مرقوم الخد مورده — Ibn Alabar

مَرْقُوم الخَدِّ مُوَرّدُه

يَكْسُونِي السُّقمَ مُجَرَّدُهُ

His rose-tinted cheek is beauty-marked;

his naked body clothes me in sickness.

شَفّاف الدُّرِّ لَهُ جَسَدٌ

بِأبِي ما أَوْدَعَ مِجْسَدُهُ

He has a body of translucent pearl;

may my father ransom what his tunic holds!

فِي وَجْنَتِهِ منْ نِعْمَتِه

جَمْرٌ بِفُؤادِيَ مَوْقِدُهُ

In his cheek, born of his luxuriance,

is an ember whose hearth is in my heart.

وبِفيهِ شِفَاءُ ظَمَائِيَ لَوْ

يَدْنو لِذَمَائِيَ مَوْرِدُهُ

And in his mouth is a cure for my thirst, if only

its spring would draw near my ebbing life.

ويَدينُ بِصدْقِ اللهْجَةِ مَنْ

إِقْصادُ المُهْجَةِ مَقْصِدُهُ

He professes truthful speech, he whose

aim is to slay the heart outright.

أَسْتَنْجِزُ مَوْعِدَهُ فَيَرَى

خُلْفاً أن يُنْجَزَ مَوْعِدُهُ

I ask him to fulfill his promise, but he deems

fulfilling his promise a breach of faith.

وَأُقِيمُ العُذْرَ لِعُذَّلِه

في خَوْنِ العَهْدِ فيُقْعِدُهُ

I establish an excuse before his reproachers

for betraying his pledge, but he defeats it.

كَمْ يَفرِدُني بِالذُّلّ هَوى

صَلِفٍ بِالدَّلِّ تَفَرُّدُهُ

How often love singles me out for abasement—

love of an arrogant one, unequaled in coquetry.

يَجْفُو المَعْمُودَ فَيُعدِمُه

وَيَهُشُّ إلَيْهِ فَيُوجِدُهُ

He shuns the lovesick man and annihilates him;

he beams upon him and brings him into being.

لَمْ يَرْضَ سِوى قَلْبي وَطَناً

لَكِنْ بِالهَدّ يُهَدّدُهُ

He would accept no homeland but my heart,

yet he threatens to demolish it.

ما سلّ حُسَاماً نَاظِرُهُ

إلا وَهُنَالِكَ يُغمدُهُ

Never has his gaze drawn a sharp sword

without sheathing it there.

وَلهُ في النّحْرِ لِنَاهِدِهِ

رُمْحٌ لِلنَّحْرِ يُسَدّدُهُ

And in his breast, for his challenger, he has

a spear he levels for slaughter.

نَظَرَتْ عَينَايَ لَهُ خَطَأ

فَأبى الأنْظَارَ تَعَمُّدُهُ

My eyes looked upon him unwittingly;

his deliberate aim allowed no respite.

ريمٌ يَرْمي عَنْ أكْحَلِهِ

زُرقاً تُصْمِي مَنْ يَصْمِدُهُ

A gazelle, he shoots from his kohl-dark eye

steel-blue shafts that kill outright whomever he targets.

مُتَدانِي الخُطْوَةِ مِنْ تَرَفٍ

أَتُرَى الأَحجالُ تُقَيِّدُهُ

His steps are close together from soft living—

do his anklets, I wonder, fetter him?

يُدْمِيهِ الوَشْيُ بِآيَة ما

يُنضِيهِ الحَلْيُ ويُجْهِدُهُ

Brocade makes him bleed, witness how

jewelry wears him out and exhausts him.

وَلاهُ الحُسْنُ وأمّرَهُ

وأتَاهُ السّحْرُ يُؤَيّدُهُ

Beauty appointed him and made him prince,

and magic came to support him.

بِغُروب الجَوْنَةِ مَطلَعُهُ

وَوَفاة السّلْوَةِ مَوْلِدُهُ

His rising comes with the setting of the sun,

his birth with the death of solace.

قَمَرَ الأقْمَار سَنَاهُ كَما

أَوْدَى بِالغُصْنِ تَأوُّدُهُ

His radiance outshone the moons, just as

his supple sway laid low the bough.

أَصْدى لِلوَصْلِ وَأَحفَدُه

فيَصُدّ كَأنّيَ أحْقِدُهُ

I thirst for union and hasten to serve him,

but he turns away as though I roused his rancor.

والبُغْضُ يُنَوّلُنِي صَفَداً

وأنَا في الحُبِّ مُصَفَّدُهُ

And aversion bestows a bounty on me,

while in love I am his fettered captive.

هَلا أَوْلى مِنْ قَسْوَتِهِ

بَدَلاً بِالْعَطفِ يُؤَكِّدُهُ

Why not bestow, instead of his cruelty,

a change confirmed with tenderness,

وتَقَبَّل مِن يَحْيَى شِيَمَاً

تَلْقَى المنجودَ فتُنْجِدُهُ

and adopt from Yahya noble traits

that meet the distressed and come to his aid?

مَلِكٌ لَمْ تَألُ إيَالَتُهُ

نَظَراً لِلْمُلكِ يُمَهّدُهُ

A king whose governance has spared no effort

in caring for the realm and making it secure.

بِالطَّوْلِ يُسَألُ مُهَنَّؤُهُ

والصوْل يُسَلُّ مُهَنَّدُهُ

For bounty, his welcome favor is sought,

and for assault his Indian blade is drawn.

مَصْرَعُهَا

والدّهْرُ يَهُون تَمَرُّدُهُ

Its downfall.

And Time's defiance grows feeble.

وَأَعَادَ الدُّنْيَا لِنَضْرَتِها

وَعَتيد النّصر مُعَوّدُهُ

He restored the world to its freshness,

and ever-ready victory is his constant visitor.

بَادٍ للّهِ تَوَاضُعُه

وَمُلوكِ العالَمِ أَعْبُدُهُ

His humility before God is manifest,

and the world's kings are his slaves.

في مَهْبط رُوحِ القُدسِ يُرى

وَفُوَيْق الأنْجُمِ مَصْعَدُهُ

He is seen where the Holy Spirit descends,

yet his ascent lies just above the stars.

مَنْ أوْسَعَ سُدّتَه خَدَماً

حَكَمتْ أنْ يُخدم سُؤْدَدُهُ

He who filled his court with servants

whose verdict was that his eminence be served.

قامَت بِالحَقّ خِلافَتُهُ

يَتَقَلَّدُهُ وَيُقَلِّدُهُ

His caliphate was established upon justice;

he shoulders it and entrusts it to others.

وَأتَى والدّين إلى تَلَفٍ

فَتَلافَى الدّينَ يُجَدّدُهُ

He came when the faith was nearing ruin,

and rescued the faith, renewing it.

مَا أوْفَدَهُ العُدْوانُ غَدَا

يُطْفيهِ العَدْلُ ويُخْمِدُهُ

What aggression sent forth has come to be

quenched and extinguished by justice.

وَكَأنَّ عِدَاهُ وَصَارمَه

لَيْلٌ والصُّبْحُ يُبَدّدُهُ

His enemies and his sharp sword are like

night and the dawn that dispels it.

قُبِضَتْ أيْدي الكُفّار بهِ

لَمّا بُسِطَتْ فيهِمْ يَدُهُ

The unbelievers' hands were restrained by him

when his hand stretched out against them.

عَلَمٌ لِلْهَدْيِ بِرَاحَتِهِ

عَلَمٌ يَحْمِيهِ ويَعْضُدُهُ

A beacon of guidance; in his palm

is a banner that shields and strengthens him.

فَقَصيرُ البيضِ مُفَلّلُهُ

وطَويلُ السمْر مُقصّدُهُ

So he notches the short white blades

and breaks the long brown shafts.

صَيْدٌ لِجَوانِحِ أنْصُلِهِ

يَعْسُوبُ الجَيْش وأصْيَدُهُ

Prey to the edges of his blades are

the army's chieftain and its proudest champion.

وَلَدَيْهِ إِذا اغْبَرّت سَنَةٌ

مُخْضَرُّ العَيْشِ وَأَرْغَدُهُ

With him, when a year turns dust-gray,

are life's green freshness and richest ease.

مِنْ عُرْف عَوارِفه أبَداً

أَنْ يَرْفِدَ مَنْ يَستَرفِدُهُ

Among the constant customs of his beneficence

is to aid whoever seeks his aid.

سردَ التقريظَ لِسيرَتِه

صَومٌ لا يَفْتَأ يَسْرُدُهُ

His conduct's praise is recited unbroken by

fasting that he never ceases to maintain.

يَوْمَاهُ يَعُمّهُما زُلَفاً

لِيُخَصّصَ بالزُّلفَى غَدُهُ

His two days he fills with acts of devotion,

that his morrow may be favored with nearness.

نَحْوَ الحُسْنَى مُتَشَوّفُه

وَمِن التّقْوى مُتزَوّدُهُ

His aspiration is toward the highest good,

and his provision comes from piety.

شَيْحَانُ القَلْبِ مشيّعُه

يَقْظانُ الطّرف مُسَهَّدُهُ

Alert and courageous of heart,

wakeful and sleepless of eye,

يُحْيي بالوَحي الليلَ إذا

هَجَعَ الساهِي يَتَوَسّدُهُ

he keeps the night alive with revelation, when

the heedless slumbers, taking it for his pillow.

ويُميتُ النُّكْرَ وَحُقّ له

بالعُرْفِ يَهُبُّ فَيَلْحَدُهُ

He puts wrongdoing to death, as well he should;

with goodness he rises and buries it.

أرْضَى أَعْمالِيَ عَاقِبَةً

إِذ أمْدَحُهُ أو أحْمَدُهُ

My deeds are most pleasing in their outcome

when I praise him or thank him.

وَمَنِ الوافِي بِمَحامِدِه

لَكِنْ مَجْهودِيَ أنْفدُهُ

And who can do full justice to his praises?

Yet I expend my utmost effort.

مازالَ يُزَلُّ الحِلْمُ إِلَى

مُعتاد الجَهل وَيَرْصُدُهُ

Forbearance is ever bestowed upon

the habitual fool, whom he keeps watch over.

وَالعِلْمَ تَخَيّر مُستَبقاً

لِمَدَى خَيْرٍ يَتَزَيّدُهُ

He chose knowledge, racing ahead

toward a goal of goodness he ever augments.

فَخَمائِلُه مُتَنزَّهُهُ

وجَدَاوِلُهُ مُتَوَرَّدُهُ

Its groves are his pleasure grounds,

and its streams are where he comes to drink.

قَد عادَ أخَصّ بِطانَتِهِ

فَيَغيبُ سِوَاه وَيَشْهَدُهُ

It has become his closest confidant,

so all else withdraws while it attends him.

آخَاهُ فَأَحْمدَ عُهْدَتَهُ

وتَوخّاه يَتَعَهّدُهُ

He made it his brother and found its fidelity praiseworthy;

he sought it out, tending it with care,

حَتّى حَسَدَتْه خَصَائِصُه

والأنْفَسُ يَكْثُر حُسَّدُهُ

until his favorites envied it—

the more precious a thing, the more its enviers.

هُو هادي الخلقِ ومُرْشِدُهم

مِمّا يَهْديهِ ويُرْشِدُهُ

He is mankind's guide and mentor,

through what guides and instructs him.

لَوْلاهُ لأخْوَى كَوكَبُه

حَقاً ولأَقْوى مَعْهَدُهُ

Without him, its star would fade,

indeed, and its dwelling would lie desolate.

فَمَآل الأمْر إليْهِ غَدَا

فَيُنفِّقُهُ ويُكَسِّدُهُ

The disposition of the matter now rests with him:

he gives it currency or leaves it unsold.

لا حُرْفَةَ للآدابِ وقَدْ

أَلْوَتْ بالأنحُسِ أسْعُدُهُ

Letters know no ill fortune, now that

his lucky stars have swept the baleful ones away.

أبْدَتْ زَهْواً بِمَحاسِنِه

يُفْنِي العَصْرَ مُؤَبّدُهُ

They display pride in his fine qualities,

a lasting pride that outlives the age.

يَختالُ النّثْرُ يُحَبِّرُهُ

وَيَتِيه النّظْمُ يُجَوِّدُهُ

Prose struts when he adorns it,

and verse exults when he perfects it.

لِرَوّيتِهِ وَبَديهَتِه

مَا نُنْشِئُهُ أوْ نُنْشِدُهُ

To his reflection and his improvisation we owe

whatever we compose or recite.

وَرَسَائِلُه وقَصَائِدُه

ما نَعْرِضُه إذْ نَقْصدُهُ

His epistles and his poems are

what we offer when we approach him.

كالنَّثرَةِ والشِّعرَى كَلِمٌ

تَسْري في العَالَم شُرّدُهُ

Words like al-Nathra and Sirius—

their far-ranging sayings travel through the world.

يَحْلو في الأنْفُسِ مَسْمَعُه

كالطّيْرِ يَشُوقُ تَغَرُّدُهُ

Their sound is sweet within the soul,

like birds whose trilling stirs longing.

ما الزّهْرُ يَرفُّ مُفُوّفُه

ما الدُّرُّ يَشِفُّ مُنَضَّدُهُ

What are flowers, with their striped blooms shimmering?

What are pearls, with their ordered rows shining?

سَلَبَ الأعْرَابَ فَصَاحَتَها

في ماضي زَهْرَةَ مَوْلِدُهُ

He robbed the Bedouin Arabs of their eloquence;

his birth lies in Zahra's distant past.

شَبَهُ المَنْطوق بهِ لَهُمُ

ولهُ من ذلكَ عَسْجَدُهُ

The brass of spoken words is theirs,

while its pure gold belongs to him.

لا ضَيْرَ بِهِمْ وتَمَضُّره

يُنمَى صُعُداً وتَمَعْددُهُ

No harm to them; his descent from Mudar

is traced upward, as is his descent from Ma‘add.

صَلواتُ اللّهِ علَى فِئَة

فيها يَتَبَحْبَحُ مَحْتِدُهُ

God's blessings upon a people

among whom his ancestral stock dwells at ease.

عَدَوِيُّ البَيت مُطَنِّبُه

فَوْقَ الأمْلاكِ مُمَدّدُهُ

His house is ‘Adawi, its tent ropes

stretched high above kings.

وَرِثَ العُمْرَيْنِ سَنَاءَهُما

يَعْتَدُّ بهِ وَيُعَدّدُهُ

He inherited the splendor of the two ‘Umars,

which he treasures and recounts.

عَنْ عبدِ الواحِدِ أحْرَزهُ

فَذُّ التوحيد وَأَوْحَدُهُ

From ‘Abd al-Wahid he secured it,

the unique and peerless one of divine unity.

وَوَلِيُّ العَهْدِ بذاكَ أبو

يَحْياهُ حَرَى ومُحَمّدُهُ

And his heir apparent to that, Abu

Yahya—his Muhammad—is worthy.

شَرَفٌ يُرْوَى في بَيْتِهِمُ

لِلْبَدْء الأوْل مُسْنَدُهُ

An honor is handed down within their house,

its chain traced to the very first beginning.

فَإذا فَلَقُ الإصْباح بَدا

مَنْ يُنْكِره أَو يَجْحَدُهُ

When the daybreak of morning appears,

who can deny or disavow it?

لا زال النّصْر تَوَدُّدُهُ

لِبُنُودهم وَتَرَدُّدُهُ

May victory never cease its courtship

of their banners, nor its repeated visits.