خلعت على بنيات الكروم — Ibn Hamdis

خلعتُ على بُنيّاتِ الكرومِ

محاسنَ ما خُلِعْنَ على الرسومِ

I bestowed upon the little daughters of the vines

beauties never bestowed upon ruins.

أخذتُ بمذهب الحكَميّ فيها

وكيفَ أميلُ عن غرَض الحكيمِ

I followed al-Hakami's way with them;

and how could I turn from the sage's aim?

وما فضلُ الطلول على شَمُولٍ

تمجّ المسك في نَفَس النسيمِ

What superiority have ruins over wine

that pours forth musk into the breath of the breeze?

يُجدَّدُ حبّها في كلّ قلبٍ

إذا صقلتْهُ من صدئ الهمومِ

Love for it is renewed in every heart

when it polishes away the rust of worries.

وكنتُ على قديم الدهر أصبو

إلى اللّذّاتِ بالقصر القديمِ

And long ago I used to yearn

for pleasures in the old palace.

تُرَدّ إذا ظمئت عليّ كأسي

كما رُدّ اللبان على الفطيمِ

Whenever I thirsted, my cup was returned to me,

as milk was returned to the weaned child.

وما استنطقْتُ من طَلَلٍ صَموتٍ

كأنّ له إشاراتِ الكليمِ

I did not seek speech from a mute ruin,

as though it had the gestures of al-Kalim.

بل استنطقْتُ بالنّغماتِ عوداً

تَنَبّهَ مُطْرِباً في حجر ريمِ

Rather, through melodies I made a lute speak,

awakening into delightful song in a gazelle's lap.

وربّ منيمةِ الندماءِ سُكْراً

نفيتُ بها المنامَ عن النديمِ

And many a wine that lulled companions into drunken sleep—

with it I banished sleep from my drinking companion.

فقامَ ومُقْلةُ الإصباحِ فيها

بقيَّةُ إثمدِ الليلِ البهيمِ

Then he rose, while the eye of daybreak still held

a remnant of the pitch-dark night's kohl.

كأنّ الصبحَ معترضاً دجاهُ

خصيمٌ يستطيلُ على خصيمِ

As though dawn, confronting its darkness,

were a rival lording it over a rival.

كأنّ الشرق في هذا وهذا

مَصَفٌّ فيه زَنْجيّ ورومي

As though the east, in this and that,

were a battle line containing a Zanj man and a Roman.

وليلٍ شُقّ فيه ضياءُ صُبْحٍ

كأدهمَ في إغارتهِ لطيمِ

And a night in which dawn's light broke through,

like a white-cheek-marked black horse on its charge.

قطعنا تحت غيهبه عَراءً

بعاريةِ العظامِ من اللحومِ

We crossed open country beneath its gloom,

on a mount whose bones were bare of flesh.

وداميَةً مناسِمُها رَسَمْنا

لها قَطْعَ المهامِهِ بالرّسيمِ

And, with her footpads bleeding, we prescribed

for her the crossing of trackless wastes at a trot.

وَطُفْنا في البلاد طوافَ قَوْمٍ

يريح نفوسهمْ تَعَبُ الجسومِ

We roamed the lands like people

whose souls are refreshed by bodily weariness.

وفي مغنى ابنِ عبّادٍ حَلَلْنا

وقد نِلنا المنى عند العَزيمِ

In Ibn Abbad's dwelling we alighted,

having attained our wishes with the resolute one.

بحيثُ يَغضّ أبصاراً ملوكٌ

تُعظِّمُ هيبةَ الملك العظيمِ

There kings lower their eyes,

honoring the awe of the mighty king.

تُنَظَّمُ في مراتبِهِ المعالي

فتحسبُها نجوماً للنّجومِ

High honors are arrayed in his ranks,

so you would think them stars for the stars.

وتهمي من أنامِلِهِ العَطايا

فتحسبُها غيوماً للغيومِ

Gifts rain from his fingertips,

so you would think them clouds for the clouds.

وتصدُرُ عن ندى يده الأماني

إذا وردتهُ هِيماً غير هيمِ

Wishes depart from the bounty of his hand,

no longer thirsty, after coming to him parched.

إذا نسيَ الكرامُ أنابَ ذكراً

يسافرُ في فمِ الزّمنِ المقيمِ

When generous men forget, he sends forth a remembrance

that travels on the lips of abiding time.

تناجيه فراسةُ ناظرَيهِ

بما في مُضْمَرِ القلبِ الكتومِ

The discernment of his two eyes whispers to him

what lies hidden in the secretive heart.

فيا ابنَ الصّيد من لخْمٍ ولخمٌ

بدورُ مطالع الحسبِ الصميمِ

O son of the proud chieftains of Lakhm—and Lakhm are

full moons at the rising places of pure nobility.

إذا جادوا فأنواءُ العطايا

وإن حلموا فأطوادُ الحلومِ

When they give, they are rain-bringing stars of bounty;

when they show forbearance, mountains of forbearance.

وأحرَمَ في يمينك مَشْرَفيّ

أدَمْتَ ببذلِهِ صَوْنَ الحريمِ

A Mashrafi sword was consecrated in your right hand;

through its unstinting use you kept the sanctuary protected.

ومُعتَرَكٍ تَلَقّى الفنشُ فيه

غريماً مهلكاً نَفْسَ الغريمِ

And on a battlefield al-Fansh encountered

a foe who would destroy a foe's very life.

تَسَتّرَ بالظلامِ وفرّ خوفاً

برَوْعٍ شَقّ سامعتي ظليمِ

He hid in darkness and fled in fear,

with a terror that split a male ostrich's two ears.

وذاقَ بيوسفٍ ذي البأس بُؤساً

فمرّرَ عنده حلوَ النّعيمِ

Through Yusuf, possessor of might, he tasted misery,

which made sweet bliss bitter to him.

وقد نهشتْهُ حيّاتُ العوالي

سلوا الليلَ السليمَ عن السليمِ

The vipers of spear-points had bitten him;

ask the unharmed night about the snake-bitten man.

ثنى توحيدُكَ التثليثَ منه

يَعَضّ على يَدَيْ فَزِعٍ كظيمِ

Your monotheism drove his Trinity back,

as he bit both hands, terrified and choked with grief.

رآك وأنتَ مبتسمٌ كضارٍ

تثاءَبَ عن نواجذه شتيمِ

He saw you smiling, like a beast of prey,

grim-faced, yawning to bare its back teeth.

غداة أتى بصلبانٍ أضَلّتْ

علوجاً أبْرَموا كَيْدَ البريمِ

On the morning he came with crosses that led astray

foreign warriors who had twisted their plot like a two-colored cord.

كأنّهمُ شياطينٌ ولكنْ

رميتَهُمُ بمحرقةِ النجومِ

They seemed devils, but

you pelted them with the stars' scorching fire.

علوجٌ قُمْصُ حَرْبهمُ حَدِيدٌ

يُعبِّرُ عنهمُ سَهَكُ النَّسيمِ

Foreign warriors, their battle-shirts of iron—

the breeze's rancid stench tells of them.

يَقودهمُ لحينهِمُ ظَلومٌ

لأنفسهمْ فوَيلٌ للظلومِ

A wrongdoer leads them to their doom,

wronging their own souls—so woe to the wrongdoer!

رعى نَبْتَ الوشيج بهمْ فمادوا

وتلك عواقبُ المرعى الوخيمِ

He grazed them on a crop of spears, and they reeled;

such are the consequences of a perilous pasture.

وأوردهمْ حياضاً في المواضي

بماءِ الموتِ ساقٍ من جمومِ

And he brought them to pools amid keen blades,

a cupbearer with death's water from an inexhaustible spring.

ولما أنْ أتاكَ بقومِ عادٍ

أتَيْتَ بصرصرِ الريح العقيمِ

When he came against you with the people of Ad,

you came with the shrieking blast of the barren wind.

وقد ضرَّمتَ نارَ الحرب حتى

حَكَتْ زفراتُها قِطَعْ الجحيمِ

You kindled the fire of war until

its fiery breaths resembled pieces of Hell.

وثارَ بركضِ شُزَّبِها قَتامٌ

خَلَعْنَ به الصريمَ على الصريمِ

A dust-cloud rose from the galloping of its lean steeds;

with it they draped night over day.

فثوبُ الجوّ مُغْبَرُّ الحواشي

ووجهُ الأرض مُحمرُّ الأديمِ

The air's garment had dust-gray hems,

and earth's face had a reddened skin.

وقد سَكِرَتْ صِعادُ الخطّ حتى

تأوّدَ كلّ لدنٍ مستقيمِ

The spears of al-Khatt grew drunk until

every supple, straight shaft bent.

وما شَرِبت سوى خمرِ التراقي

ولا انتشقتْ سِوَى وَرْدِ الكلومِ

They drank nothing but the wine of collarbones,

and inhaled nothing but the roses of wounds.

فصلّ لربّك المعبودِ وانحرْ

قُرُوماً منهمُ بَعْدَ القرومِ

So pray to your worshiped Lord, and sacrifice

chiefs from among them, chief after chief.

وَعَيِّدْ بالهدى وأعِدْ عليهمْ

عذابَ الحرب بالألمِ الأليمِ

Celebrate the feast with offerings, and visit upon them again

the torment of war, with agonizing pain.

أمُدامٌ عن حَبابٍ تبتسمْ

أمْ عقيقٌ فوقه دُرٌّ نُظِمْ

Is it wine smiling through bubbles,

or carnelian with pearls strung above it?

أعَلى الهمّ بعثنا كأسنا

أم بنجمِ الأفْقِ شيطانٌ رُجم

Have we sent our cup against sorrow,

or was a devil stoned by a star of the horizon?

أظلامٌ لضياءٍ طَبَقٌ

أم على الكافور بالمسكِ خُتِم

Is it darkness, a covering for light,

or has camphor been sealed over with musk?

أندىً في الزهرٍ أم ماءُ الهوى

حارَ في أعينِ حُورٍ لم تنم

Is it dew among flowers, or the water of longing

lingering in the eyes of sleepless, wide-eyed maidens?

أعمودُ الصبح في الغيهبِ أم

غُرّةُ الأشقرِ في الغيمِ الأحَمْ

Is it dawn's pillar within deep darkness, or

a chestnut horse's blaze within a coal-black cloud?

أمِراةٌ أم غديرٌ دائمٌ

مقشعرّ الجلدِ بالقَرّ شَبِمْ

Is it a mirror, or a still pool,

its skin goose-pimpled with cold, icy-chill?

قَدَرَتْ منه الصّبا سرداً فما

رَفَعَتْ عنه يداً حتى انفصمْ

The east wind measured out chainmail from it, and did not

lift a hand from it until it broke apart.

كلّ ذا يدعو إلى مشمولةٍ

فذرِ اللوم عليها أو فَلُمْ

All this calls us to wine cooled by the north wind;

so leave off blaming it—or blame it if you will.

واغتنمْ من كلّ عيشٍ صَفْوَهُ

فألَذّ العيش صفوٌ يُغْتَنَمْ

And seize from every life its unclouded joy,

for the sweetest life is unclouded joy seized.

واشكلِ الأوتار عن نغمتها

لا تسوغُ الخمرُ إلا بالنّغم

And restrain the strings from their melody;

wine goes down smoothly only with music.

ومدامٍ قَدُمَتْ فهيَ إذا

سُئِلتْ تخبرُ عنْ عادِ إِرم

And many an aged wine, which, if

questioned, tells of Ad of Iram.

سكنتْ أجوفَ في جوْف الثرى

نَسَجَ الدّهْرُ عليه وَرَقَم

It dwelt in a hollow vessel deep within the earth;

time wove and embroidered over it.

خالفَتْ أفعالُها أعمارَها

فأتَتْ قُوّتُها بَعْدَ الهرم

Its effects ran counter to its years,

for its strength came after decrepitude.

فهي في الرّاووقِ إن رَوّقْتَها

لهبٌ جارٍ وماءٌ مُضطرم

In the filter, when you strain it,

it is flowing flame and blazing water.

أفْنَتِ الأحقابُ منها جوهراً

ما خلا الجزءَ الذي لا ينقسم

The ages have consumed its substance,

save the part that cannot be divided.

فهي مما أفرطتْ رقّتُها

تجدُ الريّ بها وهيَ عَدَم

Because its delicacy has grown extreme,

you find thirst quenched by it, though it is nothingness.

لا ينالُ الشَّرْبُ من كاساتها

غيرَ لونٍ يُسْرِع السّكرَ وشم

The drinkers obtain from its cups

only a hue that hastens intoxication, and a scent.

وكأنّ الشمس في ناجودِها

من سوادِ القارِ في قمصِ ظلم

It is as though the sun, in its wine jar,

owing to the blackness of pitch, wore robes of darkness.

فأدِرْ للروح أُخْتاً والزرا

جينِ بنتاً وسرورِ النفس أُم

So pass around a sister to the soul, and to the vine-

shoots a daughter, and a mother to the soul's delight.

فهي مفتاحٌ للذّاتٍ لنا

ويدُ المنصور مفتاحُ الكرم

It is a key to our pleasures,

and al-Mansur's hand is the key to generosity.

حلّ قصرَ المجد منه مَلِكٌ

بُدئَ المجدُ به ثمّ خُتِم

A king in his person inhabits glory's palace;

with him glory began, and then was sealed.

يحتبي في الدستِ منه أَسدٌ

وهلالٌ وسحابٌ وَعَلَم

In his person a lion sits knee-clasped upon the throne,

and a crescent moon, a raincloud, and a mountain.

يتركُ النقمةَ في جانبهِ

وإذا عاقبَ في اللّه انتقم

He forgoes vengeance in his own cause;

but when he punishes for God, he takes vengeance.

وإذا قال نعم وهي له

عادةٌ أسبغَ بالبذل النِّعَم

When he says yes—which is for him

a habit—he lavishes blessings through his giving.

ذو أيادٍ بأيادٍ وُصِلَتْ

كتوالي دِيَمٍ بَعْدَ ديم

A man of favors linked with further favors,

like steady rain succeeding steady rain.

وإذا ما بَخِلَ الغيمُ سخا

وإذا ما عَبَسَ الدهرُ بَسَم

When the clouds withhold, he gives freely;

when time frowns, he smiles.

تنتخي السادات عزّاً فإذا

قَرُبَتْ من عنده صارتْ خدمْ

Lords boast of their might, but when

they draw near his presence, they become servants.

لست أدري أيمينٌ قُبّلَتْ

منه في تسليمها أمْ مُستَلم

I cannot tell whether a right hand was kissed,

his, in greeting, or a sacred object touched in reverence.

يذعرُ الجبّارُ منه فعلى

شَفَةٍ يمشي إليه لا قدم

The tyrant fears him, so it is on

a lip that he walks toward him, not on a foot.

فالقُ الهامِ إذا كرّ سطا

مِسْعَرُ الحربِ إذا همّ اعتَزَم

A splitter of skulls: when he charges, he strikes;

a kindler of war: when he purposes, he resolves.

كلَّما أوطأ حرْباً سنبكاً

حمِيَ الرّوْعُ وَشَبّ المقتحم

Whenever he plants a hoof in war,

terror grows hot and the battlefield blazes.

وإذا حاولَ في طعنِ الكُلى

صَرّفَ اللهذَمَ تصريفَ القلم

When he aims at piercing kidneys,

he directs the keen spear as he directs a pen.

يطأ الهامَ التي فَلّقَهَا

بلهامٍ للأعادي مُلتهِم

He tramples the skulls he has split

with a vast host that devours its foes.

يُرْجِعُ الليلَ نهاراً بالظّبا

ويعيدُ الظُّهرَ بالنقع عَتَمْ

He turns night into day with blade-edges,

and turns noon back into darkness with battle dust.

فضياءُ الشهب في قَسْطَلِهِ

ويعيدُ الظهر ديال في نيم

Thus the light of shooting stars lies in his battle dust,

and he turns noon ... in ... [wording unclear in the supplied text].

إنّما حِمْيَرُ أُسْدٌ لم تَزَلْ

من قناها ساكناتٍ في أجَم

Himyar are nothing but lions that have never ceased

to dwell in thickets of their spears.

كلّ شهمِ القلبِ مرهوبِ الشبا

مُرْتضى الأخلاقِ محمودِ الشيم

Each brave of heart, fearsome in his blade's edge,

approved in character, praised in disposition.

يستظلّون بأوراق الظّبا

وأُوَارُ الرّوْعِ فيهم مُحْتَدم

They shelter beneath the leaves of blades,

while the heat of battle rages among them.

وعروسٍ لك قد أهدَيْتُها

تُكْلَمُ الحُسّادُ منها بالكَلِم

And a bride I have already presented to you,

whose words wound the envious.

في تقاصيرَ من الدّرّ إذا

حاولوا تحصيلهَا فهيَ حِكَم

In little chambers of pearls; when

they seek to grasp her, she is wisdom.

يضربُ الأمثالَ فيها بِكُمُ

أُمَمٌ في المدح منْ بعد أُمم

Through her, proverbial examples of you are drawn

by nations in praise, nation after nation.

أسكنت ذكرَك حُكْماً خالداً

أبداً بُنْيانُهُ لا ينْهَدِم

I have enshrined your remembrance as an immortal precept,

whose structure shall never fall, for all time.