طيف تحدر (يوم الشمال) — Jawahiri

طيفٌ تحدّرَ من وراء حجابِ

غَضِرُ الترائبِ مُثقلُ الأهدابِ

An apparition descended from behind a veil,

fresh-bosomed, heavy-lashed.

متفجرُ اليَنبوع يزخَرُ بالسَنا

ويرُشُّ وجهَ الفجرِ بالأَطْيابِ

Its spring gushes, overflowing with radiance,

and sprinkles dawn's face with perfumes.

وكأنَّ ساحرةً تُرقِّصُ حوله

أعطافَ أوديةٍ وهامَ روابي

As though a sorceress set dancing around it

the curves of valleys and the crowns of hills.

وكأنّه مما يتيه بنفسه

تِيهُ الحياة بزهوها المُنساب

And as though its pride in itself

were life's pride in its flowing splendor.

طيفٌ تحدّر سَلْسَلاً ومظِنَّتي

أنَّ الطيوفَ تعِنُّ لمحَ سراب

An apparition descended, gently flowing, though I had thought

that apparitions appear only as a mirage's flash.

حلَمت به سودُ الليالي حِقبةً

هي شرُّ ما زَرَعَت يد الأحقاب

The black nights dreamed of it through an age,

the worst the hand of ages had sown.

ثقلُ الرصاصِ وئيُدها، ووجيفُها

بِشُواظ نارٍ، أو بسوط عذاب

Their ponderous tread was lead's weight; their frantic racing

was with fiery flame, or a scourge of torment.

حلَمت به ... وأبى عليها مثلَما

حلم المشيبُ برجعةٍ لشباب

They dreamed of it, but it refused them, just as

gray hair dreamed of a return to youth.

حتى إذا بلَغَ المدى أشواطَه

ملآنَ من رَهَقٍ ومن أوصاب

Until, when the course had run its stages,

brimming with strain and afflictions,

وتسابقت فيه المنايا رُكَّضاً

كتراكض الأفراس يومَ غِلاب

and deaths raced through it at a gallop,

like horses racing on a day of contest,

وتساقتِ الدمَ والدموعَ أُخوَّةٌ

ألفَتْهما نَخْباً من الأنخاب

and brotherhood shared blood and tears as drink,

finding them a toast among toasts,

وتراجفت زُهرُ النجوم لهُولةٍ

قاني الضفائرِ، أسودِ الجِلباب

and the bright stars trembled before a horror,

crimson-tressed, black-cloaked:

إنسٌ كأنَّ الوحشَ ألقى نحوَه

ما شاءَ من ظُفُرٍ لديه وناب

humanity, as though the beast had hurled toward it

whatever claws and fangs it possessed,

متمزِّقٌ بيَدَيه يأكلُ لحمَه

ويعافُ فضلةَ زادِه للغاب

tearing itself with its hands, devouring its flesh,

and leaving its rejected scraps to the jungle;

حتى إذا اليأسُ استشاطَ مُطَوِّحاً

برجاء حُمْسٍ مؤمنينَ غِضاب

until, when despair blazed up, flinging away

the hope of fervent, believing, angry men,

شَدُّوا إلى قَدَرٍ هَزولٍ لاعبٍ

كتلاعب الصبيانِ بالدُولاب

who bound themselves to a frail, playful fate,

as children play with a wheel,

وتَوجّسوا من كلِّ صدقٍ خِيفةً

من فَرط ما صُلِبوا على كِذّاب

and feared every truth,

after being crucified so often over falsehood;

حتى إذا غزتِ العيونَ كآبةٌ

من مَزحَفٍ كدِرٍ، وجوٍّ كابي

until, when gloom invaded the eyes

from a murky advance and a leaden sky,

وترصَّدَت خَلَلَ الغيومِ زواحفاً

نِسراً يمزِّق من جَناح غُراب

and through gaps in the clouds they watched for creeping forms:

an eagle tearing at a raven's wing,

أسرى إلى الشكِّ اليقينُ يهزُّه

كالفجر يزحف من شقوق الباب

certainty stole by night into doubt, shaking it,

like dawn creeping through cracks in the door.

ثم استفاض يصكُ سمعَ مشكِّكٍ

فيه، ويدمغ ريبةَ المرتاب

Then it spread, striking the ears of those who doubted

it, and crushing the skeptic's misgivings.

وتلَقّفَتْهُ ليلةٌ مذخورةٌ

لأوانها . محصيّةٌ بكتاب

And a night received it, kept in reserve

for its appointed time, numbered in a book,

محسودةٌ حسدَ الفصولِ ربيعَها

أو حرقةَ الشوهاءِ بين كِعاب

envied as the seasons envy their spring,

or with an ugly woman's anguish among full-breasted maidens.

يا أيُّها الشيخُ الرئيس تحيةً

هي في صميم الودِّ والإعجاب

O Sheikh, O President, a greeting

from the heart of affection and admiration,

لكَ عن جميل الصنع قد أسديتَه

كفوٌ لكل كريمةٍ وثواب

to you, for the fine deed you bestowed,

worthy of every honor and reward,

وعلى جسيمِ الأمرِ قد أنجزتَه

لا بالنَكولِ به، ولا الهيّاب

and for the mighty task you accomplished,

neither shrinking from it nor fearful.

كنت المُهيبَ بأن تُقرِّبَ ساعةً

ما اسطعتَ من يومٍ أغرَّ مُهاب

You urged the hastening, by an hour,

as best you could, of a radiant, majestic day.

أفرغتَ أطماحَ العراق وأهلِه

جسداً أفضت عليه خيرَ إهاب

You cast the aspirations of Iraq and its people

into a body, clothing it in the finest skin.

ونفختَ في أملٍ حياةً حلوةً

ووضعت شاخصها بخير نصاب

And into a hope you breathed sweet life,

and set its figure upon the finest pedestal.

وأحلتَ عن بؤسٍ نعيماً رفرفاً

ونتجت روضاً عن دمٍ وتراب

And brought fluttering bliss out of misery,

and a garden out of blood and dust.

ودعوت حزبكَ أن يبادر مغنماً

هو من طِلاب الخمسةِ الأحزاب

And called upon your party to seize a prize

sought by the five parties.

وأقلُّ حبوةِ مانح قولُ الفتى:

سلِمت يمينُ المانحِ الوهّاب

And the least gift to a giver is a young man's words:

'May the generous giver's right hand be safe!'

رُمْتَ العسيرَ فكنتَ أصدقَ شاهدٍ

أنْ ليسَ من عَسِرٍ على طَلاّب

You sought the difficult and became the truest witness

that nothing is difficult for a determined seeker.

هممُ الرجال قريبةٌ من بعضها

أنى تكونُ .. لصيقةُ الأنساب

Men's resolves are close to one another,

wherever they may be, closely kin.

وتجاوبُ الرَغَبَاتِ في ذِرَواتها

أمضى وأسرعُ من سنىً جوّاب

And desires answering one another at their heights

are more penetrating and swifter than a roaming gleam.

ولقد يُجاء من الضمير لِصنوهِ

في رمشةٍ برسالةٍ وجواب

And from a conscience to its twin there may indeed come

in a blink, a message and a reply.

مرحى ليوم " الظافرين " ومرحباً

بمخاصمين أعزّةٍ أحباب

Hurrah for the day of the victors, and welcome

to adversaries, cherished and beloved,

متجانفين برغمهم فقلوبُهم

كُشُفٌ ضواحكُ، والوجوهُ نوابي

estranged despite themselves; their hearts

are open and laughing, though their faces recoil.

ألغى مسافة بينهم ما أُشربوا

من حبِّ هذي التربة المِخصاب

What they imbibed erased the distance between them:

love of this fertile soil.

خُلطت عظامُهم بها، وتعاطفت

فيها صدورُهم على الأعقاب

Their bones were mingled with it, and mutual tenderness stirred

within it, in their hearts, through succeeding generations.

وتناثرت فيها القبورُ فعندهم

في كل دار قِبلةُ المحراب

And graves were scattered through it, so they have

in every home a prayer niche to face.

ما أفظعَ الإنسان لم يدفع به

زخمُ الحياةِ بموجِها الصخّاب

How dreadful man is! He has not been driven onward

by life's surge and its clamorous waves.

ما انفكَّ رغم حضارةٍ مشبوهةٍ

مُغرىً بذبحٍ، مُولعاً بخراب

Despite a dubious civilization, he has never ceased

to be enticed by slaughter, obsessed with ruin,

خزيانَ يمسخ بقعة مخضرّةً

بُقعَ الدماءِ على الرماد الكابي

disgraced, deforming a verdant plot

into bloodstains upon gloomy ash.

لُعِنَتْ عهودٌ آثماتٌ خلفَها

من لعنة الأجيال شرُّ عِقاب

Accursed are sinful eras, followed

by the generations' curse, the worst punishment.

قد كادَ ينفلتُ الزمامُ ويدَّحي

ركبُ العراق لهَلْكةٍ وتَباب

The reins almost slipped loose, and

Iraq's caravan rolled toward destruction and ruin.

غامت به الأجواء إلا زِبرِجاً

زَيْفاً، كصبغةِ لِمَّةٍ بخضاب

The skies over it clouded, save for glitter

counterfeit, like locks colored with dye.

ومشى بها الإجدابُ حتى استعذبت

سنةً تطوف بها من الإخصاب

And barrenness spread through it, until it savored

a brief slumber of fertility passing over it.

واستوحشتْ حتى تناستْ جنّةً

كانت تظلّلُها . . لفرط يباب

And it grew so desolate that it forgot a paradise

that once shaded it, so great was the barrenness.

ودجا غدٌ، وهوت معالمُ رؤيةٍ

سمحاءَ إلا من خلال ضَباب

And tomorrow darkened; a vision's landmarks fell away,

a gracious vision, visible only through mist.

ومَشَت سُمومُ ضَغائنٍ في أنفُسٍ

ومجالسٍ، ورسالةٍ، وكتاب

And rancor's poisons crept into souls,

and assemblies, letters, and books.

قد كاد يرضعها الوليدُ براءةً

ويقيئُها حقداً على الأتراب

The newborn almost suckled them in innocence,

and vomited them as hatred toward his peers.

وتصارخ التأريخُ مما شوَّهت

منه يَراعةُ مارقٍ نصّاب

And history cried out at what was disfigured

of it by a renegade swindler's pen.

لو قيل ما غِشٌ عقوبةُ ربّه

موتٌ، لقلتُ غَشاشة الكتاب

If asked, 'What fraud earns its perpetrator

death?' I would say, 'The deceit of writers.'

ولطالما لعنت ذويها أحرفٌ

قامت لعورتهم مَقام ثياب

How often letters cursed their owners,

serving as clothes to cover their nakedness.

ناديت شيطاني فأحسَنَ جابةً

وهو المعاصي سيِّدَ الأرباب

I called my demon, and he answered well,

he who defies the Lord of lords.

يا خالبَ الألبابِ جيءْ بيتيمةٍ

هي من وَلائدِ سحرِكَ الخلاّب

O enchanter of minds, bring a peerless gem,

one of the offspring of your beguiling magic.

حلِّقْ ولا ترحمْ هناك محلّقا

حتى تجرِّره على الأعتاب

Soar, and spare no flyer there,

until you drag him across the thresholds.

كن أيها النورُ المضيءُ بنفسه

في مِهرجان الحقِّ فصلَ خطاب

Be, O light shining by itself,

the decisive word at the festival of truth.

غنِّ العراقَ بخير ما لُقنتَه

من " موصِليَّيه " .. ومن " زِرياب "

Sing of Iraq with the finest of what you were taught

by its two al-Mawsilis, and by Ziryab.

كن أيُّها النورُ المضيء مجرّةً

أبداً تمور بألفِ ألفِ شهاب

Be, O shining light, a galaxy

forever surging with a million meteors.

وأنِرْ دُروبَ الشعر إنَّ دروبَه

إن أنت لم تنهض بهنَّ كوابي

And illuminate poetry's paths, for its paths,

if you do not rise to sustain them, falter.

وكنِ الدليلَ على الضمائر تَهْدِها

سُبلَ اللُّغى، ومحَجَّة الإعراب

And be the guide of consciences, leading them

along the paths of languages and the highroad of clear expression.

واجعلْ " فراديسَ الخيالِ " هوايتي

وهوى عرائسهنَّ من آرابي

And make the paradises of imagination my passion,

and love of their brides one of my desires.

وصُغِ الحروفَ عجائباً وتَناسَها

حتى كأنَّك لم تجئْ بعُجاب

And fashion the letters into marvels, then forget them,

as though you had brought no wonder forth.

سبعونَ عاماً والليالي، مُخَّضاً

طلَقاً، يلدنَك بعد طولِ عذاب

Seventy years, while the nights, laboring,

in birth pangs, bear you after long torment.

حُشِدتْ لإرضائي فتونُك كلُّها

وكأنَّها حُشِدتْ على إغضابي

All your enchantments were mustered to please me,

as though they had been mustered to anger me.

نهبَ الزعازع، شارداً، متحرقاً

لبناء بيتٍ مُحكم الأطناب

A prey to storms, wandering, burning with longing

to build a verse with firmly fastened tent-ropes.

وتكادُ تنطِفُ من رِباط حروفه

بُقْيا جراحٍ ينتَزفْنَ رِغاب

And from the bonds of its letters there almost drip

remnants of gaping wounds still bleeding.

ما أفسَدَ الأوتارَ في فَمِ شاعرٍ

حتى يشُدَّ بها على الأعصاب

How discordant the strings in a poet's mouth,

until he draws them taut upon the nerves!

يومَ الشمال وأنت من تَطلابي

وإليكَ من عشرينَ كان خِطابي

O Day of the North, you are among my quests,

and my address to you began twenty years ago.

لم تُزو عن عيني رُؤاك ولا خَلَت

شفتايَ من نَغَمٍ ومن تَطراب

Your visions never vanished from my eyes, nor were

my lips empty of melody and rapture.

قد كنتُ منك ولستُ أبرَح قِطعةً

وهواك ظلَّ على المدى من دابي

I have been a part of you, and remain so,

and loving you has always been my habit.

ناغَيتُ أعشاش النُسور كأنّها

فوق القِبابِ نماذجٌ لِقباب

I cooed to the eagles' nests, as though they were

above the domes, models for domes.

وعلوتُ أسنِمةَ الجبال وخلتُني

منهنَّ ممتطياً مُتونَ سَحاب

And I climbed the humps of mountains, imagining myself

from their heights riding the backs of clouds.

وسمِعتُ همهمةَ الرياح مُبينةً

عمّا بها، وكأنّه عمّا بي

And I heard the murmuring of the winds, revealing

what lay within them, as though it were what lay within me.

ولممَتُ من آداب أهلِكِ باقةً

نُثِرَتْ براعِمُها على آدابي

And I gathered a bouquet from your people's literature,

whose buds were strewn upon my own writings.

وجنتْ يدايَ قُطوفَها، وترنَّحَت

قدماي في سُوحٍ له وشِعاب

And my hands gathered its fruits, while

my feet swayed in its open grounds and ravines.

وخطفت همساً من نجاوى صبوةٍ

رَفلٍ كأنداء الصباح عِذاب

And I snatched a whisper from the confidences of youthful longing,

luxuriant, sweet as morning dew.

خَلَجاتُ أحلامٍ، كأنَّ رفيفَها

هَمْسُ الربيع لروضةٍ مِعشاب

The stirrings of dreams, as though their flutter

were spring's whisper to a grassy garden.

ورؤى تَمازَجُ لا تُبينُ كصَحْوةٍ

في غَفْوةٍ، أو حَضْرةٍ بغيَاب

And visions blending, indistinct, like wakefulness

within a doze, or presence in absence.

يومَ الشمال وفي ضَخامةِ باعثٍ

عُذْرٌ يقومُ بتُهمةِ الإطناب

O Day of the North, in the greatness of the impulse

lies an excuse against the charge of prolixity.

أنا في رِكابِ الشعرِ ما لم أَحدُه

فإذا حَدَوتُ فإنَّه برِكابي

I travel in poetry's caravan until I sing it onward;

and when I do, it travels in mine.

صُغْتُ القوفي فيكَ أنتَ مُثارهُا

وإليكَ حُسنُ مَردَّةٍ ومَثاب

I fashioned rhymes for you; you stirred them,

and to you belong their fair return and homecoming.

من حُرِّ بأسِكَ وقدُها، ونسيجُها

من نَسجِ درع المستميتِ الآبي

Their kindling comes from your pure valor; their weave

from the armor of an unbowed fighter ready to die.

ووَفَيتُ حتى إذ كفاني مَوْهنا

بؤسُ التغرُّب ذلّةَ الإرهاب

And I kept faith, until, though weakened, I was spared

by exile's misery the humiliation of terror.

واليومَ أُلقي للفداة بِحصّتي

وعلى ثَواب الواهبين ثَوابي

And today I offer the redeemers my share,

and my reward joins the reward of the givers.

يومَ الشَمال وليسَ يومَك وحدَه

هو يومُ كلِّ محَلةٍ وجَناب

O Day of the North, your day is not yours alone:

it is the day of every neighborhood and region.

هو يومُ رَهْطِ الشِّعر والآداب

وتلاحُمِ الأقطاب والأقطاب

It is the day of the company of poetry and letters,

and the joining of poles with poles.

هو يَومُ أعراسِ العِراق بما انجَلَتْ

من غَمْرة كالعِثْيَر المُنجاب

It is the day of Iraq's weddings, with the lifting

of turmoil, like a cloud of dust dispersing.

هو " يومُ بغدادٍ " يُصافِقُ دجلةً

فيها ط الفراتُ " بمُتْرَع الأكواب

It is Baghdad's day: clasping hands with the Tigris

there is the Euphrates, with brimming cups.

كانتْ شريكَك في بلائِكَ كلِّه

وحَليفَ روحِك في الأذَى المُنتاب

She shared in all your affliction,

and was your spirit's ally in recurring hurt,

حَرّانةً في ليلةٍ ونَهارِها

غصّانةً في مَطْعَم وشَراب

parched through a night and its day,

choking over food and drink.

وكأنَّما كانتْ يُقِضُّ وِسادَها

ما في وِسادكَ من رُؤوسِ حِراب

And it was as though her pillow was made harsh

by the spearheads in your own.

كانت تَرَى الإرْثَ المقسَّم بينَها

نَهْبَ الخُطوبِ السُودِ كالأسلاب

She saw the heritage divided between her and you

as prey to black calamities, like spoils,

وشِعافَ تاريخٍ لُبابٍ نابضٍ

قِطعاً يَحُزُّ بها كَحَزِّ رِقاب

and the peaks of a history, a pulsing core,

in pieces, hewn as necks are hewn.

ولَشِرْكةُ الأفراح أهونُ مَنفَذاً

في أُلْفةٍ من شِرْكةٍ بمُصاب

Sharing joys is surely an easier way

into fellowship than sharing misfortune.