أوجفت خيلي في الهوى وركابي — Ibn Darray Alqastalli

أَوْجَفْتُ خَيْلِي فِي الهوى ورِكابي

وَقَذَفْتُ نَبْلي بالصِّبا وحِرَابي

I drove my horses and riding camels swiftly in love,

and hurled my arrows and spears in youthful passion.

وسَلَلْتُ فِي سُبُلِ الغِوايَةِ صارِماً

عَضْباً تَرَقْرَقَ فِيهِ مَاءُ شَبابِي

I drew, along the paths of waywardness, a sword,

keen, with the water of my youth shimmering in it.

ورَفَعْتُ لِلشَّوْقِ المُبَرِّحِ رايَةً

خَفَّاقَةً بِهَوَائِجِ الأَطْرَابِ

I raised a banner for tormenting longing,

fluttering with surges of rapture.

ولَبِسْتُ لِلُّوَّامِ لأْمَةَ خالِعٍ

مَسْرُودَةً بِصَبابَةٍ وتَصابِ

I donned against reproachers the armor of a libertine,

chain-linked with yearning and youthful dalliance.

وبَرَزْتُ لِلشَّكْوَى بِشِكَّةِ مُعْلَمٍ

نَكَصَ الملامُ بِهَا عَلَى الأَعقابِ

I came forth to voice complaint, armed as a marked warrior,

and blame recoiled before those arms upon its heels.

فاسْأَلْ كمِيَّ الوَجْدِ كيْفَ أَثَرْتُهُ

بِغُرُوبِ دَمْعٍ صائِبِ التَّسكابِ

So ask the armored champion of passion how I roused him

with torrents of tears that poured true to their mark.

واسْأَلْ جُنُودَ العَذْلِ كيْفَ لَقِيتُها

فِي جَحْفَلِ البُرَحاءِ والأَوْصابِ

Ask the armies of reproach how I met them

amid a great host of anguish and pain.

ولَقَدْ كَرَرْتُ عَلَى الملامِ بِزَفْرَةٍ

ذَهَلَ العِتَابُ بِهَا عَنِ الإِعْتَابِ

Indeed, I charged against blame with a sigh

that stunned reproach out of demanding amends.

حتى تركْتُ العاذِلِينَ لِما بِهِمْ

شَغْفاً بِحُبِّ التَّارِكيَّ لِما بِي

Until I left the reproachers to what troubled them,

absorbed in love for those who left me to what troubled me—

من كُلِّ مَمْنُوعِ اللِّقاءِ اغْتالَهُ

صَرْفُ النَّوى فَنأَى بِهِ وَدَنَا بي

each one forbidden to meet, snatched away by

separation's vicissitudes, which bore him far and drew near me.

في لَيْلَةٍ لُقِّيتُ من تِلْقائِهِ

دَعْوى مُجِيبٍ للمَزَارِ مُجابِ

On a night when I received from him

a summons from one willing to visit, whose summons was answered.

سِرٌّ سَرى لِجَوانِحي فَسَرى بِهَا

وهَوىً هَوَيْتُ لطَوْعِهِ فَهَوى بِي

A secret stole into my breast and coursed through it,

and a passion into whose sway I fell carried me down.

فكَسَوْتُ خَيْلَ الشَّوْقِ لَيْلَ مُخالِسٍ

مَا كاد يَشْعُرُ أَنَّهُ جِلْبابِي

So I cloaked longing's horses in a stealthy raider's night,

which scarcely sensed that it was my mantle.

وهَتَفْتُ فِي جُنْدِ الصَّبا فأَجَابَني

فِي كُلِّ صَبٍّ بالأَحِبَّةِ صَابِ

I called to the army of youthful passion, and it answered me

in every lover yearning for the beloved.

فَزَحَفْتُ والإِقْدَامُ يَحْمِلُ رَايَتِي

وخَوَاطِرُ الإِحْجَامِ تَحْتَ رِكابِي

I advanced, with boldness carrying my banner,

and thoughts of hesitation beneath my stirrups.

وحَمائِلي تَهْفُو بِلُحْمَةٍ بارِقٍ

لولا الوفاءُ بِذِمَّتِي لَوَشى بي

My sword-belts fluttered with a weft of lightning,

which, but for loyalty to my pledge, would have betrayed me.

وكِنَانَتي مَا شِئْتُ فِي إِكْنانِها

منْ مُلتَظى جَمْرٍ وحَرِّ شِهابِ

My quiver concealed whatever I wished

of blazing embers and a meteor's heat.

كُلٌّ يشاكِهُ مَا وَرَاءَ جوانِحِي

للشَّوْقِ من ضَرَمٍ ومن إِلْهَابِ

Each resembled what lay behind my ribs

of longing's blaze and kindled fire.

حَتَّى افْتَتَحْتُ عَنِ الأَحِبَّةِ مَعْقِلاً

وَعْر المسالِكِ مُبْهَم الأَبْوَابِ

Until I breached a fortress around the beloved,

rugged in its paths, its gates concealed.

ووقَفْتُ مَوْقِفَ عاشِقٍ حَلَّتْ لَهُ

فِيهِ غنيمةُ كاعِبٍ وكَعَابِ

I stood as a lover for whom

the spoils of one budding maiden and many were lawful there,

بِحَدَائِقِ الحَدَقِ الَّتِي لاقَيْنَنِي

بأَحَدَّ من سيفي ومن نُشَّابِي

amid gardens of eyes that met me

with something sharper than my sword and my arrows.

في تُرْبَةٍ جادَ النَّعِيمُ رِياضَها

فَتَفَتَّحَتْ بِنَوَاعِمٍ أَتْرَابِ

On soil whose gardens bliss had watered,

they blossomed with tender maidens of equal age,

من كُلِّ مَغْنُومٍ لِقَلْبِيَ غانِمٍ

عِشْقاً ومَسْبيٍّ لِعَقْلِي سابِ

each a prize, yet a captor of my heart

in love, and a captive, yet a captor of my mind.

في جُنْحِ لَيْلٍ كالغُرَابِ أَطارَ لِي

عن مُلتَقى الأَحْبابِ كُلَّ غُرَابِ

Under cover of a raven-black night that drove away for me

every raven from the lovers' meeting place,

وجَلا لِعَيْنيَ كُلَّ بَدْرٍ طالِعٍ

قَمِنٍ بِهَتْكِ حِجابِهِ وحِجابِي

and unveiled to my eyes each rising full moon,

fit to tear away his veil and mine.

جابَ الظَّلامَ فَلَمْ يَدَعْ من دَجْنِهِ

إِلّا غَدَائِرَ شَعْرِهِ المُنْجابِ

He cleft the darkness, leaving nothing of its gloom

except the tresses of his unveiled hair.

فَغَنِيتَ بَيْنَ ضِيائِهِ وظلامِهِ

مُغْرى الجفونِ بِطَرْفِهِ المُغْرى بِي

So you dwelt between his radiance and his darkness,

your eyelids enthralled by his gaze, itself enthralled by me.

فإِذا كَتَبْتُ بناظِرِي في قَلبِهِ

أَخْفى فخطَّ بناظِرَيْهِ جَوَابِي

If I wrote with my gaze within his heart,

he concealed it, then penned my answer with his eyes.

وإِذا سَقَاني من عُقارِ جُفُونِهِ

أَبْقى عليَّ فَشَجَّها بِرُضَابِ

If he gave me wine from his eyelids,

he spared me, diluting it with lip-dew.

وسُلافَةُ الأَعْنابِ تُشْعِلُ نارُها

تُهْدى إِلَيَّ بيانِعِ العُنَّابِ

The purest grape-wine, whose fire kindles,

is offered to me with ripe jujubes.

فَسَكِرْتُ والأَيَّامُ تسلُبُ جِدَّتِي

والدَّهْرُ ينسِجُ لي ثِيابَ سِلابِي

I grew drunk while the days robbed me of my freshness,

and time wove for me the garments of my mourning:

سُكْرَيْنِ من خمْرَيْنِ كَانَ خُمارُها

فَقْدَ الشَّبابِ وفرْقَةَ الأَحبابِ

two intoxications from two wines whose hangover was

the loss of youth and parting from the beloved.

لِمَدىً تَنَاهى فِي الغِوَايَةِ فانْتَهى

فِينا إِلَى أَمَدٍ لَهُ وكِتَابِ

For a span that reached its utmost in waywardness, then ended

among us at its appointed term and decree;

وهَوًى تقاصَرَ بالمُنى فأَطالَ بِي

هَمَّاً إِلَى قَلْبِي سَرى فَسَرى بي

and a passion that fell short of hopes, yet prolonged within me

a grief that stole into my heart and swept me away.

في جاهِلِيَّةِ فِتْنَةٍ عُبِدَتْ بِهَا

دُونَ الإِلهِ مَضَلَّةُ الأَرْبابِ

In an age of pagan seduction, when worship was given

not to God, but to the delusion of lords.

تُسْتَقْسَمُ الأَزْلامُ فِي مُهَجَاتِنا

وتسيلُ أنْفُسُنا عَلَى الأَنْصابِ

Divining arrows are cast within our heart's blood,

and our souls flow upon the sacrificial stones.

غِيَراً من الأَيَّامِ أَصْبَحَ ماؤُها

غَوْراً وأُعْقِبَ صَفْوُها بِعِقابِ

Vicissitudes of days whose water became

lost underground, their serenity followed by punishment;

وبوارِقاً للغَيِّ أُضْرِمَ نُورُها

ناراً وصابَ غَمَامُها بالصَّابِ

and flashes of waywardness whose light was kindled

into fire, whose clouds poured bitter sap.

فلها فَقَدْتُ النَّفْسَ إِلّا قَدْرَ مَا

أَشْجى بِهِ لِحُلُولِ كُلِّ مُصابِ

Through them I lost my soul, save just enough

to grieve at the arrival of every calamity.

وبها رَزَيْتُ الأَهْلَ إِلّا لابِساً

بُؤْساً يَزِيدُ بِهِ أَلِيمُ عَذَابِي

Through them I lost my family, save one clothed

in misery that deepened the pain of my torment.

وبها رَفَعْتُ حِجابَ سِتْرِي عَنْ مَهاً

تَرَكَتْ شبا قلْبي بِغَيْرِ حِجابِ

Through them I lifted my protective veil from white oryxes,

who left my heart's sharp edge without a veil.

وجَلَوْتُ فِي خَطْبِ الجَلاءِ عقائلاً

قَصَّرْتُ عَنْها هِمَّةَ الخُطَّابِ

In the ordeal of exile I unveiled noble women

whose suitors' ambitions I had restrained.

سِرْبُ المُقاصِرِ والمَلاعِبِ صُنْتُهُ

فأَطَرْتُهُنَّ مع القَطَا الأَسْرابِ

The flock of secluded chambers and pleasure grounds I had guarded,

then sent them flying with the sandgrouse flocks.

ذُعِرَتْ بِحِسِّ الإِنْسِ تَحْتَ حِجالِها

واسْتَأْنَسَتْ بِضَرَاغِمٍ وذِئَابِ

They were startled by human sounds beneath their canopies,

yet grew familiar with lions and wolves.

وَنَزَتْ بِهِنَّ عن الآرائِكِ رَوْعَةٌ

مَهَدَتْ لَهُنَّ حُزُونَ كُلِّ يَبابِ

Terror made them leap from their couches,

leveling for them the rough ground of every wasteland.

فَطَوَيْنَ آفاقَ البِلادِ لِطِيَّةٍ

تأْبى لَهَا الأَيَّامُ يَوْمَ إِيَابِ

They traversed the lands' horizons toward a destination

for which the days denied them a day of return.

وإِلَيْكَ يَا مَنْصُورُ حَطَّ رِحالَها

دَأْبُ السَّرى واليَعْمَلاتِ وَدَابِي

To you, Mansur, their saddles were brought to rest by

unceasing night travel, swift she-camels, and my striving.

وبُحُورُ هَمٍّ كَمْ وَكَمْ دَاوَيْتُها

بِبحُورِ يَمٍّ أَوْ بُحُورِ سَرَابِ

Oceans of care—how often, how often I treated them

with oceans of sea or oceans of mirage!

وشبابُ لَيْلٍ طالَمَا بَلَّغْتُهُ

تَخْطِيطَ شَيْبٍ أَوْ نُصُولَ خِضَابِ

The youth of night—how often I brought it

to streaks of gray or the fading of dye!

فَوَصَلْتَ يَا مَنْصُورُ مِنَّا غُرْبَةً

مَقْطُوعَةَ الأَنْسابِ والأَسْبابِ

So you, Mansur, restored connection to our exile,

cut off from kinship and every tie.

ووَقَيْتَني رَيْبَ الخُطُوبِ بِمِنَّةٍ

جَلَتِ اليَقِينَ لِظَنِّيَ المُرْتابِ

You shielded me from calamities' treachery with a favor

that revealed certainty to my doubting mind.

وكَفَيْتَني لَوْمَ الزَّمَانِ بأَنْعُمٍ

كَفَتِ الزَّمَانَ ملامَتي وعِتابي

You spared me time's reproach with blessings

that spared time my blame and rebuke.

وشَمِلْتَني بشَمائِلٍ ذَكَّرْنَنِي

فِي طِيبِها طُوبى وحُسْنَ مآبِ

You enfolded me in virtues that recalled to me,

in their sweetness, bliss and a fair place of return.

وأَقَمْتَ لي سُوقَ المكارِمِ مُغْلِياً

بِجَوَاهِرِ الإِبْداعِ والإِغْرابِ

You established for me a market of noble gifts, raising its prices

with jewels of invention and rare wonder.

ورِضَاكَ رَدَّ لِيَ الرِّضا فِي أَوْجُهٍ

من خُزْرِ أَيَّامٍ عَلَيَّ غِضابِ

Your favor restored favor toward me in the faces

of scowling days that were angry with me.

وهُدَاكَ أَشْرَقَ لي ولَيْلِيَ مُظْلِمٌ

وسَناكَ أَبْرَقَ لي وَزَنْدِيَ كابِ

Your guidance shone for me while my night was dark,

and your radiance flashed for me while my fire-stick failed.

وَجَدَاكَ داوَاني وَدَائيَ مُعْضِلٌ

وذرَاكَ آوَانِي وَرَحْلِي نَابِ

Your bounty healed me while my sickness defied cure,

and your protection sheltered me while my lodging was inhospitable.

فَحَلَلْتُ مِنْهُ خَيْرَ دارِ مُقامَةٍ

وَثَوَيْتُ مِنْهُ فِي أَعَزِّ جَنابِ

Thus I settled within it in the finest abiding home,

and dwelt within it in the most honored precinct.

وأَسَمْتُ فِي أَزْكَى البِقاعِ صَوَافِني

وَضَرَبْتُ فِي أَعلى اليَفَاعِ قِبابي

I set my poised steeds to graze in the most fertile tracts,

and pitched my tents on the highest uplands.

وشَوَيْتُ للأَضْيافِ لَحْمَ رَكائِبي

فِي نارِ أَحْلاسِي وَفِي أَقْتابي

I roasted my riding camels' flesh for guests

over a fire of my saddlecloths and my pack-saddles,

عِوَضاً مِنَ الْوَطَنِ الَّذِي أَصْبَحْتُ مِنْ

أَسْلابِهِ إِذْ كَانَ مِنْ أَسْلابي

in place of the homeland: I had become one of

its spoils, though it had once been among mine.

ولَقَدْ جَبَرْتَ بِرَغْمِ دَهْرٍ ضامَني

مَا أَخْلَقَتْ عَصْرَاهُ مِنْ أَثْوَابِي

Indeed, despite a time that wronged me, you mended

what its nights and days had worn out of my garments.

خِلَعاً رَفَعْتَ بِفَخْرِها وسَنائِها

مَا ضاعَ من قَدْرِي ومِنْ آدابِي

Robes of honor—through their glory and radiance you raised

what had been lost of my standing and my learning.

كُلٌّ ينادي فِي البَرِيَّةِ مُعْلِناً

هَذِي مواهِبُ مُنْذِر الوَهَّابِ

Each calls out among humankind, proclaiming:

These are the gifts of Mundhir, the lavish giver.

فَلأَهْدِيَنْ مِن طِيبِ ذِكْرِكَ فِي الوَرى

وَقْرَ الرِّكَابِ وذُخرَةَ الرُّكَّابِ

So I shall surely offer, from your sweet renown among mankind,

a load for the mounts and a treasure for the riders.

ولأَكْتُبَنْ منها عَلَى صُحُفِ العُلا

غُرَرَ الكِتابِ وغُرَّةَ الكُتَّابِ

I shall surely write from it upon the scrolls of glory

gems of writing and the crowning glory of writers.

ولأَجْلُوَنْ منها لأَبصارِ النُّهى

حُرَّ الخِطابِ وحُرَّةَ الخُطَّابِ

I shall surely unveil from it before the eyes of reason

noble discourse and a freeborn lady for suitors.

ولأَجْعَلَنَّ ثناءها وجَزاءها

أَبَدَ الأَبِيدِ وعاقِبَ الأَعْقابِ

I shall surely make its praise and recompense

endure forever and to the last of generations.

ولأَتْرُكَنَّ خُلُودَها ونَشِيدَها

دِينَ العَصُورِ ومِلَّةَ الأَحْقابِ

I shall surely leave its immortality and its song

as the faith of ages and the creed of epochs,

حَتَّى يَعُودَ الدَّهرُ بِدْعَ شَرِيعَةٍ

بِعُلاكَ والأَيَّامُ أَهْلَ كِتابِ

until time becomes a new sacred law

through your greatness, and the days become people of scripture.

وتَرَاكَ بَعْدَكَ أمَّةٌ لَمْ تَلْقَها

عَيْنَ اليَقِينِ وجَهْرَةَ الأَلْبابِ

After you, a people you never met will see you

with certainty's very eye, clearly before their minds.

حَتَّى يَرَوْا كَرَّاتِ خَيْلِكَ فِي الوغَى

لِوَحى طِعانٍ أَوْ وَحِيِّ ضِرَابِ

Until they see your cavalry's charges in battle,

with swift spear-thrusts or swift sword-blows;

ويَرَوا سُيُوفَكَ فِي الجَمَاجِمِ والطُّلى

وسَنا جَبينِكَ فِي العَجَاجِ الهابي

and see your swords amid skulls and necks,

and your brow's radiance in the swirling dust;

ويَرَوْا إِلَى الأَقْرانِ مِنْكَ مُنازِلاً

إِقْدَامَ لَيْثٍ وانْقِضَاضَ عُقابِ

and see in you, as you confront worthy opponents,

a lion's boldness and an eagle's swoop;

ويَرَوْكَ حِزْبُ اللهِ حِزْبُكَ والعِدى

بِسُيُوفِهِ مَفْلُولَةُ الأَحْزَابِ

and see you, God's host your host, and your enemies

with their factions shattered by its swords.

هَذَا وكَمْ أَعْزَزْتَ فِي دِينِ الهُدى

من مِنْبَرٍ وحَمَيْتَ من مِحْرَابِ

All this—and how often, in the faith of guidance, you have exalted

a pulpit, and defended a prayer niche!

ومعادِ عيدٍ عُدْتَ فِي إِغْبابِهِ

بِمكارِمٍ كَرُمَتْ عنِ الإِغْبابِ

At a festival's return, you came back after its interval

with noble gifts too generous for intermittent giving.

فكَسَوْتَ فِيهِ الأَرْضَ سابِغَ حُلَّةٍ

نُسِجَتْ بأُسْدِ شَرىً ومَأْشَبِ غابِ

You clothed the earth that day in a full-flowing robe,

woven with lions of Shara and a forest's tangled thickets,

وسوابِقٍ رَدَّ الجِهادُ جِيادَها

قُبَّ البُطُونِ لَوَاحِقَ الأَقْرابِ

and racers whose fine steeds holy warfare had made

lean-bellied, their flanks drawn tight;

ولوامِعٍ أَشْرَعْتَهُنَّ فأَشْرَقَتْ

إِشراقَ مُلْكِكَ فِي سَنا الأحْسابِ

and gleaming lances you leveled, which shone

with your sovereignty's brilliance amid the radiance of noble ancestry;

وخَوافِقٍ حَفَّتْ بوجهِكَ فاحْتَذَتْ

شَمْسَ النهارِ تَجَلَّلَتْ بسحابِ

and fluttering banners ringed your face, forming the likeness of

the sun of day enveloped in clouds.

حَتَّى انْتَهَيْتَ إِلَى المُصَلَّى لابساً

عِزَّ المليكِ ورِقَّةَ الأَوَّابِ

Until you reached the prayer ground, clothed in

a sovereign's majesty and a penitent's tenderness.

في مَنْظَرٍ عَجَبٍ وأَعْجَبُ شَأْنِهِ

مَا ذُمَّ من كِبرٍ ومن إِعْجابِ

In a wondrous spectacle, most wondrous in this:

it drew no censure for pride or self-admiration.

وهُدىً لِمَنْ صَلَّى وضَحّى واتَّقى

وزَكَا فَكُنْتَ لَهُ أَجَلَّ ثوابِ

And guidance for whoever prayed, sacrificed, and feared God,

and grew pure—you were his greatest reward.

فاللهُ يَرْزُقُنا بقاءَكَ سالِماً

رِزْقاً نُوَفَّاهُ بغيرِ حِسابِ

May God grant us your enduring life in safety,

a bounty paid us in full without reckoning.

وانْصُرْ وَمَنْ والاكَ حِلْفُ كَرَامَةٍ

واقْهَرْ ومَنْ عَادَاكَ رَهْنُ تَبابِ

Grant victory, while whoever is loyal to you is honor's ally;

and conquer, while whoever opposes you is hostage to ruin.