رَسمُ رَبعٍ بِجَانِبِ اليَنبُوعِ
هَاجَ مَا لَم تَهِج رُسُومُ الرَّبُوعِ
A drawing of a quarter next to a spring
Stirred what drawings of springtime had not stirred,
وَمَغَاني التَّامِ تَيَّمنَ قَلبي
وحَمَينَ الجُفُونَ زَورَ الهُجُوعِ
And songs of the perfect beloved filled my heart
And tears moistened my eyelids from furtive weeping.
بِوَادِى الطَّرِيقِ مَغنَى الرِّيعِ
ومَغنَى أحَالَ دُونَ الرِّيعِ
In the valley of the road is the song of the breeze
And a song that impeded the breeze.
وبِذِى العُنَّةِ الأضَاةِ مَغَانٍ
هُنَّ مِن مُوجِبَاتِ سَحِّ الدُّمُوعِ
With the one of blame and reproach are songs
They are among what makes tears flow.
وبِأرجَاءِ ذِى السفي مَنزِلاَتٌ
كَالوِشَامِ المُكَفِّفِ التَّرجِيعِ
And in the environs of Dhi As-Safi are homes
Like the rhyming prose of the compiled and repeated.
والأضَيَّانُ في جَوَانِبِهَا دُو
رٌ ودُورٌ بِرِيعَةِ اليَتُّوعِ
And around them are abodes, one next to the other,
In the open space of scattering.
يَا رُبُوعَ الرَّبَابِ هَيَّجتِ شَوقِى
وإِدِّكَارِى ولَوعَتِى وَوُلُوعِى
O springtime zephyrs! You have stirred my passion
And my brooding and my burning and my blazing.
هَآ أنَا في رُبَاكَ مُنهَمِلَ الأد
مُعِ يغلي الزَّفِيرُ بَينَ ضُلُوعِى
Ah! I am in your zephyr, with a melting heart -
My sighing boils within my ribs.
أتَمَنَّى رُجُوعَ دَهرِكَ لَكِن
سالِفُ الدَّهرِ مَالَهُ مِن رُجُوعِ
I wish for the return of your time but
The past time has no returning.
أتَخَالِينني نَسِيتُ زَمَاني
فِيكَ أيَّامَ شَملِكِ المَجمُوعِ
Do you make me reminisce? I forgot my time
With you in the days of complete union.
دَهرَنَا باللوي إِذِ الوَصلُ عَذبٌ
لَم تُكَدِّرهُ خَشيَةُ التَّودِيعِ
Our time when union was sweet
Was not made bitter by fear of parting.
والهَوَى يَانِعُ الرِّيَاضِ مُطِيعٌ
والشَّجِىُّ المَلُومُ غَيرُ مُطِيعِ
And passion in the flourishing garden was obedient
While sad separation was not obedient.
نَجتني اللَّهوَ مِن غَزَالٍ أغَنَّ
أدعَجٍ أحوَرٍ كَحِيلٍ مَرُوعِ
Diversion saved me from a prideful gazelle
Swollen, squint-eyed, nimble, startled.
يَتَثني عَلَى التِّلاَلِ عَشِيًّا
فَنَنَ ألبَانِ غِبَّ غَيثٍ هَمُوعِ
It bends down at dusk upon the hills,
Lowing the white of a pouring raincloud.
وإِذَا لاَحَ لاَحَ بَدراً أوَ أبهَى
مَالِبَدرٍ طُلُوعَهُ مِن طُلُوعِ
And when it appeared, it shone like the full moon
Rising from its rising.
فُوهُ فِيهِ العُقَارُ بَعدَ كَرَاهُ
وعَبِيرُ الرِّيَاضِ دَهرَ الرَّبيعِ
Its mouth contained perfume after distaste
And the fragrance of the garden, the time of spring.
فَهوَ كَاللَّيلِ والصَّباحِ وكالدِّعصِ
وكَالرُّمحِ والرَّبِيبِ الصَّرِيعِ
So it was like the night, the morning, and the midafternoon,
And the spear, the hot wind, and the piercing.
والمَهَاةِ الخَذُولِ والفَنَنِ الغَضضِ
وشَوكِ السَّيَاكِ والأَسرُوعِ
And the devilish, timid she-camel, the trials of the Ghadhfadh,
And the thorns of the Siyak and the swift.
قَد رَمَاني بِلَحظِهِ فَرَمَى بي
في لَظَى الوَجدِ والغَرَامِ الوَجِيعِ
It glanced at me, so it glanced me into
The agony of passion, and burning misery.
بَينَمَا ادَّرِيهِ والوَصلُ مِنهُ
أصعَبُ الوَصلِ في حَرِيمٍ مَنِيعِ
While I drew nearer to it, and union with it
Is the most difficult union in an inaccessible inviolable place.
إِذ أتَاني أَنَّ الرَّجِيمَ أدَّعَى في الششِعرِ
فَخراً وَعَدَّهُ في المَجمُوعِ
When it came to me that the damned one claimed
Superiority in poetry, and considered it, in totality.
عَجَباً مِنهُ كَيفَ أمَّ افتِخَاراً
بَعدَمَا أمَّ فِعلٍ شَنِيعِ
How amazing! After having done a despicable deed
He claimed superiority, when he was not capable!
قَلَّدَ الزَّيغَ والهَوَى وتَجَافي
عَن سَبِيلِ الشَّرِيعَةِ المَشرُوعِ
He followed deviance and desire, and turned away
From the path of the legitimate, divinely revealed way.
تَرَكَ الاُمَّ فَقعَةَ القَاعِ ذُلاًّ
فَهىَ في غُربَةٍ وقَدرٍ وَضِيعِ
He left the Islamic nation forsaken, humiliated
It is in isolation, in loss, neglected.
بَانَ عَنهَا ومَا عَلَيهَا بِنَاءٌ
غَيرَ شِبرٍ مُمَزَّقٍ مَرقُوعِ
He disowned it, though he had no building upon it
Except a fragmented, torn-up structure.
تَسألُ النَّاسَ في جِوَارٍ شَحِيحٍ
مُعدِمٍ سَىءِ الجِوَارِ هَلُوعِ
It asks people for meager, stingy charity,
Evil, disappointing charity, vanishing.
فَاجِرٌ تَرَكَ الصَّلاَةَ مُدِيمُ
المَينِ والسِّحرِ في البِلاَدِ طَمُوعِ
A transgressor who abandoned the prayer, persisting
Upon indecency and magic in the lands, greedy.
مُستَبِيحُ حَرِيمِ كُلِّ قَنَاعٍ
في مَجَالِ الضَّلاَلِ غَيرُ قَنُوعِ
Violating the honor of every person covered
In the sphere of misguidance, never content.
عُرِّيَت حَقَبَةً أو أكثَرَ مِنها
مَا اَكتَسَت غَيرَ جِلدِهَا كَالرَّضِيعِ
It remained naked an epoch, or more than that
It acquired no covering other than its skin, like an infant.
طَلَبَت مِنهُ كسوةً فَأتَاهَا
وكَسَاهَا لِبَاسَ خَوفٍ وجُوِع
It sought clothing from him, so he came to it
And clothed it in a garment of fear and hunger.
فَغَدَت في مَذَلَّةٍ وهَوَانٍ
وإكتِئَابٍ تَوَدُّ مَدَّ النُّطُوعِ
So it became in disgrace and humiliation
And despondency, wishing to extend estrangement.
كُلَّمَا رَامَ مِن بَغِىٍّ وِصَالاً
مَنَعَتهُ مَخَافَةَ التَّشِنِيعِ
Whenever it desired sinfully to reach union
Fear of scandal prevented it.
حَمَلَتهَا بِإحتِيَالٍ إِليهِ
وحَبَتهُ بِذَلِكَ المَمنُوعِ
It carried to him by cunning, and loved him for that
That forbidden thing.
كَيفَ يَا فَاقِدَ المُرُوءَةِ تَسعَى
في سِجَالِى ولَستَ بِالمُستَطِيعِ
How, O you who lost your manliness, do you seek
To contend with me when you are not capable!
تَدَّعِى العِلمَ والفَصَاحَةَ والشِّعرَ
وعِلمَ الأوقَافِ والتَّرِبيعِ
You claim knowledge, eloquence and poetry
And the science of prosody and verse.
مَعَ جَهلِ البَيَانِ والعَقدِ والنَّحوِ
وَجهلٍ لِلُّغَى وجَهلِ الفُرُوعِ
Despite your ignorance of rhetoric, sentence structure and grammar
And ignorance of language and the details.
إِنَّهُ لاَ يَتِمُّ لِلمَرءِ فِكرٌ
دُونَ عِلمِ المَحمُولِ والمَوضُوعِ
Verily, an idea is not complete for a person
Without the knowledge of subject and predicate.
واصطلاَحَاتِ كُلِّ فَنٍّ وَحَالَى
قَصدِهِ في التَّضِييقِ والتَّوسِيعِ
And the idioms of each art and its intentions
In narrowing and expanding.
لاَ تَقِسني عَلَيكَ في العِزِّ والمَجدِ
فَلَيسَ البطىءُ مِثلًُ السَّرِيعِ
Do not blame me for glory and honor
For slowness is not like speed.
والجَوَادُ السَّبُوحُ غَيرَ عِقيلٍ
مَن يُجَارِيهِ بِالهَجِينِ الظَّلِيعِ
And the purebred steed is not the same as the weak
Who competes with him on a miserable hack.
لا تُظُنَّ القَرِيضَ كُلَّ مَقُولٍ
هَلهَلِ النَّسجِ مُستَدَامِ الوُقُوعِ
Do not assume every spoken thing is a poem
The babbling of a continuous weaving.
لَم يَكُن وَاقِعَ المَعَاني
والألفَاظِ بِذِى التَّكلِيفِ والتَّقطِيعِ
The occurrence of meanings and words
Was not with imposition or apportioning.
مُترَعٍ بِالهِجَاءِ في سَنَنٍ
غَيرِ لَذِيذٍ بِكُلِّ لَفظٍ بَشِيعِ
Accustomed to lampooning with repugnant
Speech, not delightful with every despicable word.
إن يَرُم لَذَّةَ السَّمَاعِ سميعٌ
مِنهُ لَم يُهدِ لَذَّةً لِلسَّمِيعِ
If a hearing person desired the pleasure of listening
He would not be guided by you to pleasure in listening.
قد أضَعتَ القَرِيضَ باللَّحنِ
والضَّعفِ إِتِّزَاناً وَأنتَ غَيرُ مُضِيعِ
You have lost balance in the poem with meter
And weakness, and you are not preserving.
لَم يَكُن مَن هَجَاكَ هَاجِىَ شَخصٍ
إِنَّمَا أنتَ صُورَةٌ مِن رَجِيعِ
The one who lampooned you did not lampoon a person
Rather, you are an image of filth.
نَجِسٌ إِن مَسَتَ ثَوبَ مُصَلٍّ
بَطِلت في المَعبَدِ المَتبُوعِ
Defiled! If you touched the garment of one praying
It would be invalidated in the frequented temple.
أصلُكَ الخُبثُ وهو فَرعكُ آتٍ
مِن أُصُولٍ خَبِيثَةٍ وفُرُوعِ
Your origin is wickedness and it is your branch, derived
From wicked roots and branches!
لَيسَ عَاراً عَليكَ إِن جِئتَ عَاراً
كَانَ يُعزَى إِلَيكَ قَبلَ الشُّرُوعِ
It is no dishonor upon you if you came dishonored
It would be attributed to you before undertaking.
لَستَ حُرّاً لِذَلِكَ لَستَ بِضَرَّا
رٍ لِمَن شِئتَهُ ولاَ بِنَفُوعِ
You are not free in that, you are neither harmful
To whom you hated, nor beneficial.
هَاجني إِن تُهَاجني بِقَوَافٍ
كَقَوَافي اللذِيذَةِ التَّرجِيعِ
Lampoon me if you lampoon me with rhymes
Like the delicious, well-organized rhymes.
لاَ تَكُن آخِذاً رَوِيِّىِ تَبُوعاً
فِيهِ لِى فالمُجِيدُ غَيرُ تَبُوعِ
Do not take my style tediously
For the excellent one is not tedious.
وَاغتَنِم إِن قَدِرتَ نُكتَةَ مَعنًى
ولُزُومٍ مُهَذَّبٍ مَسمُوعِ
And appreciate, if you are able, a subtle meaning
And refined, well-listened-to composure.
لاَ يَصِحُّ القًَرِيضُ دُونَ بَيَانٍ
ومَعَانٍ بَدِيعَةٍ وبَدِيعِ
The poem is not valid without clarity
And meanings that are innovative and innovating.
كَجِنَاسٍ مُلَفَّقٍ أَو جِنَاسٍ
تَمَّ أو لَمحةٍ مِنَ التَّوشِيعِ
Like a fully interlocked paronomasia or hint
Of paronomasia, or a touch of intimation.
أو طِبَاقٍ أو لَفِّ نَشرٍ أو إرصَا
دٍ بَدِيعِ التَّلمِب والتَّنوِيعِ
Or a antithesis, or reversal of publication, or pun
Innovative in glitter and tailoring,
أو سِوَى ذَاكَ مِن بَدِيعٍ بَدِيعٍ
حَسَنٍ في التَّسجِيعِ والتَّوقِيعِ
Or other than that, of an innovating innovation
Good in composition and signing.
رُمتَ نَقصِ فَزِدتَ قَدرِى عُلُوًّا
ورَمى الغَدرَ مِنكَ سَهمُ الخُضُوعِ
You tried fault, so you increased my status loftily
And the betrayal of your submission shot arrows.
وأبَى اللهُ والمَقَادِيرُ تجري
بِاختِيَارِ العَلِيمِ فِيهَا السَّمِيعِ
And God and destiny refused, proceeding
By the choice of the Hearing, Knowledgeable.
أن يَكُونَ الذَّلِيلُ غَيرَ ذَلِيلٍ
أَو يَكُونَ الرَّفِيعُ غَيرَ رَفِيعِ
That the disgraced one be other than disgraced
Or the noble one be other than noble.
وسَلاَمٌ كَنَفحَةِ الرَّوضِ مِنهُ
وصَلاًةٌ عَلَى النبي الشَّفِيعِ
And greetings like the breeze of the meadow from Him
And prayers upon the interceding Prophet.
