كذب السلو العشق أيسر مركبا — Ibn Hani Andalusia

كَذبَ السلوُّ العِشقُ أيَسرُ مركبا

ومنيّةُ العُشّاقِ أهْوَنُ مَطلبا

Forgetfulness lies: love is the easier mount,

and lovers' death the easier goal.

مَنْ راقَبَ المِقدارَ لم يرَ معْركاً

أشِباً ويوْماً بالسَّنَوَّرِ أكْهَبا

Whoever heeds destiny has never seen a battlefield

thick with combat, or a day dusky with armor,

وكتائِباً تُرْدي غواربَها القَنا

وفوارساً تَغْدى صَوالجَها الظُّبى

or battalions whose shoulders the spears cloak,

or horsemen whose polo-mallets are sword-blades.

لا يورِدونَ الماءَ سُنْبُكَ سابحٍ

أو يَكتسي بدم الفوارِسِ طُحلُبا

They bring no galloping steed's hoof to water

until it wears a moss of horsemen's blood.

لا يركُضونَ فؤادَ صَبٍّ هائمٍ

إن لم يُسَمّوه الجَوادَ السَّلْهَبا

They do not spur a wandering lover's heart

unless they call it the tall, swift steed.

حتى إذا ملكوا أعنّتَنا هَوىً

صرَفوا إلى البُهَم العِتاق الشُّزَّبا

Until, when through love they mastered our reins,

they turned their lean thoroughbreds against the champions:

رَبِذاً فخَيْفاناً فيعبُوباً فذا

شِيَةٍ أغَرّ فمُنْعَلاً فمجنَّبا

a nimble one, a fleet one, a powerful courser, then one with

markings and a blaze, then white-socked, then white-marked on one side.

قد أطفأُوا بالدُّهْمِ منها فجْرَهمْ

فتكوّرَتْ شمسُ النهار تغضُّبا

With their black steeds they extinguished their dawn,

and the daylight sun folded itself away in anger.

واستأنَفوا بشِياتِها فجْراً فلو

عقَدوا نواصِيَها أعادوا الغَيْهبا

With their markings they began a fresh dawn; had they

bound their forelocks, they would have brought back darkness.

في مَعْرَكٍ جَنَبوا به عُشّاقَهم

طَوعاً وكنتُ أنا الذلولَ المُصْحَبا

On a battlefield where they led their lovers alongside,

willingly, I was the docile, tractable mount.

لبسوا الصِّقال على الخدود مفضَّضاً

والسابريَّ على المناكب مُذهَبا

They wore silvered lustre upon their cheeks,

and gold-worked Sabiri cloth upon their shoulders.

وتضوّعَ الكافورُ من أرْدانهمْ

عَبقاً فظنّوه عَجاجاً أشهبا

Camphor wafted from their sleeves,

fragrant, and they mistook it for gray battle-dust.

حتى إذا نَبَذوا الصّوارِمَ بينَهُم

قِطَعاً وسُمْرَ الزّاغبيّةِ أكعُبا

Until, when they cast their keen swords among themselves

in fragments, and their brown Zaghabi lances in jointed lengths,

قطرتْ غلائلُهم دماً وخُدودهُم

خَجَلاً فراحوا بالجمال مخضَّبا

their tunics dripped blood, and their cheeks

bashfulness; they departed with their beauty dyed.

قد صُرّ آذانُ الجيادِ توجّساً

وكتمْنَ إعلانَ الصّهيلِ تَهَيُّبا

The steeds' ears were pricked in apprehension,

and they stifled their ringing neighs in awe.

وغدا الذي يَلقى ندامى ليلِه

متبسّماً في الدارِعينَ مُقطِّبا

And he who meets his companions of the night

smiling became a scowling figure among armored men.

ويكلّفُ الأرْماحَ لِينَ قوامِهِ

فيذمُّ ذا يَزَنٍ ويَظلِمُ قَعْضَبا

He demands that lances match his figure's suppleness,

thus finding fault with Dhu Yazan and wronging Qa'dab.

كِسرَى شَهِنشاه الذي حُدّثتَه

هذا فأين تَظُنُّ منه المَهْرَبا

Khusraw, Shahanshah, of whom you were told—

this is he; where do you think you can flee from him?

مَن لا يَبيتُ عن الأحِبّةِ راضياً

حتى يكونَ على الفوارسِ مُغضَبا

He will not pass the night content with his beloveds

until he is angered against the horsemen.

مَنْ زِيُّه أنْ لا يجيءَ مُقَنَّعاً

حتى يَقُدّ مُتَوَّجاً ومَعُصَّبا

One whose custom is not to come helmeted

until he has cleft a crowned man and a turbaned one.

ما زال يعْلَقُ في مَنابتِ فارِسٍ

حتى ظننتُ النَّوبَهارَ له أبا

He has ever held fast to the roots of Persia,

until I thought Nawbahar his father.

ولئِنْ سطا بسريرِ مُلْكٍ أعْجَمٍ

فلقد أمَدّتْه لِساناً مُعْرِبا

Though he has stormed a foreign kingdom's throne,

it has indeed supplied him with an Arabic-speaking tongue.

ولئِن تَعَرَّضَ للدِّماءِ يُسيلُها

فلقد يكونُ إلى النفوسِ مُحبَّباً

And though he courts bloodshed, making blood flow,

he can nevertheless be beloved of souls.

قُم فاخترِطْ لي من حواشي لحظِهِ

سَيْفاً يكون كما علمتَ مجرَّبا

Rise, and draw for me from the corners of his glance

a sword tried and tested, as you know.

وأعِرْ جَناني فتْكَةً مِنْ دَلّه

كيما أكونَ بها الشجاعَ المِحْرَبا

And lend my heart one deadly stroke of his coquetry,

so I may thereby become a valiant warrior.

وأمِدّني بتَعلّةٍ مِنْ رِيقِهِ

حتى أُقَبّلَ منه ثَغْراً أشْنَبا

And sustain me with a little refreshment from his saliva,

until I kiss his mouth, sweet and cool.

واجعَلْ مَحَلّي أن أراه فإنّني

سأفُضّ بين يديْهِ هذا المِقنَبا

And grant me the station of beholding him, for I

shall scatter this cavalry troop before him.

أوَلم يكن ذا الخشْفُ يألفُ وَجرَةً

فاليوْمَ يألَفُ ذا القنا المتأشِّبا

And did this fawn not once frequent Wajra?

Today he frequents this tangled thicket of spears.

عَهْدي به والشمس دايَةُ خِدرِهِ

تُوفي عليه كلَّ يوْمٍ مَرقَبا

I remember him when the sun was nurse to his chamber,

mounting a lookout above him every day.

ما إنْ تزالُ تَخِرُّ ساجِدَةً لَه

من حينِ مَطلعِها إلى أن تغربا

It never ceases falling in worship before him,

from the time of its rising until it sets.

فعلى القلوب القاسياتِ مُغلَّباً

وإلى النفوس الفاركاتِ محبَّبا

Thus he was made master over hardened hearts,

and endeared to souls averse to love.

حتى إذا سَرَقَ القوابلُ شَنْفَه

عوّضْنَه منه صَفيحاً مِقْضَبا

Until, when the midwives stole his earring,

they replaced it with a broad, sharp blade.

لمّا رأيْنَ شُدُونَه أبرَزْنَه

من حيث يألَفُ كِلّةً لا سَبْسَبا

When they saw him come of age, they brought him out

from where he knew a canopy, not an open waste.

وَسْنانَ من وَسَنِ المَلاحةِ طرفُه

وجفونُه سكرانَ من خمر الصّبا

His gaze was drowsy with the languor of beauty,

and his eyelids drunk with the wine of youth.

قد واجه الأُسْدَ الضّواريَ في الوغى

غِرّاً وقارنَ في الكِناسِ الرّبرَبا

He had faced ravening lions in battle,

untried, and consorted with the gazelle herd in its covert.

فإذا رأى الأبطالَ نَصّ إليهمُ

جِيداً وأتْلَعَ خائِفاً مُتَرَقِّبا

Whenever he saw the champions, he stretched toward them

his neck, craning fearfully and watchfully.

فأتى به رَكضُ السّوابحِ حُوَّلاً

وأتى به خَوْضُ الكرائه قُلَّبا

Galloping coursers made him resourceful,

and braving perils made him shrewd.

قد سِرْتُ في الميدان يوْم طِرادهم

فعجِبتُ حتى كِدتُ أن لا أعجَبا

I went into the arena on the day of their jousting,

and marveled till I almost ceased to marvel.

قَمَرٌ لهم قدْ قَلّدُوه صارماً

لو أنْصَفوه قلّدوه كوكَبا

A moon of theirs—they girded him with a sharp sword;

had they been fair, they would have adorned him with a star.

صَبغوه لَوْناً بالشّقيقِ وبالرّحي

قِ وبالبنفسج والأقاحي مُشرَبا

They dyed him a hue with anemones and wine,

suffused with violets and daisies.

وكأنّما طَبعوا له من لَحظِهِ

سَيفاً رَقِيقَ الشفرتينِ مُشَطَّبا

It was as though they had forged for him from his own glance

a sword, slender on both edges and grooved.

قد ماجَ حتى كاد يَسقُطُ نِصْفُه

وأُلينَ حتى كاد أن يتسَرّبا

It swayed until half of it almost fell away,

and was softened until it almost flowed away.

خالَستُه نَظَراً وكانَ مُوَرَّداً

فاحمرّ حتى كاد أن يتلَهّبا

I stole a glance at him when he was already rosy;

he flushed until he nearly burst into flame.

هذا طرازٌ ما العيون كتبنَه

لكنّه قبلَ العُيونِ تكتّبا

This is an embroidery the eyes did not inscribe,

but it was inscribed before the eyes themselves.

انظُرْ إليه كأنّه مُتَنَصِّلٌ

بجفونهِ ولقد يكون المُذنبا

Look at him, as though he pleaded innocence

with his eyelids—though he may well be the guilty one.

وكأنّ صفحةَ خَدّهِ وعذارَه

تُفّاحةٌ رُمِيَتْ لتَقْتُلَ عَقربا

It is as though his cheek's surface and its down

were an apple thrown to kill a scorpion.

نُخبَتْ قَوافي الشعرِ فيك فما لها

لم تأتِ من مدحِ الملوكِ الأوجَبا

The finest rhymes of poetry were chosen for you; why

have they not offered the praise most owed to kings?

من آلِ ساسانٍ مَنارٌ للصِّبا

قد بِتُّ أسأل عنه أنفاسَ الصَّبا

From the house of Sasan comes a beacon of youth;

all night I questioned the east wind's breaths about him,

أجني حديثاً كانَ ألطَفَ مَوقعاً

عندي من الراحِ الشَّمول وأعذَبا

gathering tidings that fell more gently

on me than fragrant wine, and were sweeter.

رُدْني له حتى أردّ سَلامَه

عَبقاً برَيحانِ السلامِ مُطَيَّبا

Bring me back to him, so I may return his greeting,

fragrant, perfumed with the basil of peace.

هلاّ أنا البادي ولكن شيمتي

مَن ذا يردُّ عن الخَفاء المُغْرِبا

Why was I not first? Yet such is my nature—

who can keep the westering one from concealment?

لمْ أُمْطَرِ الوَسمِيَّ إلاّ بعدَما

سبَقَ الولِيُّ له وقد غَمَرَ الرُّبَى

I received no first autumn shower until

the following rain had preceded it, flooding the hills.

وتلَقّتِ الرُّكْبانَ سَمْعي بالذي

سَمِعَ الزّمانَ أقلَّه فتعجّبَا

My ears received from the riders tidings

whose smallest part Time heard and marveled at.

ودنَتْ إليه الشمسُ حتى زُوحِمتْ

واخضَرّ منه الأفْقُ حتى أعشبا

The sun drew near to him until it was crowded out,

and the horizon grew green from him until it sprouted grass.

في كلّ يوْمٍ لا تَزالُ تحيّةٌ

كرَمٌ يَخُبُّ بها رسولٌ مُجتَبى

Every day an unfailing greeting comes,

an act of bounty borne at a trot by a chosen messenger.

فتكادُ تُبلِغُني إليه تَشَوُّقاً

وتكادُ تَحمِلُني إليه تَطَرُّبا

It almost brings me to him in longing,

and almost carries me to him in rapture.

هي أيقظتْ بالي وقد رَقدَ الورى

واستنهضت شكري وقد عُقد الحُبى

It awakened my mind when all mankind had slept,

and roused my gratitude when knee-wraps had been tied.

إن يَكرُمِ السيْفُ الذي قلّدتني

من غيرها فلقد تَخيّرَ مَنكبِا

If the sword you girded me with is noble—

besides these gifts—it has chosen its shoulder well.

لستُ الخطيبَ المسهَبَ الأعلى إذا

ما لم أكنْ فيكَ الخَطيبَ المُسهبا

I am no supreme, expansive orator if

I am not an expansive orator in your praise.

لو كنتَ حيثُ تَرى لساني ناطقاً

لرأيتَ شِقْشِقةً وقَرماً مُصْعَبا

Were you where you could see my tongue speaking,

you would see a throat-sac and an untamable stud camel.

إنّا وبكراً في الوغى لبنو أبٍ

وإن اختلَفْنا حينَ تَنسِبُنا أبَا

We and Bakr are sons of one father in war,

though our fathers differ when you trace our lineage.

قومٌ يعمُّ سَراةَ قومي فخرُهم

ويخُصُّ أقربَ وائلٍ فالأقربا

A people whose glory embraces my people's chieftains,

and singles out the nearest of Wa'il, then the next nearest.

أحلافُنا حتى كأنّ ربيعةً

من قبل يعرُبَ كان عاقدَ يَشجُبا

Our allies—so much so that it seems Rabi'a

had made a pact with Yashjub before Ya'rub.

ذَرْني أُجدّدْ ذلك العهدَ الذي

أعيا على الأيامِ أن يَتَقَشّبا

Let me renew that covenant which

the passing days have been powerless to renew.

فلَقَد عَلمتُ بأنّ سيفي منهمُ

بيديّ أمضى من لساني مضربا

For I know that my sword from among them

strikes more keenly in my hands than my tongue.

المانعينَ حِماهم وحِمى النّدى

وحِمى بني قحطانَ أن يُتَنَهّبا

They defend their sanctuary and generosity's sanctuary,

and the sanctuary of Qahtan's sons against plunder.

هم قطّعوا بأكفّهمْ أرحامَهُمْ

غَضباً لجارِ بُيوتِهم أن يغضَبا

With their own hands they severed their bonds of kinship,

in anger for their homes' neighbor, lest he be angered.

ووفَوْا فلم يدَعوا الوفاءَ لجارهم

حتى تشتّتَ شملُهُمْ وتخرّبا

They kept faith, never abandoning loyalty to their neighbor,

until their union scattered and lay ruined.

لولا الوفاءُ بعَهدهمْ لم يفتِكوا

بكُليبِ تغلِبَ بين أيدي تغلِبا

But for fidelity to their covenant, they would not have slain

Kulayb of Taghlib before Taghlib's very eyes,

يومَ اشتكى حرَّ الغليل فقيلَ قد

جاوزتَ في وادي الأحصّ المشربا

the day he complained of burning thirst and was told, 'You have

passed the watering-place in the valley of al-Ahass.'

وكفاكَ أن أطرَيتَهم ومَدَحْتَهم

جهْدَ المديح فما وجدتَ مكذِّبا

It is enough that you extolled and praised them

to the utmost, and found no one to call you false.

الواهبينَ حِمىً وشَولاً رُتَّعاً

وأباطِحاً حُوّاً وروضاً مُعشِبا

Givers of protected pastures and freely grazing dry she-camels,

and dark-green valley floors and grassy meadows;

والخائضينَ إلى الكرائه مثلَها

والواردينَ لُمىً لُمىً وثبىً ثبى

who plunge into perils with the like of these,

and advance troop on troop, band on band.

لو شَيّدوا الخيماتِ تشييدَ العُلى

أمِنَتْ ديارُ ربيعةٍ أن تَخْرَبا

Had they built their tents as they built their glory,

the dwellings of Rabi'a would be safe from ruin.

فهُمُ كواكبُ عصرِهم لكنّهم

منه بحيثُ تَرى العيونُ الكوكبا

They are the stars of their age, but

within it they stand where eyes behold a star.

مَن ذا الذي يُثني عليكَ بقدْر ما

تولي ولو جازَ المقالَ وأطنَبا

Who can praise you in measure with what

you bestow, though he surpass all speech and speak at length?

أم مَن يُعَمَّرُ في الزّمانِ مخلَّداً

حتى يعدّ له الحصَى والأثلبَا

Or who could live on, immortal through time,

until he counted for him the pebbles and the dust?

مَن كان أولُ نُطقه في مَهده

أهلاً وسهلاً للعُفاة ومَرحبا

One whose first words in his cradle were

'Welcome and ease to seekers of bounty—welcome!'

عَذلوهُ في بَذْلِ التِّلادِ وإنّما

عَذلوه أن يُدعى الغمامَ الصَّيّبا

They blamed him for giving away inherited wealth, though in truth

they only blamed him for being called a pouring raincloud.

لا تعذلوه فلَن يُحوّل عاذلٌ

ما كان طبعاً في النفوس مركَّبا

Do not blame him: no reprover can change

what is ingrained as nature in souls.

نفسٌ تَرِقُّ تأدّباً وحِجًى يضي

ءُ تلهّباً ويدٌ تذوبُ تسرُّبا

A soul softened by refinement, a mind that shines

in flame, and a hand that melts and flows away.

فيَزيدُها دَرُّ السّماحِ تخرّقاً

ويَزيدُها بَسْطُ البنانِ ترحُّبا

The outpouring of bounty makes it still more lavish,

and spreading its fingers makes it still more expansive.