Sol 6.1

  1. ظنَّ غداةَ الخيف أن قد سلِما

    لما رأى سهماً وما أجرَى دَما

    He thought, on the morning at al-Khayf, that he had escaped unharmed,

    when he saw an arrow that had drawn no blood.

  2. فعاد يستقرِي حشاه فإذا

    فؤادُه من بينها قد عُدِما

    So he began searching through his innards, and behold:

    his heart was missing from among them.

  3. لم يدرِ من أين أصيبَ قلبُه

    وإنما الرامي درَى كيف رمَى

    He did not know from where his heart was struck;

    only the archer knew how he had shot.

  4. يا قاتَلَ اللهُ العيونَ خُلِقتْ

    جوارحاً فكيف صارت أسهما

    Ah, may God smite those eyes! They were created

    as bodily organs—how did they become arrows?

  5. ورامياً لم يتحرَّجْ من دمي

    مقتنصاً كيف استحلَّ الحرما

    And that archer, who felt no scruple over my blood—

    that hunter—how did he deem the sacred precinct lawful prey?

  6. أودعَني السُّقمَ ومرّ هازئاً

    يقول قم فاستشفِ ماءَ زمزما

    He lodged sickness in me and passed by, mocking,

    saying, 'Rise, and seek healing in Zamzam's water.'

  7. ولو أباح ما حَمى من ريقه

    لكان أشفَى لي من الماء اللمى

    Had he allowed me what he withheld of his saliva,

    the dusky hue of his lips would have healed me better than water.

  8. يا بأبي ومن يبيعُ بأبي

    على الظما ذاك الزُّلالَ الشَّبما

    Ah, my father as ransom! Who would sell for my father

    that limpid, cold draught in the face of thirst?

  9. كأنّما الصهباءُ في كافوره

    سِحريةٌ وجلّ عن كأنَّما

    As though the red wine in his camphor

    were magical—yet he transcends all 'as though.'

  10. يا نافض البطحاء يبغى خبراً

    إن هو أدّاه إليّ غَنِما

    O you who scour al-Batha, seeking news,

    you will gain a reward if you bring it to me.

  11. سل بانة الوادي إذا تأوّدت

    عن ظبية مَن القضيبُ منهما

    Ask the valley's ban tree, when it sways,

    about a gazelle: which of the two is the slender branch?

  12. وأين سكَان الحمى من ولهي

    بعدَهُمُ سَقياً لسكّان الحمى

    What do the preserve's dwellers know of my yearning

    since they departed? May rain bless the preserve's dwellers!

  13. توهّموا أن الفراقَ سَلوةٌ

    عنهم فلا أحللتُ من توهَّما

    They imagined separation would console me

    for their loss; may I never absolve whoever imagined that!

  14. وأنّ عيني مُلئت من غيرهم

    إذ منعوا إذنْ رأت عيني العمَى

    And that my eye had found its fill in others

    when they denied me—then my eye must have gone blind!

  15. قالوا توخَّ الأجرَ واصبر طامعاً

    والحظ في الهيفاء مع مَن أثِما

    They said, 'Seek reward and endure, hopeful;

    a share in the slender beauty goes with those who sin.'

  16. لام ولا يعلمُ فيها ناصحٌ

    مجتهدٌ أغرى بها لو علِما

    A counselor reproached me, ignorant of her,

    though zealous; had he known, he would have urged me toward her.

  17. قالَ اكْنِ عنها فاسمُها علامةٌ

    رضيتُ فيها أن أكون علَما

    He said, 'Allude to her indirectly: her name is a telltale sign.'

    I am content to be a banner for her love.

  18. أُضمُمْ يداً على الحبيب ما وفَى

    ضميرُه واصلَ أو تَصرَّما

    Hold fast to the beloved while he remains true

    at heart, whether he stays close or breaks away.

  19. ولا تدعْ حُلَّة يومٍ لغدٍ

    يأتي بأخرَى فالهوى ما قدُما

    Do not forsake today's robe for tomorrow,

    which brings another: love is what has endured.

  20. قد غمز الدهرُ بنابيه على

    عُودي فلا خارَ ولا تحطَّما

    Time has pressed its two fangs against

    my stem, but it neither weakened nor shattered.

  21. وفَرَّني ريبُ الزمان قارحاً

    وجَذَعاً فما أطعتُ اللُّجُما

    Time's vicissitudes examined my teeth as a mature horse

    and as a colt, yet I never yielded to the bridles.

  22. يحكمُ في حظِّيَ ما شاءَ فإن

    مرَّ بِعرضِي لم أكن مُحكَّما

    It rules my fortune as it pleases; but if

    it touches my honor, I will not submit to its judgment.

  23. لم تأكل الأيام وفرِي عسلاً

    إلا رأت مُضغةَ لحمي علقما

    The days never ate my wealth as honey

    without finding a morsel of my flesh bitter colocynth.

  24. حَملتُ مجبوبَ الجُنوب ظَالعاً

    منها الذي أعيى الجُلاَلَ المُقرمَا

    With flanks cut down and limping, I bore

    from them what exhausted the mighty breeding camel.

  25. إذا أتى اليومُ بشرٍّ عابسٍ

    لقيتُه منافقاً مبتسما

    When a day comes scowling with evil,

    I meet it with a feigned smile.

  26. خبَرتُ حظّي فسواءٌ سفِه ال

    دهرُ عليَّ عامداً أو حَلُما

    I know my fortune: it is all the same whether time acts foolishly

    toward me deliberately, or shows forbearance.

  27. وكيف يُرجَى النَّصفُ من مُحكَّم

    يعرفُ إلا العدلَ فيما قسَما

    How can fairness be hoped for from an arbiter

    who knows everything but justice in what he apportions?

  28. ومن كريم الصبر عندي أسوةٌ

    بمعشرٍ يعلمون الكرَما

    In noble patience I have an example

    in a company who know nobility.

  29. هم طرقوا بسودها وحُمرها

    نوائبا خُرْساً وخَطْباً أعجما

    They were assailed by black and red afflictions,

    mute calamities and an inarticulate catastrophe;

  30. فلم يكن للريح وهي عاصفٌ

    أن تستلينَ منكِبَيْ يلَملَما

    yet the wind, though raging,

    could not soften Yalamlam's shoulders.

  31. تسربلوا الحزم لها واتخذوا

    فيها العزاءَ للعلاء سُلَّما

    They clothed themselves in resolve against them, and made

    patient endurance amid them a ladder to eminence.

  32. وأقبلوها أوجهاً بائحة

    بالبشر فيها ونفوساً كُتُما

    They faced them with countenances openly proclaiming

    good cheer, and souls that hid their feelings,

  33. حتى رأى الاعداءُ فيما سُلبوا

    من نَعَمٍ أن قد أفيدوا أنعُما

    until their enemies saw that, through being stripped

    of blessings, they had been endowed with fresh blessings.

  34. أُسْرة مجدٍ لا يَرونَ فائتاً

    من وفرهم والعرضُ باقٍ مغرمَا

    A family of glory, who do not regard what is lost

    of their wealth as a loss, while honor remains.

  35. كأنّ ما ينقُص من أعدادهم

    ومالهِم زيَّدهم وتمَّما

    As though whatever diminishes their numbers

    and their wealth increases and completes them.

  36. إن مات منهم سيِّدٌ قام له

    منهم شبولٌ يَخلِفون الضَّيغما

    If a lord among them dies, in his place arise

    their own lion-cubs, succeeding the lion.

  37. تزاحموا على العُلا واقترعوا

    على الندى فانتصفوه أسهما

    They thronged toward the heights and drew lots

    for generosity, dividing it fairly into shares.

  38. وارتكَضوا يُجَبِّنونَ الأسْدَ في ال

    غابات أو يُبَخِّلون الدِّيَما

    They charged, making lions in the

    forests seem cowardly, or steady rains seem miserly.

  39. كلُّ غلام ذاهبٌ بنفسه

    حيثُ مضى المجدُ به ويمَّما

    Each youth bears himself onward

    wherever glory leads him and directs him.

  40. إذا أبى طارت به حَميَّةٌ

    علويَّةٌ أقربُ برجَيْها السما

    When he refuses to yield, zeal bears him aloft—

    a lofty zeal whose nearer of two towers is the sky.

  41. فإنِ خبت شمسُ نهارٍ منهمُ

    غطُّوا الدجى أهلّةً وأنجما

    If a day's sun among them goes out,

    they fill the darkness as crescents and stars.

  42. أراكةٌ عبدُ الرحيم عِرقُها

    ثمَّ زكَى الفرعُ الكريمُ ونمى

    An arak tree, with Abd al-Rahim as its root;

    then the noble branch flourished and grew.

  43. وكان من ثمارِها لما علت

    أبو المعالي مُورقاً ومُطعِما

    And among its fruits, when it rose high,

    was Abu al-Ma'ali, leafy and fruit-bearing.

  44. كان فتاها مُرضَعاً وكهلَها

    مثَّغِراً وشيخَها محتلِما

    He was its young champion while still at the breast, and its mature man

    when shedding milk teeth, and its elder at puberty.

  45. وتاجَها المعصوبَ وسوارَها

    إن رفعتْ رأساً ومدّت مِعصما

    And its bound-on crown and its bracelet

    whenever it raised a head or extended a wrist.

  46. صبا لأصوات العُفاة سمعُه

    كأنما يؤنس منها نَغَما

    His hearing yearned for the voices of bounty-seekers,

    as though it heard melody in them.

  47. واستصغر الدنيا فلو جاد بها

    موهوبةً لم يعتقبها ندَما

    He deemed the world small; were he to give it away

    as a gift, he would feel no regret afterward.

  48. أوجعُ من ضمٍّ على جمر الغضا

    في حسِّه كفٌّ تضمُّ دِرهما

    More painful than grasping the embers of ghada wood,

    to his senses, is a palm that clutches a dirham.

  49. تعلَّم النسيمُ من أخلاقه

    حتى صفا والغيثُ حتى كَرُما

    The breeze learned from his character

    until it grew pure, and the rain until it grew generous.

  50. لو أسخطتك يدُه وحوشيتْ

    أرضاك أو زادك وجهاً وفما

    If his hand displeased you—may it be spared that!—

    he would satisfy you, or give you still more, with face and mouth.

  51. إذا افتقدتَ نصره لغايةٍ

    داس لها النار وخاضَ الفَحَما

    If you sought his support for some goal,

    he would tread fire and wade through the coals for it.

  52. لله أنتَ مُقْبلاً على الندى

    بوجهه والدهرُ قد تجهَّما

    God bless you, advancing toward generosity,

    face foremost, while time has scowled!

  53. وقائماً فداعماً بيده

    ماثُلَّ من عَرش العلا وهُدِّما

    And standing, propping up with your hand

    what has been toppled and demolished of glory's throne.

  54. أجدبتِ الحال فلم تأسَ غنىً

    نفسٌ أكنْتَ واجداً أو مُعْدِما

    Circumstances grew barren, yet riches drew no regret

    from a soul, whether you were wealthy or destitute.

  55. أوْ لم تَسَعْ مالاً فأوسعتَ به

    بِشراً فكنتَ مانعاً ومُنعِما

    Or, if you could not offer money, you offered ample

    good cheer, withholding and yet bestowing.

  56. وخَبُثَتْ سرائرٌ فلم تكن

    لله في تدبيره متَّهِما

    Inner thoughts grew foul, but you were not

    one to accuse God over His governance.

  57. لا جَرَماً وإن ذوَتْ دولتُكم

    لترجِعَنَّ غَضَّةً لا جَرَما

    Surely, even though your ascendancy has withered,

    it shall return fresh—surely.

  58. لا بدّ أن يُجمَع حظٌّ شاردٌ

    ضلَّ وأن يُقلِعَ دهرٌ أجرَما

    The straying fortune must be gathered back,

    having lost its way, and criminal time must desist;

  59. وأن تحِنَّ نعمةٌ قد فارقتْ

    أوطانَها حتى تعودَ أنعُما

    and a blessing that has left must yearn

    for its homelands, until it returns in blessings.

  60. إذا سلِمتم أنفساً وحسباً

    فقد سلِمتم نشَباً ونِعما

    If your selves and honor are unharmed,

    then your possessions and blessings are unharmed.

  61. فإن أصاب فرصةً بشمتِهِ

    عدوُّكم فطالما قد رُغِما

    If a chance for gloating has fallen

    to your enemy, many a time has he been humbled.

  62. توقّعوا عَودَ إيابِ عزّكم

    وليتوقَّع غيظَه المضَرَّما

    Await your glory's return once more,

    and let him await his blazing anger.

  63. كأنني من خَلَل الغيبِ أرى

    شمسَ الضحى تفتُقُ هذي الظُّلَما

    It is as though, through the gaps of the unseen, I see

    the forenoon sun cleaving this darkness.

  64. عِيافةٌ ما كذَبتْني فيكُمُ

    قطّ ولا زجرتُ منها أشأما

    A bird-augury that has never lied to me about you,

    nor have I ever read an ill omen from it.

  65. وواعدٌ من الأماني لم يكن

    خالاً ولا ضاغثتُ منه حُلُما

    And a promise among my hopes, which was not

    an illusion, nor did I fashion from it a tangled dream.

  66. فاسمع لها بشارةً من صادقٍ

    صحّ على السَّبرْ لكم وسلِما

    So hear in it glad tidings from a truthful man

    who proved sound and unblemished under scrutiny for you,

  67. لم يَزْوِ وجهاً عنكُمُ وقد هفا ال

    دهرُ بكم ولا أزلَّ قدَما

    who never turned his face away from you, though

    time made you stumble, nor let his footing slip;

  68. ولا ونَى مكاشفاً عدوَّكم

    بمدحكم معْ كونه محتشما

    nor slackened in openly confronting your enemy

    with praise of you, despite his imposing standing.

  69. لا يرهبُ القاهرَ من سلطانه

    ولا يبالي سيفَه المنتقِما

    He does not dread the oppressor for his power,

    nor care for his avenging sword.

  70. وكيف أخشى الأمرَ والله معي

    يعلَمُ أنّي فيه أرعىَ الذمما

    How could I fear the affair, when God is with me,

    knowing that in it I uphold my obligations?

  71. وحرّة من الكلام سهلة

    ليست على كلّ فمٍ تكلَّما

    And a freeborn utterance, flowing easily,

    not on every mouth that speaks—

  72. يحذَرُ منها العُصْمُ فرطَ خُدَعِي

    يا لَلرجالِ من يحطُّ العُصُما

    the ibex fear it, so great is my cunning.

    O men! Who can bring the ibex down?

  73. أشقَى بمعناها ويحظَى معشرٌ

    ينتحلون اسما لها مقتَسما

    I suffer over its meaning, while a company prospers,

    claiming for themselves a share in its name.

  74. هل نافعٌ لي حسنُ إفصاحي بها

    إذا غدا حظّي بها مُجمجِما

    Does the beauty of my eloquence in it benefit me

    when my fortune through it mumbles indistinctly?

  75. جاءتك في حَبيرةٍ تسحبُها

    سحبَ اليمانِي بُردَه المسهَّما

    It has come to you in a patterned robe, trailing it

    as a Yemeni trails his arrow-patterned mantle.

  76. فاجتلِها كما اجتليتَ قبلَها

    بِكراً فضضتَ عُذْرَها وأيِّما

    So unveil her, as you have unveiled before her

    a virgin whose maiden seal you broke, and a widow.

  77. يلقاك وجهُ المهرجان سافراً

    عنها ويلقَى معشراً ملثَّما

    The face of Mihragan greets you, unveiled

    by her, while it greets other men veiled.

  78. واسلم لألفٍ مثلِها في مثلِهِ

    تعدُّها موالياً منتظما

    May you live safely for a thousand like her on occasions like this,

    counting them in unbroken, ordered succession.