أولى لها أن يرعوي نفارها — Mihyar Al Daylami

أولى لها أن يَرعوي نفارُها

وأن يقر بالهوى قرارها

It would be better for her shying to subside,

and for her repose to be settled by love;

وأن تُرى ميسورةً خبْطاتُها

من مَرَحٍ منشوطةً أسيارُها

and for her plunges to prove manageable,

her tethers loosed in merriment.

تُرعى وتُروَى ما ضفا وما صفا

وللرُّعاة بعدَها أسآرُها

She is pastured and watered with the abundant and the pure,

and her leftovers go afterward to the shepherds,

حتى تروحَ ضخمةً جُنوبُها

بخِصبها شاكرةً أوبارُها

until she returns at evening with broad flanks,

her coat giving thanks for her rich grazing.

وكيف لا وماء سَلع ماؤها

مقلوَّةً والعلَمان دارُها

And why not, when Salʿ's water is her water,

though shunned, with al-ʿAlamān her home?

ودونها من أسلاتِ عامرٍ

جمرةُ حربٍ لا تبوخُ نارُها

Before her, from the spearheads of ʿĀmir,

stands an ember of war whose fire never dies,

وذمّةٌ مرعيّةٌ أسندَها

إلى حفاظ غالبٍ نزارُها

and an honored pledge which her Nizār entrusted

to the guardianship of Ghālib.

لا شلّها ممّا تطورُ همَّةٌ

لطاردٍ فيه ولا عوّارُها

May no resolve drive her from the ground she roams,

whether a pursuer's there, or one bent on harming her.

كأنّها بين بيوتِ قومها

نواظرٌ تمنعها أشفارُها

Among the houses of her people she is like

eyes protected by their lashes.

نعم سقى اللّه بيوتاً بالحمى

مسدلةً على الدُّمَى أستارُها

Yes—may God water houses at al-Ḥimā,

their curtains lowered over doll-like beauties;

وأوجها يشفُّ من ألوانها

عنصرُها الكريمُ أو نِجارُها

and faces through whose colors show

their noble substance or their lineage:

سَواهِماً ما ضرّها شحوبُها

ومن صفاتِ حسنها استمرارُها

wan faces, unharmed by their pallor,

whose constancy is among the qualities of their beauty.

لم أر ليلاً في الحياة أبيضاً

إلا بأن تطلُعَ لي أقمارُها

I never saw a white night in this life

unless their moons rose for me.

كم زورةٍ على الغضا تأذَنُ لي

فيها بيوتٌ لم تصِلْ زُوّارُها

How many a visit by the ghaḍā trees is granted me

by houses whose visitors have not arrived!

وليلةٍ سامحني رقيبُها

عمداً وأخلى مجلسي سمّارها

And many a night whose watcher indulged me

deliberately, whose night companions cleared my gathering place:

فبتّ أجني ثمر الوصلِ بها

من شجراتٍ حلوةٍ ثمارُها

I spent it gathering the fruit of union

from trees whose fruits were sweet.

وخلوةٍ كثيرةٍ لذّاتُها

قليلةٍ على الصِّبا أوزارُها

And many a private meeting, rich in pleasures,

whose burdens of sin were light upon youthful passion:

لم يتوصَّمْني بريبٍ سرُّها

صوناً ولم يُقدَر عليَّ عارُها

its secret did not brand me with suspicion,

out of discretion, nor was its disgrace decreed against me.

وأمّ خشف طيّبٍ حديثُها

بين الوشاة طاهرٍ إزارُها

And a fawn's mother, sweet in her conversation,

her garment pure amid the slanderers,

باتت تعاطيني على شرط المنى

نخبةَ كأسٍ ريقُها عُقارُها

spent the night exchanging with me, on desire's terms,

a choice cup, her saliva its wine.

سَكرى وفي لِثَاتها خَمَّارها ال

ساقي وعَطرَى نشرُها عَطَّارُها

Drunk: within her gums is her wine-seller, the

cupbearer; fragrant: her scent is her perfumer.

يعرفني بين البيوت ليلُها

بميسِمٍ يُنكِرُهُ نهارُها

Her night recognizes me among the houses

by a mark her day denies.

الحبّ لا تملكُني فحشاؤه ال

قصوى ولا يُسمعُني أمَّارُها

Love's indecency does not master me, even its

worst form, nor does its inciter gain my ear.

وطُرُقُ العلياءلا تُعجِزني

سعياً ولا تُوحشني أخطارُها

The paths of lofty heights do not defeat my

striving, nor do their dangers frighten me.

وقولةٍ لا تُرتَقَى هضبتُها

ولا تخاضُ غزراً غِمارها

And many an utterance whose plateau cannot be climbed,

whose deep waters cannot be waded,

عوصاءَ للألسن عن طريقها

تَعتَعَةُ الزالق أوعثارُها

intractable to tongues, from whose path comes

the stammering of one who slips, or their stumbling:

كنتُ إلى الفضل أبا عُذرتها

وللرجال القالةِ اعتذارها

In excellence, I was the first to claim her virginity,

and, before men of eloquence, her vindication.

قمتُ بها تمدّني من خلفها

دافعةٌ ما كُسعتْ أعيارُها

I rose with her, sustained from behind

by an urging force whose asses were never prodded.

كأنني من فضل أيمانِ بني

عبد الرحيم واقفاً أمتارها

As though, from the bounty of the right hands of Banū

ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, I stood drawing provisions from her.

أرسلتُها محكمةً سيّارَةً

لا لغوها منها ولا عَوَارُها

I sent her forth, well-crafted and traveling,

with neither idle chatter nor flaws in her.

وكيف لا وإنما آثارُهم

قُصَّتْ وعنهم رُوِيَتْ أخبارُها

And why not? It was only their deeds

that were recounted; of them her accounts were related.

سقى الحيَا ذكرَ ملوكٍ كلّما

ماتَ الندَى أَنشره تَذكارُها

May rain water the memory of kings; whenever

generosity dies, their remembrance revives it.

وزاد عِزّاً أنفساً تحلَّقت

فوق السها وما انتهت أقدارُها

And may it add honor to souls that have soared

above al-Suhā, their worth still finding no limit.

تزداد حرصاً كلّما زادت ندىً

ترى المعالي أنّه قُصارُها

Their eagerness grows whenever their bounty grows,

a bounty that lofty deeds deem their utmost reach.

وإن قست أيدي الغمام والتوتْ

فقيلَ في يمينها يسارُها

And if the clouds' hands grow hard and twist,

so that their right hand is called their left,

فعضَدَ اللّهُ أكفاً سَبْطَةً

تُفدَى ببوعِ غيرها أشبارُها

may God strengthen supple hands

whose handspans are ransomed with others' armspans.

ما ضرَّ أرضاً تستميحُ صوبَها

أنَّ السماءَ لَحِزْت أمطارُها

No land seeking the gift of their downpour is harmed

by the sky's rains becoming stingy.

دوحةُ مجدٍ بَسَقتْ غصونُها

من حيث طابَ وزكَى قرارُها

A spreading tree of glory, its branches risen high

because its rooting-place was good and fertile.

شَقَّ لها في فارس إماؤها

حُرَّ الترابِ وهُمُ أحرارُها

Its handmaids cleft for it, in Fāris,

the choicest soil—and they are its freeborn ones.

مطعِمةٌ مورِقةٌ لا ظلُّها

يضوَى ولا يُغبُّك استثمارُها

Nourishing and leafy: neither does its shade

make one frail, nor does its harvest skip a day for you.

كلُّ زمانِ عامِها ربيعُها

لا جدبُ شهباء ولا إعصارُها

Every season of its year is its spring,

with no gray year's barrenness or whirlwind.

وحسبُها أنّ الوزيرَ فَلَقٌ

أبلجُ ممّا قدَحتْ أنوارُها

It is enough for it that the minister is a daybreak,

radiant, from the lights it struck forth.

شُجِّرَ منها وهو في حكم العلا

قُطْبٌ على سعوده مدارُها

He grew as its branch, and in the domain of loftiness

he is an axis around whose good fortune it revolves.

ما برِحت يبعثها استعلاؤها

على عِضاهِ المجدِ واشتهارُها

Its lofty growth has ever spurred it onward

above glory's thorn trees, as has its renown.

كأنها كانت تَرى مذ بدأتْ

أنَّ إليه ينتهي فخارُها

As though it had seen, from its beginning,

that its glory would find its summit in him.

وللمعالي في الفتى أمارةٌ

واضحةٌ من قبلها منارُها

And high deeds have in the young man a sign,

plain, its beacon appearing beforehand.

إلى عميد الدولة اشتطَّت بنا

موائرٌ لا تُقتفَى آثارُها

Toward ʿAmīd al-Dawla, far and fast they bore us:

swaying camels whose tracks cannot be followed.

تنشرُ من أخفافها أجنحةً

وخيدُها على الثرى مَطارُها

They spread wings from their soft hoof-pads;

their swift pace upon the earth is their flight.

كلُّ طريقٍ نفَضَتْ إلى العُلا

فهي وإن تطاولت مِضمارُها

Every road they traverse toward the heights

is their racecourse, however long it grows.

لا تتوقَّى شوكة الأرض ولو

ذابَ على حَرِّ الظِّرابِ رارُها

They do not avoid the earth's thorns, even if

their marrow melts upon the hillocks' heat.

تَسفِرُ في الحاجات وهي عدّة

على بلوغِ ما ابتغَى سُفَّارُها

They journey to meet needs, a resource

for their travelers to attain what they seek.

تدلُّها في الشُّبهاتِ سُرُج

هنّ على جُرح الفلا مِسبارُها

Lamps guide them amid uncertain paths,

their probes into the wound of the wilderness.

لا تعرف العذرَ على غضّ السُّرى

إذا المطايا عُذِرت أبصارُها

They accept no excuse for curtailing night travel

when the eyes of other mounts are excused.

تمضي حنايا ذُبَّلاً شخوصُها

سهامُها تُنفَضُ أو أوتارُها

They go on as bows, their lean figures

arrows being loosed, or their bowstrings.

حتى إذا شرعنَ في حياضه

خالفَ من إيرادها إصدارُها

Until, when they enter his watering pools,

their departure differs from their arrival.

تلقاه خِفّاً فإذا تروّحتْ

فكالهضاب فوقها أوقارُها

They meet him lightly laden; when they depart at evening,

the loads upon them are like hills.

يصوّت الجودُ بها ألا كذا

عن الملوك فلْيَعُدْ زُوّارُها

Generosity calls out through them: “Behold, thus

should visitors return from kings!”

على نداك شرفَ الدين ربَتْ

فِصالُها وبَزَلَتْ بِكارُها

On your bounty, Sharaf al-Dīn, grew

their weaned calves; their young she-camels matured.

وعندك الفاسحُ من أعطانها

والأمنُ إن أرهقها حِذارُها

With you are their spacious resting grounds by water,

and safety if fear overtakes them.

موسمُ فضلٍ لا تبورُ سُوقُه

ودار عزٍّ لا يذلُّ جارُها

A season of bounty whose market never languishes,

an abode of honor whose neighbor is never abased;

وأعطياتٌ وحلومٌ عجِبتْ

منها جبالُ الأرض أو بحارُها

and gifts and forbearance at which marveled

the mountains of the earth, or its seas.

قد دَرت الدنيا على جهلاتها

أنك خيرُ من حوت أقطارُها

The world, for all its follies, has come to know

that you are the best its regions contain:

الكوكبُ المفردُ من أبنائها

إن خُيِّرت لم يَعْدُك اختيارُها

the peerless star among its sons.

Given a choice, its choice would not pass you by.

تكثَّرتْ بواحدٍ منك كما

قلَّلها من الوَرَى إكثارُها

It has become abundant through your single person, just as

its multitude of other mortals has diminished it.

وأيقنتْ دولةُ آلِ باسلٍ

أنّك يومَ بطشِها جبَّارُها

And the dynasty of the house of Bāsil became certain

that on the day of its assault you are its mighty champion,

وأن ما تنظِمُ من تدبيرها

مريرةٌ لغيرك انتسارُها

and that what you weave of its governance

is a firm cord, hard for others to unravel.

إذا قُرُبَت خافها أعداؤها

وإن نأيتَ خافها أنصارُها

When you draw near, its enemies fear it;

when you draw away, its supporters fear it.

غادرتَها منذ اعتزلتَ بيتَها

لها نبوُّ العين وازورارُها

Since you withdrew from its house, you have left it

a sight from which eyes recoil and turn away.

يلاثُ قُبحاً لا عَفافاً وتقىً

على صفاحِ وجهها خِمارُها

Wrapped for ugliness, not chastity and piety,

is its veil over the broad surfaces of its face.

مطروحةً للضيم لا يمنعها

قنا المحامين ولا شِفارُها

Cast down to oppression, protected neither by

the defenders' lances nor its blades,

تمدّ للخطب يداً مقبوضةً

لا سيفُها فيها ولا سِوارُها

it stretches a clenched hand toward calamity,

with neither its sword nor its bracelet in it.

واجتمعتْ على تنافي بينها ال

أهواءُ فيك واستوتْ أقدارُها

And, despite their mutual discord, the

inclinations united over you, their ranks made equal.

واعترفتْ لك العدا اعترافَنا

بالحق إذ لم يُغنها إنكارُها

The enemies made the same acknowledgment to you as we did,

of the truth, when their denial availed them nothing.

وآمنتْ أنّك فينا آيةٌ

باقيةٌ وحَسُنَ استبصارُها

And they believed that you are among us a sign,

enduring; their discernment proved sound.

ولو رأتْ وجهَ الجحودِ جَحَدت

وإنما ضرورة إقرارُها

Had they seen a path to denial, they would have denied;

necessity alone compelled their acknowledgment.

يا من به استحليتُ طعمَ عيشتي

من بعد ما قَضَّ فمي إمرارُها

O you through whom I found the taste of my life sweet,

after its bitterness had rasped my mouth,

وردّ أيّامي على إصرارها

مُنيبةً يُخجلني اعتذارُها

and who brought my days back, despite their obstinacy,

repentant, their apology embarrassing me;

ومن تحرَّمتُ به فلم يَضِعْ

ذمامُ آمالي ولا ذِمارُها

and you in whose protection I placed myself, so neither was lost

the pledged safeguard of my hopes nor their sanctuary:

في كلّ يومٍ نعمةٌ غريبةٌ

أُوهَبُها كأنني أُعارُها

Every day brings a novel blessing;

I am given it as though it were lent to me.

تأتي وما أنصبني تطاوُلٌ

لها ولا عذَّبني انتظارُها

It comes; no reaching out has wearied me

for it, nor has awaiting it tormented me,

محلِّياً من عَطَلي لَبوسُها

وراقعاً من خَللي نُضارُها

its raiment adorning my unadorned state,

its gold mending my deficiencies.

أقربُ ما يكون منّي وصلُها

إذا نأتْ أو بَعُدتْ ديارُها

My bond with it is closest

when it is distant, or its dwellings far away.

فما يضرُّ حسنَ حظّي منكُمُ

تصاعُدُ العيس ولا انحدارُها

Thus my good fortune from you is not harmed

by the white camels' ascent or descent.

لكنَّ شوقاً حرُّه في أضلعي

جنايةٌ لا يُملَكُ اغتفارُها

But a longing whose heat is within my ribs

is a wrong whose forgiveness I cannot command;

ولوعة إذا تنفّستُ لها

عن كبدي حرّقني أُوارُها

and a burning grief: when I breathe out for it

from my liver, its blaze scorches me.

فهل لهذا الداء من راقيةٍ

ينفِثُ في عُقدته سَحَّارُها

Is there, then, for this sickness some healing charm

whose enchanter breathes into its knot?

أم هل يكونُ من لطيف برِّكم

زيارةٌ تُقضَى بكم أوطارُها

Or might your gracious kindness grant

a visit whose desires would be fulfilled through you?

وإنها على النوى لآيةٌ

معجزةٌ عندكم احتقارُها

Despite the distance, it would indeed be a wonder,

a miracle, though you deem it a small thing.

لا قلَّصتْ عنكم ظلالَ مُلككم

نوائبُ الدهر ولا أقدارُها

May the shadows of your rule never be drawn back from you

by time's calamities or its decrees;

ولا أحالَ من قشيب عزِّكم

مرورُ أيّامٍ ولا تَكرارُها

nor the fresh fabric of your glory be altered

by passing days or their recurrence.

وحالفتكم نعمةٌ صحيحة

عهودُها طويلةٌ أعمارُها

May a blessing ally itself with you, true

in its covenants and long in its lifetimes.

وخَمَّرتْ أوجهَها عن غيركم

دولةُ دنيا لكُمُ إسفارُها

And may it veil its faces from all others—

the world's dominion, unveiled to you,

عمن يُعادى مجدكم زوالُها

وعندكم برغمه استقرارُها

departing from whoever opposes your glory,

and abiding with you despite him.

وسائرات بالثناء لا يُرى

مستعفياً من دَأَبٍ سيّارُها

And traveling verses of praise, whose traveler is never seen

seeking release from ceaseless effort:

لا تخلُقُ الظلماءُ في بسطتها

قبضاً كأنّ ليلَها نهارُها

Darkness produces, in their free-ranging course,

no restraint: their night seems their day.

تطوي الفيافي لا خفارات لها

إلا الذي تضمنه أسطارُها

They traverse the wildernesses, with no protection

except what their written lines contain.

تشتاقها الأرض وبعدُ لم تصِلْ

لأنّها تسبِقُها أخبارُها

The earth longs for them before they have arrived,

because their reports precede them.

يخالها النادي إذا اجتازت به

لطيمةً مرَّ بها عَطّارُها

The gathering imagines them, as they pass through it,

a perfume-laden caravan touched by its perfumer.

تحملُ آثاماً بمدح غيركم

حتى تُحَطَّ بكُمُ أوزارُها

They bear sins through praising others besides you,

until their burdens are lifted through you.

تُهدِي لك الأعيادُ منها طُرَفاً

جواهراً تحت فمي بحارُها

The feasts offer you rare gifts from them,

jewels whose seas lie beneath my mouth,

مما توحدتُ به لم تُفتَرَعْ

لا عُونها قبلُ ولا أبكارُها

from what I alone originated, never deflowered—

neither their mature women before, nor their virgins.

ودّت تميم وفحولُ وائلٍ

من قبلها لو أنّها أشعارُها

Tamīm and Wāʾil's stallion-poets wished

in earlier days that these had been their own poems.