خليلي عوجا بوادي شجب — Omani Nabhani

خَليليَّ عُوَجا بوادي شَجَبْ

لنِقضي لعمرَة حقاً وَجبْ

My two friends, turn aside into the valley of Shajab,

that we may pay ʿAmra the tribute she is owed.

وللهِ درُّكمَا صاحبيَّ

على المظّ إنْ عجتما فالأثَبْ

God bless you both, my companions,

if you turn aside at al-Maẓẓ, then al-Athab.

ألم تريا أنها أصبَحتْ

يَباباً مُعطَّلةً تُجتَنبْ

Have you not seen how it has become

a desolate waste, abandoned and shunned?

فمَا إنْ تَبّينُ لولا الأواري

وجونٌ خَواِلدُ والُمحتَطبْ

It could scarcely be discerned but for the tethering stakes,

the enduring black hearthstones, and the wood-gathering ground:

مَنازلنُا قبلَ وشكِ النَّوى

وإذ نحنُ لا تعترينا النُّوَبْ

our dwellings before departure drew near,

when no calamities befell us.

لياليَ عَمرةُ تَسبى الحليمَ

بِأشْنبَ كاللُّؤلؤِ المُنتجَبْ

In those nights ʿAmra captivated the prudent

with cool, bright teeth like the choicest pearls.

كأنَّ الرَّحيقَ وِمسكاً سحيقاً

ونشرَ العبير وصافي الضَّربْ

As though pure wine and finely ground musk,

perfume's fragrance and clear white honey,

يُعلٌ به مَوهناً ثغْرها

إذا ما الدُّجى بالصَّباح انتَقبْ

were repeatedly poured upon her mouth late at night,

when darkness veiled itself in dawn.

بَرهرَهةٌ غضَّة بضةٌ

لها جيدُ ريمٍ وعينا نَشِبْ

A soft-skinned woman, fresh and tender,

with a gazelle's neck and a nashib's eyes [unclear referent].

فَكمْ ليلةٍ حينَ جنَّ الظلامُ

ونامَ الخَليُّ وغابَ الأخبْ

How many a night, when darkness fell,

the carefree slept and the sly one was absent,

أتتني تَهادي كغُصنِ يَميسُ

مُضمخَّةً بعبيرٍ عَجبْ

she came to me, swaying like a graceful bough,

steeped in wondrous perfume,

بباقيةٍ من عتيقِ السُّلاف

تُزيلُ الهمومَ وتَنفي الكُربْ

with a remaining draught of aged, first-pressed wine,

which dispels sorrows and banishes distress.

تنحلَّهَا عالمٌ بالقطافِ

وعَصرِ الطَّلي من كراِم العِنبْ

One skilled in grape-harvesting had claimed it as his own,

and in pressing must from the finest grapes:

مُشَعْشَعةٍ قهوةٍ مُرّةٍ

إذا نزلتْ قُلتَ هَذا لَهبْ

a watered, bitter wine,

that makes you say as it goes down, 'This is flame!'

لهَا حَببٌ فوْقها كالجمانِ

يموَرُ على مثلَ عَصر الذَّهبْ

Pearl-like bubbles crown it,

swirling over what seems the juice of gold.

أقولُ لِبرقٍ سرى موهناً

عَلى الكورِ في عارضٍ قد أهبْ

I say to lightning that passed late at night

above al-Kawr, within a cloud bank that had stirred,

يَسرُّ ويَبْدُو بُمسْحنْفرٍ

إذا حركتهُ الجنوبُ انسكبْ

now hidden, now appearing in a rushing cloud,

which pours down when the south wind moves it:

حَنانيكَ يا برقُ جُدْ بالعُمَيري

لَنا منزلاً قد عَنا واكتهبْ

'Have mercy, lightning; lavish rain at al-ʿUmayri

on a dwelling of ours, brought low and grown ashen—

مَحلا بمسْتَنّ تلك البطاحِ

هو المستغاثُ لكلّ العربْ

a dwelling along the channels of those broad flats,

a refuge sought by all the Arabs.'

نَمتْ في القداميسِ من حميرٍ

وكهلانَ أهل العُلى والرُّتبْ

My lineage rises among the chiefs of Himyar

and Kahlan, men of eminence and rank.

فلي الجوهرُ الخاِلصُ المنتقى

إذا نبذَ الجوهرُ المخشَلبْ

Mine is the pure, chosen jewel,

when the imitation gem is cast away.

ولي عَامرُ الخيلِ ماءُ السَّماء

ولي أسعدُ الجدّ والكيْكَرب

Mine is ʿAmir of the Horses, Water of Heaven,

and mine are Asʿad the forebear and al-Kaykarb.

وكمْ لي وَكم لي إلى عامرٍ

أخِ من كريمٍ عظيمٍ وأبْ

How many—how many—are mine, back to ʿAmir,

noble, mighty brothers and forefathers!

دَع الفخرَ بالعُظماءِ الكرامِ

فبالفضلِ يُفخر لا بِالنّسبْ

Leave off boasting of the great and noble:

merit, not lineage, is cause for pride.

سلِ القومَ هلْ اضربُ الدّارعينَ

إذا ما أظَلَّ الرَّدى واْقتربْ

Ask the people: do I strike the armored warriors

when death looms overhead and draws near?

وَمهما قدَرتُ فهلْ اصفَحنْ

عن كلِّ من للذُّنوب ارتكَبْ

And whenever I have power, do I grant pardon

to all who have committed sins?

وهَل يهبُ الخَيلَ زُوَّارهُ

سِواي ويُعطي ألوفَ الذَّهب

Does anyone give horses to his visitors

but me, and bestow thousands in gold?

وهل أصفَحنْ حين تَهفو الحُلومُ

عَن مَن يَخافُ لَديّ العطَبْ

And do I pardon, when reason falters,

those who fear destruction at my hands?

وقد أغتدي قبلَ يبدوُ الصَّباحُ

بذي مَيعةٍ أعوجيٍّ اقبْ

Often I set out before morning appears,

on a spirited, lean-bellied steed of Aʿwaj's line,

أسيلٍ نبيلٍ ضليعٍ تليعٍ

كريم الطّباع جميلَ الأدَبْ

smooth-cheeked, high-bred, broad-ribbed, long-necked,

noble in temperament and finely trained,

خفيفٍ دَفيفٍ سريعٍ إذا ما

جرَى قُلتَ برقٌ بليلٍ أشبْ

light-footed, quick-stepping, so swift that when

he runs, you say, 'Lightning in a densely dark night!'

إلى حيثُ حَلَّ مُلثٌ الذّهاب

واجتثَّ رَوض الصُّوى فاحتشبْ

Toward where lingering showers had settled

and uprooted the meadow by the cairns, turning it to brushwood,

وأصبحَ مُعتلجُ الوَاديينِ

أخوى الأجارع زاهي الشُّهب

and the confluence of the two valleys had become

bare across its sandy flats, its pale stones gleaming.

بعثنا رَبيّاً يمشَّي الصَّرى

فأوفى الخميلةَ ثُمَّ ارتقبْ

We sent a scout through the standing water;

he reached the thicket, then kept watch.

وجاءَ فَقالَ اركبوا مُسرعين

فأظفَركم طَار منْ ذَا كثبْ

He came back and said, 'Mount quickly!

May you be granted success—it has darted from close at hand!'

وقالَ ألا ها هُنا عانةٌ

بقَرو مذانب وادي رحب

And he said, 'Look! Here is a herd of wild asses,

in a hollow by the side-channels of a broad valley.'

فَلأيا بَلأيٍ حَملنا الغُلامَ

عَلى ظهر مخلولقٍ قد شَربْ

With difficulty upon difficulty we mounted the lad

on the back of a sleek horse that had drunk its fill.

فَاتبعَها بِ كغَيث العَشيّ

لدي ضَامرٍ ادهم فانسكبْ

Then he pursued them on one like evening rain—

a lean black steed that streamed ahead.

فَصاد لَنا مِسحلاً قارحاً

وَجحشاً وجائلةً كالطّنبْ

He caught us a full-grown wild-ass stallion,

a foal, and a roving mare like a ṭanab tree.

وظلَّ يُدَعّسُ تلكَ العِشارَ

ويحبسُها مِثل حبَسِ الجَلبْ

He kept spearing those heavily pregnant females,

holding them as livestock driven to market are held.

ورُحنا بمثل حِداِد الخِضابِ

ورَاحَ لهُ سَننٌ في الجنبْ

We returned with prey like black-dyed mourning cloth,

and he returned with a streak along his flank.

وقَد أزجرُ العيسَ في المحلِ حَتى

يؤوبٌ وقد غاَلهُنَّ اللَّغبْ

Often I drive the pale camels through drought until

they return, overcome by weariness.

وأدأبُ في الفخر حَّتى أنالَ

أسناهُ أو يخَتر مني الدَّابْ

I labor for glory until I attain

its loftiest height, or my striving grows feeble.

وأرجُو من الله أن أجتني

ثِماَر المعزَّةِ منْ ذا التَّعبْ

I hope of God that I may gather

the fruits of honor from this toil.

فإنَّ على الله نيلَ المُنى

بِألطافه وَعلَينا الطَّلبْ

For the fulfillment of hopes rests with God,

through His gracious care; ours is the seeking.

ودُونكَها كسُموط الجُمان

ما إن شهدتُ لهَا عن أرب

Here is this poem for you, like strings of pearls;

I have not spoken for it out of self-interest.

ولكن حَدا بي إلى نظْمها

لأعْرب عن تُرجمانِ الأدَبْ

But what moved me to compose it

was to give voice to the interpreter of literary art.