ما خلت لبي يستفز ويسحر — Mahmoud Qabadu

ما خلتُ لبّي يَستفزّ ويسحرُ

حتّى رَنا لي البابليُّ الأحورُ

I never thought my mind could be stirred and bewitched

Until the dark-eyed Babylonian gazed at me.

طِرسٌ يُلاحِظني بمقلةِ جوذرٍ

وَيصولُ مِنه عليّ ليثٌ مخدرُ

A manuscript gazes at me with a wild-ox calf's eye,

And from it a lion in its lair charges at me.

قَد غَازَلَتني بغتةً لحظاتهُ

لا بَل غَزَتني حيثُ لا أَتحذّرُ

Its glances suddenly flirted with me—

No, rather, they raided me where I was unguarded.

خطٌّ ولَكنّ السطورَ رماحهُ

روضٌ وَلَكن بالبلاغةِ مزهرُ

Writing—yet its lines are its spears;

A garden—yet it blossoms with eloquence.

ما خلتُ حينَ جَنيت من ثمراتهِ

بِاللّحظِ أنَ بهنّ راحاً يسكرُ

I never thought, when I gathered some of its fruits

With my gaze, that they held intoxicating wine.

لَولا مَخافةُ أَن أُشابه عصبةً

قَد سُكّرَت أبصارُهم وتحيّروا

Were it not for fear of resembling a band

Whose eyes were clouded and who fell into bewilderment,

لَظللتُ مع لَمسي على قرطاسهِ

بِيدي أقولُ أراه سكراً يؤثرُ

I would have kept, even as I felt its paper

With my hand, saying, 'I see it as an intoxicant handed down.'

يا مهديَ الطرسِ الّذي في طيّهِ

أعلامُ المفاخرِ تنشرُ

O giver of the manuscript in whose folds

The banners of glorious deeds are unfurled,

أَتحَفتني بِصحيفةٍ مسطورةٍ

بِمآثرِ الفضلِ الّذي لا يسترُ

You presented me with a sheet inscribed

With noble deeds of excellence that cannot be concealed.

أَورَت لسبعِ المُنشآت بها لنا

بحرَ القريضِ وَإنّهنّ لأبحرُ

It brought to light for us, through the seven compositions within it,

The sea of poetry—indeed, they themselves are seas.

لَم أدرِ هَل منهنّ فلكٌ فيه أم

فَلكٌ بِه السبع الدراري تزهرُ

I could not tell: were there ships among them upon it, or

A celestial sphere whose seven brilliant stars shine

مِن كلّ بيتٍ إن عُزي لمشيدهِ

أَضحى كبيتِ سميّه يستكبرُ

From every verse that, when ascribed to its builder,

Grows august, like the house of his namesake?

تهوي إِلى مغناهُ أفئدةُ الورى

وَلَه يولّي وجهه المتبرّرُ

People's hearts yearn toward its dwelling,

And the devout man turns his face toward it.

وَعَجبت كيفَ سَعت إليّ ولَم أَخل

أنّي إِذا أسعى إليها أصفرُ

And I marvelled at how they came to me, though I never thought

That, if I went to them, I would come away empty-handed.

أُمنيةٌ لم أقضِ منذُ حَويتها

شكراً ولا عجبٌ وكلّ يبهرُ

A cherished wish: since attaining it, I have not rendered

Due thanks—no wonder, when every part dazzles.

طَلَعت عليّ معَ الغروبِ فقلت ذا

قمرٌ عليهِ منَ الثريّا منظرُ

It rose before me at sunset, and I said, 'This is

A moon bearing the aspect of the Pleiades.'

وَاِستَبشرت نَفسي بِطلعتها ولم

تَزل الوَرى بطلوعِها تستبشرُ

And my soul rejoiced at its appearance, and never has

Humankind ceased rejoicing at its rising.

لَكن عشوتُ لَها وطرفي حاسرٌ

ثمّ اِنثَنيت وطرف فكري أحسرُ

Yet I peered toward it, my eyes weary;

Then turned away, my mind's eye wearier still.

فَكأنّ ما اِستعصرتُ مِن عُنقودها

راحاً أَتَت دهراً عليه الأعصرُ

As though what I had pressed from its grape-cluster

Were wine over which long ages had passed.

رِفقاُ أبا إسحاقَ ما من في الثرى

بالإرتقاءِ إلى الثريّا يجسرُ

Gently, Abu Ishaq! No one on the earth

Dares to climb to the Pleiades.

أَرسلتَ لي سبعاً قصاراً دونَها الس

سبعُ الطِوالُ المذهلات تقصّرُ

You sent me seven short poems, before which the

Seven astonishing long poems fall short.

وَذَكرتُ فيها أنّ بعض قصائدي

راقَتك وَهي دُمينةٌ تستخضرُ

And there I recalled that some of my poems

Pleased you, though they are but a little dung-heap taken for greenery.

مَهلاً أعد نظراً فما اِستحسنته

وَرم وَقد يُستحسنُ المستكبرُ

Wait—look again: what you admired

Is a swelling, and what seems great may be admired.

لا سيّما إِن كانَ عفوَ بديهةٍ

وَعُجالة الحالِ الّتي تستعسرُ

Especially if it is the spontaneous product of a first impulse,

And a hasty effort in circumstances that grow difficult.

ما إِن يروجُ عليّ أنّك راغبٌ

لنفاق خرزي حيث ذاك الجوهرُ

I cannot believe that you desire

To market my beads where that jewel is found.

فَلَقد عرضتَ عليّ منه فرائداً

ما إن يحاولُ نيلها من يشعرُ

For you have shown me some of its peerless pearls,

Which no poet would attempt to attain.

وَلو اِحتَسَبت بها عَلينا منّةً

لَكَفت وَلكن رمتَ ما هو أكبرُ

Had you counted them a favour done to us,

That would have sufficed; yet you sought something greater.

جشّمتَني إذناً لكم بزيارةٍ

أَنتم بِها منّي أحقّ وأجدرُ

You tasked me with granting you permission to visit,

Though you are more entitled to it than I, and more deserving.

وَالرأي تعجيلي الزيارة في غدٍ

فَالفرضُ في تأخيره لا يعذرُ

And I think I should hasten to visit tomorrow,

For one is not excused for delaying a duty.

وَإِليكَ ما سَمَحَت بداهةُ خاطري

بِنظامهِ وَلَو اِنّه مستنزرُ

And here is what my mind's first impulse allowed

Me to set in verse, scant though it may be.

فَلَقد حَبستُ لَه رَسولك برهةً

حتّى اِستتبّ وَلم يكن يستحضرُ

For I detained your messenger a while for it,

Until it took shape, though it would not come to mind,

لِمَوانعٍ في طيّها اِستنظارهُ

قولي وَقد يَستجفلُ المستنظرُ

Because of obstacles, among them keeping him waiting for

My verse; one kept waiting may take fright.

وَقَرائحُ الشعراءِ شبهُ لواقحٍ

ما كلُّ حينٍ للقريضٍ تدرّرُ

And poets' creative faculties are like milk-bearing she-camels:

They do not yield their milk of verse at every moment.

هَذا وَبينَ جَوانِحي شوقٌ لَكم

أَمسى كنارِ سميّكم يتسعّرُ

So it is; between my ribs is a longing for you

That now blazes like the fire of your namesake.

لَكِن عَساهُ يكونُ عندَ لِقائكم

برداً يُصاحبه السلام الأوفرُ

Yet perhaps, when I meet you, it will become

Coolness accompanied by the fullest peace.