ألم تر أن الجهل أقصر باطله — Jarir

أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّ الجَهلَ أَقصَرَ باطِلُه

وَأَمسى عَماءً قَد تَجَلَّت مَخايِلُه

Have you not seen that folly's falsehood has ceased,

and become a dark cloud whose signs now stand revealed?

أَجِنُّ الهَوى أَم طائِرُ البَينِ شَفَّني

بِجُمدِ الصَفا تَنعابُهُ وَمَحاجِلُه

Is it love's madness, or the bird of parting, that has wasted me,

at Jumd al-Safa, with its cawing and its hopping?

لَعَلَّكَ مَحزونٌ لِعِرفانِ مَنزِلٍ

مُحيلٍ بِوادي القَريَتَينِ مَنازِلُه

Perhaps you grieve at recognizing a dwelling,

its sites weatherworn in the valley of al-Qaryatayn.

فَإِنّي وَلَو لامَ العَواذِلُ مولَعٌ

بِحُبِّ الغَضا مِن حُبِّ مَن لا يُزايِلُه

For I, though the reproaching women blame me, am enamored

of the ghada trees, for love of one who never leaves them.

وَذا مَرَخٍ أَحبَبتُ مِن حُبِّ أَهلِهِ

وَحَيثُ اِنتَهَت في الرَوضَتَينِ مَسايِلُه

And I have loved Dhu Marakh for love of its people,

and where its watercourses end in al-Rawdatayn.

أَتَنسى لِطولِ العَهدِ أَم أَنتَ ذاكِرٌ

خَليلَكَ ذا الوَصلِ الكَريمِ شَمائِلُه

Do you forget through the long lapse of time, or do you remember

your beloved, a giver of affection, noble in his ways?

لَحَبَّ بِنارٍ أوقِدَت بَينَ مُحلِبٍ

وَفَردَةَ لَو يَدنو مِنَ الحَبلِ واصِلُه

How dear is a fire kindled between Muhlib

and Fardah, if only the one who joins the bond would draw near!

وَقَد كانَ أَحياناً بِيَ الشَوقُ مولَعاً

إِذا الطَرِفُ الظَعّانُ رُدَّت حَمائِلُه

At times yearning would cling to me,

when the departing steed had its straps drawn back.

فَلَمّا اِلتَقى الحَيّانِ أُلقِيَتِ العَصا

وَماتَ الهَوى لَمّا أُصيبَت مَقاتِلُه

But when the two clans met, the staff was laid down,

and love died when its vital spots were struck.

لَقَد طالَ كِتماني أُمامَةَ حُبَّها

فَهَذا أَوانُ الحُبِّ تَبدو شَواكِلُه

Long have I concealed my love from Umamah;

now is the time for love's signs to appear.

إِذا حُلِّيَت فَالحَليُ مِنها بِمَعقِدٍ

مَليحٍ وَإِلّا لَم تَشِنها مَعاطِلُه

When she is adorned, her jewelry rests upon a setting

most lovely; otherwise, its bare places do not mar her.

وَقالَ اللَواتي كُنَّ فيها يَلُمنَني

لَعَلَّ الهَوى يَومَ المُغَيزِلِ قاتِلُه

The women who used to reproach me over her said,

'Perhaps love will kill him on the day of al-Mughayzil.'

وَقُلنَ تَرَوَّح لا تَكُن لَكَ ضَيعَةً

وَقَلبَكَ لا تَشغَل وَهُنَّ شَواغِلُه

They said, 'Take your ease; do not be your own undoing,

and do not preoccupy your heart'—though they themselves preoccupy it.

وَيَومٍ كَإِبهامِ القَطاةِ مُزَيَّنٍ

إِلَيَّ صِباهُ غالِبٍ لِيَ باطِلُه

And a day like a sandgrouse's toe, its youthful pleasures made lovely

to me, its vain delights overpowering me—

لَهَوتُ بِجِنِّيٍّ عَلَيهِ سُموطُهُ

وَإِنسٌ مَجاليهِ وَأُنسٌ شَمائِلُه

I dallied with a spirit adorned with necklaces,

human in appearance, delightful in disposition.

فَما مُغزِلٌ أَدماءُ تَحنو لِشادِنٍ

كَطَوقِ الفَتاةِ لَم تُشَدَّد مَفاصِلُه

No pale gazelle-mother bending tenderly toward a fawn,

like a girl's necklace, its joints not yet firm,

بِأَحسَنَ مِنها يَومَ قالَت أَناظِرٌ

إِلى اللَيلِ بَعضَ النَيلِ أَم أَنتَ عاجِلُه

was lovelier than she when she asked, 'Will you defer

some favor until night, or would you hasten it?'

فَلَو كانَ هاذا الحُبُّ حُبّاً سَلَوتُهُ

وَلَكِنَّهُ داءٌ تَعودُ عَقابِلُه

If this love were merely love, I would have forgotten it;

but it is a sickness whose relapses return.

وَلَم أَنسَ يَوماً بِالعَقيقِ تَخايَلَت

ضُحاهُ وَطابَت بِالعَشِيِّ أَصائِلُه

Nor have I forgotten a day at al-Aqiq: splendid was

its morning, and sweet were its late hours at dusk.

رُزِقنا بِهِ الصَيدَ الغَزيرَ وَلَم أَكُن

كَمَن نَبلُهُ مَحرومَةٌ وَحَبائِلُه

We were granted plentiful quarry there, and I was not

like one whose arrows and snares go unrewarded.

ثَوانِيَ أَجيادٍ يُوَدِّعنَ مَن صَحا

وَمَن بَثُّهُ عَن حاجَةِ اللَهوِ شاغِلُه

With graceful necks bent, they bade farewell to whoever had sobered,

and whoever was kept from seeking pleasure by his sorrow.

فَأَيهاتَ أَيهاتَ العَقيقُ وَمَن بِهِ

وَأَيهاتَ وَصلٌ بِالعَقيقِ تُواصِلُه

Far, far away are al-Aqiq and those there,

and far away a union at al-Aqiq that you might renew.

لَنا حاجَةٌ فَاِنظُر وَراءَكَ هَل تَرى

بِرَوضِ القَطا الحَيَّ المُرَوَّحَ جامِلُه

We have a need: look behind you—do you see

at Rawd al-Qata the clan whose camel herd was brought home at dusk?

رِعانٌ أَجاً مِثلُ الفَوالِجِ دونَهُم

وَرَملٌ حَبَت أَنقاؤُهُ وَخَمائِلُه

The spurs of Aja, like great camels, lie between us and them,

and sand, its dunes and thickets creeping along.

رَدَدنا لَشَعثاءَ الرَسولَ وَلا أَرى

كَيَومَئِذٍ شَيءً تُرَدُّ رَسائِلُه

We sent the messenger back to Sha'tha; I see nothing

like that day, whose messages were returned.

فَلَو كُنتَ عِندي يَومَ قَوٍّ عَذَرتَني

بِيَومٍ زَهَتني جِنُّهُ وَأَخابِلُه

Had you been with me on the day of Qaww, you would have excused me

for a day whose spirits and delusions swept me away.

يَقُلنَ إِذا ما حَلَّ دَينُكَ عِندَنا

وَخَيرُ الَّذي يُقضى مِنَ الدينِ عاجِلُه

They say, 'When your debt with us falls due—

and the best repayment of a debt is prompt—

لَكَ الخَيرُ لا نَقضيكَ إِلّا نَسيئَةً

مِنَ الدَينِ أَو عَرضاً فَهَل أَنتَ قابِلُه

may you prosper! We shall repay you only with deferred payment

of the debt, or goods in kind; will you accept that?'

أَمِن ذِكرِ لَيلى وَالرُسومِ الَّتي خَلَت

بِنَعفِ المُنَقّى راجَعَ القَلبَ خابِلُه

Is it from remembering Layla and the deserted traces

on the slope of al-Munaqqa that the heart's madness has returned?

عَشِيَّةَ بِعنا الحِلمَ بِالجَهلِ وَاِنتَحَت

بِنا أَريَحِيّاتُ الصِبا وَمَجاهِلُه

On the evening we traded wisdom for folly, and were carried away

by youth's exuberance and its reckless ways.

وَذالِكَ يَومٌ خَيرُهُ دونَ شَرِّهِ

تَغَيَّبَ واشيهِ وَأَقصَرَ عاذِلُه

That was a day whose good fell short of its evil;

its talebearer was absent, and its reproacher desisted.

وَخَرقٍ مِنَ المَوماةِ أَزوَرَ لا تُرى

مِنَ البُعدِ إِلّا بَعدَ خَمسٍ مَناهِلُه

And a wide, winding waste of desert, whose waterholes

lay so far away that they appeared only after five days,

قَطَعتُ بِشَجعاءِ الفُؤادِ نَجيبَةٍ

مَروحٍ إِذا ما النِسعُ غُرِّزَ فاضِلُه

I crossed on a noble she-camel, courageous of heart,

lively whenever the girth's loose end was tucked away.

وَقَد قَلَّصَت عَن مَنزِلٍ غادَرَت بِهِ

مِنَ اللَيلِ جَوناً لَم تُفَرَّج غَياطِلُه

She had hurried from a halting place where she left

a dark mass of night, its dense shadows still unparted,

وَأَجلادَ مَضغوفٍ كَأَنَّ عِظامَهُ

عُروقُ الرَخامى لَم تُشَدَّد مَفاصِلُه

and the frame of a weakened man whose bones were like

rakhama roots, his joints not made firm.

وَيَدمى أَظَلّاها عَلى كُلِّ حَرَّةٍ

إِذا اِستَعرَضَت مِنها حَريزاً تُناقِلُه

Her two sole-pads bleed upon every lava field,

when she encounters a hard stretch and shifts her feet across it.

أَنَخنا فَسَبَّحنا وَنَوَّرَتِ السُرى

بِأَعرافِ وَردِ اللَونِ بُلقٍ شَواكِلُه

We made our mounts kneel and praised God; the night journey grew bright

with rosy crests, its flanks streaked white.

وَأَنصِبُ وَجهي لِلسَمومِ وَدونَها

شَماطيطُ عَرضِيٍّ تَطيرُ رَعابِلُه

I set my face toward the scorching wind, with between us

scraps of Ardi cloth, its tatters flying.

لَنا إِبِلٌ لَم تَستَجِر غَيرَ قَومِها

وَغَيرَ القَنا صُمّاً تُهَزُّ عَوامِلُه

We have camels that sought protection from none but their people

and stout spears whose upper shafts are brandished.

رَعَت مَنبِتَ الضَمرانِ مِن سَبَلِ المِعي

إِلى صُلبِ أَعيارٍ تُرِنُّ مَساحِلُه

They grazed where damran grows, from Sabal al-Mi'i

to the ridge of A'yar, where wild asses bray.

سَقَتها الثُرَيّا ديمَةً وَاِستَقَت بِها

غُروبَ سِماكِيٍّ تَهَلَّلَ وابِلُه

The Pleiades watered them with steady rain, drawing with it

buckets from a Simak-cloud whose downpour streamed.

تَرى لِحَبِيِّيهِ رَباباً كَأَنَّهُ

غَوادي نَعامٍ يَنفُضُ الزِفَّ جافِلُه

You see low cloud beneath its two piled cloudbanks, as though it were

ostriches going out at dawn, the fleeing ones shaking their down.

تَراعي مَطافيلَ المَها وَيَروعُها

ذُبابُ النَدى تَغريدُهُ وَصَواهِلُه

They watch the oryx mothers, and what startles them is

the dew-fly's chirping and its neighing.

إِذا حاوَلَ الناسُ الشُؤونَ وَحاذَروا

زَلازِلَ أَمرٍ لَم تَرُعها زَلازِلُه

When people undertook affairs and feared

an affair's upheavals, those upheavals did not frighten them.

يُبيحُ لَها عَمروٌ وَحَنظَلَةُ الحِمى

وَيَدفَعُ رُكنُ الفِزرِ عَنها وَكاهِلُه

Amr and Hanzalah open the protected pasture to them,

and al-Fizr's mainstay and backbone shield them.

بَني مالِكٍ مَن كانَ لِلحَيِّ مَعقِلاً

إِذا نَظَرَ المَكروبُ أَينَ مَعاقِلُه

O Banu Malik, who was a refuge for the clan

when the distressed man looked for his strongholds?

بِذي نَجَبٍ ذُدنا وَواكَلَ مالِكٌ

أَخاً لَم يَكُن عِندَ الطِعانِ يُواكِلُه

At Dhu Najab we drove them back, while Malik failed

a brother who never failed him amid the thrusting spears.

تَفُشُّ بَنو جَوخى الخَزيرَ وَخَيلُنا

تُشَظّي قِلالَ الحَزنِ يَومَ تُناقِلُه

Banu Jawkha blow upon their porridge, while our horses

splinter the heights of rugged ground as they bound across it.

أَقَمنا بِما بَينَ الشَرَبَّةِ وَالمَلا

تُغَنّي اِبنَ ذي الجَدَّينِ فينا سَلاسِلُه

We stayed between al-Sharabbah and al-Mala,

where Ibn Dhi al-Jaddayn's chains sang among us.

وَنَحنُ صَبَحنا المَوتَ بِشراً وَرَهطَهُ

صُراحاً وَجادَ اِبنَي هُجَيمَةَ وابِلُه

We brought death upon Bishr and his company at morning,

unmixed; its torrent rained upon the two sons of Hujaymah.

أَلا تَسأَلونَ الناسَ مَن يُنهِلُ القَنا

وَمَن يَمنَعُ الثَغرَ المَخوفَ تَلاتِلُه

Will you not ask the people who slakes the spears,

and whose hosts defend the dreaded frontier?

لَنا كُلُّ مَشبوبٍ يُرَوّى بِكَفِّهِ

جَناحا سِنانٍ دَيلَمِيٍّ وَعامِلُه

Ours is every ardent youth, by whose hand are slaked

the two wings of a Daylamite spearhead and its upper shaft.

يُقَلِّصُ بِالفَضلَينِ فَضلِ مُفاضَةٍ

وَفَضلِ نِجادٍ لَم تُقَطَّع حَمائِلُه

He moves swiftly with two trailing lengths: the skirt of flowing mail,

and the length of a sword-belt whose straps have not been cut.

وَعَمّي رَئيسُ الدَهمِ يَومَ قُراقِرٍ

فَكانَ لَنا مِرباعُهُ وَنَوافِلُه

My uncle led the dark host on the day of Quraqir,

so his quarter-share and his extra spoils were ours.

وَكانَ لَنا خَرجٌ مُقيمٌ عَلَيهِمُ

وَأَسلابُ جَبّارِ المُلوكِ وَجامِلُه

We had a continuing tribute imposed upon them,

and the plunder of the tyrant among kings, and his camel herd.

أَتَهجونَ يَربوعاً وَأَترُكُ دارِماً

تَهَدَّمَ أَعلى جَفرِكُم وَأَسافِلُه

Do you lampoon Yarbu' while I leave Darim alone?

The top of your pit has crumbled, and its depths.

وَدَهمٍ كَجُنحِ اللَيلِ زُرنا بِهِ العِدى

لَهُ عِثيَرٌ مِمّا تُثيرُ قَنابِلُه

And with a dark host, like night's wing, we visited the enemy,

its dust rising from what its squadrons stir up.

إِذا سَوَّموا لَم تَمنَعِ الأَرضُ مِنهُمُ

حَريداً وَلَم تَمنَع حَريزاً مَعاقِلُه

When they send their horses forth, the land cannot shelter from them

a solitary man, nor can strongholds protect a well-defended one.

نَحوطُ الحِمى وَالخَيلُ عادِيَةٌ بِنا

كَما ضَرَبَت في يَومِ طَلٍّ أَجادِلُه

We guard the protected pasture, our horses charging with us,

as falcons strike on a day of drizzle.

أَغَرَّكَ أَن قيلَ الفَرَزدَقُ مَرَّةً

وَذو السِنِّ يُخصى بَعدَما شَقَّ بازِلُه

Were you deceived because the name al-Farazdaq was once spoken?

An aged beast can be gelded after its fang has erupted.

فَإِنَّكَ قَد جارَيتَ لا مُتَكَلِّفاً

وَلا شَنِجاً يَومَ الرِهانِ أَباجِلُه

For you have raced no straining pretender,

nor one whose leg-sinews are cramped on the day of the wager.

أَنا البَدرُ يُعشي طَرفَ عَينَيكَ فَاِلتَمِس

بِكَفَّيكَ يا اِبنَ القَينِ هَل أَنتَ نائِلُه

I am the full moon, dazzling your eyes' sight; try to reach

with your two hands, son of the smith—can you attain it?

لَبِستُ أَداتي وَالفَرَزدَقُ لُعبَةٌ

عَلَيهِ وِشاحا كُرَّجٍ وَجَلاجِلُه

I have donned my armor, while al-Farazdaq is a plaything,

wearing a hobby-horse's two sashes and its bells.

أَعِدّوا مَعَ الحَليِ المَلابَ فَإِنَّما

جَريرٌ لَكُم بَعلٌ وَأَنتُم حَلائِلُه

Ready saffron perfume with the ornaments, for

Jarir is your husband, and you are his wives.

وَأَعطوا كَما أَعطَت عَوانٌ حَليلَها

أَقَرَّت لِبَعلٍ بَعدَ بَعلٍ تُراسِلُه

And give as a mature woman gave to her husband,

submitting to husband after husband, sending him messages.

أَنا الدَهرُ يُفني المَوتَ وَالدَهرُ خالِدٌ

فَجِئني بِمِثلِ الدَهرِ شَيئاً يُطاوِلُه

I am Time, which annihilates death, while Time is everlasting;

so bring me something like Time to rival it.

أَمِن سَفَهِ الأَحلامِ جاؤوا بِقِردِهِم

إِلَيَّ وَما قِردٌ لِقَرمٍ يُصاوِلُه

Was it from foolishness of mind that they brought their monkey

to me? No monkey can contend with a noble camel-stallion.

تَغَمَّدَهُ آذِيُّ بَحرٍ فَغَمَّهُ

وَأَلقاهُ في في الحوتِ فَالحوتُ آكِلُه

A sea's surging waves engulfed him and smothered him,

and cast him into the whale's mouth—the whale devours him.

فَإِن كُنتَ يا اِبنَ القَينِ رائِمَ عِزِّنا

فَرُم حَضَناً فَاِنظُر مَتى أَنتَ نائِلُه

If, son of the smith, you seek our glory,

then seek Hadan, and see when you can reach it.

بَنى الخَطَفى حَتّى رَضينا بِناءَهُ

فَهَل أَنتَ إِن لَم يُرضِكَ القَينُ قاتِلُه

Al-Khatafa built until we were pleased with his building;

will you kill the smith if he fails to please you?

بَنَينا بِناءً لَم تَنالوا فُروعَهُ

وَهَدَّمَ أَعلى ما بَنَيتُم أَسافِلُه

We built a structure whose heights you never reached;

the foundations of what you built brought down its summit.

وَما بِكَ رَدٌّ لِلأَوابِدِ بَعدَما

سَبَقنَ كَسَبقِ السَيفِ ما قالَ عاذِلُه

You have no power to recall the runaway verses, once

they have raced ahead, as the sword outruns its reproacher's words.

سَتَلقى ذُبابي طائِفاً كانَ يُتَّقى

وَتَقطَعُ أَضعافَ المُتونِ أَخايِلُه

You will meet my sword-edge, a circling specter long dreaded,

whose apparitions cut through the folds of backs.

وَما هَجَمَ الأَقيانُ بَيتاً بِبَيتِهِم

وَلا القَينُ عَن دارِ المَذَلَّةِ ناقِلُه

The smiths have never assailed a house with their own,

nor can the smith move his house from the abode of humiliation.

وَما نَحنُ أَعطَينا أُسَيدَةَ حُكمَها

لِعانٍ أُعِضَّت في الحَديدِ سَلاسِلُه

It was not we who granted Usaydah her judgment

over a captive whose chains were clamped in iron.

وَلَسنا بِذَبحِ الجَيشِ يَومَ أُوارَةٍ

وَلَم يَستَبِحنا عامِرٌ وَقَنابِلُه

Nor were we the slaughtered army on the day of Uwarah,

nor did Amir and his squadrons overrun us.

عَرَفتُم بَني عَبسٍ عَشِيَّةَ أَقرُنٍ

فَخُلِّيَ لِلجَيشِ اللِواءُ وَحامِلُه

You came to know Banu Abs on the evening of Aqrun,

and the banner and its bearer were left to the army.

وَعِمرانُ يَومَ الأَقرَعَينِ كَأَنَّما

أَناخَ بِذي قُرطَينِ خُرسٍ خَلاخِلُه

And Imran on the day of al-Aqra'ayn was as though

he had made his camel kneel beside one with two earrings and silent anklets.

وَلَم يَبقَ في سَيفِ الفَرَزدَقِ مِحمَلٌ

وَفي سَيفِ ذَكوانَ بنِ عَمروٍ مَحامِلُه

No carrying-strap remained on al-Farazdaq's sword,

while Dhakwan ibn Amr's sword retained its carrying-straps.

وَيَرضَعُ مَن لاقى وَإِن يَلقَ مُقعَداً

يَقودُ بِأَعمى فَالفَرَزدَقُ سائِلُه

He suckles from whoever he meets; even if he meets a cripple

leading a blind man, al-Farazdaq begs from him.

إِذا وَضَعَ السِربالَ قالَت مُجاشِعٌ

لَهُ مَنكِبا حَوضِ الحِمارِ وَكاهِلُه

When he takes off his shirt, Mujashi' says,

'He has the shoulders and withers of a donkey's trough.'

عَلى حَفَرِ السيدانِ لاقَيتَ خِزيَةً

وَيَومَ الرَحا لَم يُنقِ ثَوبَكَ غاسِلُه

At Hafar al-Sidan you encountered disgrace,

and on the day of al-Raha no washer cleansed your garment.

أَحارِثُ خُذ مَن شِئتَ مِنّا وَمِنهُمُ

وَدَعنا نَقِس مَجداً تُعَدُّ فَواضِلُه

O Harith, take whomever you wish from us and from them,

and let us measure glory whose excellences can be counted.

فَما في كِتابِ اللَهِ تَهديمُ دارِنا

بِتَهديمِ ماخورٍ خَبيثٍ مَداخِلُه

In God's Book, the demolition of our house is not

like the demolition of a brothel whose entrances are foul.

وَفي مُخدَعٍ مِنهُ النَوارُ وَشَربُهُ

وَفي مُخدَعٍ أَكيارُهُ وَمَراجِلُه

In one chamber of it are al-Nawar and his drinking companions,

and in another chamber are his bellows and his cauldrons.

تَميلُ بِهِ شَربُ الحَوانيتِ رائِحاً

إِذا حَرَّكَت أَوتارَ صَنجٍ أَنامِلُه

The tavern-drinkers make him sway as he goes at evening,

when his fingers set a harp's strings vibrating.

وَلَستَ بِذي دَرءٍ وَلا ذي أَرومَةٍ

وَما تُعطَ مِن ضَيمٍ فَإِنَّكَ قابِلُه

You have neither resistance nor noble roots,

and whatever oppression you are given, you accept it.

جَزِعتُم إِلى صَنّاجَةٍ هَرَوِيَّةٍ

عَلى حينِ لا يَلقى مَعَ الجِدِّ باطِلُه

In panic you turned to a female harpist from Herat,

at a time when his frivolity cannot confront earnestness.

إِذا صَقَلوا سَيفاً ضَرَبنا بِنَصلِهِ

وَعادَ إِلَينا جَفنُهُ وَحَمائِلُه

When they polished a sword, we struck with its blade,

and its scabbard and carrying-straps returned to us.