يا دار لهوي بالنجيل من قطن — Mihyar Al Daylami

يا دار لهوِي بالنُّجَيل مَن قطَنْ

جنَّتَكِ الفيحاءَ بعدَ مَن ظعنْ

O home of my delight at al-Nujayl, who now dwells

in your spacious garden, after those who departed?

أصامتٌ بناطقِ ونافرٌ

بآنسٍ وذو خلاً بذي شجنْ

A mute in place of a speaker, and a shy creature

in place of a friendly one, a carefree one in place of a grieving one?

سِرْنا وعهدي بكِ مغنَى غِبطةٍ

أمسِ وعدنا اليومَ في مغنَى حَزَنْ

We set out, and I last knew you as an abode of joy

yesterday; today we returned to an abode of sorrow.

تشبَّهتْ حورُ الظباءِ بهمُ

أن سكنتْ فيكِ ولا مثل سكنْ

The dark-eyed gazelles have imitated them

by settling in you, but no equal has settled there.

مشتبِهٌ أعرفُه وإنما

مغالطا قلت لصحبي دارُ مَنْ

An indistinct sight, yet I recognize it; only

feigning confusion did I ask my companions, 'Whose home?'

يا صاحبي عونا وإن أشفني

مع جلدي قولي لخوّارٍ أعِنْ

O my friend, help—though it wears me down,

despite my fortitude, to tell a weakling, 'Help!'

قف باكيا فيها وإن كنت أخاً

مواسياً فبكِّها عنك وعنْ

Stand weeping there; and if you are a brother

who shares my grief, mourn it for yourself and for me.

لم يبق لي يوم الفراق فضلة

من دمعة أبكي بها يوم الدمَنْ

Parting day left me no remnant

of a tear to shed on the day of the campsite ruins.

يازمناً مرَّ كما اقترحته

بالنعف إن عاد الصبا فعد إذنْ

O time that passed just as I wished it,

at al-Na'f: if youth returns, then return too.

والعيش في كف المراح ذاهب

برأسه يقتاده بلا رسنْ

And life was in merriment's grasp, rushing

headlong, led by it without a halter.

وصاحبي كل فتىً مساعد

ما فطن الدهر له وقد فطنْ

And my companion was every helpful youth

whom Time had not noticed, though he himself was watchful,

معي إلى ما سَرَّه أو ضَرَّه

حبّاً لأن يقال خِلٌّ مؤتمنْ

beside me in whatever pleased or harmed him,

out of love for being called 'a trusted friend.'

ما فِيَّ من صالحةٍ أذاعَها

بجهدهِ أوتكُ عوراءُ دفَنْ

Whatever virtue I had, he proclaimed

with all his effort; if there was a fault, he buried it.

وحاملٍ على الشرور حاملٍ

في طرفه وكفّه سيفَ الفتنْ

And one who urged mischief, bearing

in his gaze and his hand the sword of temptation.

قد كتبَ الشعْر على عارضِه

ما أقبح الإعراضَ بالوجه الحسنْ

The down has written upon his cheek:

'How ugly is rejection on a lovely face!'

يدير مما اختار عسجديةً

ما قُطِعتْ عن مثلها هامةُ دَنّْ

He passes round a golden wine of his choosing:

no wine-jar's head was ever severed for its like.

صيغت وسحرَ عينه من طينةٍ

واحدةٍ وبابلٌ أمُّ المدنْ

It and the magic of his eye were fashioned from clay,

one and the same—and Babylon is the mother of cities.

تفترُّ عن فأرةِ مسكٍ كأسُها

إذا انتشى وثغره إذا أذِنْ

Its cup smiles open, revealing a musk-pod,

when he grows tipsy; his mouth does so when he gives leave.

كأنما أعداهما بخُلقِه

محمدُ بنُ جعفرٍ أبو الحسَنْ

As though he had infected them both with his character—

Muhammad ibn Ja'far, Abu al-Hasan.

قالوا الرحيلُ فمسحتُ عَبرةً

زادت على بلِّ الرداء والرُّدُنْ

They said, 'Departure!' and I wiped away a tear

that went beyond merely wetting my cloak and sleeves.

في كلّ يوم عزمةٌ يُعلمني

شقاؤها أن النعيمَ في الوطنْ

Every day brings a resolve; I learn

from its hardship that happiness lies in one's homeland.

يا رِحلتي أين يُريد الدهرُ بي

ومَن من الناس تُرى قالت تَمَنّْ

O journey of mine, where does Time intend to take me,

and to whom among men, do you think? She said, 'Wish.'

قلت الذي جاد لي دهريَ به

فما أبالي بسواه كيف ضنّْ

I said, 'The one my Time has bestowed upon me;

I care not how grudging it has been with anyone else.'

من بان بالمجد على اتّحاده

كم من كثيرٍ جمعُه ولم يَبِنْ

He stands out in glory, though he is but one;

how many have a numerous following, yet never stand out!

يدٌ تُصيب حيثُ سَالَ صَوبُها

قصدا وكم قد أخطأتْ به المُزُنْ

A hand that, wherever its downpour flows, strikes

the mark—how often the rainclouds have missed it!

تَجمَعُ بين الفتك والجودِ له

وقلّما يبخلُ إلا من جَبُنْ

It combines deadly force and generosity for him,

and seldom is anyone miserly except the cowardly.

خَفَّ نوالا ونِزالا وله

حِلمٌ إذا وازنَ ثهلانَ وزَنْ

He is swift in giving and battle, yet he has

a forbearance weighty enough to rival Thahlan.

يا نفس بشرَى إنه محمدٌ

والمشرَبُ السائغُ والمغنَى الأغَنّْ

O soul, glad tidings! It is Muhammad,

the pleasant watering-place and the lush abode.

لا حقَّ لي عند بخيلٍ ناقِص ال

فضل وإن جمَّع مالاً واختزنْ

I have no claim upon a miser deficient in

virtue, though he has amassed and hoarded wealth.

يجهلني بديهةً وإنه

يزداد جهلا بِيَ كُلَّما امتَحَنْ

He misjudges me at first sight, and indeed

grows more ignorant of me whenever he tests me.

لا أحسدُ المثري على ما عنده

من خيره وعِرضُه فيما وهَنْ

I do not envy the wealthy man for what he owns

of wealth, while his honor has suffered.

ولا أحطُّ الدهرَ كعبا أن أُرَى

وهو سواءً إن صفِرتُ واحتجَنْ

Nor will I ever lower my standing to be seen

as equal to him, even if I am penniless and he hoards.

لي عفَّتي عنه وما نال له

وخيرُنا مَن عارك العيشَ الخشِنْ

My independence from him is mine; what he gains is his,

and the better of us is he who wrestles with a hard life.

والمالُ حلو والذي يُحيلُه

عندِيَ مرّاً أنه يتلوه منّْ

Wealth is sweet; what turns it

bitter to me is that reminders of favors follow it.

قَناعةٌ صانت لوجهي ماءَه

كم من حريصٍ لم يجُدْ ولم يصنْ

Contentment preserved the water of honor in my face;

how many a greedy man neither gave nor preserved his dignity!

يخدعُني دهري بتسويفاته

عنها وهل يُخدَعُ جفنٌ عن وسَنْ

My Time beguiles me with its promises of 'later'

away from it—but can an eyelid be beguiled from sleep?

ما أكثرَ الشاكين من دنياهُمُ

فليت شعري هذه الدنيا لمَنْ

How many complain of their world!

If only I knew: for whom is this world?

وقد قلَبتُ الناسَ في حالاتهم

فما وجدتُ راضيا عن الزمنْ

And I have examined people in their various conditions,

yet found no one satisfied with Time.

قد جعلوا الشكوى طريقَ بُخلهم

يعتذرون في النعيم بالمِحَنْ

They have made complaint the path of their miserliness,

pleading hardships while living in ease.

لذاك ما صبَّحتُ منهم بَرقةً

تخطِف بالشام ويوما باليمنْ

So I appear among them at dawn like a lightning flash,

flashing in Syria, and on another day in Yemen.

أقلُّ خوفي أن أضلّ بينهم

والماءُ إن أزمن في الحوض أجَنْ

The least of my fears is to go astray among them;

and water, if it lingers in a pool, grows foul.

لولاك ما حثَّ رجائي طمَعٌ

في مطلبٍ محا اليقينُ كلَّ ظنّْ

But for you, no desire would have spurred my hope

toward a goal where certainty has erased every doubt.

جئتك أُهديها على ضنِّي بها

عذراءَ لا تُفتضُّ إلا بالفطنْ

I came to offer her to you, though loath to part with her,

a virgin who is deflowered only by keen wits.

ناشزة لم ترضَ لولاك فتىً

بعَلاً ولم أَرض لها قطُّ خَتَنْ

Rebellious, she would have accepted no youth but for you

as a husband; nor have I ever approved a bridegroom for her.

مما ابتكرتُ لم تكن مجلوبةً

بغارةٍ أضحت على الشعرِ تُشَنّْ

She is my own creation, not something brought back

by a raid now being launched against poetry.

إذا امرؤ قال لراويها أعدْ

أطرَبه كأنما قال تَغَنّْ

When a man tells her reciter, 'Repeat it!'

he thrills him as though the command were 'Sing!'

فخلّها ما شئتَ واقسِمْ شرفَاً

أذخَرُ منه لهزالي ما سَمِنْ

So leave her as you please, and apportion honor

whose fat I can store against my lean times.

مكارمٌ أوجبَها حبُّك لي

وسنَّها والحرُّ يمضي حيثُ سَنّْ

Noble deeds your love for me has made a duty

and made customary; a noble man follows the course he has set.

فإنها في الناس بين مؤْثرٍ

لم يجتهِد وذي اجتهاد لم يُعَنْ

For among men, these lie between one who desires them

but makes no effort, and one who strives but is not aided.

تكلَّفوها بعد ما قد هرِموا

وإنما رضعتها مع اللّبنْ

They labored to acquire them after they had grown old,

whereas you imbibed them with your milk.