رفق الزمان بنا وكان عنيفا — Al Sari Al Raffa

Time grew gentle with us, though it had been harsh,

And became our ally after the clash.

And the shades of noble deeds drew near, and made easy to pluck

Were their fruits for those who sought them.

Welcome to him whose meadow the songs of praise grazed,

So in his days they came to know beneficence.

And his compassion bent him toward his visitors,

So he showed them adversity’s tatters as fertile countryside.

Noble deeds arrived with his arrival, and became

Green, fluttering over the seekers of bounty.

And the lands of al-Hisn gloried in the moon that

Bestowed an eclipse upon the shining moon.

The prince strung for them necklaces of eminence,

That rose at their necklines—and earrings too.

And the Euphrates dwindled before his house,

Too small and slender to be clearly seen.

So if it could set a course toward him, it would turn back,

Until it was seen diverted from its course.

Were it not for Abu al-ʿAttaf, you would not find generosity

Fresh, nor would Time be compassionate.

A king whom his enemy sees as compassionate,

And the seeker of his bounty sees as approachable.

He lowers his gaze; yet his glances, if he casts them, are nothing

But flourishing life and death.

And an illustrious man who scorns to turn away from battle

Until he has humbled nostrils and noses.

And a young hero who, when kings are obsessed with their own safety,

Becomes obsessed with bringing his enemy low.

Ask Ibn Mazruʿ about his onslaught, when he

Fled, parting curtains of swirling dust.

And dread of his sword and spearpoint made him see

The softness of his bed as spearheads and swords.

He bore down upon him in combat, until, when

The foe yielded the reins, he sheltered him in his distress.

You placed a collar of favor on him when you mastered him,

A heavy collar, yet light upon necks.

And al-Daylami was swept astray by a hope—

A perilous gamble that brings blame and rebuke.

He came to you like a schemer deceiving his prey,

So he roused in you the proud, noble lion.

And most deserving of becoming a lion’s prey

Is he who knowingly rushes in upon it.

You bound the gaze of his eyelids, and made him see

The height of forenoon as a dense night upon him.

And left him unable to see his beloved

Except as a phantom visiting him in sleep.

And likewise, anyone whose fire was kindled in your land

Had his eye struck blind by your fire.

May Rabiʿat al-Faras never be deprived of you, she who

Has made your precincts her spring and summer abode.

You lodged her in a grassy meadow of generosity,

A level plain, and a lofty mountain of glory.

So remain safe—you have built up so many noble deeds,

And demolished wealth, both inherited and newly gained.

And savor it in its radiance; you would clothe none

In its striped fabrics but a radiant nobleman.

It grew delicate, and its words grew delicate, as though

It had brought a spring and an autumn of beauties.

And as though its wearer beholds jewels

From its words, or peers through sheer fabrics.

Had it clasped the hearing of Ibn Aws, he would not have said:

“Their ruins stole away their slender statues.”