عذيري من حليف ذي خصال — Khalil Mardam Bek

عذيري من حليفٍ ذي خصالِ

بذائِعُها تجلُّ عن المثالِ

Who will defend me against an ally whose traits

Are so outrageous that they defy comparison?

أتى ضيفاً فأصبحَ ربَّ بيتٍ

يحكَّمُ بالقطينِ وبالميال

He came as a guest, then became master of the house,

Ruling over the household and its wealth.

وسمّى نفسَه قَسْراً وصيّاً

عليَّ مفوّضاً في كلّ حال

He forcibly named himself a guardian

Over me, with full authority in every circumstance.

وَما أنا باليتيم ولم أكُنْهُ

ولا شيخٌ دقيق العظمِ بال

I am no orphan, nor have I ever been one,

Nor a worn-out old man with frail bones.

وسمّى نفسَه دهراً وليّاً

فساواني بربّاتِ الحِجال

For an age he called himself my guardian,

Equating me with the women of curtained chambers.

ومنتدياً عليَّ برغمِ أنفي

ولستُ بقاصرٍ يوم النزال

And a mandate-holder over me, against my will,

Though I am no minor on the day of combat.

يضنُّ عليَّ من مالي وَيسخو

عَلَى غيري بميرائي ومالي

He begrudges me my own wealth, yet gives generously

To others from my provisions and my money.

يعلمني الخشونةَ في معاشي

وَيَنْعَمُ بالأطايبِ من غلالي

He teaches me hardship in my livelihood,

While enjoying delicacies from my harvests.

وَيحملني عَلَى زهْدٍ مريرٍ

ويأخذُ كلّ مرتخصٍ وَغالي

He forces me into bitter austerity,

And takes everything cheap and costly.

وَيأبى لي الغنى كَسْباً حلالاً

وَيأْخذُ بالحرام أو الحلال

He denies me wealth lawfully earned,

Yet takes by unlawful means or lawful.

وَأخوف ما يخاف عليَّ منه

وَينذرني به شرَّ الوبال

And what he most fears might harm me,

Warning me of the worst calamity from it,

هو الذهبُ الذي جمعتْ جُدودي

عَلَى الأيامِ والحججِ الخوالي

Is the gold my forefathers amassed

Through the days and the years gone by.

نفضتُ له الجرابَ وكلَّ جيبٍ

وقَوْصرةٍ وَما تحت الرحال

I emptied for him my sack and every pocket,

Every palm-leaf basket, and what lay beneath the saddles.

فبدّلني جزاه الله عني

عَلَى حسبِ المقاصدِ والفعال

Then he gave me in exchange—may God repay him for me,

According to his intentions and his deeds—

قراطيساً عليها (رأس مهرٍ)

وَقاها الله من (رأْس الغزال)

Sheets of paper bearing a foal's head,

May God protect them from the gazelle's head!

تطيرُ مع الهوا يوماً وَيوماً

تذوبُ إذا أُصيبتُ بالبلال

One day they fly with the wind, and another day

They dissolve when touched by moisture.

وتأكلُ نفسَها إنْ لم ينلها

فسادُ العثِّ أو قرض النمال

They consume themselves, unless they are beset

By the ravages of moths or the gnawing of ants.

وَتنقضُ وَهي في جيبي وَتبلى

فأرثي للنواقص والبوالي

They crumble in my pocket and wear out,

So I lament the dwindling and the worn-out ones.

وَتعجز كالعجائز عن صعودٍ

وتهبط للبلى بخطىً عجال

Like old women, they are unable to climb,

And descend toward decay with hurried steps.

رَعى سِربي فأجَدَبَ كلَّ مرعى

فكاد يموت عن فَرْطِ الهزال

He tended my flock and made every pasture barren,

Till it nearly died of extreme emaciation.

وَباعدَ بين إخوانٍ وَأهلٍ

فلجّوا في التقاطعِ والتَقالي

He drove brothers and kin apart,

And they persisted in estrangement and mutual hatred.

وشاركني فكان الغُرمَ حظي

وَخُصِّصَ بالغنيمَةِ والنوال

He took me as a partner, and loss was my portion,

While he alone was allotted spoils and bounty.

ومن حبِ السلامِ حوى سلاحي

ليكفيني ممارسةَ القتال

Out of love for peace he took my weapons,

To spare me the practice of fighting.

وأنقض بعد ذا ظهري بعبءٍ

يؤودُ الراسيات من الجبال

Then he weighed down my back with a burden

That would weigh down the firmly rooted mountains.

فدرّبني عَلى حملِ الرزايا

وَأوصاني بصبرٍ واحتمال

He trained me to bear calamities,

And enjoined patience and endurance upon me.

وكَمَّ فمي عن الشكوى لكيلا

يسير بغيبةٍ يوماً مقالي

He gagged my mouth against complaint, lest

My words should one day circulate as slander.

وَأحرجني فأخرجني فلما

رآني بالمنية لا أُبالي

He pressed me hard and drove me out; then, when

He saw that I cared nothing for death,

دعاني للتفاهم بعد أخذٍ

وَردٍّ واختلافٍ واقتتال

He called me to an understanding, after give

And take, disagreement and fighting.

وَعانقني بزنديه احتفاءً

وصافحني بهزٍ واحتفال

He warmly embraced me with his two forearms,

And shook my hand with vigorous ceremony.

فطوّقني بأدهى من أفاعي

وَشَدَّ يدي عَلَى حدِّ النصال

Then he encircled me with something deadlier than vipers,

And gripped my hand upon the edges of blades.

وهشَّ وبشَّ مبتسماً فيا مَنْ

رأى ذئباً تبسَّم للسِخال

He beamed and smiled in welcome—oh, who

Has seen a wolf smile at lambs?

وأقْسمَ لا يفاوضنا إذا لمْ

نظل من السكينةِ في ظلال

He swore he would not negotiate with us unless

We remained in the shade of tranquility.

فخفَّضَ صوتَه حتى المنادي

وما جهر المؤذنُ والمتالي

So even the herald lowered his voice,

Nor did the muezzin or the reciters speak aloud.

وعاهدني وسمّاني حليفاً

فَلَمْ أشققْ عليه ولم أُغال

He made a pact with me and named me an ally,

And I neither pressed him hard nor asked too much.

تقبّلتُ القليلَ النَزْرَ وعداً

يكدر بالتعللِ والمطال

I accepted a scant little as a promise,

Clouded by excuses and procrastination.

وليس لغلةِ الصادي شفاءٌ

ببرقٍ خلَّبٍ أو لمع آل

Yet there is no cure for a thirsty man's burning thirst

In rainless lightning or the gleam of a mirage.

وواعدني إلى أجلٍ مسمى

يكون قضاؤه عهدَ انتقال

He made me a promise for an appointed time,

Its passage to be a period of transition.

فكاد يكون من مكرٍ وكيدٍ

ودسٍ عصر فوضى واختلال

But through cunning and plotting it nearly became,

And intrigue, an age of chaos and disorder.

لقينا في سبيل العهدِ ما لَمْ

نلاق مِنْ انتدابٍ واحتلال

In pursuing the treaty we suffered what we had not

Suffered under mandate and occupation.

فكم من حاذقٍ فَطِنٍ تغابى

وداهيةٍ تظاهر بالخبال

How many a skilled, perceptive man played the fool,

And a cunning man pretended to be mad!

وكم من ضابطٍ أو مستشارٍ

تحذلق بالتجنّي والدلال

And how many an officer or adviser

Affected cleverness with false accusations and airs!

تحدانا معاكسةً وكيداً

وَأعيانا بأشباهِ الرجال

He challenged us with obstruction and intrigue,

And exhausted us with mere semblances of men.

وَخامَرَ كلَّ فَدْمٍ أو زنيمٍ

وَشايَع من طواغيتِ الضلال

He consorted with every dullard or baseborn fellow,

And sided with some of the tyrants of misguidance.

أتذكرُ إذْ تجنّى الذئبُ يوماً

عَلى حَمَلٍ بتكديرِ الزلال؟

Do you remember when the wolf once falsely accused

A lamb of muddying the clear water?

إذا استنجزت مَنْ عاهدتَ وَعداً

تشاغل بالتنحنحِ والسُعال

When you ask the one you made a pact with to fulfill a promise,

He busies himself with throat-clearing and coughing.

ويسمعني إذا استوضحت منه

وليس بشاعرٍ لغةَ الخيال

When I ask him for clarification, he makes me hear—

Though he is no poet—the language of fantasy.

يقول الإنكليز أبَتْ وَهذي

جيوشُ التركِ تنذر بالصيال

He says, “The English have refused, and these

Turkish armies threaten an attack.

وَما يدريك أن يحتجَّ ناس

عَلَى التصديقِ في القطب الشمالي؟

And who knows whether people might object

To ratification at the North Pole?”

وَجرّدَ سيفَه عشرين عاماً

لتأديبِ (العصاة) من الأهالي

For twenty years he drew his sword

To discipline the “rebels” among the inhabitants.

فلما اجتاحتِ الغرباءُ داري

شكا السيفَ الجزازَ من الكلال

But when strangers swept into my home,

He complained that his keen-cutting sword was blunt.

سلِ (الإسكندرونة) عن أُمورٍ

من الإغرابِ لم تخطرْ ببال

Ask Alexandretta about things

So strange they never crossed anyone's mind.

أمِن إربِ السياسةِ خذلُ حلفٍ

وإيثارُ الخصيمِ عَلَى المُوالي؟

Is betraying an alliance among the aims of politics,

And favoring an adversary over a loyal ally?

وَربّ روايةٍ سمجتْ وَطالتْ

بأطرافِ (الجزيرة) والأعالي

Many a play grew tedious and long

On the outskirts of al-Jazira and in the uplands.

أليس من السماجةِ أن صوتَ ال

ملقنِ من وراء الستر عال؟

Is it not absurd that the voice of the

Prompter behind the curtain is loud?

وأشخاص الروايةِ من ذكورٍ

ونسوانٍ قرود أو سَعالُ

The characters in the play, male

And female, are monkeys or she-ghouls.

نَزَتْ تَسْتَنُّ في الميدانِ جربى

وقرعى والعجاف من الفصال

Mangy creatures leapt, galloping in the arena,

And bald ones, and gaunt camel-calves.

وأحجمتِ العتاقُ منَ المذاكي

تملْمل في اللِّجامِ وبالشِكال

While the thoroughbred, mature steeds hung back,

Restless in their bridles and hobbles.

أتحرقني بنفطي في بلادي

وَتورثُها الصعاليك الجوالي؟

Will you burn me with my own oil in my own land,

And bequeath it to wandering outcasts?

ولم أذنبْ وَما قارفتُ إثْماً

سوى أني وَصلتُ بكُمْ حِبالي

I committed no offense and did no sin,

Except that I fastened my ropes to you.

هبوا أنَّ الأصاغرَ خالفونا

فَلِمْ تصغون للهمجِ الضئال

Suppose the lesser men opposed us;

Then why do you listen to the petty rabble?

ولم تخلُ الملائكُ من رجيمٍ

فهلْ تخلو الشعوبُ من الرذال؟

Even the angels were not without an accursed one;

Can nations, then, be free of the vile?

بعثنا بالأمينِ لكم ومن ذا

يساوي بالأمين (أبا رِغال)؟

We sent you the trustworthy one; and who

Would equate Abu Righal with the trustworthy one?

أقول ونحن في عهدِ التَّصافي

سقاك الله يا عهدَ النِّضال

I say, while we are in an era of mutual amity,

May God send you rain, O era of struggle!

ولَمْ تخلُ السياسةُ من خداعٍ

وما كلُّ السياسةِ باحتِيال

Politics has never been free of deception,

But not all politics is trickery.

ألا قلْ للرَّسولِ بلغت عُذْراً

وكنتَ في السَّوابقِ في المجال

Come, tell the envoy: you have fully justified yourself,

And you were among the front-runners in the field.

سَمَتْ لكَ في النَّوازِلِ كلُّ عينٍ

كما تسمو العيونُ إلى الهلال

Every eye rose toward you in times of calamity,

As eyes rise toward the crescent moon.

أيرفضُ غابنٌ طمعاً ويرضى

غبينٌ؟ ذاك من عَنَتِ اللَّيالي

Does the defrauder refuse out of greed, while

The defrauded one agrees? Such is the cruelty of nights.

ويعطي باليمينِ عطاءَ كزٍّ

ويأخذُ بعدَ لأيٍ بالشمال؟

Does he give with his right hand a miser's gift,

And take with his left after much delay?

ويلحق في كتابِ العهدِ ذيلاً

كذيلِ الضَّبِّ ذي عَقدٍ طوال؟

And append to the treaty's text a tail,

Like a lizard's tail with its long knots?

ألا فانبذْ إليهِ عَلَى سواءٍ

ولا تلحفْ عليه في السؤال

Come, then cast it back to him on equal terms,

And do not press him insistently in your requests.

وإنْ جادلتَ في أمرٍ فَأجْمِلْ

فما استقْصى كريمٌ في الجدال

If you argue over a matter, be gracious,

For no noble man presses an argument to the utmost.

فما أنا بالحريص عَلَى وصالٍ

إذا ما باتَ يرغبُ عن وِصالي

I am not eager for union

If he has come to shun union with me.

فكمْ مِنْ عاشقٍ جافى محبّاً

تَجاوَزَ في دَلالٍ واعتلال

How many a lover has shunned one who loved him,

Who went too far in coyness and excuses!

ولولا أن يقالَ: النَّقضُ نقضٌ

لقلتُ له أقِلني قَدْ بدالي

Were it not that they would say, “A breach is a breach,”

I would tell him, “Release me; I have changed my mind.”

رأيتُ الداءَ أعْضَلَ دونَ كَيٍّ

فأينَ الكَيُّ للداءِ العِضال

I found the disease incurable without cautery;

Where, then, is cautery for this intractable disease?

أما لك قد شببْتَ كما أقروا

عن الأطواقِ فانشطْ مِنْ عِقال

Come now—you have outgrown, as they acknowledged,

The collars; free yourself from the hobble.