أللمحة من بارق متبسم — Ibn Zamrak

أللمحةٍ من بارقٍ مُتَبَسِّمِ

أرسلتَهُ دمعاً تضرَّجَ بالدمِ

Was it for a flash of smiling lightning

that you poured forth tears stained with blood?

وللمحة تهفو ببانات اللوىَ

يهفو فؤادك عن جوانح مغرمِ

And for a gleam fluttering among al-Liwa's ban-trees,

does your heart flutter from a lover's ribs?

هي عادة عذرية من يوم أن

خُلِقَ الهوى تعتاد كلَّ مُتَيَّمِ

It is a custom of chaste love: ever since

love was created, it has visited every love-stricken soul.

قد كنتُ أعذل ذا الهوى من قبل أن

أدري الهوى واليوم أعذلُ لُوَّمي

I used to reproach the lover, before

I knew love; today I reproach my reproachers.

كم زفرة بين الجوانح ما ارتقت

حَذَرَ الرقيب ومدمع لم يُسجمِ

How many a sigh within the ribs has never risen,

for fear of the watcher, and a tear has never flowed!

إن كان واشي الدمع قد كتم الهوى

هيهات واشي السقم لما يكتمِ

If telltale tears have concealed love,

far from it—telltale sickness has not concealed it.

ولقد أجدْ هوايَ رسمٌ دارسٌ

قد كان يَخْفَى عن خفيِّ توهُمِ

A faded trace indeed renewed my love,

though it once eluded even the subtlest imagining.

وذكرت عهداً في حماه قد انقضى

فأطلت فيه تردّدي وتلوُّمي

I recalled a bygone time within its sanctuary,

and long continued coming, going, lingering there.

ولربما أشجى فؤادي عنده

ورقاءُ تَنْفُثُ شجوها بترنُمِ

Often my heart was saddened beside it

by a gray dove breathing out her grief in song.

لا أجدَبَ الله الطلولَ فطالما

أشجى الفصيحَ بها بكاءُ الأعجمِ

May God never make the ruins barren, for how often

a wordless creature's weeping there has saddened the eloquent!

يا زاجر الأظعان يحفزها السُّرى

قف بي عليها وقفة المتلوِّمِ

O driver of the caravan that night travel urges onward,

halt with me beside them, pausing like one who lingers,

لترى دموع العاشقين برسمها

حمراً كحاشية الرداء المعْلَمِ

that you may see lovers' tears upon their traces,

red as the border of an embroidered robe.

دِمَنٌ عهدتُ بها الشبيبة والهوى

سقياً لها ولعهدها المتقدِّمِ

Ruins where I once knew youth and love:

may rain bless them and their bygone days!

وكتيبةٍ للشوق قد جهزتها

أغزو بها السلوانَ غزوَ مُصمِّم

Many a battalion of longing have I mustered,

to wage a resolute assault on forgetfulness.

ورفعت فيها القلبَ بنداً خافقاً

وأريت للعشاق فضلَ تهمّمي

I raised my heart within it as a fluttering standard,

and showed lovers the excellence of my devotion.

فأنا الذي شاب الحماسة بالهوى

لكنَّ من أهواه ضايق مقدمي

I am the one who mingled valor with love,

but the one I love blocked my advance.

فطُعنتُ من قدِّ القوامِ بأَسمرٍ

ورُميتُ من غنج اللحاظِ بأَسْهُم

I was pierced by a dusky spear from that shapely stature,

and struck by arrows from coquettish glances.

يا قاتلَ الله الجفونَ فإنها

مهما رمتْ لم تُخْطِ شاكلةَ الرمي

Ah, may God slay those eyelids, for

whenever they shoot, they never miss the mark!

ظلَمَتْ قتيلَ الحب ثم تَبيَّنتْ

للسقم فيها فترة المتظلّمِ

They wronged love's victim; then there appeared

in them a sickly languor, like one complaining of wrong.

يا ظبيةٌ سنحت بأكناف الحمى

سُقي الحمى صوبَ الغمام المسجم

O gazelle appearing at the sanctuary's edges,

may the sanctuary be watered by the pouring cloud's rain!

ما ضرَّ إذ أرسلت نظرة فاتكٍ

أن لو عطفت بنظرة المترحِّمِ

What harm, when you sent a murderer's glance,

if you had turned with a compassionate look,

فرأيت جسماً قد أصيب فؤادُه

من مقلتيك وأنت لم تتأثّمي

and seen a body whose heart was struck

by your two eyes, while you felt no guilt?

ولقد خشيتِ بأن يقادَ بجرحه

فوهبت لحظك ما أحلَّك من دمي

You feared that its wound would call for retribution,

so I granted your glance what absolved you of my blood.

كم خضتُ دونك من غمار مفازةٍ

لا تهتدي فيها الليوث لمجْثَمِ

How many a desert's depths I crossed to reach you,

where lions cannot find a lair.

والنجمُ يسري من دجاه بأدهمٍ

رحب المقلّدِ بالثريا مُلجمِ

The star rides through its darkness on a black steed,

broad-necked and bridled with the Pleiades.

والبدرُ في صفح السماء كأنّه

مرآة هندٍ وسط لُجِّ ترتمي

The full moon on the face of heaven seems

Hind's mirror tossed amid a deep sea.

والزُّهرُ زَهُرٌ والسَّماءُ حديقةٌ

فتقتْ كمائمُ جنحها عن أَنجُمِ

The bright stars are flowers, and the sky a garden

whose dusk's bud-sheaths have opened to reveal stars.

والليلُ مربدُّ الجوانح قد بدا

فيه الصباح كغُرّة في أدهَمِ

Night's flanks are dusky; now there appears

within it dawn, like a white blaze on a black horse.

فكأنما فلق الصباح وقد بدا

مرأى ابن نصر لاح للمتوسِّم

It is as though the break of dawn, now appearing,

were Ibn Nasr's countenance revealed to a discerning eye.

ملك أفاض على البسيطة عدلَهُ

فالشاةِ لا تخشى اعتداء الضَّيْغَمِ

A king who poured his justice over the earth,

so that the sheep fears no attack from the lion.

هو منتهى آمال كلّ موفَقٍ

هو مورد الصادي وكنز المعدِم

He is the utmost hope of everyone blessed with success;

he is the thirsty one's watering place and the pauper's treasure.

لاحت مناقبُه كواكبَ أسعُدٍ

فرأت ملامحَ نوره عينُ العمي

His virtues shone as stars of good fortune,

and blind eyes saw the features of his light.

ولقد تراءى بأسُهُ وسماحُه

فأتى الجلالُ من الجمال بتوْءَمِ

His might and generosity appeared together,

and majesty brought forth beauty as its twin.

مثل الغمام وقد تضاحك برقه

فأفاد بين تجهْم وتبسّم

Like a raincloud whose lightning smiles,

he gave his bounty between frowning and smiling.

أنسى سماحة حاتم وكذاك في

يوم اللقاء ربيعةَ بن مكدّمِ

He made Hatim's generosity forgotten, and likewise, on

the day of battle, Rabi'a ibn Mukaddam.

سيرٌ تسير النيِّراتُ بهديها

وتُعير عَرفَ الروض طيبَ تنسُّمِ

Deeds whose guidance the shining stars follow,

lending the garden's scent a fragrant breath.

فالبدر دونك في عُلاّ وإنارةٍ

والبحر دونك في ندى وتكرمِ

The full moon falls below you in loftiness and radiance,

and the sea below you in bounty and generosity.

ولك القباب الحمرُ تُرفع للندى

فترى العمائمَ تحتها كالأنجمِ

For you red pavilions are raised for generosity,

and turbans beneath them look like stars.

يذكي الكِباءُ بها كأن دخانَهُ

قطعُ السحاب بجوها المتغيّم

Incense burns within them, as though its smoke

were patches of cloud in their misty air.

ولك العوالي السمرُ تُشرعُ للعدى

فتخرُّ صرعى لليدين وللفَمِ

For you tawny spears are leveled against enemies,

and they fall slain upon their hands and mouths.

ولك الأيادي البيضُ قد طوّقتها

صيدَ الملوك ذوي التلاد الأقدمِ

Yours are bright favors you have hung as necklaces upon

proud kings, heirs to the most ancient patrimony.

شِيَمٌ يُقرُّ الحاسدون بفضلها

والصبح ليس ضياؤُهُ بمكتّمِ

Qualities whose excellence even the envious acknowledge:

the light of dawn cannot be concealed.

ورِثَ السماحة عن أبيه وجَدّهِ

فالأَكرمُ ابنُ الأكرم ابنِ الأكرمِ

He inherited generosity from his father and grandfather:

the noblest, son of the noblest, son of the noblest.

نقلوا المعالي كابراً عن كابرٍ

كالرمح مطّردِ الكعوبِ مقوَّمِ

They passed down eminence, great sire to great sire,

like a straight spear with evenly ordered joints.

وتسنَّموا رُتَبَ العلاء بحقها

ما بين جدٍّ في الخلافة وابنمِ

They mounted the ranks of eminence by right,

from grandfather to son in the caliphate.

يا آل نصر أنتم سُرُجُ الهدى

في كلّ خطب قد تجهم مظلم

O house of Nasr, you are lamps of guidance

in every dark calamity that scowls.

الفاتحون لكل صعب مقفلٍ

والفارجون لكل خطب مبهم

You open every difficult, locked way

and dispel every bewildering calamity;

والباسمون إذا الكماة عوابسٌ

والمقدمون على السوادِ الأعظمِ

you smile when armored champions frown,

and advance against the greatest host.

أبناء أنصار النَّبيّ وحزبه

وذوي السوابق والحوار الأعصمِ

Sons of the Prophet's Helpers and his party,

and of men of early merit and the white-footed camel colt.

سلْ عنهمُ أُحُداً وبدراً تلقَهُمْ

أَهلَ الغَناء بها وأهلَ المغنمِ

Ask Uhud and Badr about them; you will find them

men of valiant service there, and men of spoils.

وبفتح مكَّةَ كم لهم في يومه

بلواء خير الخلق من متقدّمِ

At the conquest of Mecca, how many of theirs, on that day,

advanced beneath the best of creation's banner!

أقسمتُ بالحرم الأمين ومكةٍ

والركنِ والبيتِ العتيقِ وزمزمِ

I swear by the secure Sanctuary and Mecca,

the Corner, the Ancient House, and Zamzam:

لولا مآثرهم وفضلُ علاهمُ

ما كانََ يُعزى الفضلُ للمتقدِّمِ

were it not for their glorious deeds and lofty excellence,

no excellence would be ascribed to those of old.

ماذا عسى أثني وقد أثنت على

عليائهم آيُ الكتابِ المحكمِ

What praise can I offer, when already

the verses of the perfected Book have praised their eminence?

يا وارثاً عنها مآثرها التي

قد شيَّدَتْ للفخر أشرف معلم

O you who inherited from them those glorious deeds

that raised the noblest monument to glory,

يا فخر أندلسٍ لقد مدَّتْ إلى

عليك كفُّ اللاّئذ المستعصم

O pride of al-Andalus, there has stretched toward

you the hand of one seeking refuge and protection.

أما سعودك في الوغى فتكفَّلتْ

بسلامةِ الإسلامِ فاخلُدْ واسْلَمِ

Your good fortune in battle has guaranteed

the safety of Islam: live forever and be unharmed!

وافَيْتَ هذا الثغرَ وهو على شفاً

فشفيْتَ معضلَ دائه المستحكمِ

You came to this frontier when it stood on the brink,

and cured its deeply rooted, intractable illness.

ورعيتَه بسياسةٍ دارتْ على

مُخْتَطِّهِ دورَ السوار بمعصم

You tended it with governance that encircled

its bounds as a bracelet encircles a wrist.

كم ليلةٍ قد بتَّ فيها ساهراً

تهدي الآمانَ إلى العيون النُّومِ

How many a night you passed wakeful,

bestowing safety on sleeping eyes!

يا مظهر الألطاف وهي خفيّةٌ

ومُهِبَّ ريحِ النصر للمتنسِّم

O you who make hidden graces manifest,

and send victory's wind to those who seek its breath,

لله دولتك التي آثارها

سِيَرُ الرِّكاب لمنجد أو مُتْهمِ

God be praised for your reign, whose achievements

are the tales of caravans bound for highlands or lowlands.

ما بعد يومك في المواسم بعدما

أَتْبَعْتَ عيد الفطر أكرمَ موسمِ

No festival day surpasses yours, now that

you followed the Feast of Breaking Fast with the noblest celebration.

وافتك أشراف البلاد ليومه

من كل ندب للعلا مُتَسَنِّمِ

The nobles of the lands came to you for its day,

every gallant man ascending toward eminence.

صرفوا إليكَ ركابَهم وتيمموا

من بابك المنتاب خير مُيّمَمِ

They turned their mounts toward you and sought

in your much-frequented gate the finest destination.

تَبَوَّأُوا منه بدار كرامةٍ

فالكل بين مقرّبٍ ومنعَّمِ

There they settled in an abode of honor,

each drawn close or lavishly favored.

ودّتْ نجوم الأفق لو مثلت به

لتفوز فيه برتبة المستخدمِ

The stars of the horizon wished they might appear there,

to win there the rank of a servant.

والروض مختالٌ بحلية سندسٍ

من كل مَوشيِّ الرقوم منمنَمِ

The garden strutted in an adornment of fine silk,

with every embroidered, intricately figured pattern.

ورياحُهُ نسمت بنشر لطيمة

وأقاحُهُ بسمت بثغر ملثّمِ

Its breezes wafted a perfume caravan's fragrance,

and its daisies smiled with a veiled mouth.

وأَرَيْتَنا فيه عجائب جمةٌ

لم تجر في خَلّدٍ ولم تُتَوَهَّمِ

You showed us countless wonders there

that had never crossed a mind or been imagined.

أرسلت سرعان الجياد كأنها

أسرابُ طيرٍ في التنوفة حُوَّمِ

You sent forth the swiftest steeds, as though

they were flocks of birds wheeling over the wilderness:

من كل منحفز بخطفة بارق

قد كاد يسبق لمحة المتوهمِ

each poised to dart with a lightning flash,

almost outstripping an imagining mind's glance.

طرفٌ يشك الطَّرْفَ في استثباتهِ

فكأيْه ظنُّ بصدر مرجِّمِ

A steed that makes the eye doubt what it sees,

as though a conjecture in a guesser's breast.

ومسافرٍ في الجو تحسبُ أنه

يرقى إلى أوج السماء بسلَّمِ

And a traveler through the air, whom you would think

was climbing to heaven's summit by a ladder,

رام استراق السمع وهو ممنّع

فأصيب من قضب العصي بأسهمِ

sought to steal a hearing, though it was guarded,

and was struck by arrows made from slender rods.

رَجَمَتْهُ من شهب النِّصال حواصبٌ

لولا تعرضه لها لَمْ يُرجَمِ

Storms of meteor-bright arrowheads pelted him;

had he not exposed himself, he would not have been pelted.

ومدارة الأفلاك أعجز كُنْهُها

إبداعَ كلِّ مهندس ومهندمِ

And a revolving mechanism of spheres, whose true nature baffled

the ingenuity of every engineer and designer:

يمشي الرجال بجوفها وجميعهم

عن مستوى قدميه لم يتقدمِ

men walk inside it, and every one of them

goes no farther than the place beneath his feet.

ومنوّعِ الحركات قد ركب الهوا

يمشي على خط به متوهّمِ

And a performer of varied movements, riding the air,

walks upon a line barely imagined there.

فإذا هوى من جوّه ثم استوى

أبصرتَ طيراً حول صورة آدم

When he drops from his height and then stands straight,

you behold a bird transformed into Adam's shape.

يمشي على فَنَنِ الرّشاء كأنه

فيه مساور ذابل أو أرقمِ

He walks along the rope's slender bough, as though

wrestling there with a slender spear or a speckled serpent.

وإليك من صون العقول عقيلةً

وقفت بِبابِك وِقْفَةَ المسترحمِ

To you I bring a noble maiden from minds' guarded treasures,

standing at your gate as one imploring mercy.

ترجو قَبولك وهو أكبر منحة

فاسمحْ به خُلَّدتَ من متكرْمِ

She hopes for your acceptance, the greatest gift;

grant it, generous one—may you live forever!

طاردتُ فيها وصف كل غريبةٍ

فنظمّتُ شاردَهُ الذي لم ينظم

In her I pursued the description of every marvel,

then versified its fugitive thought, never yet set in verse.

ودعوتُ أرباب البيان أُريهمُ

كم غادرَ الشّعراء من متردِّمِ

I summoned the masters of eloquence to show them

how many gaps the poets have left to mend.

ما ذاك إِلاّ بعض أنعُمك التي

قد عَلَّمَتُنا كيف شكر المُنْعِمِ

This is but a part of your favors,

which have taught us how to thank the benefactor.