بنات الشعر بالنفحات جودي — Hafez Ibrahim

بَناتِ الشِعرِ بِالنَفَحاتِ جودي

فَهَذا يَومُ شاعِرِكِ المُجيدِ

O daughters of poetry, be lavish with your fragrant breaths;

For this is the day of your accomplished poet.

أَطِلّي وَاِسفِري وَدَعيهِ يُحيي

بِما توحينَ أَيّامَ الرَشيدِ

Appear, unveil yourselves, and let him revive

Through what you inspire, the days of al-Rashid.

إِذا ما جَلَّ قَدرُكِ عَن هُبوطٍ

مُريهِ إِلى سَمائِكِ بِالصُعودِ

If your stature is too exalted to descend,

Bid him ascend into your heaven.

وَأَولي ذَلِكَ الفاني بَياناً

يَتيهُ بِهِ عَلى أَهلِ الخُلودِ

And grant that mortal an eloquence

With which he may vaunt himself above the immortals.

وَحُلّي عُقدَةً مِن أَصغَرَيهِ

يَلِن لِهُتافِهِ قاسي الحَديدِ

And loose the knot from his heart and tongue,

So that hard iron softens at his cry.

فَما أَنا واقِفٌ بِرُسومِ دارٍ

أُسائِلُها وَلا كَلِفٌ بِرودِ

For I do not stand among a dwelling's traces,

Questioning them, nor am I enamored of a tender maiden;

وَلا مُستَنزِلٌ هِبَةً بِمَدحٍ

وَلا مُستَنجِزٌ حُرَّ الوُعودِ

Nor do I seek to draw down a gift with praise,

Nor the fulfillment of noble promises.

وَلَكِنّي وَقَفتُ أَنوحُ نَوحاً

عَلى قَومي وَأَهتِفُ بِالنَشيدِ

But I have stood to lament aloud

Over my people, and to raise my voice in song.

وَأَدفَعُ عَنهُمُ بِشَبا يَراعٍ

يَصولُ بِكُلِّ قافِيَةٍ شَرودِ

And I defend them with a reed-pen's sharp point,

Which charges with every far-ranging rhyme.

بَناتُ الشِعرِ إِن هِيَ أَسعَدَتني

شَكَوتُ مِنَ العَميدِ إِلى العَميدِ

If the daughters of poetry lend me their aid,

I shall complain of one Commissioner to another.

وَلَم أَجحَد عَوارِفَهُ وَلَكِن

رَأَيتُ المَنَّ داعِيَةَ الجُحودِ

I have not denied his favors, but

I found that flaunting favors breeds ingratitude.

أَذيقونا الرَجاءَ فَقَد ظَمِئنا

بِعَهدِ المُصلِحينَ إِلى الوُرودِ

Give us a taste of hope, for we have thirsted,

In the reformers' age, to come to water.

وَمُنّوا بِالوُجودِ فَقَد جَهِلنا

بِفَضلِ وُجودِكُم مَعنى الوُجودِ

And grant us existence, for we have ceased to know,

Thanks to your existence, what existence means.

إِذا اِعلَولى الصِياحُ فَلا تَلُمنا

فَإِنَّ الناسَ في جُهدٍ جَهيدِ

If the outcry rises high, do not blame us,

For the people are in grievous distress.

عَلى قَدرِ الأَذى وَالظُلمِ يَعلو

صِياحُ المُشفِقينَ مِنَ المَزيدِ

In proportion to the harm and oppression rises

The outcry of those who fear still more.

جِراحٌ في النُفوسِ نَغَرنَ نَغراً

وَكُنَّ قَدِ اِندَمَلنَ عَلى صَديدِ

Wounds in our souls have festered deeply,

Though they had healed over pus.

إِذا ما هاجَهُنَّ أَسىً جَديدٌ

هَتَكنَ سَرائِرَ القَلبِ الجَليدِ

Whenever a new sorrow stirs them,

They lay bare the secrets of the steadfast heart.

إِلى مَن نَشتَكي عَنَتَ اللَيالي

إِلى العَبّاسِ أَم عَبدِ الحَميدِ

To whom shall we complain of the nights' afflictions—

To al-Abbas, or to Abd al-Hamid?

وَدونَ حِماهُما قامَت رِجالٌ

تُرَوِّعُنا بِأَصنافِ الوَعيدِ

Yet before their refuge stand men

Who terrify us with every kind of threat.

فَما جِئنا نُطاوِلُكُم بِجاهٍ

يُطولُكُمُ وَلا رُكنٍ شَديدِ

We have not come to vie with you in prestige

That surpasses yours, nor with a mighty pillar of support;

وَلا بِتنا نُعاجِزُكُم بِعِلمٍ

يَبينُ بِهِ الغَوِيُّ مِنَ الرَشيدِ

Nor have we spent the night challenging you with knowledge

By which the misguided are distinguished from the rightly guided.

وَلَكِنّا نُطالِبُكُم بِحَقٍّ

أَضَرَّ بِأَهلِهِ نَقضُ العُهودِ

But we demand of you a right

Whose holders have suffered from the breaking of pledges.

رَمانا صاحِبُ التَقريرِ ظُلماً

بِكُفرانِ العَوارِفِ وَالكُنودِ

The author of the report unjustly accused us

Of denying favors and of ingratitude.

وَأَقسَمَ لا يُجيبُ لَنا نِداءً

وَلَو جِئنا بِقُرآنٍ مَجيدِ

And swore he would answer no call of ours,

Even if we came with the glorious Qur'an.

وَبَشَّرَ أَهلَ مِصرٍ بِاِحتِلالٍ

يَدومُ عَلَيهِمُ أَبَدَ الأَبيدِ

And gave Egypt's people glad tidings of an occupation

That would last over them forever and ever.

وَأَنبَتَ في النُفوسِ لَكُم جَفاءً

تَعَهَّدَهُ بِمُنهَلِّ الصُدودِ

And planted in our souls a coldness toward you,

Which he tended with a downpour of rebuffs.

فَأَثمَرَ وَحشَةً بَلَغَت مَداها

وَزَكّاها بِأَربَعَةٍ شُهودِ

It bore a fruit of alienation that reached its height,

And he strengthened it with four witnesses.

قَتيلُ الشَمسِ أَورَثَنا حَياةً

وَأَيقَظَ هاجِعَ القَومِ الرُقودِ

The sun's victim bequeathed us life

And woke the sleeper among the slumbering people.

فَلَيتَ كُرومَراً قَد دامَ فينا

يُطَوِّقُ بِالسَلاسِلِ كُلَّ جَيدِ

Would that Cromer had remained among us,

Clasping chains around every neck,

وَيُتحِفُ مِصرَ آناً بَعدَ آنٍ

بِمَجلودٍ وَمَقتولٍ شَهيدِ

And presenting Egypt, time after time,

With a flogged man and a slain martyr,

لِنَنزِعَ هَذِهِ الأَكفانَ عَنّا

وَنُبعَثَ في العَوالِمِ مِن جَديدِ

So that we might strip these shrouds from ourselves

And be resurrected anew among the worlds.

رَمى دارَ المَعارِفِ بِالرَزايا

وَجاءَ بِكُلِّ جَبّارٍ عَنيدِ

He hurled calamities at the House of Learning

And brought in every obstinate tyrant,

يُدِلُّ بِحَولِهِ وَيَتيهُ تيهاً

وَيَعبَثُ بِالنُهى عَبَثَ الوَليدِ

Who vaunts his power and struts in pride,

And toys with minds as a child plays.

فَبَدَّدَ شَملَها وَأَدالَ مِنها

وَصاحَ بِها سَبيلُكِ أَن تَبيدي

He scattered its ranks and turned the tide against it,

And shouted at it: 'Your path is to perish!'

هَبوا دَنلوبَ أَرحَبَكُم جَناناً

وَأَقدَرَكُم عَلى نَزعِ الحُقودِ

Suppose Dunlop the broadest-hearted among you,

And the ablest among you at rooting out rancor,

وَأَعلى مِن غِلادَستونَ رَأياً

وَأَحكَمَ مِن فَلاسِفَةِ الهُنودِ

And loftier in judgment than Gladstone,

And wiser than the philosophers of India:

فَإِنّا لا نُطيقُ لَهُ جِواراً

وَقَد أَودى بِنا أَو كادَ يودي

Still, we cannot bear to have him as a neighbor,

For he has ruined us, or nearly done so.

مَلِلنا طولَ صُحبَتِهُ وَمَلَّت

سَوابِقُنا مِنَ المَشيِ الوَئيدِ

We have wearied of his long companionship, and weary are

Our racing steeds of their sluggish walk.

بِحَمدِ اللَهِ مُلكُكُمُ كَبيرٌ

وَأَنتُم أَهلُ مَرحَمَةٍ وَجودِ

Praise be to God, your dominion is vast,

And you are people of mercy and generosity.

خُذوهُ فَأَمتِعوا شَعباً سِوانا

بِهَذا الفَضلِ وَالعِلمِ المُفيدِ

Take him, then, and delight some people other than us

With this excellence and useful learning.

إِذا اِستَوزَرتَ فَاِستَوزِر عَلَينا

فَتىً كَالفَضلِ أَو كَاِبنِ العَميدِ

If you appoint a minister, appoint over us

A young man like al-Fadl or Ibn al-Amid.

وَلا تُثقِل مَطاهُ بِمُستَشارٍ

يَحيدُ بِهِ عَنِ القَصدِ الحَميدِ

And do not burden his back with an adviser

Who turns him aside from the praiseworthy course.

وَفي الشورى بِنا داءٌ عَهيدٌ

قَدِ اِستَعصى عَلى الطِبِّ العَهيدِ

And in council, we have a long-standing affliction

That has defied long-established medicine.

شُيوخٌ كُلَّما هَمَّت بِأَمرٍ

زَأَرتُم دونَهُ زَأرَ الأُسودِ

Elders—whenever they intend some action,

You roar to bar its way, with the roaring of lions.

لِحىً بَيضاءُ يَومَ الرَأيِ هانَت

عَلى حُمرِ المَلابِسِ وَالخُدودِ

White beards, when counsel is sought, are despised

By those in red clothes, with red cheeks.

أَتَرضى أَن يُقالَ وَأَنتَ حُرٌّ

بِأَنَّكَ قَينُ هاتيكَ القُيودِ

Would you accept it being said, when you are free,

That you are the smith of those very chains?

وَهَل في دارِ نَدوَتِكُم أُناسٌ

بِهَذا المَوتِ أَو هَذا الجُمودِ

And are there people in your assembly-house

With such deadness or such inertia?

فَنَحِّ غَضاضَةَ التاميزِ عَنّا

كَفانا سائِغُ النيلِ السَعيدِ

So lift from us the Thames's humiliation;

The blessed Nile's sweet water suffices us.

أَرى أَحداثَكُم مَلَكوا عَلَينا

بِمِصرَ مَوارِدَ العَيشِ الرَغيدِ

I see your youths have seized, to our exclusion,

In Egypt, the sources of comfortable livelihood.

وَقَد ضِقنا بِهِم وَأَبيكَ ذَرعاً

وَضاقَ بِحَملِهِم ذَرعُ البَريدِ

And, by your father, we can no longer endure them;

Even the post is strained by carrying their load.

أَكُلُّ مُوَظَّفٍ مِنكُم قَديرٌ

عَلى التَشريعِ في ظِلِّ العَميدِ

Is every official among you capable

Of legislating under the Commissioner's shadow?

فَضَع حَدّاً لَهُم وَاُنظُر إِلَينا

إِذا أَنصَفتَنا نَظَرَ الوَدودِ

Set them a limit, then, and look upon us,

If you would deal justly with us, with a loving gaze.

وَخَبِّرهُم وَأَنتَ بنا خَبيرٌ

بِأَنَّ الذُلَّ شِنشِنَةُ العَبيدِ

And tell them—you know us well—

That abasement is the ingrained habit of slaves,

وَأَنَّ نُفوسَ هَذا الخَلقِ تَأبى

لِغَيرِ إِلَهِهاً ذُلَّ السُجودِ

And that the souls of these people refuse

The abasement of prostration before any but their God.

وَوَلِّ أُمورَنا الأَخيارَ مِنّا

نَثِب بِهِمُ إِلى الشَأوِ البَعيدِ

And appoint the best among us to govern our affairs;

We shall leap with them toward the distant goal.

وَأَشرِكنا مَعَ الأَخيارِ مِنكُم

إِذا جَلَسوا لِإيقامِ الحُدودِ

And let us share with the best among you

When they sit to enforce the laws.

وَأَسعِدنا بِجامِعَةٍ وَشَيِّد

لَنا مِن مَجدِ دَولَتِكَ المَشيدِ

And bless us with a university, and build

For us from your state's towering glory.

وَإِن أَنعَمتَ بِالإِصلاحِ فَاِبدَأ

بِتِلكَ فَإِنَّها بَيتُ القَصيدِ

And if you bestow the blessing of reform, begin

With that, for it is the poem's defining verse.

وَفَرِّج أَزمَةَ الأَموالِ عَنّا

بِما أوتيتَ مِن رَأيٍ سَديدِ

And relieve us of the financial crisis

With the sound judgment you have been given.

وَسَل عَنها اليَهودَ وَلا تَسَلنا

فَقَد ضاقَت بِها حِيَلُ اليَهودِ

Ask the Jews about it; do not ask us,

For even the Jews' resourcefulness has failed before it.

إِذا ما ناحَ في أَسوانَ باكٍ

سَمِعتَ أَنينَ شاكٍ في رَشيدِ

If a mourner wails in Aswan,

You hear a sufferer's groaning in Rashid.

جَميعُ الناسِ في البَلوى سَواءٌ

بِأَدنى الثَغرِ أَو أَعلى الصَعيدِ

All people are equal in affliction,

At the nearest seaport or in the uppermost reaches of Upper Egypt.

تَدارَك أُمَّةً بِالشَرقِ أَمسَت

عَلى الأَيّامِ عاثِرَةَ الجُدودِ

Rescue a nation in the East that now finds itself

Stumbling in fortune through the passing days.

وَأَيِّد مِصرَ وَالسودانَ وَاِغنَم

ثَناءَ القَومِ مِن بيضٍ وَسودِ

Support Egypt and Sudan, and win

The people's praise, from white and black alike.

وَما أَدري وَقَد زَوَّدتُ شِعري

وَظَنّي فيكَ بِالأَمَلِ الوَطيدِ

I do not know—though I have furnished my verse

And my trust in you with steadfast hope—

أَجِئتَ تَحوطُنا وَتَرُدُّ عَنّا

وَتَرفَعُنا إِلى أَوجِ السُعودِ

Have you come to protect us and ward harm from us,

And raise us to the zenith of good fortune?

أَمِ اللُردُ الَّذي أَنحى عَلَينا

أَتى في ثَوبِ مُعتَمَدٍ جَديدِ

Or has the lord who bore down upon us

Come in the garb of a new Agent?