Sol 6

  1. وفى لي بك الحظُّ الذي كان يَغدِرُ

    وصحَّ لِيَ الدهرُ الذي يتغيَّرُ

    Through you, fortune that once betrayed me has kept faith with me.

    And time, which is ever changing, has proved true to me.

  2. وسالمني صرفُ القضاءِ وبيننا

    فلولُ المواضي والقنا المتكسّرُ

    The turns of fate made peace with me, though between us lay

    The notched edges of sharp swords and shattered spears.

  3. وحسَّنتُ ظنّي في الزمان وأهلِهِ

    فأصبحتُ أرجو وصلَ من كنتُ أحذرُ

    I came to think well of time and its people,

    And began to hope for the company of one I once feared.

  4. وعرَّفَني فيمن رأى غاية العلا

    فطالبَها بالسعي كيف يُشَمِّرُ

    He showed me how one who sees the summit of glory

    And strives to reach it girds himself for the task;

  5. وكيف يغارُ الحرُّ من ثَلِمْ مجده

    فيدعَمه بالمكرماتِ ويعْمرُ

    And how a free man resents a flaw in his honor,

    Then strengthens and restores it with noble deeds.

  6. حنوّاً وفي قلب الزمان قساوةٌ

    ورَعياً لحقي وابنُ أمّيَ يَخفِرُ

    He showed tenderness, though hardness dwells in the heart of time,

    And guarded my right, while my own brother would violate it;

  7. ورفداً هنيئاً تستقلّ كثيرَهُ

    وودَّاً وما تُسني من الودّ أكثرُ

    He gave welcome aid, deeming even its abundance little,

    And affection—and what you bestow of affection is greater still.

  8. عطاؤك كافٍ واعتذارك فضلةٌ

    وغيرك لا يعطي ولا يتعذَّرُ

    Your gift suffices, and your apology is a gift besides;

    Others neither give nor offer an apology.

  9. وفيتَ لآباءٍ تكلَّفتَ عنهمُ

    فضائلَ ما سنّوا الفخارَ وسيَّروا

    You have been faithful to forefathers, taking upon yourself

    Virtues through which they established and spread their renown.

  10. كرامٌ طواهم ما طوى الناسَ قبلهم

    وأنت لهم من ذلك الطيِّ مُنشِرُ

    They were noble; death folded them away as it did those before them,

    And you unfold them from that very fold.

  11. مَضوا سلَفاً واستخلفوك لذكرهم

    خلوداً فلم يُخزِ القديمَ المؤخَّرُ

    They passed away as ancestors and left you to make their memory

    Endure; the later heir has not disgraced the past.

  12. وأبقَوا حديثاً طيِّباً منك بعدهم

    وقد علموا أنّ الأحاديثَ تُؤثَرُ

    They left a good account of themselves in you after them,

    Knowing that accounts are handed down.

  13. وزَنَّاهُمُ بالناس بيتاً وأنفُساً

    فزلّت موازينٌ وزادوا وثمَّروا

    We weighed them against others, in lineage and in character;

    The scales tipped, while their worth grew and multiplied.

  14. وجئتَ بمعنى زائدٍ فكأنهم

    وماقصّروا عن غاية المجد قصّروا

    Yet you brought something further, so that it seems they,

    Though they fell short in nothing, fell short of glory's summit.

  15. وإن أباً أبقاك مجداً لعقبِهِ

    وإن عَبَطتْه ميتةٌ لمعمَّرُ

    A father who leaves you as glory for his descendants,

    Though death took him early, has lived a long life.

  16. أقول لركبٍ كالأجادل طوَّحتْ

    بهم قامصاتٌ كالأهلة ضُمَّرُ

    I say to riders like falcons, borne far afield

    By lean, bounding mounts curved like crescents:

  17. على قمم البيداء منها ومنهمُ

    إذا خفَقَ الآلُ المُلاءُ المنشَّرُ

    Across the desert heights, riders and mounts alike,

    While the shimmering mirage flutters like spread cloth,

  18. رمت بهم الحاجاتُ كلَّ مخوفة

    إذا سار فيها النجم فهو مغرِّرُ

    Need has hurled them through every fearful place

    Where even a star would risk its way in crossing.

  19. إذا الليلة العمياءُ منها تصرّمت

    تولاّهُمُ يومٌ من التيه أعورُ

    When one blind night of it comes to an end,

    A one-eyed day of wandering takes charge of them.

  20. رأوا رزقَهم في جانبٍ متعذِّراً

    تطاوله أعناقُهم وهي تقصُرُ

    They see their livelihood on a hard-to-reach horizon;

    Their necks stretch toward it, yet fall short.

  21. خذوا من زعيم الملك عهداً على الغنى

    وردُّوا المطايا فاعقلوها وعقِّروا

    Take from the chief of the kingdom a pledge of wealth;

    Turn back your mounts, tether them, and halt their journey.

  22. دعوا جانبَ البَرّ العسوفِ وحوِّموا

    على البحر بالآمال فالبحرُ أغزرُ

    Leave the harsh tract of land and circle

    The sea with your hopes, for the sea is more abundant.

  23. ولا تحسبوا أفعال قوم ذللتُمُ

    عليها كما تُروَى الأسامي وتُذكَرُ

    Do not think the deeds of people you have become used to

    Are as they are recited and remembered by name.

  24. فما كل خضراء من الأرض روضة

    تراد ولا كل السحائب تُمطِرُ

    For not every green patch of earth is a desired meadow,

    Nor does every cloud bring rain.

  25. ببغداد في دار السلام محجب

    على عادة الأقمار يخفى ويظهرُ

    In Baghdad, the City of Peace, is one kept from sight,

    Who, like the moon, hides and appears.

  26. إذا كتمته رِقْبةٌ أو مكيدةٌ

    وشى بمعاليه العطاء المشهِّرُ

    If watchfulness or intrigue conceals him,

    His renowned generosity betrays his lofty merits.

  27. كريم يرى أنّ الغنى تركه الغنى

    وأنّ اتقاءَ الفقر بالفقر مُفقرُ

    He is generous, believing that wealth lies in relinquishing wealth,

    And that warding off poverty through stinginess makes one poor.

  28. غلامٌ إذا ما عدّ أعداد سنّه

    ويومَ قضاء الحزم شيخٌ موقَّرُ

    In the count of his years he is a young man,

    But when judgment calls for resolve, a venerable elder.

  29. تمرّن طفلاً بالسيادة مرضَعاً

    يدرّ عليه خِلفُها ويوفّرُ

    As a suckling child he practiced leadership;

    Its nourishing breast flowed richly for him.

  30. له من مقامات الملوك صدورها

    يقدِّم فيها إذنَه ويؤخِّرُ

    He holds the foremost seats among kings,

    Granting or withholding access there.

  31. زعيماً على التدبير لا هو حاجةً

    يعانُ على أمرٍ ولا هو يؤمَرُ

    He leads by his own judgment, needing no one

    To help him in a matter or issue him commands.

  32. له من سرايا رأيه ولسانه

    إذا نازل الأقرانَ جيشٌ مظفَّرُ

    In his judgment and speech he has a victorious army

    When he confronts his peers.

  33. وأهيفُ يفري في العظائم حدُّه

    ومنظرُه في العين يضوي ويصغرُ

    He is a slender blade whose edge cuts through great affairs,

    Though to the eye it looks slight and small.

  34. ترى الرزقَ والآجالَ طوعَ قضيَّةٍ

    تُخَطُّ على أمريهما وتُسَطَّرُ

    You see livelihoods and lifetimes obeying a decree

    That is written and inscribed over both their fates.

  35. ومرٌّ على الشحناء حلوٌ على الرضا

    وللضيم يحلو لي فلا يتمرَّرُ

    Bitter toward enmity, sweet toward goodwill,

    He is sweet to me even against injustice and never turns bitter.

  36. ضحوكٌ إذا حكمته متطلِّق

    وأشوسُ إن نازعته متنمِّرُ

    Smiling and open-faced when you make him judge,

    Fierce and bristling when you challenge him.

  37. كفى الملك ما استكفت لحاظٌ جفونها

    وأغناه ما أغنى عن الكفّ مِنسَرُ

    His eyes have served the kingdom as well as eyelids could,

    And his talon has spared it the need for a hand.

  38. وقام له بالنصح يُثبتُ رجلَه

    على زَلِقٍ فيه الفتى يتعثَّرُ

    He rose to counsel it, planting his foot firmly

    On slippery ground where a young man stumbles.

  39. فإن شكرت كفٌّ بلاءَ مهنّدٍ

    قضى نذرَها فالملكُ لا شك يشكَرُ

    If a hand has thanked a fine sword for its service,

    It has fulfilled its vow; the kingdom surely gives thanks too.

  40. لك اللّه مُولي نعمةٍ ومفيدَها

    وغارسَها من حيث تزكو وتُثمرُ

    May God preserve for you the giver and bestower of blessing,

    And its planter where it grows and bears fruit;

  41. ومستعبداً حُرَّ القلوب وفاؤه

    وحرَّ الكلام مالُهُ المتيسّرُ

    A man whose fidelity makes free hearts his servants,

    And whose ready wealth commands the finest speech.

  42. جرى الخلفُ إلا في علاك فأبصر ال

    مقلِّد فيها واستقال المقصِّرُ

    People differed, except over your eminence; the

    Imitator saw it plainly, and the one who fell short sought pardon.

  43. وقال بقولي فيك كلُّ محدث

    يرى أنني ما قلت إلا وأَخبُرُ

    Everyone with a new word about you said as I have said,

    Seeing that I spoke only from knowledge.

  44. وعنَّفَ قومٌ حاسديك جهالةً

    وذمّوا وهم بالحمد أولى وأجدرُ

    Some ignorantly rebuked your envious critics

    And blamed them, though they deserve praise more.

  45. إذا عرّفوا الفضلَ الذي حسدوا له

    فتلك لهم مجدٌ يُعدُّ ومفخرُ

    For if they made known the excellence they envied,

    That is counted to their credit as glory and pride.

  46. أعاذك من عين الكمال الذي قضى

    به لك قسماً فهو يقضي ويقدرُ

    May God shield you from the eye of the perfection He decreed

    As your portion, for He ordains and has power.

  47. ولا غشيت ظلماءُ إلا وفجرُها

    برغم العدا عما تُحبّون يُسفرُ

    No darkness has fallen without its dawn

    Breaking, despite your foes, upon what you desire.

  48. فما تصلح الدنيا ومِن غيرِكم لها

    أميرٌ مطاعٌ أو وزيرٌ مدبِّرُ

    The world cannot prosper if it has, apart from you,

    A ruler to obey or a minister to direct it.

  49. ولا عُدم المدحُ الموفَّى أجورَه

    بكم وهو في قومٍ سواكم مسخَّرُ

    May praise, rewarded in full through you, never be lacking,

    Though among others it is put to forced labor.

  50. مواسمُ في أبياتكم بعراصها

    تُحَطُّ وعنها في الثناء تُسَيَّرُ

    Its seasons encamp in the courtyards of your houses,

    And from there set out bearing praise.

  51. تناوبكم منه سحائبُ ثَرَّةٌ

    تروح على أغراضكم وتُبَكِّرُ

    From it, abundant clouds take turns visiting you,

    Coming and going over all you seek.

  52. تسوق مطاياها رياح زَكيّةٌ

    بما حملت من وصفكم تتعطَّرُ

    Fragrant winds drive their mounts,

    Perfumed by the praise of you they carry.

  53. إذا عرضتها الصُّحْفُ شك رواتُها

    أوشيُ حريرٍ أم كلامٌ محبَّرُ

    When pages display it, their reciters wonder:

    Is this embroidered silk or richly adorned speech?

  54. تفيد قلوب السامعين توقُّراً

    لها واهتزازاً فهي تصحي وتُسكِرُ

    It gives listeners' hearts both reverence

    And a thrill: it sobers and intoxicates them.

  55. إليك زعيمَ الملك لانتْ رقابُها

    وذلَّتْ وفيها عزّةٌ وتغشمُرُ

    To you, chief of the kingdom, its proud necks have softened

    And bowed, though they held pride and stubbornness.

  56. رأتك لها أهلاً فلان عصيُّها

    لديك وقالت في فنائك أُحشَرُ

    It found you worthy; its recalcitrance yielded

    Before you, saying, ‘In your court I shall be gathered.’

  57. إذا زارك النيروزُ عُطْلاً فإنه

    يُطوَّق من أبياتها ويسوَّرُ

    If Nowruz visits you without adornment,

    It is given a necklace and bracelets of its verses.

  58. وغاليتَ في أثمانها فشريتَها

    ربيحاً فظنّ الغمرُ أنك تخسرُ

    You paid a high price for them and bought them

    At a profit, though the ignorant thought you lost.

  59. إذا المرءُ أعطاني كرائمَ ماله

    ليأخذَ شعري فهو منِّيَ أشعرُ

    When a man gives me the choicest of his wealth

    To obtain my poetry, he is more a poet than I am.