أدمعك أم عارض ممطر — Mihyar Al Daylami

أدمعُك أم عارضٌ ممطرُ

أم النفسُ ذائبة تَقطُرُ

Are these your tears, or a rain-bearing cloud,

or your soul, melting and dripping away?

دَعوا بالرحيل فمستذهِلٌ

أضلَّ البكاءُ ومستعبِرُ

They called for departure: one stood bewildered,

lost through weeping, and another shedding tears.

وقالوا الوداعُ على رامة

فقلت لهم رامةُ المحشَرُ

They said, “The farewell is at Rama.”

I told them, “Rama is the place of resurrection.”

وأرسلتُ عَينيَ بالأَنعَميْنِ

لتُبصِرَ لو أنها تُبصرُ

I sent my gaze across al-An'amayn,

to see—if only it could see!

فما حَمَلتْ خبراً يُستطا

بُ إلّا الذي كذَبَ المُخبِرُ

It brought no news to gladden me—

save what the informant falsely told.

وعنَّفني منذرٌ خالياً

ألفتَ وفُورِقتَ يا منذِرُ

Mundhir rebuked me when we were alone.

“You have loved and been parted, Mundhir.”

وقالوا تحمَّل ولو ساعةً

فقلت لهم مُدّتي أقصرُ

They said, “Endure, even for an hour.”

I told them, “My allotted span is shorter.”

ولكن تطالَلْ بعينِ النصيح

لعلَّك مُستشرِفاً تنظرُ

But peer out with a well-wisher's eye;

perhaps, craning forward, you may see.

أجنب الغضا يقبلُون الركا

بَ أم عَرْعَراً قال بل عَرْعَرُ

“Are they turning the mounts toward al-Ghada,

or 'Ar'ar?” He said, “Rather, 'Ar'ar.”

فلا تذكرون لقلبي السلو

وَ إن كان ذاك كما يُذكَرُ

Then do not speak to my heart of forgetting,

if things are as he says.

سقى اللّهُ ما كَرُمتْ مزنةٌ

وما وَضَعَتْ حاملٌ مُعصِرُ

May God water—as long as a cloud gives generously,

and a rain-laden bearer delivers its burden,

وحنَّت فَدرَّتْ على أرضها

سماءٌ تبوح بما تُضمِرُ

and the sky yearns and pours upon its earth,

revealing what it holds within—

ملاعبَنا بالحمى والزما

نُ أعمَى وليلُ الصِّبا مقمِرُ

our playgrounds in the protected pastures, when time

was blind, and youth's night moonlit;

وعصرُ البِطالةِ مثلُ الربيع

حَياً أبيضٌ وثَرىً أخضرُ

when the age of idleness was like spring,

with white rain and green earth;

وظبيةُ جارٌ إذا شاء زا

رَ لا تستريبُ ولا تَحذَرُ

and a gazelle was a neighbor: whoever wished

could visit; she neither suspected nor feared.

إذا لذّة اليوم عنا انطوت

وثقنا بأخرى غداً تُنشَرُ

When today's pleasure folded itself away from us,

we trusted another would unfold tomorrow.

وفي الحيّ كلُّ هلاليَّةٍ

هلالُ السماء بها يُكْفَرُ

In the tribe was every Hilali beauty,

before whom heaven's crescent was disowned.

تذلُّ على عزّها للهوى

وتُسبَى وأنصارُها حُضَّرُ

Despite her pride, she submits to love,

and is taken captive while her defenders stand present.

تسيل الأسنَّةُ من دونها

ونحنُ على سرّها نَظهَرُ

Spearheads stream forth in her defense,

yet we gain access to her secret.

فذاك وهذا لوَ اَنّ الزمانَ

إناءٌ إذا راق لا يَكدُرُ

All that, and this—if only time

were a vessel that, once clear, never grew turbid!

تلوَّنَ في صِبغ أيّامه

تلوُّنَ ما نسجَتْ عَبقَرُ

It changed colors in the dyes of its days,

like the changing colors of 'Abqar's weaving.

فيومٌ تَعَرُّفُهُ غفلةٌ

ويومٌ تجنُّبُهُ مُنكَرُ

One day, making its acquaintance is folly;

another, avoiding it is reprehensible.

يَجِدُّ ويبلَى فطوراً غريبٌ

وطوراً يَسدُّ الذي يُعوِرُ

It grows new and wears out: sometimes a stranger,

sometimes closing the breaches it makes.

وحاجةِ نفسٍ سفيرُ الرجا

ء يُورِدُ فيها ولا يُصْدِرُ

And many a longing of the soul: hope's envoy

leads into it, but never leads out.

تكونُ شجىً دون أن تنقضي

وبابُ القضاءِ بها أعسرُ

It becomes a bone in the throat before it is fulfilled,

and the gate to its fulfillment is harder to open.

بَردتُ لسانِيَ أن أشتكي

أذاها وصدري بها يَزْفِرُ

I cooled my tongue against complaining

of its hurt, while my breast heaved with it.

وعهدٍ رَعيْتُ وذي مَلَّةٍ

وصلتُ من الحق ما يَهجُرُ

And many a pledge I kept; for a fickle friend

I upheld the obligations he forsook.

أردتُ بقيَّتَهُ فانعطفتُ

عليه وجانبُه أزوَرُ

I wished to preserve what remained of him, and turned

toward him, though his side was turned away.

سها فتناسى حقوقي علي

ه وهو على سهوه يَذْكُرُ

He grew heedless, pretending to forget what he owed me,

though, for all his heedlessness, he remembered.

أبالحق تهدِمُني بالجفاء

وأقطارُ عرضك بي تَعْمُرُ

Can you justly ruin me with estrangement,

while every quarter of your honor flourishes through me?

وتشربُ ظلْمِيَ مستعذباً

وظلمي مُمِرُّ الجنا مُمقِرُ

And you savor the wrong you do me as sweet drink,

though that wrong bears bitter, acrid fruit.

سأضربُ عنك صدورَ المطيِّ

وفي الأرض مَغنىً ومستمطَرُ

I shall turn the breasts of my mounts away from you;

the earth has refuge and places to seek rain.

نوازِعُ تقمحُ وِرْد الهوانِ

فتطمحُ تُسهلُ أو تُوعرُ

Restless mounts, refusing humiliation's watering-place,

lift their heads, crossing easy ground or rough;

وأنّ لها في رجالِ الحِفاظِ

مَرَاداً إلى مثله تُزجَرُ

for among men who guard their honor

they have a destination toward whose like they are urged.

وفوق ثنايا العلا أعينٌ

يُهَشُّ إليها ويُسْتَبْشَرُ

Above the mountain passes of loftiness are eyes

whose sight brings joy and glad tidings.

وفي جَوِّ عجلٍ إذا أعتمتْ

وضلَّتْ نجومُ هُدىً تَزْهَرُ

In the country of 'Ijl, when the mounts enter darkness

and lose their way, stars of guidance shine.

وأفنيةٌ تقبِضُ الوافدين

إذا رُفِعتْ بينهم كَبَّروا

And courtyards gather arriving guests;

when raised before them, they proclaim God's greatness.

يَفيءُ لهم ظلُّها بالهجيرِ

وتأرجُ طِيباً إذا أسحروا

Their shade returns to shelter them at noonday,

and they breathe fragrance when dawn finds them.

متى تَرِد الماءَ بالزابِيينِ

وترعَى صَرِيفِينَ أو تَعبُرُ

Whenever they reach water at the two Zabs,

and graze at Sarifin, or pass through,

تَخُضْ في جَميمٍ يَعمُّ السنامَ

وينصُفُهُ العُنقُ المسفِرُ

they wade through lush growth that covers the hump,

while the exposed neck parts it in two.

وتكرعُ منبسطاتِ الرقا

بِ لا يردُ الناسُ أو تَصدُرُ

And they drink with outstretched necks—

no one comes to water until they depart.

وللراكبيها القِرَى والحمى

ورِفدٌ يطيبُ كما يَكثُرُ

For their riders there is guest-fare and protection,

and gifts as pleasing as they are plentiful;

ومعقورةٌ واجباتُ الجُنوبِ

صفايا وفهّاقةٌ تهدر

slaughtered beasts, fallen on their sides,

choice ones, and a brimming bowl that roars.

فزاحم بها الليلَ حتى تكونَ

لها الصادعات له الفُجَّرُ

Drive them hard against the night, until

its dawns, splitting it apart, belong to them.

مَواقِرُ بالحاجِ تُبْطَنُ حي

ثُ تَطرَحُ أثقالَها الأظهرُ

Laden with needs, their bellies are filled where

their backs cast off their heavy loads.

فلا يعطفنَّك عن همّة

هممتَ بها بارحٌ يُزجَرُ

Let nothing turn you away from a purpose

you have resolved upon—not an ill-omened creature driven off.

فلا الجَدُّ يدفعه أعضبٌ

ولا الحظّ يصرفه أعورُ

A broken-horned beast cannot repel good fortune,

nor a one-eyed one turn luck aside.

ولا أنتَ رامٍ بها جانباً

يُشطُّ ولا نِيَّةً تَشْطُرُ

Nor are you aiming that resolve toward a place

too distant, or dividing your intention.

وعند أبي القاسم المكرما

تُ تَنمِي وأغصانُها تُزهِرُ

With Abu al-Qasim, noble deeds

grow, and their branches blossom.

كريم يَرى أنه بالملا

م يُقْذَعُ أو بالغنى يُفْقَرُ

A generous man who thinks that through rebuke

he is reviled, or through riches impoverished.

إذا استأثر اللّهُ بالمنفساتِ

من المال فهو بها مؤثَرُ

When God reserves the most precious possessions

of wealth for Himself, this man is favored with them.

يُهين الحياةَ بحبّ الفناءِ

وكفّاه في حسب يَغمُرُ

He holds life cheap through his love of passing away,

and his two hands are steeped in all-embracing nobility.

ويُعطِي عطاءَ ابن عيسى ابنهُ

وما بين بحريْهما أبحرُ

Ibn 'Isa's son gives as Ibn 'Isa gave,

and no seas lie between their two seas.

فهذا يجود على فقره

وذاك على جوده موسرُ

This one gives generously despite his poverty,

and that one, despite his generosity, is wealthy.

ففي الضيم عنه فؤادٌ أصمُّ

إذا قَطر الصخر لا يقطُرُ

Facing oppression, his heart is deaf to it,

never dripping, even if rock should drip.

وأنفٌ يجيشُ به منخراه

إذا سُدّ في آخرٍ منخرُ

And a proud nose whose two nostrils seethe,

when a nostril in another man is blocked.

ونفسٌ إذا العيش كان اثنتين

عُلاً تُقتنَى وغنىً يؤثَرُ

And a soul that, when life offers two things—

loftiness to acquire and wealth to prefer—

مضت في سبيل الأشقّ الأعزِّ

ولم يُصْبِها الأروحُ الأصغرُ

takes the harder, nobler path,

unseduced by the easier, lesser one.

ويومٍ من الدمِ ساعاتهُ

قميصُ النهار به أحمرُ

And many a day whose hours were blood,

when daylight's tunic was red:

تبطَّنه خائضاً نفعَهُ

يُقَلَّص عن ساقه المِئزرُ

he entered its depths, wading toward its gains,

his waistcloth hitched above his shin.

حميّةُ من لا تنام التِّرا

تُ خلفَ حشاه ولا تُهدرُ

With the zeal of one whose blood-feuds never sleep

within his breast, nor go unavenged.

وضوضاء قطَّر بالمفحَمي

ن ظهرُ مطيّتها الأزعرُ

And an uproar—the speechless were thrown down

by the sparse-haired back of its mount—

تخلَّصها فمُه فانجلت

كما فارق الصدفَ الجوهرُ

his mouth delivered it, and it emerged clear,

as a jewel leaves its shell.

فوِتر مضاعٌ به يستقاد

وفضلٌ مذالٌ به يُنصرُ

Through him, an abandoned blood-claim is avenged,

and humbled merit is given help.

إذا قال فاعقِد خيوطَ التميم

عليك فألفاظه تَسْحَرُ

When he speaks, tie amulet threads

around yourself, for his words cast spells.

ويا تارك الخمرِ لا تأتِهِ

فإنّ خلائقَه تُسكِرُ

You who shun wine, do not approach him,

for his qualities intoxicate.

يريك بظاهره غادةً

تَزُمُّ حياءً وتستخفِرُ

His outward bearing shows you a graceful maiden,

who reins herself in with modesty and seeks protection;

وفي فهمه لك نَضنَاضَةٌ

خَدورٌ وفي درعه قَسْورُ

but within his understanding you find a tongue-flicking serpent,

lurking in its lair; and within his armor, a lion.

تعطَّر من طِيبه المجدُ عنه

وعن قومه الأطيبُ الأطهرُ

Glory was perfumed by his fragrance, from him

and his people—the sweetest, purest glory.

ملوكٌ قديمهُمُ كالحديث

وبالفرع يُعرَفُ ما العنصُرُ

Kings, their men of old like their men of today;

by the branch one knows the root.

وما أخلفوا أن يُحلِّي الزما

نَ منهم أميرٌ ومستوزَرُ

They never failed to adorn time

with a prince from among them, or an appointed minister,

وقاضٍ ينفِّذُ أحكامَهُ

إذا أمر الناسَ لا يؤمَرُ

or a judge who enforces his rulings:

when he commands men, he is not commanded.

هُمُ لعشيرتهم كالسما

ءِ كلُّ الذي تحتها يصغُرُ

To their clan they are like heaven:

everything beneath it grows small.

لهم كأسُ نَشْوتها بالعَشِيِّ

وخيلُ الصباحِ إذا استُذعِرُوا

The cup is theirs, with its evening intoxication,

and the morning's horses when they are alarmed.

وفيهم مَرابعُها والصفي

يُ والقِدحُ إن عُلِّيَ الميسِرُ

Among them are its quarter-shares and the choice portion,

and the lot-arrow when the gambling stakes are raised.

وما سار من ذكرها في السماح

فهم ريَّشوه وهم طيَّروا

Whatever fame of that generosity has traveled,

they feathered it, and they set it flying.

مضَوا سلفَ المجد واستعمَروا

ديارَ العلا سعْيَ من أَخَّرُوا

They departed, forebears of glory, and entrusted

loftiness's dwellings to the striving of those they left behind.

وقد علموا بابنهم يومَ را

شَ أن رمائمَهم تُنْشَرُ

Through their son, on the day he gained his plumage, they knew

that their decayed remains would be resurrected.

وما هبةُ اللّه إلا المدا

مُ من مثلِ كَرْمِهِمُ تُعْصَرُ

Hibat Allah is nothing but wine

pressed from vines such as theirs.

فلا عَصْمُ سودَدِهم بالقنا

يُحَلُّ ولا عودُهم يُقشَرُ

The bonds of their lordship cannot be undone by spears,

nor can their wood be stripped of bark.

ومنتحِلٍ سِمةَ الفاضلي

ن والفضلُ من شكله ينفرُ

And many a man who usurps the mark of the virtuous,

though virtue flees his kind,

تقلَّد فيما ادعى غيره

هوىً وهو في اللؤم مستبصرُ

followed another in what he claimed,

from mere whim, though keenly versed in baseness.

رآك كمُلتَ فظنَّ الكمالَ

لكلّ فتىً رامَهُ يقدِرُ

He saw your perfection and thought perfection

within the power of every youth who sought it.

ولم يدرِ أنَّ الحجا متعِبٌ

ولا أن حبَّ العلا مُفقِرُ

He did not know that intellect is exhausting,

nor that love of loftiness brings poverty.

حَلتْ نومةُ العجزِ في عينه

فلم يدرِ ما فضلُ من يَسهَرُ

The sleep of impotence tasted sweet to his eye,

so he never knew the worth of one who stays awake.

لك الخيرُ فاسمع فإنّ الحدي

ثَ يُقْتَصُّ ثمّ له مَنشَرُ

May good be yours; listen, for a tale

is recounted, then spreads abroad.

يَهُبُّ شَراراً ويمشي على ال

سروح فتُلهَبُ أو تُسعَرُ

It blows in sparks and passes over the

trees, which are kindled or set ablaze.

ولا تُرْعِني سمعَ خالي الضلو

ع ممّا أُجِنُّ وما أُظهرُ

Do not lend me the ear of one whose breast is empty

of what I conceal and what I reveal.

فغيرك مَن لا أُبالي بما

شكوتُ أيسمعُ أم يَوْقَرُ

Others, not you, are those of whom I care not,

when I complain, whether they listen or grow deaf.

وغير حياضك ما لا أحومُ

عليه ولو أنه الكوثرُ

Other pools than yours are those I will not circle,

even if they were al-Kawthar.

إلام تَحَرُّمُ شعري بكم

يضيعُ وذمَّتُهُ تُخْفَرُ

How long shall my poetry's seeking shelter with you

be wasted, and its protection betrayed?

ويُمْطَل دَيْني ودِين الوفا

ء تاركُه عندكم يَكْفُرُ

My debt goes unpaid, and the faith of fidelity—

whoever abandons it, in your eyes, is an unbeliever.

وللمطل والصبر وقتٌ يُحَدُّ

فكم تمطُلون وكم أصبرُ

Delay and patience each have a fixed limit:

how long will you delay, and how long must I endure?

ألم تعلموا أنني ما بقي

تُ أَنظُركُم ثمّ لا أُنظَرُ

Did you not know that, as long as I remain,

I await you, then am granted no respite?

أذمُّ زماني وبي حاجةٌ

إلى القول شاهدُها يحضُرُ

I blame my time, bearing a need

to speak, whose witness stands present.

وأرسل من رَسَن الإقتضاءِ

أواناً أعرِّض أو أذكُرُ

I let out the rein of demanding my due

at times, hinting or speaking plainly.

فلا بالشكاية فيما أبو

حُ أحظى ولا بالذي أستُرُ

Yet neither by complaining of what I disclose

do I gain favor, nor by what I conceal.

وقد كنتُ أشكو وأيّامُكم

جِعادٌ وعامُكُمُ أغبرُ

I used to complain when your days

were pinched and your year dust-gray;

وأعذرُ والحالُ فيما أرو

م عن قدر همّتكم تقصرُ

and I excused you, when your circumstances, in what I sought,

fell short of the measure of your ambition.

فكيف وقد أُمطِرتْ أرضُكم

وأُفعمَ واديكُمُ أعذرُ

But how can I, now that your land has been rained upon

and your valley filled to the brim, excuse you?

وأمرُ البلاد ورزقُ العباد

إليكم وعن مثلكم يصدرُ

The governance of lands and the people's livelihood

rest with you, and come from men like you.

قدرتم فمنّوا فكم ليلةٍ

سهرتُ إلى اللّه أن تقدروا

You have the power: bestow! How many nights

I kept vigil, praying to God that you might gain it!

فما في الحميّة أن يمنَع ال

مليءُ وذو حقّه مُعسرُ

It is no part of honor for the wealthy to withhold,

while the man with a rightful claim on him is destitute.

دعوناكُمُ من وراء التي

لسانُ البليغ بها يَحصِرُ

We called you from beyond that which

makes the eloquent man's tongue falter;

وعن خَلّةٍ باطنٍ داؤها

تُجَمّلُ بالصمت أو تُستَرُ

and from a want whose ailment lies hidden,

made fair by silence, or kept concealed;

مَكحَّلَةٍ خشِنٍ مسّها

إلى أكلنا فَمُها يُفْغَرُ

kohl-darkened, harsh to the touch,

its mouth gaping to devour us.

يعزّ على المجد والمكرما

ت أنّا بأنيابها نُعقَرُ

It grieves glory and noble deeds

that its fangs should wound us.

ونحن من الدهر بل منكُمُ

بما سدّ خَلَّتَنا أجدرُ

From time—no, from you—we

are worthier of what would fill our want.

شموسٌ ببغداد منكم تضيء

ونحن بأقسامنا نَعثرُ

Suns of yours shine in Baghdad,

while we stumble over our allotted shares.

وبالجزع فالمنحنى من دُجَيلٍ

سحابٌ على غيرنا يَهمِرُ

At the valley's bend, then the curve of Dujayl,

a cloud pours down on others, not us.

ونحن نظنّ بأيّامكم

كما ظنّ بالثمرِ المؤبرُ

We place our hopes in your days,

as the pollinator hopes for fruit.

فهل فيكُمُ وبَلَى فيكُمُ

فتى يُصرِخُ الفضلَ أو ينصُرُ

Is there among you—yes, among you there is—

a young man who answers virtue's cry or helps it,

فيذكر من حقِّنا ما نُسي

ومثلُ أواصرِنا يُذكَرُ

and recalls what was forgotten of our rights?

Bonds such as ours should be remembered.