إلى وعدها أصبو وهل ينجز الوعد — Ibn Alabar

إِلى وَعدِها أصْبو وَهل يُنجَزُ الوَعْدُ

وما سَئِمَتْ أَسْماءُ مِنْ خُلفِها بَعدُ

I yearn for her promise—but will the promise be kept?

Asma has not yet tired of breaking hers.

سَجِيّتُها في القُرْبِ أن تُخفِيَ النَوى

وَعادَتُها في الوَصْلِ أن يَنشأ الصّدُّ

Her nature, in nearness, is to conceal separation;

Her habit, in union, is for rejection to arise.

تَعِزّ عَلى الجانِي وتَعْزُبُ رَوْضَةً

فليسَ الأقاحي مُستَراداً ولا الوَرْدُ

A garden, she is inaccessible to the gatherer and far away;

Neither daisies nor roses are within reach.

وَقد كُنّفَتْ خِدْراً بأُسْدٍ خَوادِرٍ

مَتى كانَت الغزلان تكنفُها الأُسدُ

In her chamber she is surrounded by lions in their lairs;

When did lions ever surround gazelles?

صَليلُ المَواضي البيضِ دون قبابها

تُناغيهِ في تَصْهالِها السُبُق الجُرْدُ

The clang of sharp, gleaming swords before her domes

Is answered by the neighing of fleet, sleek horses.

أصَابتْ عَلى عَمد مَقاتِلَ صَبِّها

فَيَا لَعَميد قَتْلُهُ في الهَوى عَمْدُ

She deliberately struck her lovesick admirer's vital spots;

Alas for a stricken lover whose slaying in love is deliberate!

وَمُقْتَدِحٍ بالعذْلِ زَندَ صَبَابَتي

يُشيرُ بِما يُسْلي وَقد شرِيَ الوَجْدُ

And many a man strikes sparks from my longing's fire-stick with reproach,

Offering counsels of solace when passion has already flared.

ويَدعو إِلى الإغفاء طَرْفاً مُؤَرَّقاً

وبِالقَلْبِ ما يَثْنيهِ عنهُ وَما يَعْدُو

He calls a sleepless eye to slumber,

Yet the heart holds what turns it from sleep and never departs.

إِذا انْعَقَدَتْ لي في الإفاقَةِ نِيّةٌ

من الحُبِّ حَلّتْها الدَماليجُ والعِقدُ

When a resolve takes shape in me to recover

From love, bracelets and necklace undo it.

وإن عَرَض الوادِي ونَكّبت مُعرِضاً

حَدا بِركابي نَحوَه البانُ والرَّندُ

If the valley appears and I turn aside, avoiding it,

The ban trees and laurels urge my mounts toward it.

رَعى اللّهُ قَلْباً لِلأذِمَّةِ رَاعِياً

إِذا خُفِر الميثاقُ أو نُقِضَ العَهْدُ

May God guard a heart that guards covenants,

When the compact is betrayed or the pledge broken,

وَرَكْباً أفادَتْني الليالي وَلاءهُم

لهم بالعُلى وَجدٌ وفي سُبلِها وَخدُ

And a band of riders whose allegiance the nights bestowed upon me.

They burn for high distinction and speed along its paths.

بفَضْلِ حِجاهم أو بفضلِ خِطابِهِم

يُفتحُ مُنْسَدّ ويُفْرَجُ مُشْتَدُّ

Through the excellence of their minds or of their speech,

The closed is opened and the difficult relieved.

أجَابُوا إلى الحُسْنى دُعاءَ خليفَة

كَفَى آمِليه الوَعْدَ إحْسَانُه العِدُّ

They answered a caliph's call to the highest good;

His inexhaustible bounty spared those hoping in him the need for promises.

فقُلْتُ لهم لمَّا بدا مَعْلَمُ النَّدى

أَريحوا المَطايا إنَّه المِصْقَع الفَردُ

I told them, when generosity's landmark appeared:

Rest the mounts: he is the peerless orator.

ولا تكلَفُوا بالنَّدِّ وَالمِسْك بَعدها

تُراب أبي فِهْرٍ هو المِسْك والنِّدُّ

After this, do not crave fragrant incense or musk;

The soil of Abu Fihr is musk and fragrant incense.

جَنابٌ عَزيزٌ خَطَّه المَجْدُ والعُلَى

وألقَى عَصَاه وسطَهُ اليُمْنُ والسَّعْدُ

A noble precinct marked out by glory and exalted rank,

Where blessing and good fortune have laid down their staff.

وَرَوْضٌ نَضيرٌ جادَهُ الجُودُ وَالنَّدى

فليسَ يُبالي بَعدُ ما صنَع العَهْدُ

A fresh garden watered by munificence and bounty,

Caring no longer what the returning rain may do.

نَمَت صُعُداً في جِدَّةٍ غُرُفاتُهُ

عَلى عَمَدٍ مِمّا اسْتجادَ لَها الجَدُّ

Its chambers have grown aloft in fresh splendor,

On pillars of the finest that good fortune chose for them.

تُخُيِّلْنَ قاماتٍ وهُنَّ عقائِلٌ

سِوى أنَّهَا لا نَاطِقَاتٌ ولا مُلْدُ

They seem upright figures, noble ladies,

Except that they neither speak nor are supple.

قُدودٌ كَسَاها ضَافِيَ الحُسْنِ عُرْبُها

وأمْعَن في تَنْعيمِها النَّحْتُ وَالقَدُّ

Forms their Arab makers clothed in ample beauty,

With carving and cutting lavishing smoothness upon them.

تُذَكِّرُ جناتِ الخُلودِ حَدائِقٌ

زَواهِر لا الزّهراء مِنها ولا الخُلدُ

Gardens call to mind the gardens of eternity,

Radiant—neither al-Zahra nor al-Khuld is their equal.

فَأَسْحَارُهَا تُهْدي لها الطيبَ مَنْبِجٌ

وآصالُها تَهْدِي الصَّبا نَحْوَها نَجْدُ

At their dawns, Manbij sends them fragrance;

At their evenings, Najd sends the east wind toward them.

أنافَ عَلَى شُمِّ القُصورِ فَلَم تَزَلْ

تَنَهَّدُ وَجْداً لِلْقُصور وتَنْهدُّ

It towers above lofty palaces, which never cease

Sighing with anguish at falling short, and crumbling.

رَحيبُ المَعاني لا يَضيق بِوَفْدِهِ

ولَوْ أنَّ أهْلَ الأرضِ كُلَّهمُ وَفْدُ

Spacious in every aspect, it is never cramped by its guests,

Even if all the earth's people were one delegation.

تَلاقَى لَدَيْهِ النُّورُ والنَّوْر فَانْجَلَتْ

تَفَارِيقَ عَنْ سَاحَاتِهِ الظُّلَمُ الرُّبدُ

Light and blossom meet there, and away disperse

In scattered fragments from its courts, the dusky shadows.

وحُفَّ بِأَعْنَابٍ ونَخْلٍ نَواعِمٍ

تَكاد فُروعاً بالنواسِم تَنْقَدُّ

It is ringed with grapevines and luxuriant palms,

Whose branches nearly split under gentle breezes.

مِن البَاسِقَاتِ السابِقاتِ بِحَملِها

إذا تُعْسِرُ الأشجار كانَ لها وَجْدُ

Tall palms, the first to bear their fruit,

Richly laden when other trees struggle to yield.

عَلَيها من القِنوان عِقْدٌ ودِملِجٌ

وإن لَم يكُن جيدٌ لدَيها ولا عَضدُ

Their date clusters form a necklace and a bracelet,

Though they have neither neck nor upper arm.

فتِلك عُرُوشُ الياسَمينَ وزَهْرُهُ

كَزهر النجوم وَسطَ أفلاكِها تَبدُو

There are the jasmine trellises, and their flowers

Appear like brilliant stars amid their spheres.

وَذاكَ نَضيدُ الطلع والطلحِ قَد جَلا

مَحاسِنَهُ للأَعيُنِ اليَنْعُ والنَّضْدُ

And there, close-set palm fruit and bananas, whose

Beauty is revealed to the eyes by ripeness and clustering.

ولاح لنا خوخٌ كَما خَجِلَ الخَدُّ

ويَانع رُمّان كما كَعِبَ النَّهدُ

Peaches appeared to us like a blushing cheek,

And ripe pomegranates like a breast newly rounded.

وَجَوْزٌ لهُ مُبْيَضُّ لُبّ وإن ضَفَا

عَلى مَتْنِهِ جَوْنٌ مِن القِشْرِ مُسوَدُّ

And walnuts with whitened kernels, though spread

Across their backs is a dark, blackened shell.

وَعَنَّ جَنَى العُنّاب غَضّاً كأنّما

تُلاحِظُ من أفنانِهِ حَدَقٌ رُمْدُ

Fresh jujube fruit appeared, as though

Inflamed eyes were gazing from its boughs,

وَإِلا كَما أبدَتْ بناناً مطرَّفاً

مِن السُندسِ المَوْشيِّ خَمصانَة رُؤْدُ

Or like henna-tipped fingers displayed

From embroidered silk by a slender, tender maiden.

وَلَوْ قَنَأَ النارنجُ أبْصَرْتَ أغصُناً

بِها مَاؤُها تُبدِي جِماراً لَها وَقْدُ

If the bitter oranges turned crimson, you would see branches

Whose sap makes them display glowing embers.

وَكَم لِمَةٍ للآس تَقْطُرُ جَعْدَةٍ

يُؤَمَنُها مَسَّ الجُفوفِ ثَرىً جعدُ

And how many dripping, curly tresses of myrtle

Are guarded from dryness by rich, moist soil,

حَوالي قِبابٍ فُجِّرَ الماءُ وَسْطَها

فَأَنْحى عَلَى حَرّ المَصيفِ لهُ بَرْدُ

Around domes in whose midst water gushes forth,

Its coolness assailing summer's heat.

وَمَرَّ كأيمٍ في مَذانِبِ مَرمَرٍ

يلِجُّ قَسيباً مِثلُ ما جَلجَلَ الرَّعدُ

It runs like a snake through marble channels,

Keeping up a rushing sound like thunder's rumble.

وَخاضَ حَشَا بَحْرٍ هُنَالِكَ طافِحٍ

كَما قُدَّ بالعَضْبِ الرّهيفِ الظبَى سَرْدُ

And enters the heart of an overflowing sea there,

As chain mail is cleft by a sword with finely honed edges.

تَطَلَّع منها كلُّ حسناء جِسمُها

لُجَينٌ وَلِكن من نُضار لَها بَردُ

From them rises every beauty, her body

Silver, but her mantle made of gold.

تَناهَتْ جَمَالاً أو جَلالاً فأصْبَحَتْ

تَنِدُّ عَلى الأوْصافِ إِذْ ما لها نِدُّ

They reach perfection in beauty or majesty, and thus

Elude description, since they have no equal.

جَنَيْنا بِها الإسعادَ من مَغرِسِ المُنى

وَحَفّ بِنا أثْناءها الرِّفْهُ والرِّفْدُ

There we harvested happiness from the planting ground of wishes,

And ease and bounty surrounded us within them.

وَذابَ لَنا فيها النَّعيمُ فَلا تَرَى

سِوَى ذائِب هَزْلاً وشمَتُهُ الجِدُّ

Delight melted for us there, and you could see

Only one dissolved in mirth, whose hallmark was seriousness.

أفانِينُ شَتّى والفَواكِه شُفِّعَتْ

بأطْعِمَةٍ يَعْيا بِها الشكرُ وَالحَمدُ

Varieties of every kind, and fruit accompanied

By dishes that leave gratitude and praise powerless.

طَيَافُرها مُسْتَوْسِقاتٌ كأنَّها

وَسائِقُ تَطمُو أَوْ كَراديسِ تَشتدُ

Their platters are fully laden, as though they were

Ships riding high, or massed battalions charging.

فبَعضٌ ضَعيفٌ يَحسُر الطرْفَ دُونَه

وَبَعْضٌ قَديرٌ دُونَهُ يَحْصُرُ العَدُّ

Some are weak, yet the eye tires before it reaches them,

And some are mighty, beyond the powers of counting.

أَتتْ بِجِفانٍ كالجَوارِي تُديرُها

عَلَينا طُهاةٌ دأبُها الخَفْرُ والحَفدُ

They brought bowls like ships, which were circulated

Among us by cooks devoted to modesty and swift service.

فَما يُشتَهى مِنْ لَحمِ طَيْرٍ كأنّنا

وَما ضَمّنا الأَبرارُ تُحبَرُ والخُلدُ

There was every kind of bird meat one could crave, as though we were

The righteous being gladdened, though Paradise had not embraced us.

عَلى مائِداتٍ ضافِياتٍ غَضارَةً

تَروحُ بِأَصْنافِ النعيمِ كَما تَغدُو

Upon tables overflowing with plenty,

Bringing varieties of delight at evening as at morning.

وَقَدْ حَمّلُوها كُلّ مُزدَفر بها

يُرَى دارِما وَهو السَّليكُ إِذا يَعدُو

They had loaded them upon each man who bore them,

Who seems a slow-stepping Darim, though when running he is al-Sulayk.

وَعُجِّلَ عِجلٌ سُنةً فارِضُ القِرَى

حَنيذٌ وُعدْناهُ فَما استَأخَرَ الوَعدُ

A calf was swiftly brought, following the custom of hospitality's founder,

Roasted, as promised us; the promise was not delayed.

تَجَلّى يَسُرُّ النّاظِرِينَ كأنَّما

تَجَلَّلَ رَقْرَاقَ العَبِير لَهُ جِلْدُ

It appeared, delighting those who saw it, as though

Its skin were cloaked in shimmering perfume.

ورُدِّيَ كافُورَ الرّقاقِ مُصَنْدَلاً

لِيُونِقَ ضِدٌّ فيهِ قَابَلَهُ ضِدُّ

Sandalwood-hued, it was robed in camphor-white thin bread,

So that one opposite might charm, faced there by another.

فَلا وَأَبِينا ما أَبَيْنا كَضيفِهِ

تَنَاوُلَهُ بَلْ سابَقَ الرّاحةَ الزَّندُ

No, by our father, we did not refuse like his guests

To eat it: rather, the forearm outran the palm.