خطب يهز شواهق الأطواد — Ibn Hamdis

خَطْبٌ يهزّ شواهقَ الأطوادِ

صَدَعَ الزّمانُ به حصاةَ فؤادي

A calamity that shakes the towering mountain peaks:

with it, Time split the stone at my heart's core.

ومصيبةٌ حَرُّ المصائب عندها

بَرْدٌ بِحُرْقَتِها على الأكبادِ

A disaster beside which the heat of other disasters

is cold against its scorching of the livers.

وكأنّما الأحشاءُ من حَسَراتِها

يُجْذَبْنَ بينَ براثِنِ الآسادِ

It is as though the entrails, from its anguish,

were pulled between the claws of lions.

كُبَرُ الدّواهي رَحّلَتْ بحلولها

قَرْماً لقد قَرَعَتْ قريعَ أعادي

The greatest calamities, descending, carried away

a mighty chief: they struck the vanquisher of my foes.

سكنتْ شقاشِقُهُ وكان هديرُهُ

يستكّ منه مسامعُ الحسّادِ

His throat-pouches fell silent; once his bellow

deafened the ears of the envious.

وكأنّما في الترب غَيّضَ غيضها

لَحْداهُ وَرْداً عن وُرودِ صَوَادِ

As though, in the dust, there were a complete draining

by his grave's two sides of a watering place, withheld from thirsty drinkers.

نُحِرَتْ شؤوني بالبكاءِ عليه أمْ

عُصِرَتْ مدامعها من الفِرْصادِ

Were my tear ducts slaughtered by weeping for him, or

were their tears pressed from mulberries?

لم أنْتَفِع بالنفسِ عندَ عزائها

فكَأَنّها عينٌ بِغيرِ سوادِ

My soul gave me no help in finding consolation;

it was like an eye without a pupil.

هَذا الزَمانُ على خَلائِقِه الَّتي

طَوَتِ الخلائقَ من ثمودَ وعادِ

Time persists in those habits of its

that swept away the peoples of Thamud and Ad.

لم يبق منهم من يَشُبّ لِقَرّهِ

بيَدَيهِ سِقْطاً من قداحِ زنادِ

Not one remains to kindle against his cold

a spark with his hands by striking flints.

يَفْنى ويُفْني دهرُنا وصروفه

من طارقٍ أو رائحٍ أو غادِ

Our age passes away and destroys, with its changing turns—

coming by night, departing at evening, or setting out at dawn.

فكأنّ عينك منه واقعةٌ على

بطَلٍ مُبِيدٍ في الحروب مُبَادِ

It is as though your eye, looking at it, fell upon

a hero who destroys in battle, himself destroyed.

والناسُ كَالأحلامِ عندَ نواظرٍ

تَرنو إِلَيهمْ وهي دارُ سهادِ

People are like dreams before eyes

that gaze upon them, themselves a dwelling of sleeplessness.

سَهَرٌ كرى مُقَلٍ تخافُ من الرّدى

للخوْفِ هَجْرُ الطيرِ ماءَ ثمادِ

Wakefulness is the slumber of eyes that fear death;

through fear, birds forsake the water of shallow pools.

والعُمرُ يُحْفَزُ بينَ يوْمٍ سابقٍ

لا يستقِرّ وبين يومٍ حادِ

Life is driven between a day that runs ahead,

never resting, and a day that drives it onward.

دنيا إلى أُخرى تُنَقِّلُ أهْلَها

هل تُتْرَكُ الأرواحُ في الأَجسادِ

One world conveys its people to another:

are souls left within their bodies?

وكأنّهنّ صوارمٌ ما فعلها

إلّا مِنَ الأَجسامِ في أغمادِ

They are like keen swords, whose action

is only within sheaths made of bodies.

حتى إذا فُجِعَتْ بها أشْباحُها

بَقِيَتْ لِفَقدِ حَياتِها كَجمادِ

Until, when their bodily forms are bereaved of them,

they remain, deprived of life, like lifeless matter.

والموتُ يُدْرِكُ والفرار مُعقِّلٌ

من فرّ عنه على سَرَاة جوادِ

Death overtakes, and flight only hobbles

whoever flees it on a courser's back.

ويَنَالُ ما صَدَعَ الهواءَ بخافقٍ

موتٌ ومن قَطَع الفَلا بِسُهادِ

What cleaves the air with a beating wing is reached

by death, as is whoever crosses the wilderness without sleep.

ويسومُ ضيماً كلَّ أعصمَ شاهقٍ

ريبُ المنون وكلَّ حيَّةِ وادِ

Every white-footed ibex on a peak is humbled

by death's vicissitudes, and every valley serpent,

وهِزبرَ غابٍ يحتمي بمخالبٍ

يُرْهَفْنَ من غيرِ الحديدِ حِدادِ

and every forest lion that defends itself with claws

sharpened, keen, though not of iron.

يَسري إِلى وَجهِ الصباحِ وإنّما

مصباحُهُ من طَرْفِهِ الوقّادِ

It journeys by night toward the face of dawn, its only

lamp being its blazing eye.

أوَ لا ولم يُبَلِ الحِمامُ بشبلهِ

وعنادُهُ بالدلّ غيرُ عِنادِ

Is it not so? Death cared nothing for its cub,

and its fondly confident defiance was no defiance.

وأخو الهدايةِ راحلٌ جَعَلَ التّقى

زاداً له فَتُقَاهُ أفضلُ زادِ

The man of guidance has departed, making piety

his provision; his piety is the finest provision.

أنا يا ابن أختي لا أزالُ أخا أسىً

حتى أُوَسَّدَ في الضّريح وِسادي

O son of my sister, I remain a companion of sorrow

until I am pillowed on my pillow in the tomb.

إنّي امرؤٌ ممّا طُرقت مُهَيّدٌ

بفراقِ أهْلي وانْتزاحِ بلادي

I am a man broken anew by what has struck me,

by separation from my family and the remoteness of my homeland.

أَودى الغريبُ بعلِّةٍ تعتادُهُ

بالكَربَ وهيَ غَريبَة العوّادِ

The stranger perished from an illness that repeatedly beset him

with anguish, itself a stranger to sickbed visitors.

أمَلٌ وعِدت بهِ وأَوعدَني الرّدى

فَبِهِ يُجَذّ الوعدُ بالإِيعادِ

A hope I was promised, while death threatened me:

through it, the promise is severed by the threat.

حيٌّ ومَيْتٌ بالخطوب تباعَدا

شَتّانَ بينَ بِعادِهِ وبِعَادي

One living and one dead, driven apart by calamities:

how different his distance is from mine!

نعيٌ دُهيتُ به فمتّ وإنْ أعِشْ

خَلْفَ المَنون فلَم أَعِش بِمُرادي

A death-tiding struck me, and I died; though I live

left behind by death, I do not live as I would.

ما ثُلّمَ السيفُ الذي جَسَدُ الثرى

أمْسَى له جفناً بِغَيرِ نِجادِ

The sword was not notched, though the body of earth

became its scabbard without a sword-belt.

عَضْبٌ يكون عتادَ فارسِهِ إذا

ما سلّهُ والعضبُ غيرُ عَتادِ

A keen blade is its rider's equipment when

he draws it—yet this keen blade is no equipment now.

قد كان في يُمْنَى أبيه مصمّماً

يعتدّهُ يومَ الوغى لِجِلادِ

It was once a cleaving blade in its father's right hand,

which he kept ready for combat on the day of battle.

أَعزِزْ علَيَّ بِرَونقٍ يبكي دماً

بِتَواتُرِ الأَزمانِ والآبادِ

How grievous to me is a splendor that weeps blood

through the succession of times and ages!

وأقول بَدْرٌ دبّ فيه مُحاقُهُ

إنّ الكمال إِلَيه غَيرُ مُعَادِ

And I say: a full moon into which its waning crept;

its fullness will never be restored.

إن غابَ في جَدَثٍ أنارَ بنورِهِ

فَبِفَقْدِ ذاك النورِ أظْلَمَ نادي

If he vanished into a grave, he illuminated it with his light;

through losing that light, my gathering place grew dark.

واستَعذَبته المُعضلاتُ لأنّها

مستهدفاتُ مقاتِلِ الأمجادِ

Dreadful trials found him sweet, for they

target the vital places of noble men.

لو أخّرَتْهُ منيَّةٌ لتقدّمَتْ

في الجود همّتُهُ عَلى الأَجوادِ

Had death delayed him, his aspiration would have surpassed

the most generous in generosity.

ولَكانَ في دَرْسِ العلومِ وحِفظِها

بَينَ الأَفاضلِ مبدأَ الأعدادِ

And in studying the sciences and preserving them, he would have been

among the excellent, the first to be counted.

إنّ المَفاخِرَ والمحامدَ سِرّها

لِذَوي البَصائر في المَخايِلِ بادِ

The secret of glories and praiseworthy deeds

is apparent in outward signs to those with insight.

زَيْنُ الحُضورِ ذَوي الفضائِلِ غائِبٌ

يا طولَ غيبةِ مُعْرِضٍ مُتَمَادِ

The adornment of the assembled, the virtuous, is absent:

how long the absence of one who turns away and stays away!

هلَّا حَمَتْهُ عناصِرُ المَجدِ الَّتي

طابَتْ مِنَ الآباءِ والأَجدادِ

Why did the elements of glory not protect him, those

made noble by fathers and forefathers,

ومكارمٌ بُذِلَتْ لِصَونِ نُفوسهِم

معدودةٌ بالفضلِ في الأَعدادِ

and generous deeds bestowed to safeguard their lives,

counted among deeds distinguished by excellence,

ونجابةٌ وَقْفٌ عَلَيهم فضلُها

مَنقولةٌ منهم إلى الأولادِ

and nobility whose excellence is reserved for them,

transmitted from them to their children?

مِنْ مُعْرِقِ الطرَفَينِ مرْكزُ فَخرِهِ

بيتٌ سماءُ عُلاهُ ذاتُ عِمادِ

Of ancient lineage on both sides, his pride is rooted in

a house whose heaven of eminence stands on pillars.

المُنفِقونَ بِأَرضِهمْ أعمارَهُمْ

ما بين غزوٍ في العِدى وجِهادِ

Those who spend their lifetimes in their land

between raids against enemies and holy struggle:

أذْمارُ حربٍ في سماءِ قتامِهِمْ

شُهُبٌ طوالع في القَنَا المَيّادِ

warriors, in the sky of their battle dust,

meteors rising among the swaying spears,

وبَوارِقٌ تَنسَلُّ مِنْ أجْفَانها

ورقٌ لزرعِ الهامِ ذاتُ حصادِ

and flashes of lightning slipping from their scabbards,

silver blades that reap the crop of heads.

فزعَ الصريخُ إليهمُ مُستَنجِداً

فبهم ومنهم شوكة الأنْجَاد

The distress-crier sought them out, asking for aid;

through them and from them comes the warriors' might.

أُسْدٌ لَبُوسُهُمُ جلودُ أراقمٍ

بُهِتَتْ لرؤيتها عيونُ جَرَاد

Lions whose armor is the skins of speckled snakes:

at the sight of them, locust eyes are bewildered.

يا عابِدَ الرَحمَنِ حسبُكَ رحمةً

وفّى لها بالعَهدِ صَوب عِهادِ

O worshipper of the Merciful, sufficient for you is a mercy

whose pledge the downpour of returning rains fulfilled.

بِحَلاوَةِ اسمِك للمَنونِ مَرارةً

طُرِحَتْ بِعَذْبِ الوِرْدِ للورّادِ

With the sweetness of your name, death's bitterness

was cast into sweet water for those who come to drink.

إنّي أُنادي منكَ غيرَ مُجَاوِبٍ

ميتاً وعن شوقٍ إِلَيك أُنادي

I call to you, who give no answer,

dead as you are; out of longing for you I call.

في جَوفِ قَبرٍ مُفردٍ مِن زائرٍ

قبرُ الغريب يُخَصّ بالإِفرادِ

Within a grave, solitary, without a visitor:

the stranger's grave is singled out for solitude.

ما بينَ مَوْتى في صباحٍ عَرّسُوا

لإِعادةٍ بالبَعثِ يومَ مَعَادِ

Among dead who halted to rest one morning,

to be restored through resurrection on the Day of Return.

بَينَ الألوفِ عَفِيّةً أَرسامُهم

ولِرَسمِهِ قبرٌ مِنَ الآحادِ

Among thousands whose traces are effaced,

his trace is one solitary grave.

أوَ لم يَكُن بقراطُ دونَ أبيكَ في

داءٍ يُعادُ لَهُ المريضُ عِدادِ

Was Hippocrates not inferior to your father in

a recurring illness for which the sick are visited?

وأدقّ منهُ فِكرَةً حسبيّةً

حكميَّةَ الإصدارِ والإيرادِ

And was your father not subtler than he in calculating thought,

wise in its sending forth and bringing in?

هلَّا شَفَى سَقَماً فوقّفَ برؤهُ

موتاً تمشّى مِنكَ في الأبْرادِ

Why did he not cure an ailment, so that his cure might halt

the death that crept through you beneath your robes?

هيهاتِ كان مماتُ نفسكَ مثبتاً

بِيَدِ القَضاءِ عَلَيك في الميلادِ

Alas, your soul's death had been inscribed

against you by the hand of destiny at your birth.

قصَرَتكَ كالممدود قَصْرَ ضرورةٍ

وَعَدَتْكَ عن مَدّ الحياةِ عَوَادِ

They shortened you as poetic necessity shortens a long word,

and marauding calamities denied you a lengthened life.

وشَرِبتَ كأساً نَحنُ في إيراقها

إِذ أَنْتَ مِنها في طِويلِ رقادِ

You drank a cup whose wakefulness we endure,

while you lie from it in a long sleep.

وتَركتَ عِرْسَك وهيَ مِنكَ جنازةٌ

ولباسَ عرسك وهوَ ثَوبُ حِدادِ

You left your bride, a corpse because of you,

and your bride's clothing, now a mourning robe.

أهْدَى إلَيك مكانَها حوريّةً

مُهْدٍ وذاك الفضل فَضْلُ الهادي

In her place, a heavenly maiden was bestowed on you

by a giver; that bounty is the bounty of the Guide.

عِندي عَلَيك منَ البُكاءِ بِحَسْرَةٍ

ماءٌ لِنارِ الحزنِ ذو إِيقادِ

For you I have, in sorrowful weeping,

water that kindles the fire of grief,

ونياحُ ذي كَمَدٍ يذوب بِهِ إِذا

رفع الرثاءُ عقيرةَ الإنشادِ

and the wailing of a grief-stricken man, melting with it when

the elegy raises the voice of chanting,

وتَخَيّلٌ يُحييكَ في فِكري فذا

مَسْعاكَ في بِرّي ومَحض وِدادي

and an imagining that revives you in my thoughts: here is

your striving to show me kindness, and my pure affection.

قَد كَانَ عيدكَ والحَياة على شَفا

مِن قَطعِ عُمرِك آخرَ الأعيادِ

Your festival, with life on the brink

of cutting short your lifespan, was the last of festivals.

أَرثيكَ عَن طَبعٍ تَجَدْوَلَ بَحْرُهُ

بَعْدَ الغيَابِ وكَثرَةِ الأَولادِ

I elegize you from a nature whose sea has dwindled to a rivulet

after absence and the multitude of children.

أَنا في الثَمانين الَّتي فَتَلَتْ بِها

قَيْدي الزمانةُ عِندَ ذلّ قِيادي

I am at eighty, the age at which

infirmity twisted my fetters, as I meekly yielded the rein.

أَمشي دَبيباً كَالكَسيرِ وَأَتّقي

وثباً عليّ من الحِمام العادي

I creep along like one with broken limbs, and guard against

a leap upon me from predatory death.

ذَبُلت منَ الآدابِ روضتيَ الَّتي

جُلِيَت نَضَارتها على الرُوَّادِ

My garden of letters has withered, that garden whose

freshness was displayed to those who sought it.

لو كنتَ بعدي لافتدِيت بأنْفُسٍ

وبما حَوَت مِن طارِفٍ وتِلادِ

Had you survived me, you would have been ransomed with lives

and all they held of newly acquired and inherited wealth.

فَاصبِر أَبا الحَسَنِ احتِسابَ مُسَلِّمٍ

للَّه أمرَ خواتِمٍ ومَبَادي

So be patient, Abu al-Hasan, seeking the reward of one who entrusts

to God the matter of endings and beginnings.

فَلَقد عَهِدتُك والحوادثُ جَمّةٌ

وشدادُهُنّ عليك غيرُ شِدادِ

I have known you when calamities were abundant,

and their harshest were not harsh upon you.

أوَ ليسَ إِبراهيمُ نجلُ مُحمَّدٍ

بالدَفنِ صار إِلى بِلى ونَفادِ

Did not Ibrahim, the son of Muhammad,

come through burial to decay and dissolution?

رَدّ النَبيُّ عَلَيهِ تُربةَ لَحدِهِ

بِيَدِ النُبوَّةِ وهيَ ذاتُ أَيادي

The Prophet put back upon him the earth of his grave

with the hand of prophethood, a hand full of favors.

فَتَأسّ في ابنكَ بابنِهِ وَخِلالِهِ

تَسْلُكْ بأُسْوَتِهِ سبيلَ رَشادِ

So follow his example concerning your son, through his son and his virtues:

by his example, you will tread the path of right guidance.