خصيماي من ظمياء واش وشامت — Mihyar Al Daylami

خصيمايَ من ظمياءَ واشٍ وشامتُ

وحظَّاي مظنونٌ لديها وفائتُ

My two adversaries over Zamya are a slanderer and a gloater.

And my two portions: one uncertain with her, one lost.

وقلبي لها وحشيَّةٌ ضلَّ خشفُها

تُطاولُ تَبغيهِ الرُّبا وتُلافتُ

And my heart for her is a wild doe whose fawn has strayed.

She stretches over the hills seeking him, turning this way and that.

مضت ليلةٌ تقتصُّه بعدَ ليلةٍ

ويومٌ تداجيه الشخوصُ الثوابتُ

Night after night has passed as she tracks him,

And a day when motionless shapes deceive him.

تناشِدُ عنه النجمَ أين طريقُهُ

تحارفهُ طَوراً وطَوراً تسامِتُ

She earnestly asks the star about him: where is his path?

At times she veers from it, at times she follows its bearing.

ولا هو منها حيث يُجمَعُ شاردٌ

ولا يُرتَجَى للعَودِ إن عاد فالتُ

Yet he is not near her, where a stray might be gathered in,

Nor can his return be hoped for, even if a runaway returns.

سوى أنها مرّت بماءِ سُوَيقةٍ

سُحَيراً ورامٍ بالشريعةِ بائتُ

Except that she passed the water of Suwayqa

Near dawn, where an archer had spent the night at the watering place.

على يده للرزق أذلغُ أحرسٌ

وضَلعاء فوها ساعةَ النزع صائتُ

In his hand, for his livelihood, a sharp, timeworn shaft,

And a curved bow whose mouth sounds out when drawn.

يقوت شِعاثاً مقترين بفضلها

أطابت له أو جانبته المقَاوِتُ

He feeds ragged, impoverished folk on its bounty,

Whether provisions favor him or keep away.

فما رابها إلا دمٌ ونُوَيرةٌ

ومنتقَيَاتٌ من عظامٍ رَفائتُ

Nothing alarmed her but blood and a little fire,

And picked-out pieces of crumbled bones.

فعادت تُماشي اليأسَ موضعَ ظلِّه

وللحَيْن لو أغنى الحِذارُ مَواقتُ

So she returned, walking with despair where his shadow should have been;

And doom has appointed times, even if caution could avail.

وخبّرني السُّفَّارُ أن قد تبدَّلتْ

فقلت حديثٌ مضحِكٌ وهو كابتُ

The travelers told me she had taken another in my place.

I said: a laughable tale, yet disheartening.

أسدَّ مكاني في الهوى مَنْ تعوّضتْ

مدىً وأبيها بيننا متفاوتُ

Has the one she took instead filled my place in love?

By her father, a wide gulf lies between us.

أمِنْها خيالٌ والجُنوبُ خوافقٌ

بجانب خَبْتٍ والجفونُ خوافتُ

Is that a phantom from her, while the south winds beat,

Beside Khabt, while eyelids lie still?

طوى الليلَ نجماً وهو يستثقلُ الخُطا

بساهلةِ الأردافِ ثم يعانِتُ

It crossed the night like a star, finding its steps heavy,

With that soft-hipped woman, then struggling onward.

فبتنا به في ضَوعةٍ وإنارةٍ

وبانُ اللّوى خزيان والبدرُ باهتُ

We spent the night with it amid fragrance and radiance,

The ban-trees of al-Liwa ashamed, the full moon astounded.

نرى أَن فأرَ المسك تحتَ رحالنا

فتائقُ من أردانه وفتائتُ

We thought the musk-pods beneath our saddles

Were fragrant fragments and crumbs from its sleeves.

سل الخِيمَ بالبيضاء من جانب الحمى

أتُجمَعُ أوطاري بكنّ الشتائتُ

Ask the tents at al-Bayda, beside al-Hima:

Can my scattered desires be gathered together within you?

وهل لطريدٍ سلّه الدهر مُدرَكٌ

فتُعقلَ لي ليلاتكنّ الفَلائتُ

Can a fugitive whom time has drawn away be overtaken,

So that your runaway nights might be tethered for me?

إذ العيشُ حيٌّ والزمانُ مراهق

فتيٌّ وريحانُ البطالةِ نابتُ

When life was alive and time an adolescent,

Still young, and the basil of carefree leisure growing.

تَلوَّنَ رأسي سِبغَتين فميّتٌ

وذو نبَّةٍ أو لاحقٌ متماوِتُ

My head has taken on two colors: one part dead,

Another vigorous, or following close, feigning death.

وأمست على أيدي الغواني حبائلي

وهنّ بأطراف البنان بتائتُ

My snares have come into the hands of beautiful women,

And lie severed at their fingertips.

وما الدهر إلا داءُ همٍّ مماطل

مدى العيش أو خطبٌ هَجومٌ مُباغِتُ

Time is nothing but a lingering sickness of grief

Throughout life, or a calamity rushing in without warning.

عذيري من الإخوان لا أستشِفُّ مِن

قلوبهمُ مَنْ وامقٌ لي وماقتُ

Who will defend me against my brethren? I cannot discern from

Their hearts who loves me and who hates me.

خِفافاً إلى ما ساءني فمصالِتٌ

به أو مُداجٍ كيف لي لو يصالتُ

They rush toward whatever hurts me: one openly hostile

In it, another dissembling—if only he would face me openly!

جعلتُ الجفاءَ عُوذةً ليَ منهُمُ

وفي الناس أجساماً قلوبٌ عَفارتُ

I made estrangement a talisman against them;

And some, human in body, have hearts of demons.

وعلَّمني نَبذِي لهم وتوحُّدي

بنفسِيَ أنّي في التكثّر غالتُ

Rejecting them taught me—as did being alone

With myself—that I had erred in seeking many companions.

سل السارحَ المخدوعَ أعجف مالَه

جَفاءُ السُّمِيّ والسنونَ السوانتُ

Ask the deluded herdsman: has his herd been made lean

By rain's neglect and years of drought?

توغَّل يرجوها وتُخلفُ ظنَّه

مَنابعُ أكدَى ماؤها ومَنابتُ

He ventures deeper, hoping for them, but his hopes are belied

By springs whose water has failed, and pasturelands.

إلى أين وابن الغاضريّة شاهدٌ

يغرُّك نجمٌ أو يدلُّك خارتُ

Whither, when the son of al-Ghadiriyya is present,

Can a star lure you, or an expert guide lead you?

تلقَّ الحيا من جَوِّهِ وارعَ روضَهُ

تَدرّ العجافُ أو تعيش المَوَائتُ

Receive the rain from his sky and graze his meadow:

The lean beasts will yield milk, or the dying live.

ألا إنما بدرُ السماءِ ابن شمسها

وبدرُ بني عوفٍ على الأرض ثابتُ

Behold, the sky's full moon is but the son of its sun,

And Banu Awf's full moon is Thabit, steadfast on earth.

فتىً لا على الأعذارِ بالعهد ناكثٌ

ولا مَعَ فرط الجود للسنِّ ناكتُ

A young man who does not break his pledge under cover of excuses,

Nor, for all his lavish giving, tap his tooth in regret.

يبيتُ خميصاً جنبُهُ ووسادُه

وطارقُهُ خِصباً كما شاء بائتُ

He spends the night with hollow flank and empty pillow,

While his nighttime guest sleeps in plenty, just as he wishes.

إذا الليلةُ الطُّولَى أمرّتْ وأيبستْ

فللضيف منه مُتمِرُ الليلِ رابتُ

When the long night brings bitterness and drought,

His guest has from him a night bearing dates and thickened milk.

تَرَى ملَهُ ما سلَّه الجودُ لا التي

تناعرُ حوليها الحداةُ المصَاوتُ

You see his wealth in what generosity has drawn out, not in those

Around which loud-voiced camel-drivers clamor.

رخيُّ البنانِ في النوائب كلّما

أضبَّ على المال الحسيبُ المباكتُ

Openhanded in misfortunes, whenever

The highborn reproacher clutches his wealth.

تَهادَى نساءُ الحيِّ وصفَ حنانه

وتأباه في الروع الرجال المصَالتُ

The women of the tribe pass accounts of his tenderness as gifts,

But men with swords drawn deny it in the clash.

ترى الحلمَ مشحوناً وراء ردائه

إذا مرَّ ينزو الطائشُ المتهافتُ

You see forbearance packed beneath his cloak,

As he passes, while the rash fool leaps headlong.

فهل مبلغٌ عني خُزَيمةَ ما وعى

حصاها البديدُ أو رباها الثوابتُ

Will someone tell Khuzayma on my behalf what has been heard

By its scattered pebbles or its enduring hills?

وَفَى لك مجداً ما تَعُدِّين في أبي

قَوامٍ إذا خان الفروعَ النوابتُ

Your glory is fulfilled by what you count in Abu

Qawam, when new shoots betray their branches.

ولدتِ وأولدتِ الكبيرَ ومثلُه

قليلٌ وأُمَّاتُ الصقور مَقالتُ

You bore and brought forth the great one; his like

Is rare; falcons' mothers have few surviving young.

سبقتَ فلم يعلَقْ غبارَك جامحٌ

وفتَّ فلم يملكْ صِفاتِك ناعتُ

You raced ahead; no unbridled horse could touch your dust.

You surpassed all; no describer could encompass your qualities.

وجرَّبك الأعداءُ غمزاً وهِزّةً

فما خدَشتْ في مَروتَيْك النواحتُ

Enemies tested you by prodding and shaking,

Yet the stonecutters did not scratch your two flints.

فداك صديقٌ وجهُهُ وفؤاده

مُعادٍ على دين المعالي مُعانتُ

May one friendly in face be your ransom, whose heart

Is hostile, obstinately opposed to the creed of high virtue.

يريك الرضا والغلُّ حشو جفونِهِ

وقد تنطقُ العينان والفمُ ساكتُ

He shows you contentment, with rancor filling his eyelids;

The eyes may speak while the mouth is silent.

طوَى بِغضةً في جفنه فهو باسمٌ

وفي فيه ليثٌ كاشرٌ لك هارتُ

He folds hatred into his eyelid while he smiles,

And in his mouth a lion bares its teeth at you, jaws gaping.

أهبتُ بشِعري فانبرت لك عيسُهُ

بما حملتْ وهي الخُضوعُ الخَوابتُ

I called to my poetry, and its pale camels sprang forth toward you,

With what they bore, humble and submissive.

فعادت بما أرعيتَها ولِبَانُها

طَواعٍ على ليّ الحبالِ ضواغتُ

They returned with what you gave them to graze on, their chests

Pliant to the twisting ropes, pressing against them.

ونادتك لُغواتُ السؤال فأفصحت

يداك وأيدي المانعين صوامتُ

The varied tongues of petition called you; eloquent were

Your hands, while the hands of those who withhold were silent.

وأوسعتني مالاً أتى لم تُخَضْ له ال

دياجي ولم تُنفَضْ عليه السَّبارتُ

You lavished on me wealth that came; no one crossed for it the

Night's darkness, nor were barren wastes scoured for it.

وخُلْقاً كما شعشتها ذهبيَّةً

ببابلَ أهدتها إليك الحوانتُ

And a nature like golden wine, as you dilute it,

At Babylon, sent to you as a gift by the taverns.

ولم تك حاشا مجدِ نفسك كامرىء

تَصامَمَ عنّي وهو للمدح ناصتُ

You were not—far be it from your soul's nobility—like a man

Who feigned deafness to me while listening for praise.

وقومٍ كأن الشِّعر فيهم بليّةٌ

أعرّت وعافتها الأكفُّ الزوافتُ

Or people among whom poetry is like an affliction

That struck them, shunned by those quick-moving hands.

فكن سامعاً ما امتدّ باعُك في العلا

وسُرَّ محبٌّ أو تخيَّبَ شامتُ

So listen, as long as your reach extends into the heights,

And a loving friend rejoices or a gloater is disappointed,

ثناءً فمُ الراوي عليك مسلِّمٌ

به ومصلِّي الشكر باسمك قانتُ

To praise: the reciter's mouth offers you greetings

With it, and gratitude's worshiper is devout in your name.

تزورك منه في أوانِ فروضها

قوافٍ لها عند الكرام مَواقتُ

From it they visit you when their duties fall due:

Rhymes with appointed times among the generous.

يُفِدْن الغني أضعافَ ما يستفدنَهُ

وهن بقايا والعطايا فوائتُ

They give the wealthy many times what they gain themselves;

They endure, while gifts pass away.

أقول لأيّامي دعي ليَ أو خذي

فما أنتِ إلا المقبلاتُ اللوافتُ

I tell my days: leave something for me, or take it;

For you are only things that approach and turn away.

فلستُ أبالي مَن تزيَّل ركبُهُ

وثابت لي على المودة ثابتُ

I do not care whose caravan breaks away,

And Thabit is steadfast in his affection for me.