حرم عليها نزهات الوادي — Mihyar Al Daylami

حرِّم عليها نُزُهاتِ الوادي

وولِّها جوانبَ البلادِ

Deny her the valley's pleasant outings,

and turn her toward the country's far reaches.

وغنِّها إنْ طرِبَتْ لصافرٍ

آذانُها برَهَجِ الجِلادِ

And sing to her, if a whistler delights

her ears, with the din of combat.

واسبِقْ بها إلى العلا شوطَ الصَّبا

لعلّها تُعَدُّ في الجِيادِ

And race her toward the heights, outstripping the east wind's course,

that she may be counted among thoroughbreds.

قد لفظتْكَ هاجداً وقاعداً

مَكاسرُ البيتِ وحَجْرُ النادي

Already, sleeping and sitting, you have been cast out

by the house's nooks and the assembly's lap.

كم التمادي تطلب العفوَ به

قد بلغَ الجهدَ بك التمادي

How long will you linger, seeking ease through it?

Lingering has driven you to utmost hardship.

لابد إن عفت تخاليطَ القذَى

أن تُخلَطَ الأرجُلُ بالهوادي

If you abhor the mingled grit, there is no escaping

legs being tangled with necks.

ما العزُّ بين الحُجُراتِ كامناً

ولا الغنَى في الطُّنْبِ والعِمادِ

Glory does not lie hidden among chambers,

nor wealth among tent ropes and poles.

تفسَّحي يا نفسُ أو تطوَّحي

إمّا الردى أو دَرَكُ المُرادِ

Seek open spaces, O soul, or cast yourself forth:

either death or attainment of your desire.

إن النفوس فاعلمي إن حُمِلتْ

مسجونةٌ في هذه الأجسادِ

Know that souls, if they are borne,

are imprisoned within these bodies.

خيرٌ من الزاد الوثيرِ والأذى

أَن أنفُضَ الأرضَ بغير زادِ

Better than luxurious provisions and indignity

is that I scour the earth without provisions.

قد ملَّني حتَّى أخي وأنكرتْ

كلابُ بيتي في الدجى سَوادي

Even my brother has tired of me, and

my house's dogs fail to recognize my dark figure at night.

كم أحملُ الناسَ على عِلاَّتهم

قد جُلِبَ الظهرُ وجُبَّ الهادي

How often I bear people, despite their flaws!

My back is crusted with sores, my neck severed.

في كل دارٍ ناعقٌ يخبِطُ في

جنبيّ وهو خاطبٌ ودادي

In every house a brayer strikes at

my flanks, while courting my affection.

وحالمٌ لي فإذا استسعدتهُ

في يوم رَوعٍ مال بالرقاد

And one who dreams for me—yet when I seek his aid

on a day of terror, he turns to sleep.

يُعجبُه قربي لغير حاجةٍ

فإن عرَتْ طارَ مع البعادِ

He delights in my nearness when there is no need;

but if a need arises, he flies away into distance.

إذا عدمتُ عُدَدي ضحكتُ من

تبجُّحي بكثرةِ الأعدادِ

When I lack my resources, I laugh at

my boasting of my great numbers.

أُنساً على ما خَيَّلَتْ وخَلَبتْ

بروقُها بوحشةِ انفرادي

I take comfort, despite the illusions and allure

of their lightning, in the desolation of my solitude.

ما أنا والحزمُ معي بآمنٍ

شريحَتيْ صدرِي على فؤادي

With prudence beside me, I do not trust

the two halves of my chest with my heart.

قد شَمِتَ النُّقصان بالفضلِ وقد

تَسلَّط العجزُ على السَّدادِ

Deficiency has gloated over excellence, and

incapacity has lorded it over sound judgment.

فاجفُ الوُصولَ واهجُ من مدحتَهُ

فربّما تُصلِحُ بالفسادِ

So shun the devoted friend, and lampoon the one you praised:

perhaps you may set things right through corruption.

ولا تخلْ ودَّ العميد مِنحةً

سيقتْ بقصدٍ أو عن اعتمادِ

Do not think the chief's affection a gift

sent with intent or by deliberate design.

لكنّها جوهرةٌ يتيمةٌ

تقذِفها البحارُ في الآحادِ

Rather, it is a peerless jewel

that the seas cast up only rarely.

جاءت بها والوالدات عُقُمٌ

مُقْبلةٌ غريبةُ الولادِ

It was brought forth while mothers were barren,

by an auspicious one, wondrous in her offspring.

خلِّ له الناسَ وبِعْهم غانياً

به على كثرتهم وفادِ

Forsake people for him; sell them, content

with him despite their numbers, and give them in his ransom.

وحَكِّم المجدَ التليد فيهمُ

وفيه واسأل ألسنَ الرُّوّادِ

Let ancestral glory judge between them

and him, and ask the tongues of scouts,

بالأقربِينَ الحاضرين منهُمُ

ما غاب من ذاك البعيدُ النادي

through those nearest and present among them,

what is hidden of that man whose court lies far away.

وحبّذا بين بيوتِ أَسَدٍ

بيتٌ إذا ضلَّ الضيوفُ هادي

How excellent, among the houses of Asad,

is a house that guides guests when they lose their way!

أَتلعُ طال كَرماً ما حولَه

تَشرُّفَ الربْوِ على الوِهادِ

Lofty, it surpasses all around it in generosity,

as high ground rises above the lowlands.

مُوضَحةٌ على ثلاثٍ نارُهُ

إن سَرِفوا النيرانَ في الرَّمادِ

His fire is openly displayed upon three,

when others neglect their fires in the ashes.

بيتٌ وسيعُ الباب مبلولُ الثرى

ممهَّد المجلسِ رَخصُ الزادِ

A house with a spacious door and moistened earth,

a well-prepared sitting-place and inexpensive fare.

إنْ قوَّضَ البيوتَ أصلٌ حائرٌ

طُنِّبَ بالآباءِ والأجدادِ

If a wavering foundation brings houses down,

his is pegged firm with fathers and forefathers.

تُرفَعُ عن محمدٍ سُجوفُهُ

جوانبَ الظلماءِ عن زنادِ

Its curtains are drawn back from Muhammad,

like the edges of darkness from a fire-striker.

أبلج يُورِي في الدجى جبينُه

على خبوّ الكوكب الوقَّادِ

Bright-faced, his brow kindles fire in the darkness,

even when the blazing star has faded.

ساد وما حُلَّتْ عُرَى تميمه

بالأطيَبيْن النفسِ والميلادِ

He became a lord before his amulet's knots were untied,

through the two noblest things: spirit and birth.

وجاد حتى صاحت المزنُ به

أَكْرمتَ يا مُبخِّلَ الأجوادِ

He gave so freely that the rainclouds cried to him:

'You have been generous, O you who make the generous seem miserly!'

من غِلمةٍ تحاشدوا على الندَى

تحاشُدَ الإبْلِ على الأورادِ

He is of youths who thronged toward generosity,

as camels throng toward watering places.

ودبَّروا المجدَ فسدُّوا ما وَلُوا

سدَّ السيوف ثُغَرَ الأغمادِ

They governed glory and filled the posts they held,

as swords fill the mouths of scabbards.

مشَوا على الدارِس من طُرْق العلا

ويَقتفي الرائحُ إثرَ الغادِي

They trod the effaced paths toward the heights,

and the evening traveler follows the morning traveler's track.

يعتقبون دَرَجاً ذروتَها

تعاقُبَ العقودِ في الصّعادِ

They take turns upon its summit, step by step,

like knots succeeding one another on spear-shafts.

مَثنَىً ووُحداناً إلى أن أحدقوا

بهالةِ البدرِ على ميعادِ

In pairs and singly, until they encircled

the full moon's halo at an appointed time.

للكَلمِ المعتاصِ من سلطانهم

عليه ما للجحفل المنقادِ

Over intractable speech they have authority

equal to that over an obedient army.

فهم قلوبُ الخيل مثلُ ما هُمُ

إن خَطَبوا ألسنةُ الأَعوادِ

They are the hearts of the cavalry, just as they are,

when they deliver orations, the tongues of the pulpits.

هل راكبٌ وضَمِنَتْ حاجتَهُ

غضبَى القِماصِ سَمحةُ القيادِ

Is there a rider whose errand is guaranteed

by a mount fierce in bucking, gentle to the rein,

مُطلَقةُ الباعِ إذا تقيَّدتْ

من الكَلالِ السُّوقُ بالأعضادِ

unfettered in stride when lower legs are bound

by exhaustion to their upper limbs?

تدرُّ قبل البوّ أو تَطرَبُ من

مَراحها قبل غِناء الحادي

She yields milk before the calf-effigy, or exults

in her exuberance before the camel-driver's song.

لا يُتهِمُ الليلُ عليها فجرَهُ

ولا يَخافُ عدوةَ العوادي

Night does not distrust its dawn on her account,

nor fear the assault of assailants.

لها من الجوّ العريض ما اشتهتْ

همَّك في السرعةِ والإبعادِ

She has whatever she desires of the broad expanse,

your aim being speed and far-reaching travel.

تَصدُقُها واللَّحظاتُ كُذُبٌ

عينَا قُطامِيٍّ على مِرصادِ

While other glances lie, she is seen truly

by the two eyes of a falcon lying in wait.

بلّغ وفي عتابك الخيرُ إذَن

تحيةً من كَلِفِ الفؤادِ

Deliver, then—and in your reproach there is good—

a greeting from one enamored at heart.

ينفُثُ فيها شجوَه كما اشتفى ال

مدنَفُ بالشكوى إلى العُوّادِ

He breathes his grief into it, as relief comes to the

ailing man through complaints to his visitors.

قُلْ لعميدِ الحيّ بين بابلٍ

والطَّفِّ جادت ربعَك الغوادي

Tell the chief of the clan between Babylon

and al-Taff: 'May morning clouds rain upon your dwelling!'

ما اعتضتُ أو نمتُ على البين فلا

بقلقي بتَّ ولا سهادي

I have neither taken a substitute nor slept through separation; may you not

pass the night in my restlessness or sleeplessness.

أشرقَني الشوقُ إليك ظامئاً

بالعذْب من أحبابيَ البِرادِ

Longing for you has choked me, though thirsty,

on the cool, sweet draught from my beloved friends.

ما زارني طيفُ حبيبٍ هاجرٍ

إلا اعترضتُ فثنَى وسادي

No dream-vision of an estranged beloved has visited me

without my intercepting it, whereupon it folded my pillow.

ولا نَسمتُ البانَ تفليه الصَّبا

إلا تضوّعتُك من أبرادي

Nor have I scented the ban-tree, combed by the east wind,

without inhaling your fragrance from my cloaks.

والبدرُ يحكيك فيشقَى ناظري

حتى كأنّ بِيضه دآدى

The full moon resembles you, and my eye suffers,

until its bright nights seem the dark nights of month's end.

فهل على ماء اللقاءِ بِلَّةٌ

يُرْوَى بها هذا النزاعُ الصادي

Is there, then, a drop in the water of reunion

to quench this thirsty yearning?

مالك لا تسمحُ بالقربِ كما

تسمحُ بالمالِ وبالإِرفادِ

Why do you not grant nearness as freely as

you grant money and assistance?

أنت جوادٌ والنوى مَبخَلَةٌ

ما أعجبَ البخلَ من الجوادِ

You are generous, yet separation breeds miserliness:

how strange miserliness is in a generous man!

ملَكتَني بالودّ والرفدِ معاً

والرفدُ من جوالبِ الودادِ

You have possessed me through affection and gifts together,

and gifts are among the things that bring affection.

وقاد عُنْقي لك خُلْقٌ سلِسُ ال

حبل على صُعوبة انقيادي

And a disposition has led my neck to you, supple in its

tether, despite the difficulty of leading me.

حملتُ منك اليدَ بعدَ أختِها

بكاهلٍ لا يحمِل الأيادي

I have borne your favor, followed by its sister,

on a shoulder that does not bear favors.

ولم يكن قبلَك من مآربي

لمسُ يدِ المُجدي ولا من عادي

Before you, it was not among my desires

to touch a benefactor's hand, nor was it my habit.

مَواقفاً أعطيتَ فيها مسرفاً

والبحرُ يعطيني على اقتصادِ

At moments you gave lavishly,

while the sea gave me sparingly.

فما أذمَّ الحظَّ إلا قمتَ لي

بمنّةٍ تكسبه أَحمادي

I never reproach my fortune without your rising for me

with a favor that earns it my praise.

ولا أنادي الناسَ إلا خِلتُني

إياك من بينهِمُ أنادي

Nor do I call to people without imagining

that it is you I call to among them.

ولم تكن كَخُلَّبيٍّ برقُهُ

لا للحيا اعتنَّ ولا الإرشادِ

You were not like one whose lightning is deceptive,

appearing neither for rain nor to guide.

يجلِبُ مدحي بلسانٍ ذائبٍ

مع النفاق ويدٍ جَمادِ

He draws my praise with a flowing tongue,

with hypocrisy and a barren hand.

ما عرَفَتْ فيه الندى طيٌّ ولا

أغناه شيخُ البيتِ في إيادِ

Tayy has never found generosity in him, nor

has the elder of the house in Iyad enriched him.

يدخُلُ في مجدِ الكرام زائداً

غبينةَ الأنسابِ في زيادِ

He enters the glory of noble men, adding

to the dishonor of lineage seen in Ziyad.

تسلَّطَ البخلُ على جنَابِهِ

تسلُّطَ الخُلْفِ على الميعادِ

Miserliness has mastered his domain

as broken faith masters a promise.

لَتَعلَمنّي شاكراً مجتهداً

إن هو كافى عفوك اجتهادي

You shall find me grateful and striving,

if my striving can match your bounty,

بكلِّ مغبوطٍ بها سامعُها

كثيرة الأحبابِ والحسّادِ

with every poem whose hearer is envied,

rich in admirers and enviers.

مصمَّت لها النديُّ واسع

نصيبَها الضخمَ فمُ الإنشادِ

The assembly is hushed for it; wide enough

for its mighty share is the mouth of recitation.

غريبة حتى كأَنْ ما طُبِعَتْ

من طِيبِ هذا الكَلمِ المُعتادِ

So novel that it seems not to have been fashioned

from the sweetness of this customary speech.

ترفَعُها عنايتي عن كُلْفة ال

لفظِ ومعنى الغارة المُعادِ

My care lifts it above labored

wording and the recycled meaning plundered in a raid.

تغشاك إما بالتهاني بالعلا

أو التهادي بُكرةَ الأعيادِ

It visits you either to congratulate you on eminence

or to exchange gifts at dawn on feast days.