منعت مقلتى لذيذ الرقاد — Maawali Omani

مُنِعْت مُقلتى لذيذَ الرقادِ

فاستبدَّتْ من بَعْدِكم بالسُهادِ

My eye was denied the sweetness of sleep,

so, since you left, it has known only sleeplessness.

وكذا الجسمُ لا يقر على فرْ

شٍ كأنَّ الفِرَاش شوك قتَادِ

And likewise my body finds no rest upon a

bed, as though the bedding were qatad thorns.

قد أطلتمْ بعادَنا بَعْد قرب

ما علمتم عذَابنا في البِعادِ

You have prolonged our separation after closeness;

you did not know our torment in separation.

طالَ ما قد سعدت دهراً

بلقياكمْ ولكن ما دامَ لي إسعادِي

For a long time I lived in happiness

at meeting you, but my happiness did not last.

إنَّ صبْرِي من بَعْدِكم في انتقاصٍ

قدْر شوقي إليكم في ازديادِ

Indeed, since you left, my patience dwindles;

the measure of my longing for you increases.

وحنيني عليكُمُ وأَنيني

كيفَ أخفي هواىَ والحالُ بادِي

And my yearning for you, and my groaning—

how can I hide my love when my condition is plain?

وعجيبٌ أَهْوَى لقاكم وأنتم

ساكِنُو مُقْلَتي مَحلَّ السوادِ

Strange that I long to meet you, though you

dwell in my eye, where its pupil lies.

يا أهَيْلَ الغُوَيْرِ لا غرو إن أَصبحتُ

مِن بَعْدِكم كَئيبَ الفؤادِ

O dear folk of al-Ghuwayr, no wonder if I have become

downhearted since your departure.

قد لَعمري حُلتم عن الوعد والعه

د وما حُلْتُ قط عن مِيعادي

Indeed, by my life, you forsook your promise and your

pledge, while I never forsook my promised tryst.

آهِ وَاسَعدنا إذا ساعد الده

رُ بلقيا بثينةِ وسعادِ

Ah, what joy for us if fate

favors us with meeting Buthayna and Su'ad!

لم يزلْ قدُّها يقدِّدُ قلبي

وكذا خدُّها يخدُّ فؤادِي

Her figure has never ceased to shred my heart;

and her cheek likewise furrows my heart.

إن حَرَّ الأكبادِ والقلب والأ

حشاءِ من جَمْر خَدِّها الوقَّادِ

Indeed, the heat of the livers, the heart, and the

entrails comes from the blazing ember of her cheek.

ومَرَامي أن لا يفارَقني السقمُ

لكيما تكونَ من عوَّادِى

And my wish is that sickness never leave me,

so that she may be among my sickbed visitors.

إن دائي هِجرانُها بعد مَطْلٍ

والتجنِّي والبعدُ بعدَ التمادِي

My illness is her abandonment after delay,

and unjust reproach, and separation after prolonged persistence.

ودوائي من السقامِ ارتشافُ

الربق مع ضمِّ غُصنها الميَّادِ

And my cure for sickness is sipping

the tether [perhaps 'saliva'], while embracing her swaying bough.

واعتلاقُ الخدودِ شمّاً وضمّاً

واعتناقُ الأجيادِ بالأجيادِ

And clasping cheeks, smelling and embracing them,

and embracing necks with necks,

والتفافُ القدين عركاً وتقبيلاً

وضمُّ الأكبادِ بالأكبادِ

and entwining the two bodies, rubbing and kissing,

and pressing livers against livers.

فتنة للأنامِ لولا هَواها

ما غدا في الهوى صلاحُ فسادِ

A temptation to mankind; were it not for love of her,

no corruption in love would be set right.

قد كَوَتْ مهجتي بجمرةِ خديها

وأضنتْ جسمي بِسُمْرٍ حِداد

She has scorched my soul with the ember of her cheeks,

and wasted my body with keen, brown lances.

فاحتويتُ الغرامَ دونَ البرايا

واستبدَّتْ بالحسنِ دون الخرادِ

So I possessed passion to the exclusion of all others,

and she alone possessed beauty to the exclusion of the maidens.

تتهادَى تيهاً وتمشِى رُويْداً

وتثنَّي بالحَلْى والأبرادِ

She glides proudly and walks slowly,

and sways in ornaments and striped robes.

أرَجُ المسكِ والرياحينِ طبعاً

والشذَى في ارتدائها والجسَادِ

The fragrance of musk and sweet herbs is hers by nature,

and sweet scent is in her attire and saffron dye.

غضةٌ بضّةٌ مَيُودٌ رَدَاحٌ

طَفْلَةُ الجسمِ قلبُها كالجمادِ

Tender, soft-skinned, swaying, full-hipped,

delicate of body, her heart like lifeless matter.

واستمرتْ على الجفاءِ وإنِّي

لم أحُلْ عن مودتي وودَادِي

She persisted in estrangement, while I

did not turn from my affection and love.

أخلفتْ ودَّها طِوالَ الليالي

فمحاهُ الزمانُ محوَ المِدادِ

She betrayed her affection throughout the nights,

so time erased it as ink is erased,

محوَ بأس الإمام ذي العدل سلطان

بن سيف شحرور كيْدِ الأعادِي

as the might of the just Imam, Sultan,

bin Sayf, effaces the blackbird of his enemies' guile.

هو بحرُ السخاءِ والجودِ والإحس

ان والفضلِ والهدى والرشادِ

He is a sea of liberality, generosity, and

beneficence, excellence, guidance, and sound judgment.

يعربيٌّ مهذبٌ ماجدٌ معطٍ

سَريٌّ كهفُ الهدى خيرُ هادِي

A refined Ya'rubi, noble and giving,

highborn, a refuge of guidance, the finest guide.

أسدٌ فارسٌ جميلٌ جوادٌ

سامك البيت طاهرُ الأجدادِ

A lion, a horseman, gracious and generous,

raising his house high, of pure ancestry.

لَوْذَعِيُّ سَمَيذَعٌ أَرْيَحِيٌّ

هو بحر للجودِ خيرُ جوادِ

Quick-witted, a noble chief, openhanded,

he is a sea of generosity, the finest giver.

جعل اللهُ ملكه خالداً فينا

على رغم جملةِ الحُسَّادِ

May God make his rule everlasting among us,

despite the whole company of the envious.

عِشْ وجُدْ واسْمُ واسْتفِد وتفردْ

وابقَ في الملكِ يا كريمَ الأيادي

Live, give, rise high, gain, and stand unrivaled,

and remain in kingship, O generous-handed one.

واحمِ واغزُ العِدى وغمَّ الأعادِي

وارعَ واجلُ القذى وحقِّقْ مرادِي

Protect, raid the foes, and distress the enemies;

keep watch, clear away the mote, and fulfill my wish.

أنتَ عشْ وانتعشْ وزدْ واحم واحمد

واسلُ واسترْ أيا طويلَ النجادِ

You—live, thrive, increase, protect, and praise,

find comfort and give shelter, O bearer of a long sword-belt.

أنتَ وابناك أهلُ فضلٍ وعدل

واعتزاز وعزةٍ وسدادِ

You and your two sons are people of excellence and justice,

of pride, honor, and sound judgment.

ثبتَ اللهُ ملككم وارتضاكم

واصطفاكم على جميعِ العبادِ

May God establish your rule and be pleased with you,

and choose you above all mankind.

وغدا مدحُكم يكررُ في كل النوا

حِي بمصر والشام أو بغدادِ

And praise of you is repeated in every

region—in Egypt, al-Sham, or Baghdad.

وسكنتُم نَزْوَى وجندُكمُ في

الردع والحرب في أقاصي البلادِ

You have settled in Nizwa, and your troops are engaged in

deterrence and war in the farthest lands.

وغدَا في الصَّغَار والهون والذ

ل أَسيراً لم يُفْدِه اليومَ فادِي

And he became, amid abasement, dishonor, and

humiliation, a captive no ransomer has ransomed today.

سكنَ الوعْرَ بعد مَا قر عينا

فتراهُ يهيمُ في كلِّ وادِي

He settled on rugged ground after his eye had known contentment,

and you see him wandering lost through every valley.

دمَّر اللهُ ملكَه أينَ ما كان

يُنادَي عليه في كلِّ نادِي

May God destroy his kingdom, wherever he may be;

in every gathering, a cry is raised against him.

قد طلعتم عليهم طلعةً تعرف

بالبيض واللدان الصِّعادِ

You have come upon them in an assault known

by gleaming swords and supple, straight spears,

بمساعيرَ في الجلادِ خفاف

مَعْ حُلوم تميلُ بالأطْوادِ

with battle-kindlers nimble in combat,

with wisdom that bends mountains;

وقسىَ صُقْر بأيدي شيوخٍ

ليس نُخطِى مَتينة الأعوادِ

and falcon-like bows in the hands of elders—

we do not miss; their wooden staves are sturdy.

وشباب أشدُّ بطشاً من الأُسْ

د شداد تخالهم في الجلادِ

And youths more fierce in striking than

lions, whom you find mighty in combat.

لا يقرون جنبَهم في الحشايا

يقطفُون الزمانَ بالاجتهادِ

They do not rest their sides on mattresses;

they harvest time through diligence,

في جيوشٍ تموجُ كالبحر طوفا

ناً وترمى الأمواجَ كالأوتادِ

in armies that surge like the sea in

flood, flinging waves like stakes,

بخيول شوازبٍ ضُمرٍ قبٍّ

كرامٍ مطهماتٍ جيادِ

with lean horses, slender and hollow-bellied,

noble, well-formed, fine steeds.

فكأنَّ الجيوشَ من ريح عادِ

وكان الأعداء سِرْبُ الجرادِ

So the armies seem born of the wind of 'Ad,

and the enemies were a swarm of locusts.

فرقَ اللهُ شملَهم ورماهم

دهرُهم بالعمَى وطولِ النكادِ

May God scatter their ranks, and may they be struck

by their fate with blindness and lasting misery.

أحرقتْهم حرارة الحقد في الصدْ

رِ فصاروا بحقدهم كالرماد

The heat of hatred burned them in the

breast, and through their hatred they became like ash.

وعذاراهم عَدت بعد لُبس

الخز تختالُ في الثيابِ الحدادِ

And their maidens ran, after wearing

silk, strutting in mourning clothes.

يا فتَى سيفنا ويا ملجَأ الأ

خلاقِ بل يا مهجن الآسادِ

O son of our Sayf, O refuge of

virtues—nay, O humbler of lions!

إنَّ مَدْحي لكم به أرتجى الفو

زَ غداً والنجاةَ يومَ المعادِ

Through my praise of you I hope for

success tomorrow, and salvation on the Day of Return,

وسُروراً لنا وحزنَ الأعادِي

هذه نيتي وهذا اعتقادِي

and joy for us and grief for the enemies.

This is my intention, and this is my belief.

واعتمادِي أن لا أخصَّ سِواكم

بامتداحِي لأن هذا اعتمادِي

And my resolve is to single out none but you

for my praise, for this is my resolve.

واعتيادِي مدحي لكم وثنائِي

لستُ أهوى في الطبْع غيرَ اعتيادِي

And my custom is my praise and acclaim of you;

by nature I desire nothing but my accustomed way.

هاكَ يا ابنَ العُلى عروساً

تهادَى في ثيابِ الأمجادِ والإبجادِ

Take, O son of lofty rank, a bride

who glides in robes of glory and striped cloaks [reading uncertain].

حاكَها ماهرٌ حليفُ القوافي

حَزنُها الصعبُ عنده كالوهادِ

A skilled ally of rhymes has woven her;

her difficult, rugged terrain is to him like lowlands.

هي كالدرِّ والجُمانِ نقاء

بنت فكرٍ كريمةِ الميلادِ

She is like pearls and pearl beads in purity,

a daughter of thought, nobly born.

ذاتُ حسن لها على الشعر فضل

مثل فضل الآباء والأجداد

Beautiful, she has preeminence over poetry,

like the preeminence of fathers and forefathers.

زَانَها مدحكم وجودة ألفا

ظٍ دِقاقٍ مع المعاني البوادي

Praise of you adorned her, and the excellence of

fine words together with meanings plain to see.