Sol 6.1

  1. حَسْبي كَما حَكَم الغرامُ وحَسْبُها

    أَنَّ الغَرامَ يَزُورُني ويَغيِبُّها

    Enough for me, as love decrees, and enough for her,

    that love visits me and keeps her away.

  2. هل تِلك عَادتَي الَّتي عُوِّدتُها

    مِمَّن أُحِبُ وشفَّ قَلبي حبُّها

    Is that the accustomed lot I have been given

    by her whom I love, whose love has wasted my heart?

  3. أَسْرِي بأَوْديةِ الفَلا فتَخُصُّنِي

    بِسرابِها ويَخُصُّ غيري شُرْبُها

    I travel by night through desert valleys; they single me out

    for their mirage, while their water is another's share.

  4. وأُحِبُّ لَيلى وهِي لَيْس تُحبُّني

    وتحِبُّني لُبنى ولَسْت أُحِبُّها

    I love Layla, though she does not love me;

    Lubna loves me, though I do not love her.

  5. بأَبِي مُحجَّبةُ الوِصالِ مَليَّةٌ

    بالعُجْب أَصبحَ حجْبها هو عُجْبُها

    My father be her ransom: her union is veiled; she is full

    of pride; her pride itself has become her veil.

  6. ما أَنصفَتْكَ لأَنَّ قَلْبَكَ عندها

    أَبداً ولكنْ عند غيرِك قَلْبُها

    She has not treated you fairly, for your heart is with her

    forever, while hers is with another.

  7. بدويةُ الأَوْطانِ لا حضريِّةُ ال

    أَعطانِ عَطَّر ثوبَها لَكَ حُبُّها

    A Bedouin in her homelands, not a city-dweller in her

    dwelling places; love of her has perfumed her robe for you.

  8. والدَّلُّ منها فِعْلُها لا قولُها

    والحُسْنُ مِنْها طبْعُها لا كَسْبها

    Her coquetry lies in her deeds, not her words;

    her beauty is innate, not acquired.

  9. شعثاءُ ما عَرفَ التكحلَ طرْفُها

    يوماً ولا عرفَ التَّخضُّبَ كَعْبُها

    Disheveled, her eyes have never known kohl,

    not once, nor have her heels known henna.

  10. فسوارها هو نوبُها وخِباؤُها

    هو شِعْبها ورقيبها هو كَلْبها

    Her bees are her bracelet, and her tent

    is her ravine; her watchman is her dog.

  11. والمِسكُ يُنْسبُ للِظِّباءِ وَهذهِ

    منهمْ ولكنْ مِسْك هَذِي تُربُها

    Musk is ascribed to gazelles, and she

    is one of them; yet this one's musk is her dust.

  12. ما السّكر تَجْنِيه المُدامُ وكأْسُها

    السُّكْرُ تَجنيه الحليبُ وقَعْبُها

    Intoxication is not what wine and its cup yield;

    intoxication is what milk and her wooden bowl yield.

  13. وهي التي يحيي حياتي حُبُّها

    شَغفاً ويَشْعَبُ صَدْعَ قَلبي شِعْبها

    She is the one whose love quickens my life

    with passion; her ravine mends the rift in my heart.

  14. عُلِّقتُ ظَبْيتَه وعيشي أَخضَرُ

    فَرَعَتْهُ ظنّاً أَنَّ عَيِشيَ عُشْبُها

    I fell for its gazelle while my life was green;

    she grazed upon it, thinking my life was her grass.

  15. عهدي بِحُلَّتِها تحلُّ سماءَها

    شمسُ الضُّحى وتنيرُ فِيها شُهبُها

    I recall her encampment: in its sky dwells

    the morning sun, and within it shine its stars.

  16. والمستهامُ يرومُ من أَتْرابِها

    عُرباً حَمَتْه بالأَسِنَّةِ عرْبُها

    The love-crazed man seeks among her companions

    loving maidens her Arabs bar to him with spearheads.

  17. فكأَنما هو بالوُقوف عَمودُها

    وكأَنَّما هُو مِنْ ضَنَاه ظُنْبُها

    Standing there, he seems her tent pole;

    wasted with longing, he seems her tent peg.

  18. يا عاذلي في لوعةٍ لا تَنْطَفِي

    الوصلُ يُطفِيها وَأَنْتَ تَشُبُّها

    O you who reproach me for a burning that never dies,

    union would quench it, while you fan its flames.

  19. وكذاكَ تُذكي في فُؤادي نارَه

    وأُوارُها هَذي الدُّموعُ وسَكْبُها

    Thus you kindle love's fire within my heart;

    its blaze is these tears and their pouring.

  20. وأَبَى الغَرامُ لَقد رثيتُ لِمُقلَتي

    إِذْ صَار شَرق الدَّمْع عندي غربُها

    Yet love refused; I have pitied my eye

    when its western corner became, for me, the dawn of tears.

  21. ضربَتْنيَ الدُّنْيا فلم أَحْفِل بها

    إِنَّ المليحَة ليس يُوجعُ ضربُها

    The world struck me, but I paid her no heed:

    a beauty's blows do not hurt.

  22. عمِيَ الأَنامُ بها فأَصبحَ عندهم

    حُلواً مرارَتُها وصِدْقاً كَذْبُها

    Mankind was blinded by her, until to them

    her bitterness seemed sweet, her falsehood true.

  23. ونعم لكم ذنبٍ أَتَتْه سالفٍ

    وجنته لكن قد تكَفَّرَ ذَنْبُها

    Yes, how many a former sin she committed

    and perpetrated! Yet her sin has been atoned for.

  24. رجَعَتْ وأَقبل خِصْبُها فكأَنَّه

    ما جدَّ بِي حتَّى براني جَدْبُها

    She returned, and her plenty came, as though

    her dearth had never beset me till it wore me away.

  25. جاءَت إِليَّ وقد حَمِدْتُ مجيئَها

    مسحوبةً وبكف أَحْمَد سُحْبُها

    She came to me, and I praised her coming,

    drawn along, her clouds in Ahmad's palm.

  26. وبه تَبدَّى مِن إِساري غُلُّها

    وتَذَلَّلت بعد التعزُّزِ غَلْبها

    Through him, her shackle appeared among my bonds,

    and her might grew humble after proud resistance.

  27. وبِه ارْعَوت بَعْد الجِماحِ فَصَارَ لِي

    بَرْداً حرارَتُها وسَلْماً حَرْبُها

    Through him she relented after running wild, so for me

    her heat became coolness, her war became peace.

  28. وبه رأَتْ نفسي تَنَفُّسَ كَرْبِها

    ولقد تكَرَّرَ لي وعندي كَرْبُها

    Through him my soul saw its distress relieved;

    that anguish had indeed returned again and again and stayed with me.

  29. حمْداً لأَحْمدَ كَمْ له مِن نِعْمةٍ

    أَوْرَتْ أَشِعَّتُها وأَرْوَتْ سُحْبُها

    Praise to Ahmad! How many favors are his,

    whose rays kindle light and whose clouds quench thirst!

  30. الأَشْرفُ القاضي الذي شَرُفَتْ به

    أَسْلافُه وعلا القبَائِلَ شَعْبُها

    Al-Ashraf, the judge through whom were ennobled

    his forebears, whose clan rose above the tribes.

  31. عادتْ به أَيَّامُهم لمَّا انْقَضَتْ

    فكأَنَّها لَم يُقْضَ مِنْها نَحْبُها

    Through him their days returned after passing away,

    as though their allotted term had never been fulfilled.

  32. وهم الَّذين شَفَوْا وَطُّبوا دَاءَها

    مِن بعد أَنْ قَدْ كَانَ أَعْيا طِبُّها

    They are the ones who healed and treated her disease

    after its treatment had proved beyond reach.

  33. وبهم خَبا بَعْد التَّوقُّد شرُّها

    وبِهم صَفَا بَعْد التَّكَدُّر شرْبُها

    Through them her evil died down after blazing;

    through them her drinking water cleared after turning turbid.

  34. وأَتت لدُورِهِمُ الملوكُ يقودُها

    لهمُ ومنهم رُعْبها أَو رَغْبها

    Kings came to their houses, driven

    toward them by fear of them or longing for them.

  35. دارَت بِدُورِهمُ الملوكُ وكَيْفَ لا

    وهُمُ وقد دارت عليهم قُطْبُها

    Kings revolved around their houses—and how could they not,

    when, as the kings circled them, they were their axis?

  36. ورأَوا بِنُجْلِهمُ طلوعَ نُجومِهم

    مِن بَعْد مَا قَدْ غَيَّبَتْها تُربُها

    In their offspring they saw their stars rise

    after their dust had hidden them away.

  37. سَمعوا بِعدْنٍ عنه ما قد سرَّهم

    من سيرةٍ قُرِئَت عليهم كُتْبُها

    In Aden they heard of him what delighted them,

    accounts of his conduct whose records were read to them.

  38. المُنْهِبُ الآلافَ علماً إِنَّه

    لا يَحْرسُ العلياءَ إِلاَّ نَهْبُها

    He who gives thousands away, knowing that

    only their lavish dispersal safeguards high honor;

  39. والمشترِي حُرَّ الثناءِ بأَنْعُمٍ

    رَكَضَتْ بِه جُردُ الجِياد وقَبُّها

    who purchases noble praise with favors,

    praise borne at a gallop by sleek, lean steeds;

  40. المعْتَلِي فوقَ السماءِ بِهمَّةٍ

    لم ترضَ إِلاَّ والكواكبُ صَحْبُها

    who rises above heaven with an ambition

    content only when the stars are its companions.

  41. ولكمْ له مِن عَزْمةٍ في أَزْمةٍ

    تُرضَى عواقِبُها ويُحْمَد غبُّها

    How many a resolve is his in a crisis,

    whose outcomes please and whose aftermath wins praise!

  42. تاهَت به الأَيَّامُ وازْدَانَت به

    وبِه ازْدَهى شَرْقُ البلاد وغَرْبُها

    The days took pride in him and were adorned by him;

    through him the lands' east and west grew proud.

  43. وبه أُعيدَتْ لِلمعالي رُوحُها

    وبجودِه رَحِم الخلائقَ ربُّها

    Through him high deeds had their soul restored;

    through his generosity their Lord had mercy on all creatures.

  44. وأَقامَ شَرعاً للمعارفِ خيرُها

    مِنه وفَرْضاً للمكارم نَدْبُها

    He made the finest benefactions a law,

    by his example, and voluntary noble deeds a duty.

  45. طَلْقُ الخلائق أَشوسٌ يَسْتصغِر الدَّ

    نيا ويصْغُر في يَديه خَطْبُها

    Genial in disposition, fierce-eyed, he scorns this

    world, whose calamities dwindle in his hands.

  46. زان الشَّبيبةَ بالتَّنسك وهو بالـ

    ـعلياءِ عاشُقها المتَّيمُ حبُّها

    He adorned youth with devotion; and of

    high honor he is the lover, enthralled by its love.

  47. عجِزَت سيوفُ الهندِ من أَقْلامِه

    عن قَطْعها فكأَنَّما هي قِرْبُها

    India's swords fell short beside his pens

    in cutting, as though those swords were their sheaths.

  48. وكذا العقودُ حسدْن ما قد سطَّرت

    يُمناه حتَّى اصفّر منها حَبُّها

    Likewise necklaces envied what

    his right hand wrote, till their beads yellowed because of it.

  49. أَمقرِّبَ النعماءِ منِّي بعد ما

    شطَّ المزارُ بها وأَبعدَ قُرْبها

    O you who brought good fortune close to me after

    its visitation grew distant and its nearness remote,

  50. أَصبحتُ لا شَعثاً يُرى في حالتي

    أَنَّي وأَنْتَ ترمُّها وتَرُبُّها

    no disarray can now be seen in my condition:

    how could it, when you mend and nurture it?

  51. طيّرتُ أَعدائِي عليك وحُسّدي

    برياح جودٍ لا يُسَدُّ مهبُّها

    Through you I scattered my enemies and enviers

    with winds of bounty whose blowing none can block.

  52. وإِذا مدَحْتُكَ سرَّني ويسوؤها

    ما سرَّني فكأَنَّما هُو سبُّها

    When I praise you, it delights me; they are distressed

    by what delights me, as though it were abuse of them.

  53. ولطالَما ضجَّت عليَّ ذِئَابُها

    وتحكَّكَت بيَ في زمانِي جُرْبُها

    Long have her wolves howled against me,

    and her mangy beasts rubbed against me in my days.

  54. والمدح فيك يغيظها وعلى القتا

    دِ يجرُّها وعلى الوجوهِ يكبُّها

    Praising you enrages them; over the

    thorn-tree it drags them, flinging them face-down.

  55. ما منهمُ من قال فِيك مَدائِحي

    لا لَفْظُها لا وَزْنُها لا ضَرْبها

    None of them has uttered my praises of you:

    not their wording, nor their meter, nor their final foot.

  56. أُثني عليكَ ثَناءَ مَنْ لاَ يبتَغِي

    إِلاَّ المثوبةَ بِالودَاد فَحَسْبُها

    I praise you with the praise of one who seeks

    only affection as a reward; that is enough.

  57. ملأَت يَداكَ يَدي بِعشْر سَحائِبٍ

    قد كَانَ يُغرِقُ قَطْرُها بَلْ صَبُّها

    Your two hands filled my hand with ten clouds,

    whose drops alone could drown—nay, their downpour!

  58. لم يبقَ عِنْدي موضعٌ لِنوَالِهَا

    مَلأَتْ شِعابيَ وَهْدُهَا أَوْ هُضْبُها

    No room remains with me for their gifts;

    they filled my ravines, whether hollows or heights.

  59. ولقد وَثِقْتُ بِكُلِّ ما تَرْضَى به

    نَفْسي وزَالَ عَن اللَّيالِي عَتْبُها

    I have come to trust in all that satisfies

    my soul, and its reproach against the nights has ceased.

  60. ولقد مَدَحْتُ عُلاكَ مِنْ حُبِّي لها

    وهْي الَّتي ليست يُلام مُحِبُّها

    I have praised your eminence out of love for it;

    it is that for which no lover can be blamed.

  61. ولقد أَطَلْتُ مَدائِحي وأَطَبْتُها

    وأُجَاجُ فِكْري جَاء مِنْها عَذْبُها

    I have made my praises long and sweet;

    from these praises came the sweetness of my thought's brine.

  62. عُذراً فإنَّ صِفَاتِ مجدِك أَعْجزَت

    فِكْري وقد أَعْيا يميني كَتْبُها

    Forgive me: the qualities of your glory have defeated

    my thought, and writing them has wearied my right hand.

  63. وتَهَنَّ شهراً مُؤذِناً بسعادة

    رُفِعَتْ إِليكَ وعَنْك تُرفَعُ حُجْبها

    Enjoy a month heralding happiness

    raised up to you, its veils lifted away before you.

  64. وبها تَنالُ من الحظوظِ أَجلَّها

    ويَفُلُّ عنك من النوائِب غَربُها

    Through it you gain the greatest shares of fortune,

    and it blunts calamities' keen edge for you.

  65. أَمّا البَرِيَّةُ فالقشورُ لهذه الدُّ

    نيا وأَمَّا أَنْتَ أَنت فَلُبُّها

    As for mankind, they are the husks of this

    world; but you—you are its kernel.