الليل فالأرض لليث الشرى — Mihyar Al Daylami

الليلُ فالأرضُ لليثِ الشرى

عرّسَ يبغي راحةً أو سرى

It is night; the earth belongs to the lion of al-Sharā.

He halts seeking rest, or travels by night.

فتارةً مفترِشاً غابةً

وتارةً مفترساً مُصحِرا

At times he makes a thicket his bed,

and at times hunts prey in the open desert.

والظَّفَر الحلو له إن عفا

عمداً وإن نَيَّبَ أو ظَفَّرا

Sweet victory is his, whether he spares

deliberately, or bares his fangs or uses his claws.

مرَّ على هِزَّة ألبادِهِ

يكبُرُ أن يؤمرَ أو يُزجَرا

He passes with a shake of his matted mane,

too proud to be commanded or rebuked.

يَرى من العزَّة في نفسه

ما لم يكن ماحضُ نصحٍ يَرَى

He sees in himself a might

that no sincere counselor had seen.

أغلب لم يُخلَقْ رَكوبَ المطا

سهلاً ولم يُقصَر لخزمِ البُرى

A thick-necked lion, not made for riding

as a tractable beast, nor confined for threading nose-rings.

فما تريد اليدُ من مِقودٍ

يرجِعُ عنه باعُها أبترا

What rein does a hand hope to find,

when its reach recoils from him, severed?

للّه رامٍ سهمهُ رأيُهُ

إذا رأى شاكلةً فكَّرا

God be praised for an archer whose arrow is his judgment!

When he sees a target, he reflects.

يطيع من عزمته مُقدِماً

ما غلَّس النهضةَ أو بَكَّرا

Advancing, he obeys his own resolve,

whether he launches before dawn or starts early.

تنصره الوثبةُ من أن يُرَى

مستصرِخ الخُلسةِ مستنصِرا

His leap saves him from being seen

crying out to stealth, seeking its aid.

لا تجذُبُ الأوطان منه ولا

يخدعه للضيم طيبُ الكرى

Homelands have no hold on him, nor

does sweet sleep lure him into humiliation.

يأنسُ بالنعمةِ ما ساندت

جنباً منيعاً وحمىً أعسرا

He takes comfort in prosperity while it supports

an inviolable flank and a sanctuary hard to penetrate.

فإن مشت في جوّها ذلّةٌ

رابك مذعوراً ومستنفرا

But if humiliation creeps through its air,

he unsettles you, startled and ready to flee.

لِيمَ على غَشْمتِه فاتكٌ

هلّا ارتأى فيها وهلّا امترى

A bold striker was blamed for his rash violence:

why did he not reflect on it, and why did he not hesitate?

وقيل لو عُلِّلَ مستأمناً

والداءُ إن موطِلَ يوماً سَرَى

And they said, “If only he had been soothed while seeking safety!”

Yet disease, if put off even a day, spreads.

وكم جَنَى الرَّيثُ على حازمٍ

فودّ لو قدَّمَ ما أخَّرا

How often has delay wronged a prudent man,

who then wished he had hastened what he postponed!

يا فارسَ الغرَّاء يرمِي بها

سهلَ العِنانِ الجانبَ الأوعَرا

O rider of the white-blazed mount, urging her,

with easy reins, into the roughest terrain!

يردُّ من غُرَّتها مُعتِماً

على الدآدي غَلَساً مقمرا

Traveling in darkness, he casts from her blaze

a moonlit twilight upon the month's last nights.

ينُصُّ من أرساغها والمطا

إما جناحاً طارَ أو مَنسِرا

From her fetlocks and back he urges forth

either a flying wing or a raiding troop.

قل لعميد الدولة افلح بها

قد سلَّم الخصمُ وزال المِرَا

Tell ʿAmīd al-Dawla: prosper with her!

The adversary has yielded, and contention has ceased.

فانظر إلى الأعقاب من صدرها

لابد للمعتم أن يُفجِرا

Consider her outcome from the outset:

one who enters darkness must come to dawn.

ركبتَها بزلاءَ مخطومةً

تحملُ منك الأَسَدَ القَسْورا

You rode her, a mature camel fitted with a nose-halter,

bearing in you the fierce lion.

ترمِي بدار الذلِّ من خلفها

ظهراً وتبغِي في العلا مظهرا

She casts the abode of humiliation behind her

back, and seeks a high station in glory.

ناجيةً تأخذ من حظّها

مقبِلةً ما تركَتْ مدْبِرا

Swift-running, she takes from her fortune,

as she advances, what she left behind in retreat.

حتى استقلَّتْ بك بحبوحةً

تشرُفُ بالبادية الحُضَّرا

Until she bore you into a spacious haven

whose desert folk surpass the townsfolk.

محميّة الأرجاء إن هُيِّجت

زعزعتِ الأبيضَ والأسمرا

Its bounds are guarded; if provoked,

it sets the white sword and the brown spear shaking.

تُذكِرُك المجدَ بوفد الجدا

وسامرَ الليل ونارَ القِرى

It reminds you of glory through delegations seeking bounty,

the night's companions, and the fire of hospitality,

وغلمةً حولك من عامرٍ

شَرطَك مدعُوّاً ومستنصَرا

and young men around you from ʿĀmir,

your picked guard when you are summoned and implored for aid.

تحسَبُها إن غضِبتْ جِنَّةً

وجانبَ الزاب بها عَبقَرا

When they rage, you would think them jinn,

and the Zāb's flank, through them, ʿAbqar.

تأمر في ذاك وتنهى بما

أنفتَ أن يُنهَى وأن يؤمَرا

There you command and forbid in matters

in which you scorned to be forbidden or commanded.

عدوُّك الآملُ ما لا يرى

أصبح من بعدك مستوزَرا

Your enemy, hoping for what he does not see,

has been appointed vizier since your departure.

دعوة داعٍ لم يجد حظُّهُ

أشقى له منك ولا أخسرا

A supplicant's prayer—his fortune found

none more grievous to him than you, nor more ruinous.

قد أنكرتْ بَعدك خُطَّابَها

فما ترى كُفئاً ولا مُمهِرا

After you, she has rejected her suitors:

she finds neither an equal match nor a dower-giver.

وابتُذلتْ حتى غدا ظهرُها

أجلبَ مما ركِضتْ أدبرا

She has been debased until her back became

scab-covered and saddle-sore from being galloped.

بين بني العاهات منبوذةً

يزاحم الأعمى بها الأعورا

Cast aside among the sons of infirmity,

the blind man jostles the one-eyed man over her.

واستامها المفلِسُ لما غدتْ

تباعُ بالفلْس فلا تشتَرَى

The bankrupt man bargained for her when she came

to be sold for a copper coin, yet found no buyer.

كانت بكم مغنَى هوىً آهلاً

فاليومَ أضحت طللاً مقفرا

With you, she was an inhabited dwelling of love;

today she has become a desolate ruin.

وساقَها سالبُها ظلَّكم

للذئب يَرعَى سَرحَها مُصحِرا

He who stripped her of your shade drove her

to the wolf, to tend her roaming herd in the open desert.

داميةً من ندمٍ كفُّه

يأكلها الإبهامَ والخِنصَرا

His hand bleeds with remorse,

as he gnaws it, thumb and little finger.

ينشُدُ منكم وطراً فاته

ويسأل الرُّكبانَ مستخبِرا

He seeks from you a desire he has missed,

and questions riders, seeking news.

كعاشقٍ فارقَ أحبابَهُ

طوعاً وسامَ الليلَ طيفَ الكرى

Like a lover who left his loved ones

willingly, and begged the night for a dream-phantom.

أين له أين بكم نادماً

معتذراً إلا بأن يُعذَرا

How can he—how—reach you, repentant,

apologizing, unless he is pardoned?

ما أخلقَ العاثرَ يمشي به

كسيرهُ أن يبتغي مَجْبَرا

How fitting that the stumbler, hobbling on

his broken limb, should seek a bone-setter!

لا يعرف المعروفَ من أمره

مُعمَّرٌ حتى يرى المنكَرا

The good in his affairs is not recognized

by a long-lived man until he sees the evil.

يا نعمةً ما صاحبتْ صاحباً

وعُقلَةُ النعمة أن تُشكَرا

O blessing that has found no companion—

a blessing's tether is to be thanked!

غداً يوافيك بأيمانهِ

جاحدُك الغامطُ مستبصِرا

Tomorrow he will come to you with his oaths,

your ungrateful detractor, now seeing clearly,

بغدرةٍ يرغبُ في بسطها

وزَلَّةٍ يسأل أن تُغفرا

with a betrayal he wishes to lay bare,

and a lapse he begs to have forgiven.

فثَمَّ فاردد قادراً رأيَك ال

شاردَ وابرُدْ صدرَك الموغَرا

Then, in your power, recall your judgment that has

strayed, and cool your inflamed breast.

واجرِ من الصفح على عادةٍ

مثلُك مستولٍ عليها جرى

Follow, in forgiveness, a custom

that one like you has practiced when in command.

والتحِم الجُرح فقد طُوّحَتْ

جَنْبَاه بالمِسبار واستنهَرا

Close the wound; its two sides have been

forced apart with the probe and opened wide.

بادرْ بها الفوتَ فما شِلوُها

أوّل مَيْتٍ بك قد أنشِرا

Hasten with her before she is lost; her carcass is not

the first dead thing you have brought back to life.

واركب مطاها فقد استخضعتْ

ذلّاً لأنْ تُلْجَم أو تُثفَرا

Ride her back, for she has submitted

abjectly to being bridled or fitted with a crupper.

وروّضَ البُعدُ وتأديبُهُ

لك الرقابَ الذلَّ والأظهُرا

Distance and its discipline have tamed

for you submissive necks and backs.

غَرسٌ فتيٌّ أنت أنشأتَهُ

فلا تدَعْ غيرَك مستثمرا

A young planting—you are the one who raised it;

do not let another reap its fruit.

ما أسَّسَ القادرُ إلا بنَى

عُلْواً ولا يخلُقُ إلا فَرَى

The capable man lays foundations only to build

high, and measures hide only to cut it.

واسأل مواعيدِيَ في مثلها

هل أخلفت أو كذّبتْ مَزجَرا

Ask my promises concerning such affairs:

have they failed, or belied an augury?

لو نزل الوحيُ على شاعر

قمتُ بشيراً فيكُمُ منذرا

If revelation descended upon a poet,

I would stand among you, bearing good tidings and warning.

أو ادعى المعجِزَ من ليس بال

نبيّ كنتُ المعجِزَ المبهرا

Or if a miracle were claimed by one who is not a

prophet, I would be the dazzling miracle.

كم آيةٍ لي لو تحفَّظتُمُ

بها وفألٍ بعلاكم جرى

How many signs are mine—if only you had heeded

them—and omens foretelling your greatness!

يشكر مقروءاً ويشكو إذا

صح الذي حدّث أو خبّرا

It wins thanks when read, but complains when

what it related or reported proves true:

لا حقُّ من قدَّم حقّاً به

يُعطَى ولا فوزَةُ ما يُشتَرى

the due of one who offered truth through it is not

paid, nor the reward of what is purchased.

وجُلُّ حظي عندكم فيه ما

أجودَ ما قال وما أشعرا

My greatest share from you for it is, “How

excellent his words! How poetic he is!”

تناسياً في حيث تقضي العلا

وتوجبُ القدرةُ أن أُذكَرا

Forgetting me, where greatness decrees

and power requires that I be remembered.

كنتم ربيعي وثرى أرضكم

يلقى الحيا ظمآنَ مستبشرا

You were my spring, and your land's soil

meets the rain, thirsty and rejoicing.

فما لربعي دارساً هامداً

مذ صرتم الأنواءَ والأبحرا

Why, then, is my dwelling effaced and lifeless,

since you have become the rain-bringing stars and the seas?

إليكم الصرخةُ لا منكُمُ

ما أخونَ الحظَّ وما أجورا

My cry goes to you, not against you:

how treacherous my fortune, and how unjust!

قد أكلتني بعدكم فترةٌ

ما أكلت إلّا فتىً مُقْترا

A lull has consumed me since you left;

it has consumed only an impoverished youth.

واستعذبتْ لحمي وإن لم تجد

إلّا مُمِرّاً طعمه مُمقِرا

It relished my flesh, though it found

only something bitter-tasting and acrid.

كنتُ على البِلَّةِ من مائكم

منتفضاً من ورقي مُصفِرا

Even with the moisture from your water,

I was shedding my leaves and turning yellow.

فكيف حالي ونوى داركم

قد منع القطرةَ أن تقطُرا

What, then, is my state, when your home's remoteness

has prevented even a drop from falling?

من لي بصون العمر في ظلِّه

سِنيَّ أُحصيهنَّ والأشهرا

Who will preserve my life beneath his shade,

as I count my years and months?

ومن لكم غيري طباق الملا

ما راضه فيكم وما سَيَّرا

And who but me is yours, filling the world's expanse

with what he has tamed in your praise and sent abroad?

حتى لقد سُمِّي بكم مسرفاً

حيث يُسمَّى مادحاً مكثرا

Until, for your sake, he was called extravagant

where one is called a prolific panegyrist.

أقسمتُ إن فاتكم الدهر بي

لَيندمَنْ بَعدِيَ مَنْ قَصَّرا

I swear: if time takes me beyond your reach,

those who fell short will surely regret it after me.

يا عُروتي الوثقَى أعدْ نظرةً

في خَلَّةٍ منبوذةٍ بالعرا

O my surest handhold, cast another glance

at a need cast aside in the wilderness.

تلافَ بالعاجل ميسورَها

وصُبْ ولو مؤتشِلاً مُنزِرا

Promptly remedy what can readily be met of it,

and pour, even if drawing a trickle and giving little.

واضمن على جودك من أجل ما

قد أنعم الوادي وعمّ الثرى

And vouch for your bounty, in view of what

has blessed the valley and spread over the soil.

ولا تدعني ودعاء الصّبا

في معشرٍ أشقَى بهم مُعسِرا

Do not leave me to appeals to the east wind,

among people with whom I suffer in poverty.

نَبِّهْ على أنّ اختصاصي بكم

يُخرِجُكم بالرّغم مني يَرَا

Make it known that my special devotion to you

brings you forth despite me [final word unclear as supplied].

واطلع طلوعَ البدر ما ضرّه

سرارُه ليلةَ ما أقمرا

Rise as the full moon rises; it is not harmed

by its dark phase, once it shines upon a night.

واستخدم النيروزَ واسعد به

مستعملاً في العزّ مستعمرا

Take Nayrūz into your service, and prosper with it,

active in glory and granted long life.

يومٌ من الأيام لكن رأى

له عليها الفضلَ والمفخَرا

A day among days, yet it claims

superiority and pride over all the rest,

كأنه من نخوة قُلِّد ال

تسويدَ عن أمرك أو أُمِّرا

as though, in its pride, it had been invested with

lordship at your command, or made a ruler.

ينسب كسرى فإن اختاركم

ديناً فقد وافقكم عنصُرا

It traces its lineage to Kisrā; if it chooses you

as its faith, it already matches you in origin.

يُقسم والصدق قمينٌ به

بما حبا الأرضَ وما نوّرا

It swears—and truth well becomes it—

by what it has bestowed on the earth and what it has illumined,

أنك تَبقَى مالكاً خالداً

ما ردّ منه الدهر أو كرّرا

that you will remain a ruler, enduring,

as long as time brings it back or repeats it.