شق الدجى عن نحره الفجر — Ibn Masum

شَقَّ الدُجى عن نحره الفَجرُ

وَبَدَت عليه غَلائِلٌ خضرُ

Dawn tore the darkness from its throat,

and gauzy green robes appeared upon it.

واِفترَّ يبسمُ عن تبلُّجهِ

ضوءُ الصَباح كأَنَّه ثغرُ

And opened in a smile, revealing its radiance—

the morning light, as though it were a mouth.

وَالشَمسُ قد نهضَت لمشرِقها

فاِنهض بشمسِكَ أَيُّها البَدرُ

And the sun has risen toward its eastern station;

so rise with your own sun, O full moon.

واِشفَع بها شمسَ الصباح وإِن

أَضحت وبدءُ شروقها العَصرُ

And pair the morning sun with it, even if

it has come to morning light, its sunrise beginning in the afternoon.

واِستَضحِكِ الدهرَ العَبوسَ بها

فبمثلها يُستَضحَكُ الدَهرُ

And make grim Time laugh with it;

for with such as this, Time is made to laugh.

واِستجلِها بِكراً مُعتَّقةً

تَصبو إِليها العاتِقُ البِكرُ

And unveil it, a virgin yet well-aged,

for which the virgin maiden yearns.

حَمراءُ تَسطعُ في زجاجتِها

فكأَنَّها لو لم تذب جَمرُ

Red, it gleams within its glass,

as though, had it not melted, it would be embers.

وَكأَنَّما إِبريقُها سَحَراً

إِذ قَهقَهَت لحَمامِه وَكرُ

And at dawn its ewer seems,

when it laughs aloud, a nest for its doves.

جُليت على خُطّابِها فحكَت

عَذراءَ ما عَن وَصلِها عُذرُ

Unveiled before its suitors, it resembled

a virgin, with no excuse to forgo her embrace.

يَسعى بها ساقٍ لواحِظُه

سَكرى وَصفو رُضابِه خَمرُ

A cupbearer bears it round, his glances

drunken, and his clear saliva wine.

حلوُ الهَوى عَذبٌ مقبَّلُه

لكن مذاقُ مِطاله مُرُّ

Sweet in love, delicious to kiss,

but bitter is the taste of his delays.

أَو غادَةٌ رؤدٌ غدائِرُها

لَيلٌ وَضوءُ جَبينها فَجرُ

Or a graceful, tender maiden, whose tresses

are night, and whose brow's light is dawn.

هَيفاءُ لَولا عَقدُ منطقها

لَم يستقلَّ بِرِدفها الخصرُ

Slender-waisted—were it not for her girdle's knot,

her waist could not support her hips.

خُرعُوبَةٌ جمٌّ محاسِنُها

لكنَّما إِحسانُها نَزرُ

A supple beauty, whose charms are many,

yet whose favors are few.

في رَوضَةٍ وَشّى الرَبيعُ لها

حُللاً فطرَّزَ وشيَها القَطرُ

In a garden for which spring embroidered

robes, whose patterns the rain stitched.

وَالبَرقُ شقَّ بمرجِها طَرَباً

جيبَ الحَيا فتبسَّم الزَهرُ

And lightning, in its meadow, joyfully tore

the rain's neckline, and the blossoms smiled.

وَشَدَت بها الوَرقاءُ مَطربةً

فَتَمايسَت أَغصانُها الخُضرُ

And the gray dove sang there, stirring delight,

so its green boughs swayed.

واهاً لمجلِسنا وقد جمعَت

فيه المُنى وتهتَّك السِترُ

Ah, for our gathering, where were assembled

desires, and the veil was torn away!

إِبريقُنا ذَهَبٌ وخمرتُه

ياقوتَةٌ وَحَبابُها دُرُّ

Our ewer is gold, and its wine

a ruby, and its bubbles pearls.

وليومِنا وَسُقاةِ أَكؤسِنا

صُبحٌ أَغَرُّ وأَوجهٌ غُرُّ

And for our day and the pourers of our cups:

a radiant morning and radiant faces.

دعتِ المُدام إِلى الصَبوح به

من ليسَيُثقلُ سمعَه وَقرُ

The wine summoned to a morning draught that day

anyone whose hearing was not dulled by deafness.

إِن لَم يَطِب سُكرٌ لشارِبها

فَمَتى يَطيبُ لشارِبٍ سُكرُ

If intoxication is not sweet to its drinker,

then when is intoxication sweet to a drinker?

فاِشرب ولا تقل الزَمانُ قَضى

أَن لا يَفوزَ بلذَّةٍ حُرُّ

So drink, and do not say that Time decreed

that no free man should attain delight.

شَملَ الزَمانَ ندى أَبي حسنٍ

فَصَفا وَزالَ بِيُسره العُسرُ

Abu Hasan's generosity encompassed Time,

so it grew serene, and hardship vanished through his ease.

وَسرت تَهلَّلُ من أَنامِلِهِ

لبني الرَجاءِ سحائِبٌ عشرُ

And from his fingertips drifted forth, pouring rain,

ten clouds for the children of hope.

سحبٌ ولكن وَدقُ صَيّبها

تِبرٌ ولَمعُ وَميضِها بِشرُ

Clouds, but the droplets of their downpour

are gold dust, and their lightning's flash a smile.

فالخَلقُ من يُمنى يَدَيه لهم

يُمنٌ ومن يُسراهُما يُسرُ

So people have, from his right hand,

good fortune, and from his left hand, ease.

وَحَكَت عوارفُه معارفَه

فتدفَّقا فَكِلاهُما بَحرُ

And his benefactions mirrored his knowledge;

both poured forth, for each is a sea.

بَحرٌ وَلكن لجُّ نائِله

ما رَدَّ سائِلَ فَيضهِ نَهرُ

A sea, yet in the depths of his bounty

no rebuff turned away a seeker of its overflow.

برَّت بإخلاصٍ سريرتُه

فهو التَقيُّ المخلصُ البَرُّ

His inner nature proved righteous through sincerity;

so he is pious, sincere, and virtuous.

أَسمِع بِهِ واِنظر إِليه تَجِد

خَبَراً يحقِّقُ صدقَهُ الخُبرُ

Hear of him and look upon him: you will find

a report whose truth experience confirms.

ذو هِمَّة كادَت لعزمتها

صُمُّ الصُخور يُذيبها الذُعرُ

A man of ambition, whose resolve nearly makes

terror melt the solid rocks.

لَو رامَ يَصطادُ النجومَ بها

لم يأَو وَكرَ سَمائِه النَسرُ

If with it he sought to hunt the stars,

the Eagle would not take refuge in its heavenly nest.

من دَوحة سُقيت أَرومتُها

ماءَ العُلى وَنَما بها الفَخرُ

He is from a mighty tree whose root was watered

with the water of eminence, and glory grew within it.

فتهدَّلت أَغصانُها كرماً

زكت الفروع وأَنجبَ العِترُ

So its branches drooped with generosity;

the boughs flourished, and the stock bore noble offspring.

يا أَيُّها البَدءُ الَّذي شكرت

جَدوى يديه البَدوُ وَالحَضرُ

O foremost lord, to whom thanks are given

for your hands' bounty by nomads and townsfolk.

شعري بمدحك لا أَضنُّ به

فَلمثل مدحك يُنظمُ الشِعرُ

I do not withhold my poetry in your praise,

for poetry is composed for praise such as yours.

وإِليكها عِقداً مفصَّلة

لم يحلُ قطُّ بمثلها نحرُ

And here it is for you, a necklace finely set:

never has a neck been adorned with its like.

وافَت مُهنِّئة بمرتبةٍ

بك قَد سما لمقامها قَدرُ

It arrived to congratulate you on a rank

whose station has risen in worth through you.

واِسلم مدى الأَيّام مُرتَقياً

رُتباً يضيق لعدِّها الحصرُ

And remain safe through all your days, ascending

ranks beyond the bounds of counting.