هل تثنين غروب دمع ساكب — Ibn Darray Alqastalli

هل تَثنِيَنَّ غُرُوبَ دمع ساكِبِ

مَنْ شامَ بارِقَةَ الغمامِ الصَّائِبِ

Will streams of pouring tears turn back

one who has watched the lightning of the rain-bearing cloud?

أَبَتِ العزيمةُ من فؤادٍ جامِدٍ

أَنْ تستقيدَ لِماءِ جفنٍ ذائبِ

The resolve of an unyielding heart refused

to submit to the water of a melting eyelid.

مَن تَرْمِهِ حَدَقُ المكارِمِ تُصْبِهِ

عن مُصبِياتِ أَحِبَّةٍ وَحَبائبِ

Whom the eyes of noble deeds strike, they lure away

from the enchantments of loved ones and beloved women.

ففِراقُ رَبَّاتِ الخُدُورِ مُكفَّرٌ

بِلِقاءِ نجمِ المكرُماتِ الثَّاقِبِ

For parting from the ladies of curtained chambers is atoned for

by meeting the piercingly bright star of noble deeds.

قالتْ وَقَدْ مَزَجَ الوداعُ مدامعاً

بمدامِعٍ وترائباً بترائِبِ

She said, as farewell mingled tears

with tears, and bosoms with bosoms:

أَتَفَرُّقٌ حَتَّى بمنزلِ غُرْبَةٍ

كم نحنُ للأَيَّامِ نُهْبَةُ ناهِبِ

"Must we part even in a dwelling of exile?

How often are we, for the days, a plunderer's prey!

فِي كلِّ يومٍ مُنتوىً مُتباعِدٌ

يرمي حُشاشَةَ شملِنا المُتقارِبِ

Every day, a far-off destination

strikes at the last remnant of our close-knit company."

وَثَنَتْ تُذَكِّرُ مُقرَباتِ سفائنٍ

عُذْنا بِهَا من مُقفِراتِ سباسِبِ

And she returned to recalling ships like well-kept steeds,

in which we sought refuge from desolate wastes.

أَيامَ تؤْنِسُنا فَلاً وسواحِلٌ

عن آنساتِ مقاصِرٍ ومَلاعِبِ

Those days when deserts and shores kept us company

instead of charming women in secluded chambers and pleasure grounds.

نَعَبَ الغرابُ بِهَا فطارَ بأَهلِها

سِرْباً على مِثلِ الغرابِ النَّاعِبِ

The raven croaked there and flew off with its people,

a flock aboard the likeness of the croaking raven—

خرِقُ الجَناحِ إِلَى الرِّياحِ مُضلَّلٌ

بشَمَائِلٍ لعِبتْ بِهِ وجنائبِ

tattered of wing, bewildered among the winds,

by northerlies that toyed with it, and southerlies.

يهوي بذي طِمْرَينِ مزَّقَ لبسَها

أَيدي لَوَاهِفَ للنفوس نوادِبِ

It plunges with one clad in two rags, whose clothing was rent

by the hands of grief-stricken women lamenting souls,

فِي غَوْلِ ذي لُجَجٍ لَبِسْنَ دياجياً

تركَ الحياةَ لنا كَأَمسِ الذَّاهِبِ

into the deadly peril of a sea whose depths wore darkness,

which left life for us like yesterday, gone.

قاسيتُهُنَّ غوارباً كَغَياهبٍ

وَسريتُهُنَّ غياهباً كَغواربِ

I endured them—wave-crests like dark abysses—

and traveled through them by night—dark abysses like wave-crests.

نَجلُو ظلامَ اللِّيلِ قبلَ صباحِهِ

بلَظى زفيرٍ أَوْ برأْسٍ شائِبِ

We dispel night's darkness before its dawn

with the flame of a sigh, or a gray-haired head.

يا هَذِهِ لله تِلْكَ حدائقاً

زهراتُهُنَّ مفارقي وذوائبي

O lady, by God, what gardens those are—

their blossoms are my hair-partings and my locks!

مثلَ الرِّياضِ تفتَّحتْ أَكمامُها

عن مُحْكَماتِ بصائري وَتَجَارِبي

Like meadows, their flower-cups unfolded

to reveal my firmly grounded insights and experiences.

فذخَرْتُ للألبابِ كِفَّةَ حابلٍ

وَلأَشْطُرِ الأَيَّامِ كَفَّيْ حالِبِ

So I stored up a hunter's snare for discerning minds,

and for the days' teats, a milker's two hands.

وَرَميْتُ آفاقَ العِراقِ بشُرَّدٍ

لَيْسَ العجائبُ عندها بعجائِبِ

And I cast through Iraq's horizons far-ranging verses,

beside which marvels are no marvels.

من كل ساحِرةٍ كَأَنَّ روِيَّها

فِي أَلسُنِ الرَّاوينَ رِيقةُ كاعبِ

Each an enchantress whose rhyme seems

on the reciters' tongues the saliva of a maiden with budding breasts.

وَلَكَمْ وَصلتُ تنائِفاً بتنائِفٍ

حَتَّى وَصَلْتُ مشارِقاً بمَغارِبِ

How often I joined desert wastes to desert wastes,

until I joined eastern lands with western lands.

فكأَنَّمَا قَفَّيتُ إِثْرَ بدائعي

فِي الأَرْضِ أَوْ ناوَيتُ شَأْوَ غرائبي

As though I had followed the tracks of my marvels

across the earth, or sought to rival my rarities' reach.

أَوْ رُمْتُ حظِّي فِي السماء وَقَدْ جرى

لمداهُ فِي فَلَكِ الفضاءِ الغائِبِ

Or sought my fortune in the sky, when it had coursed

to its utmost reach in the sphere of unseen space.

وَلئِنْ دَجتْ لي الحادثاتُ فما أرى

نُورَ اليقينِ بطرفِ ظنٍّ كاذِبِ

Even if misfortunes grow dark for me, I do not see

the light of certainty through the eye of false conjecture.

صدقَتْنِيَ الأَنباءُ ضربةَ لازِمٍ

أن لَيْسَ همُّ الدهرِ ضربةَ لازِبِ

The tidings assured me with binding certainty

that the sorrow of time is no inescapable fate.

فشفيتُ فِي حُرِّ التجمُّلِ غُلَّتي

وقَضيتُ من حسنِ العزاءِ مآربي

So in noble composure I quenched my burning thirst,

and through graceful consolation fulfilled my desires.

وَحَرَسْتُ عِرضي بالتوكُّل من نأى

عنّي بجانِبِهِ نَأَيْتُ بجانبي

I guarded my honor through trust in God; whoever turned

his side away from me, I turned my own side away.

ولقد رأيتُ الجِدَّ لَيْسَ ببالغٍ

وَالعَجزَ لَيْسَ عن الصِّراطِ بناكِبِ

I have indeed seen striving fail to reach its goal,

and weakness not swerve from the path.

كم قَدْ سعدتُ بما تمنَّى حاسِدي

قدْراً وَخِبتُ بما تخيَّرَ صاحِبي

How often I prospered through what my envier wished,

by destiny, and failed through what my friend chose.

وَوَجدتُ طعمَ السُّمِّ فِي شهدِ الجَنى

وَأُجَاجَ شُرْبي فِي نمير مشَارِبي

And found the taste of poison in gathered honey,

and my drink's briny bitterness in the sweet waters of my drinking places.

ورَفلتُ فِي النِّعَمِ السوابغ مُلبِسي

أَثوابَها الدهرُ الَّذِي هوَ سالبي

And I strutted amid lavish blessings; the one who clothed me

in their robes was time, the very one that strips me.

يا رَبَّةَ الخِدْرِ اسْتَجِدِّي سَلْوةً

جَدَّ النَّجاءُ بهائمٍ بكِ لاعبِ

O lady of the curtained chamber, seek fresh consolation.

Swift departure presses on one love-struck and playful with you.

إِمَّا شجيتِ برحلتي فاستبشِري

بجميل ظنّي من جميلِ عواقبي

If my journey saddens you, then rejoice

in my fair expectations of fair outcomes.

وَلئن جنيت عَلَيْكِ تَرْحَة راحِلٍ

فأَنا الزَّعيم لَهَا بفرْحَةِ آيب

And if I inflicted on you a departing man's sorrow,

I pledge to answer it with a returning man's joy.

هل أَبْصَرَتْ عيناكِ بدْراً طالِعاً

فِي الأُفقِ إِلّا من هلالٍ غاربِ

Have your eyes seen a full moon rising

on the horizon except from a setting crescent?

وَاللهُ من بعدِي عَلَيْكِ خليفتي

وخَليفةٌ هُديَتْ إِلَيْهِ مَذاهِبي

And God, after my departure, is my deputy watching over you,

and a caliph toward whom my paths were guided.

بَيْني وبَينكِ أَنْ يُلَبِّي دعوتي

داعي لَبيبٍ من مُناخِ ركائبي

Between you and me lies this: that my call be answered

by Labib's herald, from my riding camels' halting place,

وأُهِلَّ نحوَ فِنائِهِ وَعَطَائِهِ

فيُهِلَّ نحو وسائلي ورَغائبي

and that I call out toward his courtyard and his bounty,

so he calls out toward my pleas and my wishes;

وَأُشِيم بَرْقَ يمينه وجبينِهِ

وَيشُمُّ ريحَ أَوَاصِري ومَطالبي

and that I watch the lightning of his right hand and his brow,

while he scents the fragrance of my bonds and my requests;

وَأَهُزُّهُ بشوافِعٍ من عامِرٍ

تُزْري بكلِّ قرابةٍ وَمَناسِبِ

and stir him with intercessors from ʿAmir

that put every kinship and lineage to shame.

فَهُناكَ جاءَتْكِ الخطوبُ خواضِعاً

وَمشى إليكِ الدهرُ مِشيَةَ تائِبِ

Then calamities will come to you submissive,

and time will walk toward you with a penitent's gait.

وأَنابَ سُلطانُ النوائِبِ وانْثنَت

ذُلَلاً وأعتبَ كلُّ مولىً عاتبِ

And the ruler of misfortunes will repent, and they will turn

meek, and every reproachful ally will make amends.

ملكٌ متى أَرْمِ الحوادِثَ باسمهِ

تقتُلْ أَفاعِيها سُمُومُ عقارِبي

A king—whenever I assail calamities with his name,

my scorpions' venoms kill their vipers.

الرَّافِعُ الأَعْلامَ فَوْقَ خوافِقٍ

والقائدُ الآسادَ فَوْقَ شَوازِبِ

The raiser of banners above racing steeds,

and the leader of lions upon lean horses.

مَلِكٌ تكرَّمَ عَنْ خلائِقِ غادِرٍ

فأثابهُ الرحمنُ قدرةَ غالِبِ

A king too noble for a traitor's character,

whom the All-Merciful rewarded with a conqueror's power.

يقضي فَيُمْضي كُلَّ حقٍّ واجبٍ

إِلّا إِذَا أعطى ففوْقَ الواجِبِ

He judges and enforces every right that is due,

save when he gives—for then he exceeds what is due.

قُفلٌ عَلَى الإسلامِ ممنوعٌ لَهُ

عن قلبٍ كلّ مُعانِدٍ وَمُناصِبِ

A lock upon Islam, safeguarded for it

against being turned by any stubborn foe or adversary.

لا يخلعُ الإِسلامُ حُلَّةَ آمِنٍ

منهُ وَلا الإِشراكُ رِبقَةَ هائِبِ

Islam never sheds the robe of one safe

under him, nor polytheism the halter of one afraid.

حَرَمُ الهُدى سُمُّ العِدى أُمنِيَّةٌ

لمُسالِمٍ وَمنِيَّةٌ لمُحارِبِ

A sanctuary of guidance, poison to foes, a cherished hope

for the peaceful, and death for the warrior.

وَقفٌ عَلَى عَلَمِ الثُّغُورِ مُقارِبٌ

لمباعِدٍ وَمُباعِدٌ لمُقاربِ

Devoted to the frontier banner, he draws near

to one far away, and holds at a distance one who comes near.

فَمُراقِبُ الإِسلامِ غَيْرُ مُراقبٍ

وَمُصاقِبُ الأَعداءِ غيرُ مُصاقِبِ

Thus Islam's watcher is not himself watched,

and the enemies' neighbor is no neighbor.

مُوفٍ بعَلياءِ الثُّغُورِ لِرَغْبةٍ

من راغِبٍ أَوْ رَهْبَةٍ منْ راهِبِ

Towering on the frontier heights, for the hope

of the hopeful, or the fear of the fearful.

تُضحي عطاياهُ تحِيَّةَ زائرٍ

وَتبيتُ روعتُهُ نَجِيَّةَ هارِبِ

His gifts are a visitor's greeting by day,

and dread of him a fugitive's confidante by night.

يا من يُلاقي النَّازِلِين قِبابَهُ

بجبينِ مَوْهُوبٍ وَرَاحَةِ وَاهبِ

O you who meet those alighting at your pavilions

with a recipient's brow and a giver's palm,

وإِذا التقى الجمعانِ أَوَّلُ طاعنٍ

وإِذا اسْتَحَرَّ الطَّعنُ أَوَّلُ ضاربِ

and when the two armies meet, the first to thrust,

and when spear-thrusts rage, the first to strike,

وَإِذا تَؤُوبُ الخيلُ آخِرُ نازِلٍ

وَإِذا دعا الداعي فأَوَّلُ راكِبِ

and when the horses return, the last to dismount,

and when the caller calls, the first to mount.

كَرُمَتْ أَيادِيكَ الَّتِي أَنشأْتَها

أترابَ كُلِّ مؤمِّلٍ أَوْ راغبِ

Noble are your favors, which you brought into being

as age-mates of every hopeful man or seeker:

من كُلِّ بكْرٍ فِي يمينِكَ حُرَّةٍ

يرفُلْنَ بَيْنَ قلائدٍ وجَلاببِ

each a freeborn virgin in your right hand,

they walk proudly amid necklaces and cloaks.

هذِي لأَوَّلِ خاطِبٍ وَلِدَاتُها

يهتِفنَ فِي الآفاقِ هلْ منْ خاطِبِ

This one is for the first suitor, and her age-mates

cry across the horizons, "Is there a suitor?"

وَيَجِلُّ قَدْرُكَ عن وِلادَةِ يافِث

أَوْ قَيصَرٍ أَوْ عن أَرُومِ صَقالِبِ

And your stature transcends descent from Japheth,

or Caesar, or the ancestral roots of the Slavs.

بَلْ أَنتَ بكْرُ غمامَةٍ من بارِقٍ

لَقِحَتْ بِهِ أَوْ صَعْدَةٍ من قاضِبِ

Rather, you are a cloud's firstborn, by lightning

that made it fertile—or a spear-shaft's, by a branch-cutter.

قَبِلَتكَ أَيْدِي هِمَّةٍ وَسِيادَةٍ

وَرَضَعْتَ دَرَّ مكارِمٍ وَمَواهِبِ

Hands of high ambition and lordship received you at birth,

and you suckled the flowing milk of noble deeds and gifts,

في عزِّ مَهدٍ مَا استَقَرَّ مكانُهُ

إِلّا بقربِ مَنابرٍ وَمَحارِبِ

in the glory of a cradle whose place was settled

only near pulpits and battlefields.

وَفُطِمْتَ يوْمَ فُطِمتَ فِي رَهَجِ الوَغى

عند التفافِ كتائبٍ بكتائبِ

And you were weaned, the day you were weaned, amid battle-dust,

where battalions tangled with battalions.

حَتَّى حَلَلْتَ من السماءِ مراتِباً

تركَت كَواكِبَها بغيرِ مَراتِبِ

Until you occupied stations in the sky

that left its stars without stations.

فلَئِنْ طَلبتَ هُناكَ حقّاً صاعداً

فلأَنْتَ أَقرَبُ من وريدِ الطَّالِبِ

So though you seek a right there, ascending,

you are indeed nearer than the seeker's jugular vein.

وَلئن وَهَبتَ لقد وَهبتَ مساعياً

أَصبحْنَ حَلْيَ مآثري وَمَناقِبي

And if you gave, you indeed gave noble achievements

that became adornments for my proud deeds and virtues:

شيَماً بِهَا حَلَّيْتُ غُرَّ قصائِدي

وجَعلْتُهُنَّ أَهِلَّةً لِكواكِبي

qualities with which I adorned the bright brows of my odes,

and made them crescent moons for my stars.

وَذَخَرْتُ للأَزْمانِ من حَسناتِهَا

مثْلَ القلائدِ فِي نحورِ كواعبِ

And I stored for the ages some of their beauties,

like necklaces on the necks of maidens with budding breasts.

ولأَشفِيَنَّ بِهَا سَقامَ تَغَرُّبِي

ولآسُوَنَّ بِهَا جراحَ مَصائبي

And I shall surely cure with them the sickness of my exile,

and surely heal with them the wounds of my calamities.

ولأَجْعَلَنْ منها تمائِمَ خائفٍ

من طائِفٍ أَوْ مِنْ رجاءٍ خائبِ

And I shall surely make from them amulets for one afraid

of a haunting spirit, or of a disappointed hope.

ولأَتْرُكَنَّ ثناءها وجزاءها

قوتَ المُقيمِ غداً وزادَ الرَّاكبِ

And I shall surely leave their praise and their recompense

as tomorrow's food for the stay-at-home and provisions for the rider,

وسرورَ محزونٍ وأُنْسَ مُغَرَّبٍ

وحُليَّ أَوْتارٍ وروضَةَ شاربِ

and a sorrower's joy, and an exile's solace,

and the adornment of strings, and a drinker's garden.

ولقد نَثَرْتُ عَلَيْكَ شَكلَكَ جَوْهَراً

لا مَا قمَشتُ وضمَّ حبلُ الحاطبِ

And I have indeed scattered upon you gems to match you,

not scraps I scavenged and a wood-gatherer's rope bundled.