خفف بذات البان من أثقالها — Mihyar Al Daylami

خفِّفْ بذات البان من أثقالها

وأمدُدْ لها وراخِ من حبالها

Lighten their burdens at Dhat al-Ban,

lengthen their ropes and loosen them,

وخلِّهَا سارحةً من وجرةٍ

في كهلها السَّبطِ وفي سلسالها

and let them graze freely out of Wajra,

in its lush mature growth and its clear waters,

رافعةً ما انحطّ من أعناقها

جامعةً ما شذَّ من فِصالها

lifting the necks that have drooped,

gathering their calves that have strayed.

لعلَّها تُخلِف من أوبارها

ما حلَقَ الجدبُ ومن أنسالها

Perhaps they will replace the wool

that drought has shorn, and renew their offspring.

قد آن أن ينتصرَ الدهرُ لها

ويخجلَ الواعدُ من مِطالها

The time has come for Time to champion them,

and for the promiser to be ashamed of delaying them,

وأن تراحَ أذرعٌ وأسوُقٌ

ناحلت العِصيَّ من كَلالها

and for forelegs and shanks to rest,

which have rivaled sticks in thinness from exhaustion.

لها بنعمانَ مدى اقتراحها

من واسع الأرزاق أو حلالها

At Na'man they have all they desire

of abundant sustenance or its lawful portion.

وما يجرُّ الأمن من أرسانها

مرخىً وما يسحَب من جِلالها

The halters that safety draws

hang loose, as do the coverings it trails.

وكالدُّمى من ظَبيَاتِ حاجرٍ

كوالئاً يُصلحن من أحوالها

And gazelles of Hajir, like sculpted figures,

stand watch, tending to their well-being.

نعم فيا سقى الغمام حاجراً

ما احتكم الشاخص من أطلالها

Yes—oh, may the clouds water Hajir

as much as its standing ruins demand.

ولا عدمتُ من صَباها نفحةً

باردةً تأتي ومن شَمالها

And may I never lack a gust of its east wind,

coming cool, or of its north wind.

فكم بها واكبدي فيمن بها

من أمّ خشفين ومن غزالها

How many there—oh, my liver, for those there!—

are mothers of twin fawns, and gazelles!

ورامياتٍ عن ذواتِ مقلٍ

تلاوذَ القاريُّ من نبالها

And women shooting from eyes

whose arrows made the Qari seek shelter.

كلّ قناةٍ رُكزت على نَقاً

ينقص بدرُ التمّ من هلالها

Each is a spear planted on a sand dune;

the full moon falls short of her crescent.

تحكُمُ ما اشتطّت على حِقابها

وتطلب الأمانَ من خَلخالها

She tyrannizes over her girdle as she pleases,

yet asks her anklet for mercy.

عوَّلتُ منهنَّ غداةَ غامدٍ

على تعلّاتِ المنى وخالها

On the morning of Ghamid, I looked to them

for desire's consolations and its fancies.

بِنَّ صحيحاتٍ وأرسلنَ معي

جفناً قريحاً وفؤاداً والها

They departed unscathed, sending along with me

a wounded eyelid and a distraught heart,

وطارقاً من الخيال ربما

بلَّ القلوبَ الهِيمَ من بَلبالها

and a night-visiting phantom that sometimes

quenches thirsting hearts, relieving their turmoil.

تُزيره على النوى ضنينةٌ

ما خطرَتْ زيارةٌ ببالها

A grudging beloved sends it visiting across the distance,

though no visit has crossed her mind.

لولا جنونُ الحبّ وخبالُهُ

لم نرضَ منها بسُرى خيالها

Were it not for love's madness and derangement,

we would not accept from her her phantom's night-journey.

زارت وأخياطُ الدجى عقودُها

قد بدأت تأخذُ في انحلالها

She visited while the knotted threads of darkness

had begun to come undone.

والعيسُ أيديها إلى صدورها

لم تتروَّحْ بعدُ من عِقالها

The pale camels, forelegs folded toward their chests,

had not yet found freedom from their hobbles.

وفي الركاب عُصبٌ بدائدٌ

رجالها مفترشو جِمالها

Among the riding camels were scattered bands,

their men taking their camels as beds.

وافقَ من أشخاصها طولُ السُّرى

وخالف الأوطارُ من أحوالها

The long night-journey made their bodies alike,

but their desires made their conditions differ.

فساهرٌ لحاجةٍ ما نالها

ونائمٌ عنها ولم يبالها

One stayed awake for a need he had not met;

another slept, unconcerned with it.

فلو أمِنتُ كذِبَ الحُلْمِ بها

قمتُ فصلّيتُ إلى تمثالها

Had I been sure the dream of her was no lie,

I would have risen and prayed toward her image.

ثم انتبهتُ ويدي لامسةٌ

أن تعلَقَ المفلتَ من أذيالها

Then I awoke, my hand groping

to catch her trailing skirts as they slipped away.

يا عاذلي في العزِّ بِنْ فإنها

نفسُ هوىً تأبَى على عُذَّالها

O reproacher of my pursuit of glory, depart, for mine

is a passionate soul that defies its reproachers.

ما أنت في لومي على نزاهتي

من همّ حاجاتي ولا أشغالها

You, reproaching my self-respect, are not

among the concerns or occupations of my needs.

قد أخَذ المجدُ وأعطَى بيدي

فما يطول الأفقُ عن منَالها

Glory has taken and given by my hand;

the horizon cannot stretch beyond its reach.

وقد ولَجتُ أطلبُ القصوَى فما

تجنَّبَتْ رجليَ في إيغالها

I have plunged in, seeking the farthest goal;

my foot has not turned aside in its deep advance.

وقوّدَتْ يدُ الوزير الدهرَ لي

فجاءني يرسُفُ في شِكالها

The minister's hand led Time to me,

and it came shuffling in that hand's fetters.

جاد وأخلافُ الحيا بكيّةٌ

لا يطمع العاصبُ في أَرسالها

He gave while rain's udders yielded little,

and the binding milker could not hope for their streams.

كأنَّ عينَ عاشقٍ مفارَقٍ

بمائها يمينُه بمالها

As though a parted lover's eye,

with its tears, were his right hand with its wealth.

ومدَّ من نَعمائه ضافيةً

يفضُل عنّي مَسحَبا سِربالها

He spread an ample robe of his favors,

both its trailing hems extending beyond me.

في كلّ يومٍ نظرةٌ ضاحيةٌ

تكشف عن حالي دجى ضلالها

Each day brings a radiant glance

that clears the dark bewilderment from my condition,

ونعمةٌ تُخْلَق مثلَ أختها

في الحسن أو يُحذَى عن مثالها

and a favor fashioned like its sister

in beauty, or modeled on her pattern.

أمكنني من الندى أخو الندى

في قومه وابنُ العلا وآلها

He gave me access to bounty—the brother of bounty

among his people, the son of greatness and its house.

ولافت الأيام ورقابُها

قد ذهبتْ عَرْضاً مع انفتالها

And he turns the days, whose necks

have veered sideways in their twisting,

والعادلُ المقيم منها صعدةً

لا يظفَر الثقّافُ باعتدالها

and straightens and raises their spear-shaft

to a straightness no straightening-tool can achieve.

مُدّ على الدولة من عميدها

أفيحُ لا يقلِص من ظلالها

From its chief a canopy was spread over the state,

so spacious that its shade never shrinks.

وارتجعت بسيفه وعزمه

ما استلب الزمانُ من كمالها

Through his sword and resolve it reclaimed

what Time had stolen of its perfection.

قام بها وكاهلُ الدهر بها

مضعضَعٌ يعيا عن احتمالها

He upheld it when Time's shoulders beneath it

were shattered, unable to bear its weight.

والناس إما عارفُ مقصّرٌ

أو جاهلٌ بموضع اختلالها

People were either aware but remiss,

or ignorant of where its disorder lay,

يغمِط نُعماها ويُلغِي حقَّها

ويطلب العزَّة بابتذالها

denying its blessings and dismissing its rights,

seeking glory by debasing it.

حتى أتاها اللهُ من عميدها

بكاشف الغمّاء من خلالها

Until God brought it, through its chief,

one who dispels calamity from its midst,

بالواحد المبعوث في زمانها

والباتر المبعوث لانتشالها

the unique man sent forth in its age,

the cutting sword sent forth to rescue it.

من طينة ريّا التراب جُبِلتْ

جواهرُ السؤدُد في صَلصالها

From clay whose earth was well watered were molded

the jewels of lordship within its ringing clay.

رَبَتْ مع الزمان وهو يافع

واكتهل الدهرُ مع اكتهالها

It grew with Time while he was young,

and Time matured as it matured.

ودرجتْ في البيت فالبيتُ على

مَرازبِ الملوك أو أقيالها

It grew within the house, a house above

the kings' satraps or their princes.

لملمها عبد الرحيم وسقى

أيوب بالمفعَم من سِجالها

Abd al-Rahim gathered it together, and

Ayyub watered it with its brimming buckets.

فهي إذا عبَّس فخرٌ ضحكتْ

عُجْباً ببنتِ عمّها وخالها

Whenever pride frowned, it laughed,

proud of its cousin on both paternal and maternal sides.

يا شرف الدين تملَّ ودَّها

واسكن إلى الدائم من وصالها

O Sharaf al-Din, long enjoy her affection,

and rest assured of her enduring union.

وزارة قيضك الله لها

أحب من يبغي صلاح حالها

A vizierate—God appointed you to it,

the dearest of those seeking its well-being.

أُنكحتها من بعد ما تعنَّستْ

ولجَّت الأيامُ في إعضالها

You were wed to her after she had long remained unmarried,

and the days persisted in obstructing her marriage.

عزّت فلمّا أن تسمّيتَ لها

كفيتَها وكنتَ من رجالها

She was hard to win; once you declared yourself for her,

you met her needs and proved a man fit for her.

كنت لها ذخيرةً وإنما

مثلك موقوف على أمثالها

You were a treasure held in reserve for her;

one like you is reserved for her like.

خيالُك اليومَ عليها ولقد

كان رجالٌ أمسِ في خيالها

Today your image rests upon her, though

yesterday men lived in her imagination.

ملكتَها مِلكَ اليمين فاحتفظ

برقِّها واسبل على حِجالها

You possess her as a right-hand possession; preserve

her bondage, and lower veils over her bridal chambers.

واجمع هنيئاً لك بين صونها

وبين ما راقك من جمالها

Combine, to your delight, safeguarding her

with what has charmed you in her beauty.

جاءتك لم تُقرَعْ بظُنبوبٍ ولا

سوطٍ ولا أرصدتَ لاغتيالها

She came to you, struck by neither shinbone

nor whip; nor had you lain in wait to seize her.

ولا طرقتَ غاشياً أبوابَها

بين غداياها إلى آصالها

Nor did you come knocking as a caller at her doors,

from her morning hours through her evenings.

طائعةً جاءتك بل مضطرّة

منتشَطَ البَكرةِ من عِقالها

She came willingly—indeed, compelled—

as a young she-camel springs free of its hobble.

تطلب معنىً لاسمِها مخلَّصاً

من كذِبِ الأسماء وانتحالها

Seeking a meaning for her name, freed

from the falsehood and false appropriation of names.

تخطّت البُزلَ الجُلالاتِ إلى

أوائل الأعمار واقتبالها

She bypassed the mighty mature camels for

life's earliest years and its fresh beginnings.

تؤمّ منكم عصبةً تعرَّفتْ

سيادة الكهول في أطفالها

Seeking a band among you in which she recognized

mature men's lordship in its children.

حتى استقرّت منك في موطنها

مكانَ لا تأنس بانتقالها

Until she settled with you in her true home,

a place she takes no joy in leaving.

هذا الذي حدّثك الشعرُ به

عن آية الذكاء واستدلالها

This is what poetry told you,

on the evidence of discernment and its reasoning.

وبشّرتْك ماضياتُ فِقَرى

بأنه يكون في استقبالها

My earlier verses gave you glad tidings

that it would happen in the days ahead.

عيافةٌ عنديَ يُمنُ طيرها

وزاجراتٌ لِيَ صدقُ فالها

Bird-augury whose birds are auspicious to me,

and omens whose predictions prove true for me.

قلنا وصحَّ فافعلوا فإنما ال

حسنى بعشرٍ منكُمُ أمثالها

We spoke, and it proved true; now act, for the

good deed receives from you ten deeds like it.

ففضلُنا يُعرفُ في أقوالنا

وكرمُ الملوك في أفعالها

Our excellence is known through our words,

and kings' generosity through their deeds.

وما نذمُّ قاطراتِ سُحبِكم

فينا ولا نكفُرُ بانهمالها

We do not fault the dripping of your clouds

upon us, nor deny their pouring rain.

ولا رأينا البحرَ عبَّ فوفَى

بجود أيديكم ولا نوالها

Nor have we seen the sea swell high and equal

your hands' generosity or their gifts.

لكن نرى أنّ الخمولَ ضيعةٌ

في دولةٍ ونحن من عيالها

But we see obscurity as a waste

in a state of whose household we are.

وأنّ عنقاءَكُمُ تحلَّقتْ

ولم تُغيِّر حالُنا بحالها

And your phoenix has soared aloft,

yet our condition has not changed with hers.

وقد نضونا العمرَ في رجائها

ننتظرُ الإقبالَ في إقبالها

We have worn out our lives in hope of her,

awaiting good fortune as hers advances.

وحُرُماتٍ أُغفلتْ والمجدُ غض

بانُ لنا لا شك من إغفالها

And claims to respect were neglected; glory is angry

for our sake, surely, at their neglect.

فاقتدِحوا خَلَّتنا بنظرةٍ

تُنبتُ نارَ العزِّ في ذُبالها

Strike fire from our need with a glance

that makes glory's flame spring up in its wicks.

وبلِّغوا الآمالَ منكم أنفساً

قد بلَغتْ فيكم مدى آمالها

Let souls attain their hopes through you,

souls whose hopes in you have reached their utmost.

واستقبلوها غُرراً سوائراً

لا تخرُقُ الرياحُ في مجالها

Receive them, bright-blazed travelers,

whose course the winds cannot traverse.

تطوي البلادَ خوّضاً بحارَها

رواقياً فيكم ذُرَى جبالها

They fold up the lands, wading through their seas,

climbing their mountains' summits in your praise.

لا ترهب الفوتَ إذا تأيَّدتْ

ولا تخاف زَلّة استعجالها

They fear no being outstripped once strengthened,

nor any stumble from their haste.

لصُحفها منها إذا ما انتُضيَت

ما بجفون البيض من نصالها

Their pages, when drawn forth, contain

what bright swords' scabbards hold of blades.

تخبركم عن الخلود أبداً

وتخبر الأعداءَ عن آجالها

They tell you of everlasting life,

and tell enemies of their appointed deaths.

يضحك منها المهرجانُ اليوم عن

بَرْدِ الثنايا الغرِّ وصقالها

Today Mihrijan smiles because of them, revealing

its brilliant front teeth, cool as hail, and their polish.

يتيه في الزمان مثلَ تيهها

في الشعر أو يختال كاختيالها

It struts among days as they strut

among poems, or swaggers with their swagger.

يومٌ حكى فضلَك فامتاز لنا

عن شَبَهِ الأيّام أو أشكالها

A day that mirrored your excellence stood apart for us

from the likenesses and counterparts of other days.

جاء مع الوفود مشتاقاً على

تباعد الشُّقّة واعتلالها

It came with the delegations, full of longing, despite

the great distance of the journey and its hardships.

فواقفاً ما لحتَ كوقوفها

وسائلاً ما جدتَ كسؤالها

Standing whenever you appeared, as they stood,

and asking whenever you gave, as they asked.

مبشّراً أنك والي نعمةٍ

لا تطمع الأحداث في زِيالها

Heralding that you are guardian of a blessing

that fortune's blows cannot hope to dislodge.

تبقَى مع الدهر فإن تنكَّرتْ

بالدهر حالٌ لم تزل بحالها

It endures with Time; if a condition turns hostile

through Time, it still remains unchanged.