زارني طيفها محلى معطر — Ibn Sanaa Almalk

زارَني طيْفُها محلى مُعَطَّرْ

وتخطَّى كمثلها وتَخَطَّر

Her apparition visited me, adorned and perfumed.

It stepped just like her and swayed gracefully.

وحكَاهَا فَصَار في النَّقْل عَدْلاً

حينَ أَدَّى عَنْها وإِنْ كَان زوَّر

It imitated her, becoming a trustworthy transmitter

when it conveyed her image, although it had counterfeited it.

أَشْمَسَ اللَّيْلُ إِذْ زَار في اللَّيـ

ـلِ وَلَوْ لَمْ يَزُرْ لَما كَانَ أَقْمَرْ

The night became sunlit when it visited by night;

had it not visited, the night would not have been moonlit.

ولَقَدْ عَامَ في بحارِ دُمُوعٍ

ظَنَّ مِنْها أَنْ لا وصولَ إِلى الْبَرْ

Indeed, it swam through seas of tears,

thinking no shore could be reached from them.

واشْتَكَى البردَ ثُمَّ وَافَى إِلى القَلْـ

ـبِ ونِيرَانِ قَيْظِه فَاشْتَكى الْحَرْ

It complained of cold, then came to the heart

and the fires of its summer heat, and complained of heat.

خَفَّفَ الْقَيْظَ عن فؤادِي مَا ابْتـ

ـلَّ لَه مِنْ مُوزَّرٍ ومُزرَّرْ

My heart's summer heat was eased by what grew wet

of its waist-wrapped and buttoned garments.

وتوثَّقْتُه بِقُفْل عناقٍ

فشَّه الانْتِبَاهُ لَمَّا تَعَسَّر

I secured it with the lock of an embrace;

wakefulness picked it open when it would not yield.

كنتُ مُستيقظاً وزَار خيالُ الذّ

كْر مِنْها ومُذْ رَقَدْتُ تَفَسَّر

I was awake when a vision visited, born of remembrance

of her; once I slept, it became clear.

والذي أَرْسَلَتْه سمراءُ في القا

مَةِ إِذْ تَنْثَني ومَا اللَّونُ أَسْمرْ

Its sender is a brown spear in stature

when she bends, though her complexion is not brown.

أَشرَقَتْ بالبياضِ حَتَّى استَنَارَتْ

ولَعَمْرِي فالبَدْرُ أَبْيَضُ أَنْورْ

She shone with whiteness until she became radiant;

by my life, the full moon is white and luminous.

لا يَتهِ جَوْهَرُ العُقودِ ولا يش

مَخْ عَلَيْها فالوَجْه والثَّغْر جَوْهَرْ

Let the jewels of necklaces neither boast nor rise proudly

above her: her face and mouth are jewels.

إِنَّ عيشي مُرٌّ وحُلْوٌ بِمَن أَصْـ

ـبحَ مِنْها في الوَجْه مِلْحٌ وَسُكَّرْ

My life is bitter and sweet through one

whose face now bears salt and sugar.

سأَلَتْني مَا حَالُ قَلْبك بَعْدي

ربَّةَ البيت أَنْتِ بالبيتِ أَخْبَرْ

She asked me, 'How is your heart since I left?'

'Mistress of the house, you know the house best.

فيه جمرٌ كجمرِ خَدِّكِ لكنْ

جَمْرُ ذَا أَسْودٌ وجَمْرُكَ أَحْمَرْ

It holds embers like your cheek's embers, but

its embers are black, and yours are red.

كيف ينفَكُّ جَمْرُ خدِّكِ منه

وَهْو بالخْالِ فَوْقَهُ قَدْ تَسَمَّر

How can your cheek's embers come free of it

when the mole above them has nailed them fast?'

وإِلى جَنْبِ ذَلِكَ الخالِ وَشْمٌ

قد تَخَفَّى بِصُدْغِها وَتخَفَّر

Beside that beauty mark is a tattoo;

it has hidden in her temple-lock and veiled itself modestly.

هُو بالصُّدِغ قَدْ تَزمَّل والصد

غُ عَليه بِمسكِه قَدْ تَدَثَّر

It has wrapped itself in the temple-lock, and the lock

has mantled itself over it with its musk.

ولَئِنْ غَرَّني المُؤَنَّثُ مِنْها

فلقَدْ غَرَّها عَليَّ المُذَكَّرْ

If the feminine in her has beguiled me,

the masculine in me has indeed beguiled her.

رُبَّ ليلٍ لهوتُ فيه ببدرٍ

يَنْثَني أَبْيَضاً ويهتَزُّ أَسْمَرْ

Many a night I made merry with a full moon,

bending white and swaying like a brown spear.

كان أَحْوَى فزِيد بِالعين رَاءٌ

حِينَ يَرْنُو فَصَارَ أَحْوى وأَحْوَر

He was dark-lipped, ahwa; a rāʾ was added at his eye

when he gazed, making him ahwa and ahwar—dark-lipped and gazelle-eyed.

إِنْ رَنَا فالْغَزالُ أَحولُ إِن قيـ

ـسَ إِلَيْه والنَّرجِسُ الغَضُّ أَعْورْ

If he gazes, the gazelle is cross-eyed when compared

with him, and the fresh narcissus is one-eyed.

عَادَ أَغْنَى الْوَرى بدينارِ خدٍّ

أَصْبحَ الآنَ بالعِذَارِ مُسَطَّر

He became the richest of mortals through his cheek's dinar,

now inscribed with the lines of his cheek-down.

رُبَّ رَاح شَرِبْتُها اليومَ صِرْفاً

مِنْ ثَنَاياهُ ثُمَّ قُلْتُ لَه سِرْ

Many a draught of wine I drank today, unmixed,

from his front teeth; then I told him, 'Go.'

ولقد مِتُّ مِنْه فاعْجَب لأَمْرِي

إِنَّني مَيِّتٌ وعِشْقي مُعَمَّر

Indeed, I died because of him—marvel at my plight:

I am dead, while my love is long-lived.

لم يُمِتْني إِلاَّ الحَبِيبُ ولم يُحْـ

ـيي الْمَعَالي إِلاَّ أَبو الْفَضْلِ جَعْفَر

None but the beloved killed me; none has revived

noble deeds but Abu al-Fadl Jaʿfar.

ضَمَّ شَمْلَ النَّدى فأَغْنَى وأَقْنَى

وأَعَادَ الْعُلاَ فَأَنْشا وَأَنْشَرْ

He united generosity's scattered parts, enriching and endowing,

and restored high honor, establishing and reviving it.

أَنِسَ الْمَدْحَ فَاصْطَفَى الحرَّ مِنْه

وأَتَى غَيرُه فنَفَّى ونَفَّرْ

He delighted in praise and chose its noblest;

other praise came, and he banished and repelled it.

يسبقُ الخَلْقَ في طريقِ المَعَالي

وجَرى كُلُّ مَنْ جَرى فتَعَثَّرْ

He outstrips all people on the path of noble deeds;

every runner ran, then stumbled.

هو قَاضٍ وما سَمِعْنا بقاضٍ

حَوْلَه مِنْ نَداهُ جُنْدٌ وعَسْكَر

He is a judge, and we have never heard of a judge

with troops and an army of his bounty around him.

وإِذا بارَزَتْ أَياديه قَرْن الـ

ـفقرِ فَهْو المهْزُومُ وَهْي المُظَفَّر

When his favors duel with their adversary—

poverty—it is defeated, and they are victorious.

إِنْ بَدا شَخْصُه فَشَمْسٌ وبَدْرٌ

أَوْ جَرَى ذِكْرُه فَمِسْكٌ وَعَنْبَر

If his person appears, he is sun and full moon;

or, if his name is mentioned, musk and ambergris.

دعْ غَماماً هَمَى وبَدْراً تَجَلَّى

وشهاباً أَوْرَى ورَوْضاً تَنَوَّر

Leave aside a cloud pouring rain and a full moon unveiled,

a shooting star kindling fire and a garden flowering.

هو أَنْدَى يَداً وَأَبْهَر أَنْوا

راً وأَوْرَى زَنْداً وأَحْسَنَ مَنْظر

He is more bountiful of hand, more dazzling in radiance;

his fire-stick sparks more brightly, and his aspect is lovelier.

قد شَكَا الْمُعْتَفُونَ ثِقْلَ أَيادِيـ

ـه على الظهر فَهْي تَشْكُو وَتَشْكُرْ

Petitioners have complained of the weight of his favors

upon their backs; they complain, yet give thanks.

حَسِبُوا إِذْ هَمَى سَحَابَ يَدَيْه

كالسَّحابِ الَّذِي يَمُرُّ فَمَا مَرْ

When it poured, they thought the cloud of his hands

was like a passing cloud—but it did not pass.

قُلْ لِمَنْ قَالَ لم يُر الجُودُ في الخلـ

ـقِ وقَدْ جَادَ ذَا الجوادُ أَلَم ترْ

Tell whoever said, 'Generosity has not been seen among

humankind': 'This generous man has given—have you not seen?'

فَمُوالي نَداهُ يَحْظَى ويَرْضَى

وَمُعَادِي عُلاَه يَخْسا ويَخْسَرَ

One loyal to his bounty finds favor and contentment;

the enemy of his eminence is abased and loses.

قُلْ لِمنْ رَامَ رَاحَتَيه تَقَدَّمْ

ولِمَنْ رَامَ غَاَيَتَيْه تَأَخَّرْ

Tell whoever seeks his two palms, 'Advance';

and whoever seeks his two utmost goals, 'Retreat.'

قدَّر اللهُ أَنَّه أَفْضَلُ النَّا

سِ كمَا أَخْبرَ الْقَضَاءُ الْمُقَدَّرْ

God decreed that he is the finest of all

people, as ordained destiny has declared.

كلَّما كَرَّرَتهْ تسأَمه النَّفـ

ـسُ سِوَى مَدْحِه إِذَا مَا تَكرَّرْ

The soul tires of whatever you repeat,

except his praise, however often it is repeated.

لم تَر الْعَيْنُ قَطُّ أَحْسَن مَرْأَى

مِنْه في حُلَّةِ الثَّنَاءِ الْمُحَبَّر

The eye has never seen a finer sight

than him in the robe of richly embellished praise.

خَاطِرُ الْمَدْح قَد تَبَخْتَر فِيه

وهْوَ مِن عِظْم شَأْنِه مَا تَبَخْتَر

The inspiration of praise has swaggered in him;

yet he, for all his lofty station, has never swaggered.

إِنْ تسَلْ عنه أَو تَسَلْه إِذا جئـ

ـتَ إِليْه فَهْو الرَّشِيدُ وجَعْفَرْ

If you ask about him, or ask him when you come

to him, he is al-Rashid and Jaʿfar.

ولَئِنْ أَشْبَهَ الكرامَ قَدِيماً

فَهْوَ أَتْقَى مِنْهمْ وأَنْقَى وأَطْهَر

Though he resembles the noble ones of old,

he is more God-fearing, more unsullied, and purer than they.

وَرِعٌ إِنْ تَقُل لَه النَّفْس خُذْ هـ

ـذَا وحَاشاه منه قَالَ لَها ذَرْ

Scrupulously devout: if his soul tells him, 'Take

this'—far be it from him—he tells it, 'Leave it.'

وصلاةٌ في اللَّيلِ جَهْراً تَلِيها

صَدقَاتٌ في السِّر تَخْفَى وتَظْهَر

And prayer aloud by night, followed by

secret almsgiving, concealed and revealed;

وصِيَامٌ في كُلِّ يَوْمِ هجيرٍ

يَتْركُ الماءَ جَمْرةً تَتَسَعَّر

and fasting on every scorching day

that leaves the water a fiercely burning ember.

ونعيمُ الدُّنيا إِذَا لَمْ تَصِلْه

بنَعيم الأُخْرى نَعِيمٌ مُكدَّر

Worldly bliss, unless you join it

to the bliss of the next world, is clouded bliss.

ولَئِنْ لَمْ يَصُمْ على الكُرْهِ مِنْه

حَسَداً لالتياثِ جِسْمٍ مُطَهَّر

Though he has not fasted, against his will—

I envy the illness of a purified body—

فَلأَجْرُ السَّقامِ أَغْلَى وأَعْلى

وثَوابُ الآلاَمِ أَوْفَى وأَوْفَر

the reward of sickness is more precious and higher,

and the recompense of pains fuller and more abundant.

ولقد صُمتُ نَائِباً عنكَ ذَا الشَّهـ

ـرَ وقَصْدِي في أَنْ أَصُومَ وتُؤْجَر

Indeed, I fasted in your stead this month,

intending that I fast and you receive the reward.

وهْو نَذْرٌ عليَّ في كُلِّ عام

إِنْ قَضَى الله الْبرْءَ فِيه وَيَسَّر

It is a vow binding on me every year,

if God decrees his recovery and makes it easy.

لستُ أَرْجُو سِوى بَقائِك أَجْراً

فهْوَ أَجْرٌ مُعَجَّلٌ في المُؤَخَّرْ

I seek no reward beyond your continued life;

for that is a reward brought forward from what is deferred.

وإِذَا دُمْتَ لي تَعَجَّلت أَجْرِي

أَنْتَ لي جَنَّةٌ وجُودكَ كَوْثَرْ

If you remain with me, I receive my reward in advance:

you are my paradise, and your generosity is Kawthar.

بك أَصبحتُ أَنعمَ النَّاسِ بالاً

زمَني أَبيضٌ وعَيْشِيَ أَخْضَرْ

Through you I have become the most content of people;

my days are white, and my life is green.

وإِذا أَظْمأَ الزَّمانُ شِفاهي

كنتَ بَحْراً تفيضُ دُرّاً وجَوْهَرْ

When time makes my lips thirst,

you are a sea pouring forth pearls and jewels.

تِهْ عَلى الدَّهْر بي وطاوِلْ بَنيه

وَعَلى الْخلقِ كُلِّهم بيَ فَافْخَر

Boast over Time of me, and vie in stature with its sons;

through me, take pride over all creation.

أَنْت لي مُنجبٌ وشَأْنُك عَال

بنجيبٍ مِني وشَانيك أَبْتَر

You are my begetter, and your station is high

through the noble son you have in me; your hater is cut off.