هبوا طيفكم أعدى على النأي مسراه — Ibn Al Khayyat

هَبُوا طَيْفَكُمْ أَعْدى عَلَى النَّأْي مَسْراهُ

فَمَنْ لِمَشُوقٍ أَنْ يُهَوِّمَ جَفْناهُ

Grant that your phantom's nightly journey has overcome distance;

then who will let a yearning man's eyelids doze?

وَهَلْ يَهْتَدِي طَيْفُ الْخَيالِ لِناحِلٍ

إِذا السُّقْمُ عَنْ لَحْظٍ الْعَوائِدِ أَخْفاهُ

And can the dream's phantom find its way to an emaciated man

when sickness hides him from the gaze of women visiting the sick?

غِنىً فِي يَدِ الأَحْلامِ لا أَسْتَفِيدُهُ

وَدَيْنٌ عَلَى الأَيّامِ لا أَتَقاضاه

Wealth in the hands of dreams that I cannot gain,

and a debt owed by the days that I cannot collect.

وَما كُلُّ مَسْلُوبِ الرُّقادِ مُعادُهُ

وَلا كُلُّ مَأْسُورِ الْفُؤَادِ مَفاداهُ

Not everyone robbed of sleep has it restored,

nor does everyone whose heart is captive have it ransomed.

يَرى الصَّبْرَ مَحْمُودَ الْعَواقِبِ مَعْشَرٌ

وَما كُلُّ صَبْرٍ يَحْمَدُ الْمَرْءُ عُقْباهُ

Some people regard patience as praiseworthy in its outcomes,

yet not every patience has an outcome a person praises.

لِيَ اللهُ مِنْ قَلْبٍ يُجَنُّ جُنُونُهُ

مَتى لاحَ بَرْقٌ بِالْقَرِينَيْنِ مَهْواهُ

God help me against a heart whose very madness goes mad

whenever lightning flashes down over al-Qarinayn.

أَحِنُّ إِذا هَبَّتْ صَباً مُطْمَئِنَّةٌ

حَنِينَ رَذايا الرَّكْبِ أَوْشَكَ مُغْداهُ

I yearn whenever a gentle east wind blows,

with the moaning of worn-out caravan camels as its dawn departure nears—

خَوامِسَ حَلاّها عَنِ الْوِرْدِ مَطْلَبٌ

بَعِيدٌ عَلَى الْبُزْلِ الْمَصاعِيبِ مَرْماهُ

five days without water, kept from the watering-place by a quest

whose goal is distant even for mature, intractable camels.

هَوىً كَلَّما عادَتْ مِنَ الشَّرْقِ نَفْحَةٌ

أَعادَ لِيَ الشَّوْقَ الَّذِي كانَ أَبْداهُ

A passion: whenever a breath of wind returns from the east,

it renews for me the longing it first awakened.

وَما شَغَفِي بِالرِّيحِ إِلاّ لأَنَّها

تَمُرُّ بِحَيٍّ دُونَ رامَةَ مَثْواهُ

My passion for the wind is only because it

passes a clan whose dwelling lies this side of Ramah.

أُحِبُّ ثَرى الْوادِي الَّذِي بانَ أَهْلُهُ

وَأَصْبُو إِلى الرَّبْعِ الَّذِي مَحَّ مَغْناهُ

I love the valley's soil, whose people have departed,

and yearn for the campsite whose inhabited place has vanished.

فَما وَجَد النِّضْوُ الطَّلِيحُ بَمِنْزِلٍ

رَأْى وِرْدَهُ فِي ساحَتَيْهِ وَمَرْعاهُ

No worn-out, exhausted camel ever yearned for a resting place

where it saw its watering-place and pasture in its two open grounds

كَوَجْدِي بِأَطْلالِ الدِّيارِ وَإِنْ مَضى

عَلَى رَسْمِها كَرُّ الْعُصُورِ فَأَبْلاهُ

as I yearn for the dwellings' ruins, though

the ages' repeated passage has worn away their traces.

دَوارِسَ عَفّاها النُّحُولُ كَاَنَّما

وَجَدْنَ بِكُمْ بعْدَ النَّوى ما وَجَدْناهُ

Effaced ruins, erased by wasting, as though

after separation they felt for you what we felt.

أَلا حَبَّذا عَهْدُ الْكَثِيبِ وَناعِمٌ

مِنَ الْعَيْشِ مَجْرُورُ الذُّيُولِ لَبِسْناهُ

Ah, how lovely the days of the dune, and the softness

of life we wore, its hems trailing!

لَيالِيَ عاطَتْنا الصَّبابَةُ دَرَّها

فَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْها مَنْهَلٌ ما وَرَدْناهُ

Nights when passion offered us her flowing milk;

not one of her watering-places remained unvisited by us.

وَللهِ وادٍ دُونَ مَيْثاءِ حاجِرٍ

تَصِحُّ إِذا اعْتَلَّ النَّسِيمُ خُزاماهُ

And how wondrous a valley this side of Hajir's soft ground,

whose lavender is healthy when the breeze falls ill!

أُناشِدُ أَرْواحَ الْعَشِيّاتِ كُلَّما

نَسَبْنَ إِلى رَيّا الأَحْبَّةِ رَيّاهُ

I adjure the evening breezes whenever

they ascribe its fragrance to the scent of the beloved:

أَناشَتْ عَرارَ الرَّمْلِ أَمْ صافَحَتْ ثَرىً

أَغَذَّ بِهِ ذاكَ الْفَرِيقُ مَطاياهُ

Did they touch the sand's arar flowers, or brush soil

where that company hurried its mounts?

خَلِيَليَّ قَدْ هَبَّ اشْتِياقِي هُبُوبُها

حُسُوماً فَهَلْ مِنْ زَوْرَةٍ تَتَلافاهُ

My two friends, my longing has risen with their blowing,

devastatingly; can a visit assuage it?

أَعِينا عَلَى وَجْدِي فَليْسَ بِنافِعٍ

إِخاؤُكُما خِلاًّ إِذا لَمْ تُعِيناهُ

Help me bear my yearning, for of no use is

your friendship to a friend if you do not help him.

أَما سُبَّةٌ أَنْ تَخْذُلا ذا صَبابَةٍ

دَعا وَجْدَهُ الشَّوْقُ الْقَدِيمُ فَلَبّاهُ

Is it not a disgrace for you both to forsake a lover

whose old longing called his passion, and it answered?

وَأَكَمَدْ مَحْزُونٍ وَأَوْجَعُ مُمْرَضٍ

مِنَ الْوَجْدِ شاكٍ لَيْسَ تُسْمَعُ شَكْواهُ

And the most grief-stricken mourner, the most pain-racked invalid,

is a sufferer from longing whose complaint goes unheard.

شَرى لُبَّهُ خَبْلُ السَّقامِ وَباعَهُ

وَأَرْخَصَهُ سَوْمُ الْغَرامِ وَأَغْلاهُ

Illness's madness bought his mind and sold it,

and love's bidding cheapened it and raised its price.

وَبِالْجِزْعِ حَيٌّ كلِّما عَنَّ ذِكْرُهُمْ

أَماتَ الْهَوى مِنِّي فُؤاداً وَأَحْياهُ

And at al-Jizʿ is a clan; whenever their memory comes to mind,

love kills a heart within me and revives it.

تَمَنَّيْتُهُمْ بِالرَّقْمَتَيْنِ وَدارُهُمْ

بِوادِي الْغَضا يا بُعْد ما أَتَمَنّاهُ

I wished for them at al-Raqmatayn, though their home

is in Wadi al-Ghada—how distant what I desire!

سَقى الْوابِلُ الرّبْعِيُّ ماحِلَ رَبْعِكُمْ

وَراوحَهُ ما شاءَ رَوْحٌ وَغاداهُ

May the heavy spring rain water your parched campsite,

and may a cooling breeze visit it at will, at evening and dawn;

وَجَرَّ عَلَيْهِ ذَيْلَهُ كُلُّ ماطِرٍ

إِذا ما مَشى فِي عاطِلِ الْتُّرْبِ حَلاّهُ

and may every rain-cloud trail its skirt across it,

adorning bare earth whenever it passes through it.

وَما كنْتُ لُوْلا أَنَّ دَمْعِيَ منْ دَمٍ

لأَحْمِلَ مَنّاً لِلسَّحابِ بِسُقْياهُ

And were it not that my tears are blood,

I would not bear the clouds' claim of favor for watering it.

غَلى أَنَّ فَخْرَ الْمُلْكِ لِلأَرْضِ كافِلٌ

بِفَيْض نَدىً لا يَبْلُغُ الْقَطْرُ شَرْواهُ

Yet Fakhr al-Mulk guarantees the earth

a flood of bounty whose equal the rain cannot reach.

بَصُرْتُ بِأُمّاتِ الْحَيا فَظَنَنْتُها

أَنامِلَهُ إِنَّ السَّحائِبَ أَشْباهُ

I saw the mothers of rain and thought them

his fingertips; indeed, clouds are his likenesses.

أَخُو الْحَزْمِ ما فاجاهُ خَطْبٌ فَكادَهُ

وَذُو الْعَزْمِ ما عاناهُ أَمْرٌ فَعَنّاهُ

A master of prudence: no calamity has surprised and outwitted him,

and a man of resolve: no affair has beset and wearied him;

وَساعٍ إلى غاياتِ كُلِّ خَفِيَّةٍ

مِنَ الْمَجْدِ ما جاراهُ خَلْقٌ فَباراهُ

and one who strives toward the utmost of every hidden facet

of glory; no mortal has raced him and matched him.

بِهِ رُدَّ نَحْوِي فائِتُ الْحَظِّ راغِماً

وَأَسْخَطَ فِيَّ الدَّهْرُ مَنْ كانَ أَرْضاهُ

Through him, my lost good fortune was forced back toward me,

and Time, on my account, angered one it had once pleased.

تَحامَتْنِيَ الأَيّامُ عِنْدَ لِقائِهِ

كَأَنِّيَ فِيها بَأْسُهُ وَهْيَ أَعْداهُ

The days shunned me when I met him,

as though I were his might among them, and they his foes.

إِلَيْكَ رَحَلْتُ الْعِيسَ تَنْقُلُ وَقْرَها

ثَناءً وَلِلأَعْلى يُجَهَّزُ أَعْلاهُ

To you I saddled the pale camels, carrying their burden

of praise; for the loftiest, its loftiest is prepared.

وَلا عُذْرَ لِي إِنْ رابَنِي الدَّهْرُ بَعْدَما

تَوَخَّتْكَ بِي يا خَيْرَ مَنْ تَتَوَخّاهُ

And I have no excuse if Time troubles me after

they have borne me toward you, O best of all they seek.

وَرَكْبٍ أَمَاطُوا الْهَمَّ عَنْهُمْ بِهِمَّةٍ

سَواءٌ بِها أَقْصى الْمَرامِ وأَدْناهُ

And riders who cast off care through a resolve

to which the farthest goal and nearest are alike—

قَطَعْتُ بِهِمْ عَرْضَ الْفَلاةِ وَطالَما

رَمى مَقْتَلَ الْبَيْداءِ عَزْمِي فَأَصْماهُ

with them I crossed the desert's breadth, and how often

my resolve struck the wilderness's vital spot and slew it!

وَسَيْرٍ كَإِيماضِ الْبُرُوقِ وَمَطْلَبٍ

لَبِسْنا الدُّجى مِنْ دُونِهِ وَخَلَعْناهُ

And travel like lightning flashes, and a goal

for which we donned the darkness and cast it off—

إِلى الْمَلِكِ الْجَعْدِ الْجَزِيلِ عَطاؤُهُ

إِلى الْقَمَرِ السَّعِدْ الْجَمِيلِ مُحَيّاهُ

to the sturdy king, lavish in his gifts,

to the auspicious moon, lovely of countenance,

إِلى رَبْعِ عَمّارِ بْنِ عَمّارِ الَّذِي

تَكَفَّلَ أَرْزاقَ الْعُفاةِ بِجَدْواهُ

to the dwelling of Ammar ibn Ammar, who

guaranteed petitioners' livelihoods through his bounty.

وَلَمّا بَلَغْناهُ بَلَغْنا بِهِ الْمُنى

وَشِيكاً وَأَعْطَيْنا الْغِنى مِن عَطَاياهُ

And when we reached him, through him we attained our desires

quickly, and were granted wealth from his gifts.

فَتىً لَمْ نَمِلْ يَوْماً بِرُكْنِ سَماحِهِ

عَلَى حَدثانِ الدَّهْرِ إِلاّ هَدَمْناهُ

A young man: never did we bring his generosity's pillar to bear

against Time's vicissitudes without demolishing them.

مِنَ الْقُوْمِ ياما أَمْنَعَ الْجارُ بَيْنَهُمْ

وَأَحْلَى مَذاقَ الْعَيْشِ فِيهِمْ وَأَمْراهُ

Of a people—how well protected the neighbor among them,

and how sweet and wholesome the taste of life among them,

وَأَصْفى حَياةً عِنْدُهمْ وَأَرَقَّها

وَأَبْرَدَ ظِلاًّ فِي ذَراهُمْ وَأَنْداهُ

and how pure and gentle a life with them,

and how cool and moist the shade within their shelter!

اَغَرُّ صَبِيحٌ عِرْضُهُ وَجَبِينُهُ

كَأَنَّهُما أفْعالُهُ وَسَجاياهُ

His honor and brow are radiant and fair,

as though they were his deeds and character.

لَكَ اللهُ ما أَغْراك بِالْجُودِ هِمَّةً

سُرُوراً بِما تَحْبُو كَأَنَّكَ تُحْباهُ

God bless you! How ambition draws you toward generosity,

rejoicing in what you give as though it were given to you!

دَعَوْنا رَقُودَ الْحَظِّ بِاسْمِكَ دَعْوَةً

فَهَبَّ كَأَنّا منْ عَقالٍ نَشَطْناهُ

We called sleeping Fortune once in your name,

and it rose, as though we had freed it from a tether.

وَجُدْتَ فَأَثْنَيْنا بِحَمْدِكَ إِنَّهُ

ذِمامٌ بِحُكْمِ الْمَكْرُماتِ قَضَيْناهُ

You gave generously, and we praised you; it is

an obligation we discharged under the law of noble deeds.

مَكارِمُ أَدَّبْنَ الزَّمان فَقَدْ غَدا

بِها مُقْلِعاً عَمّا جَنى وَتَجَنّاهُ

Acts of generosity have disciplined Time, so it has come

through them to abandon the wrongs it did and contrived.

أَيامَنْ أَذاك الدَّهْرُ حَمْدِي فَصانَهُ

وَقَلَّصَ ظِلَّ الْعَيْشِ عنِّي فَأَضفْاهُ

O you who guarded my praise when Time debased it,

and spread life's shade when Time shrank it away from me:

وَعَلَّمَنِي كَيْفَ الْمَطالِبُ جُودُهُ

وَما كنْتُ أَدْرِي ما الْمَطالِبُ لَوْلاهُ

his generosity taught me how to seek my desires,

and, but for him, I would not have known what to seek.

لأَنْتَ الذِي أَغْنَيْتَنِي وَحَمَيْتَنِي

لَيالِيَ لا مالٌ لَدَيَّ وَلا جاهُ

You are indeed the one who enriched and protected me

on nights when I had neither wealth nor rank.

أَنَلتَنِيَ الْقَدْرَ الَّذِي كنْتُ أَرْتَجِي

وَأَمَّنتَنِي الْخطْبَ الَّذِي كُنْتُ أَخْشاهُ

You granted me the standing I had hoped for,

and kept me safe from the calamity I had feared.

وَأَمْضَيْتَ عَضْباً مِنْ لِسانِيَ بَعدَما

عَمِرْتُ وَحَدّاهُ سَواءُ وَصَفْحاهُ

You whetted the keen blade of my tongue, after

I had lived long, its two edges and two flats alike.

وَسَرْبَلَتْنِي بِالْبِرِّ حتّى تَرَكْتَنِي

بِحَيْثُ يَرانِي الدَّهْرُ كُفْؤاً وَإِيّاهُ

And you clothed me in kindness until you left me

where Time regards me as its equal.

فَدُوْنَك ذا الْحَمْدَ الَّذِي جَلَّ لَفْظُهُ

وَدَقَّ عَلَى الإفْهامِ فِي الْفَضْلِ مَعْناهُ

Take, then, this praise, whose wording is majestic

and whose meaning, in excellence, is too subtle for understanding.

فَلا طُلَّ إلاّ منْ حبائِكَ رَوْضُهُ

وَلا باتَ إلاّ فِي فِنائِكَ مَأْواهُ

May its garden receive no dew but from your gifts,

and may its abode lie nowhere but in your courtyard.