيَ في العَفافِ مثالٌ

ردَعته عَنها فَظلَّ مُصِرّا

His mother, a model of chastity,

Warned him away from her, but he persisted.

نَصَحتَه فَما أَرادَ اِنتِصاحاً

وَغَدا يَبذر الدَنانيرَ بَذرا

She counseled him, but he would not heed her,

And he began scattering dinars lavishly.

قالَ يا أُمِّ أَيُّ شَيءٍ معيبٌ

في غَرامي وَأَيُّ شَيءٍ أَضَرّا

He said, "Mother, what is blameworthy

In my love, and what harm has it done?

أَنا أَهوى فيها فُؤاداً أَبرّاً

وَهيَ تَهوى فيَّ الفُؤادَ الأَبرا

I love in her a most virtuous heart,

And she loves in me the most virtuous heart."

فَأَجابَتهُ لا أَلومُك يا اِبني

فَرَبيعُ الشَبابِ بِالحُبِّ أَحرى

She answered him, "I do not blame you, my son,

For youth's springtime is best suited to love.

غَير أَنَّ الفَتاةَ لا خَيرَ فيها

فَجَمالُ الأَخلاقِ مِنها تَعَرّى

But there is no good in that girl:

She is stripped of the beauty of character.

مِل إِلى غَيرِها إِذا رمتَ تَهوى

وَاِختَبِر قَبل أَن تَهوّرَ خُبرا

Turn to someone else if you wish to love,

And test her well before you rush headlong.

فَالصبياتُ قَد تكنَّ عهارى

وَأَزاهيرُ قَد تَكنَّ وتبرا

For young women may be harlots,

And they may be blossoms and pure gold."

قالَ تِلكَ الفَتاةُ غرس فُؤادي

فَدَعيها في الحُبِّ تُزهِرِ زَهرا

He said, "That girl is my heart's sapling;

So let her blossom into flowers in love.

إِنَّها لي وَلَن تَكونَ لِغَيري

وَعليَّ العُقبى إِذا جِئتُ وِزرا

She is mine and will never be another's,

And the consequences are mine if I commit a sin."

هذهِ قِطعَةُ من الماسِ يا هِن

دُ وَذي قِطعَةٌ من الماسِ أُخرى

"Here is a diamond, O

Hind, and here is another diamond.

زَيِّني صِدرَكِ الجَميلَ وَسُرّي

فَغَداً تَنظُرينَ في الجَيد عشرا

Adorn your beautiful breast and rejoice,

For tomorrow you will see ten upon your neck."

وَاِرتَمي في ذِراعَها مُستَهاماً

فَتَمَنّى هُناكَ لَو نامَ شَهرا

And he flung himself into her arms, love-struck,

And wished he could sleep there for a month.

فَهوَ سَكرانُ من غَرامٍ شَريف

وَهيَ بِالجَوهَرِ المُشَعشِعِ سَكرى

For he was drunk with honorable love,

While she was drunk with sparkling jewels.

هِندُ إِنَّ الرَبيعَ في الحَقلِ بَسّا

مٌ وَعَرف الزهورِ يُنشَر نَشرا

"Hind, spring in the field is

Smiling, and the flowers' fragrance spreads abroad.

فَاِنشُقيهِ فَفيهِ عطر زَكيٌّ

وَاِسكَبيهِ عَلى إِهابيَ عطرا

Breathe it in, for it holds a sweet fragrance,

And pour it as perfume upon my skin.

كلّ ما في الحَياةِ يَرنو إِلَينا

بِحنوٍّ عَساهُ أَن يَستَمِرّا

Everything in life gazes at us

With tenderness—may it endure.

فَفُؤادي قَفرٌ بِغَير هِيامي

وَحَياتي بِغَير حُبِّيَ قَفرا

For my heart is a wasteland without my passion,

And my life without my love is a wasteland.

هِندُ يا هِندُ أَنشِدي ليَ أَيضاً

وَاِنظُري مَوكِبَ الدُجى كَيف مرّا

Hind, O Hind, sing to me again,

And see how the procession of darkness has passed.

وَأَفاقَ الفَجرَ الجَميلُ عَلى صَو

تِكِ يُلقي عَلى غَرامِيَ فَجرا

And beautiful dawn awoke to

Your voice, casting a dawn upon my love."

مرَّ عام وَالحُبّ يَزدادُ يَوماً

بَعدَ يَومٍ وَالمالُ يَزداد هَدرا

A year passed, and love grew day

After day, while money was squandered ever more.

وَعَدا الفَقرُ في طَريق هَواهُ

وَأَتاهُ الهَوى فَصادَفَ فَقرا

And poverty raced along the path of his love,

And love came to him and encountered poverty.

عِندَ هذا تَبَدَّلَت حالُ هِندٍ

وَاِستَمَرَّت إِلَيهِ تَنظُرُ شزرا

At this, Hind's manner changed,

And she kept looking askance at him.

لَو أَتاها وَبَينَ أَضلُعُه العَط

فُ للاقى في صَدرِها الصَلبِ صَخرا

Were he to come to her with

Tenderness between his ribs, he would find rock in her hard breast.

جاءَها في مَساءِ يَومٍ وَلكِن

قَبلَ اَن يَدخلَ اِختَشى وَاِقشَعرا

He came to her one evening, but

Before entering, he grew afraid and shuddered.

ذاكَ أَنَّ الفَتى تَسرَّق أَمراً

من حَديثٍ قَد دارَ في البَيتِ سِرّا

For the youth had stealthily overheard something

Of a conversation held secretly in the house.

قالَت الأُمُّ أَنتِ وِقرٌ ثَقيلٌ

وَبَقاءُ الحَبيبِ أَثقَلُ وَقرا

The mother said, "You are a heavy burden,

And the lover's staying is a heavier burden.

فَمن الجَهلِ بَعد أَن سيمَ خسفاً

أَن يَكونَ الفَتى لأمِّكِ صِهرا

It would be foolish, after he has been brought low,

For the youth to become your mother's son-in-law.

فَالجنينُ الَّذي دفنّاهُ بِالأَمسِ

اِجعَليهِ في سِرٍّ صَدرِك قَبرا

As for the fetus we buried yesterday,

Give it a grave in the secret recesses of your breast.

فَاِحذَري أَن يُقالَ إِنَّك عار

وَاِحذَري أَن يُقالَ إِنك عُرّى

Beware lest they say you are a disgrace,

And beware lest they say you are stripped bare."

دخل الصبُّ غَيرَ أَنَّ شراراً

كانَ في مُقلَتَيه يسعُر سعرا

The lover entered, but sparks

Were blazing fiercely in his eyes.

فَاِعتَرى الأُمَّ عند مرآه ذعرٌ

وَرَأى في الفَتاةِ خوفاً وَذُعرا

At the sight of him, terror seized the mother,

And he saw fear and terror in the girl.

قالَ عذراً يا هِندُ إِنَّ فُؤادي

أَخطَأَ السَيرَ معكِ يا هندُ عذرا

He said, "Pardon me, Hind; my heart

Took the wrong road with you, Hind—pardon me.

أَنا لم أَهوَ فيكِ عهراً لِأَني

طاهِرُ الذيلِ لَستُ أُدركُ عهرا

I did not love debauchery in you, for I am

Of unstained hem; I know nothing of debauchery."

وَاِنثنى هائِماً عَلى نَفسِهِ الثَك

لى فَلَم يُستَفق وَلم يُستقرّا

And he turned away, distraught over his

Bereaved soul; he neither regained his senses nor found rest.

وَسَرى السَقم بَعدَ ذلِكَ فيهِ

وَمَشى في العِظامِ يَنخُر نَخرا

And after that, sickness crept through him,

And moved through his bones, gnawing them away.

وَلَدي لَيسَ عِندَنا اليَومَ فِطرٌ

وَمنَ الأَمسِ لَم نَذُق قَطُّ فِطرا

"My son, we have no food today,

And since yesterday we have tasted no food at all.

فَالخَوابي فَرَغنَ من كُلِّ شَيءٍ

وَمنَ الخُبزِ لا نُصادِفُ نَزرا

For the storage jars are empty of everything,

And we cannot find even a little bread."

أُترِكيني يا أُمِّ لا تُزعِجيني

بِحَديثٍ قَد شاخَ حَتّى اِسبطرّا

"Leave me, mother; do not trouble me

With talk grown old and long-drawn-out.

فَأَنا كافِرٌ وَسَوفَ يَراني

كلُّ مَن مَرَّ بي أُزَوِّدُ كُفرا

For I am an unbeliever, and I shall be seen

By all who pass me, dispensing unbelief."

وَمَضى وَالظَلامُ يسدلُ ستراً

فَوقَهُ وَالعَذابُ يسدلُ سَترا

And he went on, while darkness drew a curtain

Over him, and torment drew a curtain.

ضَعضَعته ذِكرى أَمرَّت عَلَيهِ

جَنحَها وَاِستَفاقَ يَنفُثُ جَمرا

A memory shook him, brushing him with

Its wing; he came to himself, breathing embers.

فَرَأى نَفسَهُ أَمامَ فَتاةٍ

أَنشَبَت من غَرامِها فيهِ ظِفرا

And he found himself before a girl

Who had sunk a claw of her love into him.

فَاِنتَسى ما مَشى عَلَيهِ وَأَحيا

حُبَّهُ عامِلُ الجَمالِ فَخرّا

So he forgot all he had endured, and life returned

To his love through beauty's power; then he fell.

حَدَّقَت فيهِ فَترَةً فَتَراءى

في لماهُ أَمامِها طَيفُ ذِكرى

She stared at him awhile, and there appeared

Upon his dark lips, before her, a phantom of memory.

فَتَناسَت وَحَوَّلَت عَنهُ جِفناً

كانَ بِالأَمسِ يَنثُرُ الحُبَّ نَثرا

She feigned forgetfulness and turned from him an eyelid

That yesterday had scattered love abroad.

هِندُ إِنّي عَطشان جُرعَةُ ماءٍ

فَشفاهي الصَفراءُ يا هِندُ حرّى

"Hind, I am thirsty—a sip of water!

For my yellow lips, Hind, are burning."

فَمشى في جَبينِها شبحُ الغَدرِ

وَفي عَينِها اِستَوى وَاِكفَهَرّا

Then the specter of treachery moved across her brow,

And settled in her eye, glowering darkly.

وَأَتَتهُ بِكَأسِ خَمرٍ وَقالَت

إِشرَبِ الكَأسَ إِنَّ في الكَأسِ خَمرا

She brought him a cup of wine and said,

"Drink the cup: there is wine in the cup."

ثُمَّ قالَت في نَفسِها إِنَّ سُمّي

سَوفَ يُبقي سِرّي بِصَدرِكَ دَهرا

Then she said to herself, "My poison

Will keep my secret in your breast for ages."