هل في الزمان لنا حكم فنشترط — Mahmoud Samial Baroudi

هَلْ فِي الزَّمَانِ لَنَا حُكْمٌ فَنَشْتَرِطُ

أَمْ تِلْكَ أُمْنِيَةٌ فِي طَيِّهَا قَنَطُ

Do we have power over Time, that we may set conditions,

Or is that a wish with despair folded within it?

نَبْكِي عَلَى غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ يُضْحِكُنَا

مَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ لَنَا بُقْيَا فَنَخْتَلِطُ

We weep over nothing, then are made to laugh

By what has no mercy for us, and we grow bewildered.

وَكَيْفَ نَرْجُو مِنَ الأَيَّامِ عَافِيَةً

وَصِحَّةُ الْمَرْءِ مَقْرُونٌ بِهَا السَّقَطُ

And how can we hope for well-being from the days,

When a man's health is coupled with mishap?

نَرْعَى مِنَ الدَّهْرِ غَيْثَاً نَبْتُهُ أَسَفٌ

لِلرَّائِدِينَ وَرَوْضاً زَهْرُهُ شَطَطُ

We graze on Time's rain-fed pasture, whose growth is sorrow

For pasture-seekers, and on a garden whose flowers are injustice.

فَلا يَغُرَّنْكَ مِنْ دَهْرٍ بَشَاشَتُهُ

فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ بِشْرٌ تَحْتَهُ سخطُ

So let not Time's cheerfulness deceive you:

For it is only a smile with wrath beneath it.

لا يُدْرِكُ الْغَايَةَ الْقُصْوَى سِوَى رَجُلٍ

ثَبْتِ الْعَزِيمَةِ مَاضٍ حَيْثُ يَنْخَرِطُ

None reaches the utmost goal but a man

Firm in resolve, pressing on wherever he plunges.

إِنْ مَسَّهُ الضَّيْمُ نَاجَى السَّيْفَ مُنْتَصِراً

أَوْ هَمَّهُ الأَمْرُ لَمْ يَعْلَقْ بِهِ الثَّبَطُ

If oppression touches him, he confides in his sword, seeking redress;

Or if some matter troubles him, no sluggishness clings to him.

فَاقْذِفْ بِنَفْسِكَ في أَقْصَى مَطَالِبِهَا

إِنَّ النَّجَاحَ بِسَعْي الْمَرْءِ مُرْتَبِطُ

So fling yourself toward your furthest aims:

Success is bound to a man's striving.

قَدْ يَظْفَرُ الْفَاتِكُ الأَلْوَى بِحَاجَتِهِ

وَلَيْسَ يُدْرِكُهَا الْهَيَّابَةُ الْخَلِطُ

The daring, unyielding man may gain his desire,

But the timid, muddled man does not attain it.

وَإِنْ شَأَتْكَ الْمُنَى فَاقْنَعْ بِأَقْرَبِهَا

فَلَيْسَ فِي كُلِّ حِينٍ يُدْرَكُ الْوَسَطُ

And if your hopes outstrip you, be content with the nearest:

Not at every moment is even the middle ground attained.

لا تَعْفُلَنَّ إِذَا أُمْنِيَّةٌ عَرَضَتْ

فَإِنَّما الْعَيْشُ فِي هَذَا الْوَرَى لَقَطُ

Do not be heedless when a wished-for chance appears:

Life among these mortals is but gleanings.

إِنِّي وإِنْ كَانَتِ الأَيَّامُ قَدْ أَخَذَتْ

مِنِّي وأَخْنَى عَلَيَّ الضَّعْفُ وَالشَّمَطُ

As for me, though the days have taken

From me, and weakness and gray hair have worn me down,

فَقَدْ أَذُودُ السَّبَنْتَى عَنْ فَرِيسَتِهِ

وَأَفْجَأُ الْبَطَلَ الْحَامِي فَأَخْتَبِطُ

Yet I can drive the leopard from its prey,

And surprise the defending champion and strike.

وَأَصْدَعُ الْجَيْشَ وَالْفُرْسَانُ مِنْ مَرَحٍ

تَحْتَ الْعَجاجِ بِأَطْرَافِ الْقَنَا نُخُطُ

And I cleave the army, while the horsemen, in their ardor,

Thrust with lance-tips beneath the swirling dust.

فَمَا بِنَصْلِي إِنْ لاقَى ضَرِيبَتَهُ

نَكْلٌ وَلا فِي جَفِيرِي أَسْهُمٌ مُرُطُ

My blade, when it meets its target, has

No faltering; nor does my quiver hold unfeathered arrows.

وَرُبَّ يَوْمٍ طَوِيلِ الْعُمْرِ قَصَّرَهُ

جَرْيُ السَّوَابِقِ وَالْوَخَّادَةُ النُّشُطُ

And many a long-lived day was shortened

By the racing of fleet steeds and lively, long-striding camels.

كَأَنَّمَا الْوَحْشُ مِنْ تَلْهَابِ جَمْرَتِهِ

مُبَدَّداً تَحْتَ أَشْجَارِ الْغَضَى خَبَطُ

As though the wild beasts, from the blazing heat of its ember,

Were scattered, beaten-down leaves beneath the ghada trees.

تَرى بِهِ الْقَوْمَ صَرْعَى لا حِرَاكَ بِهِمْ

كَأَنَّهُمْ مِنْ عَتِيقِ الْخَمْرِ قَدْ سَقَطُوا

You see the men lying prostrate in it, without movement,

As though they had fallen from drinking aged wine.

وَلَيْلَةٍ ذَاتِ تَهْتَانٍ وَأَنْدِيَةٍ

كَأَنَّمَا الْبَرْقُ فِيها صَارِمٌ سَلِطُ

And many a night of pouring rain and dew,

As though its lightning were a keen sword.

لَفَّ الْغَمَامُ أَقَاصِيها بِبُرْدَتِهِ

وَانْهَلَّ فِي حجْرَتَيْهَا وَابِلٌ سَبِطُ

The clouds wrapped its farthest reaches in their cloak,

And a heavy, unbroken downpour streamed along both its sides.

بَهْمَاءَ لا يَهْتَدِي السَّارِي بِكَوْكَبِهَا

مِنَ الْغَمَامِ وَلا يَبْدُو بِهَا نَمَطُ

Pitch-dark: the night traveler cannot find his way by its star

Because of the clouds, nor does a path appear within it.

يَكَادُ يَجْهَلُ فِيهَا الْقَوْمُ أَمْرَهُمُ

لَوْلا صَهِيلُ جِيَادِ الْخَيْلِ وَاللَّغَطُ

The men would almost lose their bearings in it,

But for the neighing of fine steeds and the clamor.

يَطْغَى بِهَا الْبَرْقُ أَحْيَاناً فَيَزْجُرُهُ

مُخْرَنْطِمٌ زَجِلٌ مِنْ رَعْدِهَا خَمِطُ

Lightning sometimes runs wild in it, then is rebuked

By a glowering, resounding, furious peal of its thunder.

كَأَنَّمَا الْبَرْقُ سَوْطٌ والْحَيا نُجُبٌ

يَلُوحُ فِي جِسْمِهَا مِنْ مَسِّهِ حَبَطُ

As though lightning were a whip and rain noble camels,

On whose bodies welts show from its touch.

كَأَنَّهُ صَارِمٌ يَرْفَضُّ مِنْ عَلَقٍ

بِالأُفْقِ يُغْمَدُ أَحْيَاناً وَيُخْتَرَطُ

As though it were a sword dripping with clotted blood,

At the horizon, sometimes sheathed and sometimes drawn.

مَزَّقْتُ جِلْبَابَهَا بِالْخَيْلِ طَالِعَةً

مِثْلَ الْحَمَائِمِ فِي أَجْيَادِهَا الْعُلُطُ

I tore its cloak with horses emerging

Like doves with markings on their necks.

وَقَدْ تَخَلَّلَ خَيْطُ النُّورِ ظُلْمَتَهَا

كَمَا تَخَلَّلَ شَعْرَ اللَّمَّةِ الْوَخَطُ

And a thread of light had run through its darkness,

As gray streaks thread through a head of hair.

كَأَنَّهَا وَصَدِيعُ الْفَجْرِ يَصْدَعُهَا

مِنْ جَانِبٍ أَدْهَمٌ قَدْ مَسَّهُ نَبَطُ

As though it, with dawn's rift cleaving it

From one side, were a black horse with white on its belly.

وَمَرْبَعٍ لِنَسِيمِ الْفَجْرِ هَيْنَمَةٌ

فِيهِ وَلِلطَّيْرِ فِي أَرْجَائِهِ لَغَطُ

And many a spring meadow, with the dawn breeze's murmur

Within it, and birds clamoring throughout its reaches.

كَأَنَّمَا الْقَطْرُ دُرٌّ في جَوَانِبِهِ

يَكَادُ مِنْ صَدَفِ الأَزْهَارِ يُلْتَقَطُ

As though the raindrops along its sides were pearls

That might almost be picked from the shells of flowers.

وَلِلنَّسِيمِ خِلالَ النَّبتِ غَلْغَلَةٌ

كَمَا تَغَلْغَلَ وَسْطَ اللِّمَّةِ الْمُشُطُ

And the breeze threads through the plants,

As a comb threads through a head of hair.

وَالرِّيحُ تَمْحُو سُطُوراً ثُمَّ تُثْبِتُهَا

فِي النَّهْرِ لا صِحَّةٌ فِيها وَلا غَلَطُ

And the wind erases lines, then sets them down again

In the river: neither right nor wrong is in them.

وَلِلسَّمَاءِ خُيُوطٌ غَيْرُ وَاهِيَةٍ

تَكَادُ تُجْمَعُ بِالأَيْدِي فَتُرْتَبَطُ

And the sky has threads that are not frail,

That could almost be gathered by hand and tied together.

كَأَنَّهَا وَأَكُفُّ الرِّيحِ تَضْرِبُها

سُلُوكُ عِقْدٍ تَوَاهَتْ فَهْيَ تَنْخَرِطُ

As though, with the wind's palms striking them,

They were a necklace's weakened strings, slipping loose.

فَالضَّوْءُ مُحْتَبِسٌ وَالْمَاءُ مُنْطَلِقٌ

وَالْجَوُّ مُنْقَبِضٌ وَالظِّلُّ مُنْبَسِطُ

The light is held captive, and the water runs free;

The air is constricted, and the shade spreads wide.

لُذْنَا بِأَطْرَافِهِ وَالطَّيْرُ عَاكِفَةٌ

عَلَيْهِ وَالنُّورُ بِالظَّلْمَاءِ مُخْتَلِطُ

We took shelter at its edges, with birds gathered

Upon it, and light mingled with darkness.

فِي فِتْيَةٍ رَضِعُوا ثَدْيَ الْوِفَاقِ فَمَا

فِيهمْ إِذَا مَا انْتَشَوْا جَوْرٌ وَلا شَطَطُ

Among young men who suckled at concord's breast, so that

No injustice or excess arose among them when they grew drunk.

تَحَالَفُوا فِي صَفَاءِ الْوُدِّ وَاجْتَمَعُوا

عَلَى الْوَفَاءِ طَوَالَ الدَّهْرِ وَاشْتَرَطُوا

They pledged themselves in pure affection and agreed

On fidelity throughout all time, and made it their condition.

كَالْغَيْثِ إِنْ وَهَبُوا وَاللَّيْثِ إِنْ وَثَبُوا

وَالْمَاءِ إِنْ عَدَلُوا وَالنَّارِ إِنْ قَسَطُوا

Like rain when they gave, and a lion when they leapt,

And water when they were just, and fire when they were unjust.

تَكَشَّفَ الدَّهْرُ عَنْهُمْ بَعْدَ غُمَّتِهِ

كَمَا تَكَشَّفَ عَنْ مَكْنُونِهِ السَّفَطُ

Time revealed them after its gloom,

As a casket opens to reveal its hidden contents.

مِيلٌ بِأَبْصَارِهِمْ نَحْوِي لِيَسْتَمِعُوا

قَوْلِي وَكُلٌّ لأَمْرِي طَائِعٌ نَشِطُ

They incline their eyes toward me to hear

My words, and each is obedient and eager at my command.

إِنْ سِرْتُ سَارُوا وَإِنْ أَصْعَدْ إِلَى نَشَزٍ

كَانُوا صُعُوداً وَإِنْ أَهْبِطْ بِهِمْ هَبَطُوا

If I set out, they set out; if I climb to a rise,

They climb, and if I lead them down, they descend.

يَمْشُونَ حَوْلِي كَمَا يَمْشِي الْقَطَا بَدَداً

فَإِنْ مَضَى بقَطٌ مِنْهُمْ أَتَى بَقَطُ

They walk around me as sandgrouse walk, scattered about;

If one band of them goes, another band comes.

إِنْ يَكْنُفُونِي مِنْ حَوْلِي فَلا عَجَبٌ

لا يَسْقُطُ الطَّيْرُ إِلَّا حَيْثُ يَلْتَقِطُ

If they surround me on every side, that is no wonder:

A bird alights only where it can gather food.

نَمْشِي بِهِ بَيْنَ أَشْجَارٍ كَأَنَّ عَلَى

أَفْنَانِهَا مِنْ بُرُودِ الْيَمْنَةِ الرِّيَطُ

We walk through it among trees, as though upon

Their boughs lay fine mantles of striped Yemeni cloth.

مِثْل الطَّوَاوِيسِ فِي أَذْنَابِهَا عَجَبٌ

لِلنَّاظِرِينَ وَفِي أَجْيَادِهَا عَنَطُ

Like peacocks, with a marvel in their tails

For those who gaze, and graceful length in their necks.

كَأَنَّهُنَّ جِمَالاتٌ مُوَقَّرَةٌ

تَمُورُ مَوْراً عَلَى أَثْبَاجِها الْغُبُطُ

As though they were heavily laden camels,

With saddle-litters swaying back and forth upon their backs.

وَلِلْفَوَاخِتِ فِي أَفْنَانِهَا هَزَجٌ

قَدْ مَاجَ مِنْ لَحْنِهِنَّ السَّهْلُ وَالْفُرُطُ

And ringdoves warble in their branches;

The plain and hilltops surged with their melody.

خُضْرُ الْجَنَاحَيْنِ وَالأَطْوَاقِ تَحْسَبُهَا

أَطْفَالَ مَلْكٍ لَهَا مِنْ سُنْدُسٍ قُمُطُ

Green of wing and neck-ring, you would think them

A king's children, with swaddling bands of fine silk.

حَتَّى إِذَا حَلَّ ضَاحِي الْيَوْمِ حَبْوَتَهُ

وَكَادَتِ الشَّمْسُ بَيْنَ الْغَرْبِ تَنْهَبِطُ

Until, when the bright day loosened its knee-wrap,

And the sun was about to sink into the west,

رُحْنَا نَجُرُّ ذُيُولَ الْعِزِّ ضَافِيَةً

وَكُلُّنَا بِنَعِيمِ الْعَيْشِ مُغْتَبِطُ

We departed, trailing glory's ample skirts,

And every one of us delighted in life's bliss.

يَوْمٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ أَهْوَى لَو بَذَلْتُ لَهُ

مَا شَاءَ فِي مِثْلِهِ لَوْ كَانَ يَشْتَرِطُ

A day of Time—I would gladly offer it

Whatever it wished for another like it, if it could set terms.