سَلا ظَبيَةَ الوَعساء هَل فَقَدَت خِشفا
فَإِنَّا لَمَحنا في مَراتِعِها طَرفا
Ask the forlorn gazelle, has she lost her fawn?
For we glimpsed among her pastures, a gaze.
وَقولا لخوطِ البانِ فَليُمسِكِ الصَّبا
عَلَينا فَإِنَّا قَد عَرَفنا بِها عَرفا
And say to the makers of camel-hair tents, let the east wind withhold,
For we have recognized her through it, an acquaintance.
سَرَت مِن هِضابِ الشّامِ وَهيَ مَريضَةٌ
فَما ظَهَرَت إِلّا وَقَد كادَ أَن يَخفى
She journeyed from the highlands of Syria while sick,
She did not appear until her traces were nearly erased.
عَليلَةُ أَنفاسٍ يُداوى بِها الجَوى
وَضَعفاً وَلَكِنَّا نُرَجّي بِها ضَعفا
With breath of an invalid that cures yearning,
And weakness, but we hope through it, for weakness.
وَهاتِفَةٍ في البانِ تُملي غَرامَها
عَلَينا وَتَتلو مِن صَبابَتِها صُحفا
Calling in the camel-hair tent, dictating her love
To us, and reciting from the parchments of her youth.
عجِبتُ لَها تَشكو الفِراقَ جَهالَةً
وَقَد جاوَبَت مِن كُلِّ ناحِيَةٍ إِلفا
I wondered at her complaining of separation in ignorance,
When she has been answered from every side with intimacy.
وَيُشجي قُلوبَ العاشِقينَ غِناؤُها
وَما فَهِموا مِمّا تَغَنَّت بِهِ حَرفا
Her singing melts the hearts of lovers,
And they did not understand anything she sang in a verse.
وَلَو صَدَقَت فيما تَقولُ مِنَ الأَسى
لَما لَبست طَوقاً وَلا خَضَبَت كَفّا
Had she been truthful in her expression of sorrow,
She would not have worn a necklace or dyed her palms.
أَجارَتَنا أَذكَرتِ مَن كانَ ناسِياً
وَأَضرَمتِ ناراً لِلصَّبابَةِ ما تُطفى
She brought us comfort by mentioning one who had forgotten,
And kindled a fire for youth that will not be extinguished.
وَفي جانِبِ الماء الَّذي تَرِدينَهُ
مَواعيدُ ما يُنكِرنَ ليّاً وَلا خُلفا
And by the side of the water she frequents,
Are promises that time will neither deny nor contravene.
وَمَهزوزَةٍ لِلبانِ فيها شَمائِلٌ
جَعَلنَ لَهُ في كُلِّ قافِيَةٍ وَصفا
Swaying to the camel-hair tent are attributes
That have given, in every rhyme, a description.
لبسنا عَلَيها بِالثَّنِيَّةِ لَيلَةً
مِنَ السّودِ لَم يَطوِ الصَّباحُ لَها سُجفا
We donned upon her one night of the blackest dark,
That morning uncovered no trace.
لَعَمري لَئِن طالَت عَلَينا فَإِنَّنا
بِحُكمِ الثُّرَيّا قَد قَطَعنا لَها كَفّا
By my life, if her absence is prolonged from us,
By decree of fate, we have surely severed ties.
رَمَينا بِها في الغَربِ وَهيَ ذَميمَةٌ
وَلَم تُبقِ لِلجَوزاء عِقداً وَلا شَنفا
We cast her into the west while uncherished,
Leaving no necklace or earring for Al-Jawzā'.
كَأَنَّ الدُّجى لَمّا تَوَلَّت نُجومُهُ
مُدَبِّرُ حَربٍ قَد هَزَمنا لَهُ صَفّا
As if when its stars retreated, the night
Was an army commander we had routed, rank by rank.
كَأَنَّ عَلَيهِ لِلمَجَرَّةِ رَوضَةً
مُفَتَّحَةَ الأَنوارِ أَو نَثرَة زَعفا
As if upon it, the galaxy was a garden
For it, blossoming with stars, or scattering sprays.
كَأَنّا وَقَد أُلقي إِلَينا هِلالُهُ
سَلَبناهُ تاجاً أَو فَصَمنا لَهُ وَقفا
As if we were thrown its crescent, so we
Robbed it of its crown, or cut off its crescent.
كَأَنَّ السُّها إِنسانُ عَينٍ غَريقَةٍ
مِنَ الدَّمعِ تَبدو كُلَّما ذَرَفَت ذَرفا
As if Suhayl was a human with drowned eyes
That seemed to shed a tear each time it set.
كَأَنَّ سُهَيلاً فارِسٌ عايَنَ الوَغى
فَفَرَّ وَلَم يَشهَد طِراداً وَلا زَحفا
As if Suhayl was a knight who witnessed strife
Then fled without attending a raid or battle.
كَأَنَّ سَنا المَرّيخِ شُعلَةُ قابِسٍ
تَخَطَّفَها عَجلانُ يَقذِفُها قَذفا
As if the spearpoint of Mars was an ember
Snatched by meteors hurtling it onward.
كَأَنَّ أفولَ النَّسرِ طَرف تَعَلَّقَت
بِهِ سِنَةٌ ما هَبَّ مِنها وَلا أَغفى
As if the setting of the eagle was a gaze that
Clung to it, neither blinking nor slumbering.
كَأَنَّ نَصيرَ المُلكِ سَلَّ حُسامَهُ
عَلى اللَّيلِ فانصاعَت كَواكِبُهُ كَسفا
As if the sword of the sovereign of realms
Had been drawn against the night, so its stars bowed down.
رَعى اللَّهُ غَيماً طَبَّقَ الأَرضَ جودُهُ
فَلَم يُخلِ سَهلاً مِن نَداهُ وَلا نَعفا
May God water a cloud whose rain inundated the land,
Not sparing a plain from its moisture or plants.
وَحَيّا عَلى رَغمِ اللَّيالي خَلائِقاً
لو انتَحَلَتها ما ذَمَمنا لَها صَرفا
And revived creations in spite of the nights,
Had they claimed them we would not have denied them a drink.
وَأَبلَجَ أَحيا دارِسَ العَدلِ بَعدَما
ثَوى وَشَقى المَعروفَ مِن بَعدِ ما أَشفى
And brought to life the abode of the just ruler, after
He had perished and suffered estrangement from good he once healed.
لَهُ نَشوَة في الجودِ حَتّى كَأَنَّما
يُديرُ لَهُ العافي مُعَتَّقَةً صِرفا
He has such delight in giving until it seems
Fortune revolves around him, purified ore.
خَفِيَّ مَرامِ الكَيدِ تَفري شَباتُهُ
وَما مالَ عَن نَهجِ الوَقارِ وَلا خَفّا
Hidden are the aims of the sly, his youth
Never deviated from the path of dignity or recoiled.
تَفَرَّدَ عَن أَهلِ الزَّمانِ بِمَذهَب
يَزيدُ بِهِ مَستورَ لُؤمِهِمُ كَشفا
He is singular among the people of this time in his creed
Which adds to the shame of their villainy, exposure.
إِذا أَفقَروا أَغنى وَإِن هَدَموا بَنى
وَإِن بَخلوا أَعطى وَإِن غَدروا أَوفى
If they grow poor, he enriches; if they destroy, he builds;
If they are miserly, he gives; if they betray, he is loyal.
جَرى سابِقاً في حَلبَةِ الجودِ وَحدَهُ
وَقالَ العِدى كانَ السَّحابُ لَهُ رِدفا
He surged ahead alone in the arena of generosity,
And the enemy said, “The clouds were his reinforcements.”
جَمَعتَ عَلى المَعروفِ شَملَ فَزارَةٍ
وَثَقَّفت بالإِحسانِ خَيلَهُمُ الخُنفا
You have united the family of excellence through benevolence
And made their steeds familiar with kindness and cordiality.
وَقُدَّت إِلَيهِم جُلَّةَ يَمَنِيَّةً
فَقَد حَمَدوا تِلكَ المَوَدَّةَ وَالحِلفا
And you have guided to them the elite of Al-Yaman
For they have praised that affection and pact.
وَلَو كُنتَ في يَوم الهباءَةِ شاهِداً
لَطالَ عَلى نَفسِ الجَذيميِّ أَن يَشفى
Had you witnessed the Day of the Elephant,
The wound of the confederates would have lingered unhealed.
وَقَد أَسنَدَت كَلبٌ إِلَيكَ أُمورَها
فَما فَقَدت نَصراً وَلا عَدِمَت عُرفا
And a contemptible dog has entrusted its affairs to you,
Never lacking aid or the norm of decency.
وَكَم لَكَ فيهِم مِن يَدٍ مُلهَمِيَّةٍ
إِذا انتَجَعَت أَرخَت سَحائِبَها الوطفا
How many able hands you have among them,
That when gripped, pour down their clouds insistently.
أَصابَ سِنان دَرَّها وَهوَ حافِلٌ
وَخَلَّفَ لِلهِرماسِ مِن بَعدِهِ خِلفا
Good fortune met its destiny while abundant
And left behind for old age a successor.
مَواهِبُ في قَيسٍ وَقَحطانَ لَم تَدَع
لَها حافِراً يَطوي البِلادَ وَلا خُفّا
Endowments in Qays and Qahtan did not leave
For it a hoof to traverse lands or a foot to tread.
أَقامَت عَلى الأَوطانِ تَشرَبُ ماءَها
نَميراً وتَرعى رَوضَها خَضِلاً وَحفا
It inhabited the lands, drinking their water
Lush and grazing its meadows, fresh and mowed.
وَقَد بَدَرَت في بُحتُرٍ لَك غَضبَةٌ
مَنَحتَهُمُ فيها القَساوَةَ وَالعُنفا
A thunderbolt sparked for you in Buhturi
In which you unleashed upon them severity and violence.
فَدانوا لأَطرافِ الأَسِنَّةِ عُنوَة
وَكانوا لِقاحاً مارَضوا خُطَّةً خَسفا
They were subdued by the edges of sharp swords,
And were plunder, never consenting to injury or defeat.
إِذا نَظَروا خِصبَ السَّوادِ وَدونَهُ
سُيوفُكَ حاروا لا أَماماً وَلا خَلفا
When they looked upon the fertility of the land and beneath it
Your swords, they recoiled, neither forward nor backward.
وَما حَلَبُ الوَرهاء إِلّا خَريدَة
عَطَفتَ عَلَيها ثُمَّ طَلَّقتَها أَلفا
The milking of the camel was nothing but a peddled trinket
You were charitable to it, then released it, a thousand-fold.
فَإِن ظَهَرَت فيها عيوب كَثيرَة
فَما عَدِمَت وَجداً عَلَيكَ وَلا لَهفا
If many flaws appeared in it, it never lacked
Affection from you, fervor, or eagerness.
وَإِن كَفَرَت آياتُ جودِك ضَلَّةً
فَما طَلَبَت إِلّا الصَّواعِقَ وَالخَسفا
And if its signs of generosity went astray,
It only sought thunderbolts and tremors.
وَقَد عَرَّسَت فيها الخُطوبُ مُقيمَةً
فَلا عَدِمَت مِن بَعدِكَ الجورَ وَالعَسفا
In it, enduring marriages have settled,
Never lacking after you injustice or tyranny.
لَكَ الخَيرُ قَد وَفَّيتَ جودَكَ فَرضَهُ
وَمَن بَذَلَ المَجهودَ في شُكرِهِ وَفّى
Goodness belongs to you, for you have fulfilled your duty of generosity,
And one who makes the effort to show gratitude has been loyal.
وَلي فيكَ مِن غُرِّ القَوافي فَضائِلٌ
تُقَبَّلُ أَفواهُ الرُّواةِ لَها رَشفا
Mine are, in you, from the precious rhymes, virtues
That make the mouths of transmitters kiss them, sipping.
يَنِمُّ بِها طيبُ النَّسيمِ إِذا هَفا
وَيَنشُرُها نُورُ الرِّياضِ إِذا رَفا
With it the fragrance of the breeze exhales, when it stirs,
And the light of the gardens disseminates it, when it eases.
وَما ادّعى دُرَّ الكَلامِ لأَنَّهُ
صِفاتُكَ إِلّا أَنَّني أحسِنُ الرَّصفا
The pearls of poetry never claimed to be
Your attributes, except that I excel in stringing them.
