بشراك بشراك قد أدناكم النائي — Germanus Farhat

بُشراكَ بُشراكَ قد أدناكُمُ النائي

مذ أومَضَ البَرقُ من تِلقاءِ عَذراءِ

Glad tidings to you, glad tidings! The distant one has drawn you near,

Since lightning flashed from the direction of the Virgin.

فالجَوُّ مُنبَجسٌ بالنورِ مَفرِقُهُ

والأَرضُ قد بَسَمَت عَن ثَغر لَمياءِ

So the sky's crown gushes with light,

And the earth has smiled, revealing a dark-lipped beauty's mouth.

قد غَرَّدَ الطائِرُ السِرِّيُّ من طَرَبٍ

لما رأى القُضبَ تَرقُصْ رَقصَ هَيفاءِ

The mystic bird has trilled for joy,

When it saw the boughs dance a slender maiden's dance.

والريحُ تكتُب فوقَ الماءِ أنملُها

سَطراً تُحاكيهِ بينَ الدُرِّ والماءِ

And the wind's fingertips write upon the water

A line it imitates between pearls and water.

إذ لاحَ شَمسُ الهُدى في بُرجِ طالعِه

بِشارةٌ قَدَّست أرحامَ حَوّاءِ

When the sun of guidance shone in its ascendant's house,

An annunciation sanctified the wombs of Eve.

وأشرَقَ اللَهُ في ناسوت آدمهِ

مُذ جاءَ جِبريلُهُ العالي ببُشراءِ

And God shone in the human nature of His Adam,

Since His exalted Gabriel came with glad tidings.

كأَنَّ ناسوتَهُ المخلوقَ في عَجَبٍ

بابٌ للاهوتهِ في طَيِّ إِخفاءِ

As though His created human nature, wondrously,

Were a door to His divinity in the folds of concealment.

أَهلاً بمُتَّشحِ الناسوتِ مُنحدراً

كأنَّهُ قَبَسٌ في جِنحِ دَهماءِ

Welcome to Him descending, clothed in human nature,

As though He were a flame in the wing of a pitch-dark night.

شارَفتَنا وقَتامُ الكُفر يَصرَعُنا

والعَقلُ يَخبِطُ فيهِ خَبطَ عَشواءِ

You drew near to us while unbelief's dust struck us down,

And reason blundered in it like a dim-sighted she-camel.

وَبَينَما الجَهلُ يَغشى العقلَ مُنتَصِراً

بَدَت طَلائِعُ جبريلٍ لعَذراءِ

And while ignorance, triumphant, shrouded reason,

Gabriel's vanguard appeared to the Virgin.

جبريل ما لَكَ منقضّاً وقد بزغت

من فيك شمسٌ أراها سِرَّ مولائي

Gabriel, why are you swooping down, when there has risen

From your mouth a sun I behold as my Lord's mystery?

أرى الجليلَ بأَصقاع الجليل وَقَد

كانَ الجليلُ على أَكنافِ أضواءِ

I see the Majestic One in the regions of Galilee, though

The Majestic One had been amid the reaches of light.

يا أرضَ ناصرةٍ أضحيتِ ناصرةً

عَزائِماً كُنَّ قبلاً ذاتَ أسواءِ

O land of Nazareth, you have become a helper

To resolves once beset by evils.

أجابَ جِبريلُ والأَسرارُ تَعضُدُهُ

إنِّي رسولٌ بإنعامٍ وإِنشاءِ

Gabriel replied, with the mysteries upholding him:

I am a messenger bearing favor and creation,

إلى بتولٍ أُبَشِّرْها وقد وُصفَت

لي مريم البكر فَاِسمع نَصَّ بُشرائي

To a virgin, bringing her glad tidings; she has been described

To me as Mary the virgin—so hear the words of my glad tidings:

لكِ السلامُ أيا قُدسُ اِستقرَّ بِهِ

ربٌّ تعالى بألقابٍ وأسماءِ

Peace be upon you, O sanctuary where there dwells

A Lord exalted in titles and names.

الرب معْكِ وفي أَحشاكِ أَبصُرُهُ

إبناً جنيناً بدا في سِلك أَبناءِ

The Lord is with you, and in your womb I behold Him,

A son, an unborn child, appearing in the ranks of sons.

لكِ السلامُ أَيا كَنزاً بِهِ وجدوا

ماءَ الحياةِ لِأَمواتٍ وأَحياءِ

Peace be upon you, O treasure in which they found

The water of life for the dead and the living.

يَجيءُ مِنكِ إلهٌ نَحنُ نعبُدُهُ

وَيَنشُلُ الضالَ من تيهٍ وإغواءِ

From you comes a God whom we worship,

And He rescues the lost from wandering and seduction.

ذاك الذي قد رَأى حَزقيلُ مَنظَرهُ

من فوق مَركَبةٍ ما بينَ أضواءِ

That is He whose appearance Ezekiel beheld

Above a chariot, amid lights.

تَنقَضَّ مِنهُ بروقٌ خلتُها شُهُباً

مِنها الملائِك في خوفٍ وإغراءِ

Lightning bolts darted from Him; I thought them meteors,

Because of them, the angels were in fear and enticement.

نَراهُ قَد حَلَّ فيها مِثلَما سُفُنٍ

أرسَت أناجيرَها في لجِّ آلاءِ

We see Him settled in her, just as ships

Have set their anchors in a deep sea of blessings.

أنت هي الرَوضة المأمونُ مَغرِسُها

ينساب فيها مَعينُ البُرءِ للداءِ

You are the garden whose planting-ground is secure,

Within it flows the spring of healing for disease.

أَنتِ هي الهيكلُ المختار من قِدَمٍ

لم ترقَهُ قَطُّ أقدامٌ بأسواءِ

You are the temple chosen from of old,

Feet bearing evils have never ascended it.

أَنتِ التي هي قُدسُ القُدسِ مَقْدسُها

مِنها نَنال سِعاداتِ الأَخِصّاءِ

You are she whose sanctuary is the Holy of Holies,

From her we gain the joys of the specially favored.

ومنكِ يا بكرُ يأتي اللَه مُتَّلِداً

والختمُ باقٍ بإِجلالٍ وإِرعاءِ

And from you, O virgin, God comes forth in birth,

And the seal remains, honored and safeguarded.

لكي يُخَلِّصَ حَوّا من غَوايتها

بنَهجِهِ الحقَّ يمحو آيَ ظَلماءِ

To deliver Eve from her waywardness,

By His true path He effaces the signs of darkness.

فكلُّ نُطقٍ يماريهِ بهِ خَرَسٌ

وكلُّ عينٍ شَنَتهُ عينُ عمياءِ

So every utterance that disputes with Him is mute,

And every eye that hates Him is a blind eye.

وكل سَمعٍ يكذبْهُ بِهِ صَمَمٌ

كَأَنَّهُ جاءَ مَحشوّاً ببَلواءِ

And every ear that calls Him false is deaf,

As though it had come filled with affliction.

يا حاملاً عرشَهُ الأَجنادُ في رَهبٍ

ها الآنَ مَثواكَ في أَحشاءِ عذراءِ

O You whose throne the hosts bear in dread,

Behold, now Your abode is within a virgin's womb.

طوباكِ يا مَريمُ العذراءُ إذ وَفَدَت

عَليكِ نُجّابُ أفراحٍ وبُشراءِ

Blessed are you, O Mary the Virgin, as there have come

To you noble heralds of joys and glad tidings.

حقّاً لقَد أُنطِقَ الراوونَ عنكِ بأن

عن مثلها أُعقِمت أرحامُ حَوّاءِ

Truly, those who speak of you were made to declare that

Eve's wombs were made barren of another like her.

إِنّي أرى الكونَ بَعد اليأسِ مبتَهِجاً

قد أيدتهُ براهينُ الأَوِدّاءِ

I see the universe rejoicing after despair,

The proofs of loving friends have strengthened it.

فالكُفر في حَرَبٍ والكذْبُ في كُرَبٍ

والصِدقُ في طَربٍ والحاءُ في الياءِ

So unbelief is in ruin, and falsehood in anguish,

And truth is in rapture, and the letter ḥāʾ is in the letter yāʾ.

والخَلقُ في رَهَجٍ والأُفق في بَهَجٍ

والنُطق في نَهَجٍ يَشدو كَوَرقاءِ

And creation is in swirling dust, and the horizon in splendor,

And speech is breathless, singing like a gray dove.

والإثم قد نَسَخَت آياتِ سورتِهِ

رياتُ مطلَعِ غُفرانٍ وَإِرضاءِ

And the verses of sin's chapter have been abrogated

By the banners of dawning forgiveness and appeasement.

والهَرطَقاتُ غَدا الإيمان يُدحِضُها

كَأَنَّها العار للمَرئيُّ والرائي

And faith now refutes the heresies,

As though they were a disgrace to the seen and the seer.

ترتدُّ عنها عيونُ الناس خاسئَةً

كأَنَّها رُقِمَت في طِرسِ أَقذاءِ

People's eyes recoil from them, abased,

As though they were inscribed on a parchment of filth.

أَلقى عليها معينَ الحق فاندَرَست

مذ قام يمحَق معْها كلَّ فحشاءِ

It poured the spring of truth upon them, and they were effaced,

Since it rose to wipe out every abomination along with them.

طوبى بني آدمٍ إذ قد رأوا ملِكاً

في زِيِّ عبدٍ بلا كِبرٍ وخِيْلاءِ

Blessed are the children of Adam, for they have seen a king

In a servant's garb, without pride or haughtiness.

بشراك يا آدمُ المسجونُ في نَفَقٍ

وافاك آسيكَ من ضُرٍّ وأسواءِ

Glad tidings to you, O Adam, imprisoned in a tunnel:

Your healer has come to deliver you from harm and afflictions.

قد تمَّ سُؤلُكَ فَاخلَع ما عليك فَقَد

نَجَوتَ من عثرةٍ رَقشاءَ رَقطاءِ

Your wish is fulfilled; cast off what is upon you, for

You have escaped a speckled, spotted stumbling-block.

لذاك لما دعاني في الورى زَمَني

أجَبتُهُ إذ لساني غيرُ فَأفاءِ

Therefore, when my age called me among mankind,

I answered it, for my tongue is not a stammerer.

إليك عذراءَ بكراً في غَلائِلها

ما شانَها قَطُّ نَظّامٌ بإيطاءِ

Here for you is a virgin maiden in her fine robes,

Whom no versifier ever marred with repeated rhyme-words.

تُزَفُّ مَنظومةً كالدُرِّ مَنطِقُها

يجِلُّ إعرابها عن قَدح إِقواءِ

She is led forth as a bride, composed in verse, her speech like pearls;

Her inflection is above censure for mismatched rhyme-vowels.