أما والمذاكي يلكن الشكم — Ibn Hani Andalusia

أما والمَذاكي يَلُكْنَ الشُّكُمْ

وضَرْبِ القَوانسِ فوقَ البُهَمْ

Lo, by the seasoned steeds chewing their bits,

and the striking of helmet-crests above armored warriors,

وَوَقْعِ الصِّعادِ وحَرِّ الجِلادِ

إذا ما الدّماءُ خَضَبْنَ اللِّمَمْ

and the impact of spears and the heat of swordplay,

when blood has dyed the forelocks—

يميناً لأنْتَ مَلِيكُ المُلُوكِ

فمَن شاءَ خَصّ ومَن شاء عَمّ

I swear: you are indeed the king of kings;

let whoever wishes speak specifically, and whoever wishes generally.

وإنّي لأعْجَبُ من خَلّتَي

نِ جُودِ يَدَيكَ وبُخْلِ الأُمَم

I marvel indeed at two qualities:

the bounty of your hands and the nations' miserliness.

فَعانٍ يُرجّي لديكَ الفَكاكَ

وعافٍ يَشيمُ لديك الدِّيَم

A captive hopes with you for release,

and a suppliant looks to you for steady rains.

فمن أين ساروا فأنتَ السّبيلُ

ومن أينَ ضَلّوا فأنْتَ العَلمَ

From wherever they set forth, you are the road;

wherever they stray, you are the landmark.

ويَأبَى لك الذَمَّ طِيبُ النِّجارِ

وطِيبُ الخِلالِ وطِيبُ الشِّيَم

Your noble stock bars blame from you,

as do your noble traits and noble character.

خُلِقْتَ شِهاباً يُضيءُ الخُطوبَ

ولستَ شِهاباً يُضيءُ الظُّلَم

You were created a meteor lighting up calamities,

not a meteor lighting up darkness.

فلو كنْتَ حيثُ نجومُ السماء

لما كانَ في الأرض رِزقٌ قُسِم

If you were where the stars of heaven are,

no sustenance would be allotted on earth.

كَرُمْتَ فكنْتَ شَجىً للكِرامِ

فلم تَترُكِ القَطْرَ حتى لَؤُم

You grew so generous, you became a bone in generous men's throats;

you did not leave the rain until it seemed miserly.

فأشبَهَكَ البَحْرُ إن قِيلَ ذا

غِطَمٌّ وهَذا جَوادٌ خِضَمّ

The sea resembles you if one says, 'This is

a vast ocean, and this a boundlessly generous man.'

وأخطَأكَ الشّبْهُ إنْ قِيلَ ذا

أُجاجٌ وهذا فُراتٌ شَبِم

But the likeness misses you if one says, 'This is

bitter brine, while this is sweet and cool.'

إذا لم يكُنْ مَنْهَلاً للوُرُودِ

فلا خَيرَ في مَوجِهِ المُلتَطِم

If it is no watering place for those seeking water,

there is no good in its crashing waves.

رأيتُكَ سيْفَ بَني هَاشِمٍ

وخَيرُ السّيوفِ اليَماني الخَذِم

I have seen you as the sword of the sons of Hashim,

and the best sword is the keen-cutting Yemeni blade.

فلوْ كنْتَ حارَبتَ جُندَ القَضاء

وأنْتَ على سابِحٍ لانهَزَم

Had you fought the army of Fate,

mounted on a swimming-gaited steed, it would have been routed.

ولو أنّ دَهرَكَ شخصٌ تَراهُ

لِتَسْطو بهِ فاتِكاً ما سَلِم

Had your age been a person you could see

and fall upon with deadly force, he would not survive.

إلى جَعْفَرٍ يَتَنَاهَى المديحُ

وفِيهِ تُثِيرُ القَوافي الحِكَم

In Ja'far praise reaches its utmost limit,

and about him the rhymes bring wisdom forth.

فَسَلْ ظَمِىءَ التُّرْبِ عن نَيلِهِ

وحَسبُكَ مِنْ عالِمٍ ما عَلِم

Ask the thirsty soil about his bounty;

what a knowing witness knows is enough for you.

هو استنّ للرّيحِ هذا الهُبوبَ

وَرَشّحَ ذا العارِضَ المُرتكِم

He set the wind its pattern of blowing,

and made this heaped-up rain cloud drip.

فما هَمَتِ المُزْنُ حتى هَمى

ولا ابْتَسَمَ البَرْقُ حتى ابتَسَم

The rain clouds did not pour until he poured,

nor did the lightning smile until he smiled.

وليسَ رِشاءٌ وإنْ مُدّ مِن

رشاءٍ ولا وَذَمٌ مِن وَذَم

No well-rope, however stretched, is the equal of

another rope, nor one bucket-strap of another.

ولا كلّ مُزْنٍ إذا ما هَمَى

بمُزْنٍ ولا كُلّ يَمٍّ بَيمّ

Not every rain cloud, whenever it pours,

is a true rain cloud, nor every sea a sea.

ولا كلّ ما في أكُفٍّ نَدىً

ولا كلّ ما في أُنوفٍ شَمَم

Not everything in palms is bounty,

nor everything in noses noble pride.

فأُقسِمُ لو أنّ عَصْرَ الشّبابِ

كأيّامِهِ لأمِنّا الهَرَم

I swear, if the season of youth

were like his days, we would be safe from old age.

هو الواهِبُ المُقرَباتِ الجيادَ

صَواهِلَ واليَعمَلاتِ الرُّسُم

He gives the cherished, noble steeds,

neighing, and the hardy, swift-striding she-camels,

إلى كلّ عَضْبٍ رقيقِ الفِرِنْدِ

ومُطّرِدِ الكَعْبِ لَدْنٍ أصَمّ

along with every keen blade with delicate watered markings,

and evenly jointed spears, supple and solid,

ومسرودَةٍ مثلِ نِسْجِ السّرابِ

تَرَقْرَقُ فوقَ الكَمِيِّ العَمَم

and linked mail like the weave of a mirage,

rippling over the tall, armored warrior;

وبَيْضَةِ خِدْرٍ تجُرُّ الذّيول

كما أتلَعَ الخِشْفُ لمّا بَغَم

and a sheltered maiden, fair as an egg, trailing her robes,

as a fawn stretches its neck when it calls;

وبَدْرَةِ ألفٍ يَمانِيّةٍ

يُحَيّى الوفودُ بها بَدْرَ تَمّ

and a Yemeni purse of a thousand coins,

with which delegations are greeted by a moon at the full.

ولم أرَ أنْفَذَ من كُتْبِهِ

إذا جُعِلَ السّيْفُ حيثُ القَلَم

I have seen nothing more penetrating than his letters,

when the sword is placed where the pen should be.

لَعَمْري لقد مَزَعَتْ خَيلُهُ

وأنعُلُهُنّ خُدودُ الأكَم

By my life, his horses sped,

the cheeks of the hills their sandals.

فما فارَقَ البِشْرَ لمّا اكْفَهَرّ

ولا نَسِيَ العَفْوَ لمّا انْتَقَمْ

He never abandoned cheerfulness when he grew stern,

nor forgot forgiveness when he took revenge.

فلوْ أبْصَرَتْ وائِلٌ يومَهُ

لمّا عَدّدَتْ فارساً من جُشَمْ

Had Wa'il seen his day,

it would not have counted a horseman of Jusham.

غَداةَ رَمَى المعشَرَ المَارقينَ

بصَمّاءَ تُوقَصُ منها القِمَم

The morning he struck the rebel host

with a crushing blow that broke the crowns of heads,

وذي لَجَبٍ يَرتَدي بالقَنَا

ويَعْثُرُ في العِثْيَرِ المُدْلَهِمّ

and a clamorous army clothed in spears,

stumbling through pitch-black dust.

وباتُوا يُرِيحُونَ كُومَ اللّقاحِ

فصَبّحَهَا وهيَ بَرْكٌ جُثَم

They brought home their high-humped milch-camels for the night;

he raided them at dawn as they knelt, crouched on the ground.

فأضْحَى بحيْثُ الرُّغاءُ الزّئِيرُ

وحالَتْ بحيْثُ الخيامُ الأجَم

Roaring replaced the camels' lowing,

and thickets appeared where the tents had stood.

وأعطَى القبيلَ سَوامَ القتيلِ

بما فِيهِ من وَبَرٍ أو نَعَم

He gave the tribe the slain man's grazing herds,

with all their camel hair and livestock.

فلو ناقَةٌ عندَ ذاكَ انْثَنَتْ

لِتُرْوي فصِيلاً لَجَادَتْ بدَم

Had a she-camel then turned aside

to give her calf drink, she would have yielded blood.

فمَنْ حاتمٌ ثَكَلوا حاتِماً

ومَنْ هَرِمٌ حيثُ عدّوا هَرِم

Who is Hatim? May they be bereaved of Hatim!

And who is Harim, when they list Harim?

إذا هوَ أعْطى البَعيرَ الفَريدَ

بُرمّتِهِ ظُنّ أنْ قد كَرُم

When he gave a single camel,

tether and all, he was thought truly generous.

وأنْتَ رأيْتُكَ تُعطْى الألوفَ

فَتَنْهَبُ نَهْباً ولا تَقْتَسِم

But you—I have seen you give thousands,

to be seized outright as plunder, not divided into shares.

وكان إذا ما قَرَى بَكْرَةً

تَفَرّدَ بالجُودِ فيما زَعَم

When he entertained guests with a young she-camel,

he stood alone in generosity—or so he claimed.

وأنْتَ تَجُودُ بمِثلِ البِكارِ

من التّبْرِ في مثِلها مِنْ أدَم

While you lavish the like of young she-camels

in gold, within leather bags of matching size.

إذا عَرَبٌ لم تكُنْ في الصّمي

مِ ممّنْ نَمَتْكَ فتلك العَجَم

If Arabs are not, in their purest stock,

among those who begot you, then they are foreigners.

فلْو نُسِبَتْ يَمَنٌ كُلّها

إليكَ لقلْنَا لها لا جَرَم

If all of Yemen were traced in lineage

to you, we would tell it, 'No doubt.'

بحَيْثُ الأكُفُّ طِوالٌ إلى

مَآرِبِهَا والعَرانِينُ شُمّ

Where palms reach far toward

their aims, and noses rise proudly.

وإنّكَ مِنْ مَعْشَرٍ طِفْلُهُمْ

يُتَوَّجُ قبلَ بلوغِ الحُلُم

You come of a people whose child

is crowned before reaching puberty,

ويسمو إلى المجدِ قبلَ الفِطامِ

فكيْفَ يكونُ إذا ما فُطِم

and rises toward glory before weaning;

what, then, will he be once he is weaned?

مُلُوكُ المُلوِك وأبنْاؤهَا

وفوْقَ الهَوادي تكونُ القِمَم

Kings of kings, and their sons—

the crowns of heads stand above the necks.

تَشَيّعَ فيكُمْ لِساني ومَنْ

تَشَيّعَ في قَولِهِ لم يُلَمْ

My tongue has become your partisan; whoever

is partisan in his speech incurs no blame.

فَلَسْتُ أُبالي بأيٍّ بَدَأتُ

بفخْري بكمْ أو بمدْحي لكم

I do not care with which I begin:

my pride in you, or my praise of you.

فإنْ طَفِقَتْ والِهٌ بيْنَنَا

تَحِنُّ حَنيناً فتلك الرّحِم

If a grief-stricken one between us begins

to cry with longing, that is kinship.

هل اللؤلؤ الرّطْبُ إلاّ الّذي

نظَمْتُ لكُمْ عِقدَهُ فانتظَم

Are fresh pearls anything but those

whose necklace I strung for you, till it lay complete?

قَوافٍ لسُؤدَدكمْ تُقْتَنَى

وتحْتَ سُرادِقِكم تَزْدَحِم

Rhymes treasured for your eminence,

crowding beneath your pavilion,

قُصِرنَ عليكُمْ كأنّ الشّآمَ

وأرضَ العِراقِ عليها حَرُم

reserved for you, as though Syria

and the land of Iraq were forbidden ground to them.

تَكَنّفْتُمُوني فلَمْ أُضْطَهَدْ

وأعْزَزْتُمُوني فلمْ أُهْتَضَم

You sheltered me, so I was not persecuted;

you honored me, so I was not wronged.

ففي ناظري عن سِواكم عَمىً

وفي أُذُني عن سواكمْ صَمَم

My eye is blind to all but you,

and my ear deaf to all but you.

فشَمْلي بشَمْلِكُمُ جامِعٌ

وشَعْبي بشَعْبِكُمُ مُلْتَئِم

My company is united with your company,

and my people are knit together with your people.

فلا انْفَصَمَتْ عُرْوَةٌ بَيْنَنَا

إذا ما العُرَى جَعلتْ تَنفصِم

May no bond between us ever break

when bonds begin to break.

أبا أحْمَدٍ دعوةً حُرّةً

لِحُرِّ المَواثِيقِ حُرّ الذّمَم

O Abu Ahmad—a noble call

to one noble in covenants, noble in pledges.

حَمِدتُ لقاءَكَ حَمْدَ الرّبيع

وشِمْتُ نَوالَكَ شَيْمَ الدّيَم

I praised meeting you as one praises spring,

and watched for your bounty as one watches for steady rains.

وما الغَيثُ أوْلى بأنْ يَستَهِلّ

وما الغْيثُ أولى بأن يَنسجِم

Rain has no better right to begin to fall,

nor has rain a better right to pour in streams.

ومن حَقّ غَيرِيَ أن يَجْتَدي

ومن حَقّ مثليَ أن يحتَكِم

Others have the right to beg,

and one like me has the right to set his terms.

وأنْتَ مَلِيٌّ بدُرّ الفِعالِ

وإنّي مَلِيٌّ بدُرّ الكَلمِ

You are rich in pearls of deeds,

and I am rich in pearls of words.

وحَسْبُكَ منْ هِبْرِزِيٍّ لَهُ

على كُلّ عُضْوٍ لسانٌ وفَم

Enough for you is a discerning master who has

a tongue and a mouth on every limb.

ولم أرَ مثْلَ جَزيلِ الثّنَاء

مُكافَأةً لجَزيلِ النِّعَم

I have seen nothing like abundant praise

as recompense for abundant favors.

خَرِسْتُ ولي مَنطِقُ العالَمينَ

فقَلّ الفصيحُ جميلُ البَكَم

I have fallen mute, though all mankind's speech is mine;

rare is the eloquent man whose silence is graceful.

فلوْ أنّ حَدّي كَهامٌ نَبَا

ولو أنّ ذِهْني كليلٌ سَئِم

For if my edge were blunt, it would glance off,

and if my mind were dull, it would tire.

أذُمّ إليكَ اعتْوِارَ الخُطوبِ

وصرْفَ الحوادثِ فيما أذُمّ

I complain to you of calamities' successive assaults,

and, among my complaints, the vicissitudes of events.

وممّا أعانَ عليّ الزّمَانَ

عَفافُ يَدي وعُلُوُّ الهِمَم

Among the things that helped Time against me

are my hand's restraint and my lofty aspirations.

فلا بالعَجُولِ ولا بالمَلُولِ

ولا بالسَّؤولِ ولا المُغْتَنِم

I am neither hasty nor easily wearied,

nor importunate, nor grasping.

وإنّي وإنْ تَرَني قابضاً

جَناحي إليّ كَظِيماً وَجِم

And though you may see me drawing

my wing to myself, stifling grief and silent,

أُقَلّلُ مِنْ هَفَواتِ المَزَارِ

وأُبْدي الغِناءَ وأُخفي العَدَم

limiting the indiscretions of my visits,

showing affluence and concealing poverty,

فإنّي من العَرَبِ الأكرمينَ

وفي أوّلِ الدّهْرِ ضاعَ الكَرَم

still I am of the noblest Arabs,

and nobility was lost at the dawn of time.