صبٌّ تحرِّقه أسىً لرعاتُه
وجوٍ تؤرِّفه هوىً روْعاتُه
A youth consumed by the sorrows of his fickle beloved,
And a sky adorned by the twilight of its setting sun.
صبٌّ إذا ذكر الحبيب تصَّدَتْ
أنفاسُه وتردَّدت حسراتُه
When the beloved is recalled the youth's breaths quicken,
His regrets echo and his tears scatter.
وتناثرت عبراتُه وتكدَّرت
أوقاتُه وتكاثرت زَفَرَاتهُ
His times darken and his sighs multiply,
As the games of passion toy with his heart.
ومتَّمٌ لعب الغرام بقلبه
لماس استقلت بالحبيب سراتهُ
O driver of laments, go gently with them behind you!
A youth fragmented by the anguish of separation.
يا سائقَ الأظعانِ مَهْلاً خلفكم
صبٌّ تقطِّعه جَوىً حُرُفاته
Tormented long by passion though ages have passed
His needs unfulfilled remain fixed in their place
ومعذّبٌ طالَ الغرام به وقد
مضت الدهور وما انقضت حاجاته
A lover felled by ecstasy accustomed to the care of his friends
A sick one, made so by the cruelty of his beloved.
وطريحُ وَجْدٍ مَلّهُ عُوَّاده
ومريض شوقٍ أمرضته أُساتُه
A weakened soul, robbed of the vitality of his heart
Stirred from afar by your leave-taking.
ومعَلّلٌ ذهبت حُشاشة قلبه
وتحركت من بُعْدِكم مُهجاته
No peace remains for the longing one after you are gone
As your caravan departs with all haste.
ما راحة المشتاق بعدكمُ وقد
ذهبت سريعاً بعدكم بُرْحاته
If he sought to hide his secret from his friends
His tears would betray the truth he held within.
إن رام يكتم سرَّه عن صحبه
دلَّت على ما كنَّه عَبَراتُه
O you who fled, disavowing your slaying of me after
Your gaze bore witness to the murder you had wrought
يا هاجري أنكرت قتلى بعد ما
شَهِدَتْ عليه بقتله وجناتُه
I am the slain one, felled by the sword of your glance
And the harshness of your eyes that gore like horns.
فأنا القتيلُ هَوَى بسيف لحاظه
وقساوَةً مثل الظُّبا لحظاتُه
They said his face shone like the full moon
But they lied, for where is its clarity and perfection?
قالوا كبدر النِّمِّ غُرَّةُ وجهه
كذبوا فأين صفاؤه وصفاتُه
This one has a slender neck made to steal minds,
His movements have robbed all reason from the world
هذا له قَدٌّ رشيق مُذْهَبٌ
قد أذهبت عقل الورى حركاتُه
This one has a languid, doe-like eye that flouts propriety,
Its piercing glances leave modesty confounded.
هذا له طرفٌ غضيضٌ أَحْوَرٌ
يَفْرِى النُّهَى مبهورةً شفراتُه
An idler, sobered by no wine, lost to the frivolity of youth,
Swept away aimlessly on tides of heedlessness.
نشوانُ لا يصحو بخمر رَضابه
تَثنيه تيهاً في الصِّبا نَشَواتُه
If not for the youthful down on his cheek, pale as ivory,
His explosive charms would have stolen the world's sanity.
لو لم تكن صهباءُ ريقة ثغره
ما أنكرت عقلَ الورى خطراتُه
On his cheek scurry the moles flanking his temples,
Shielding his lips with their dark beauty.
في خَدِّه تَسْعَى عقارب صُدْغِه
تحمى بها عن ثغره رشَفاتُه
Graceful are his glances, enchanting his movements,
Bewitching his looks and his airs.
مرموقةٌ لفتاته معشوقة
حركاتُه محبوبةٌ نظراتُه
By my life, he is the loveliest of gazelles,
When his cheek and fragrant breath appear.
وبنفسيَ الظبيُ الأغَنُّ إذا بدا
من خدِّه وتناوَحَتْ نفحاتُه
O springtime, you who have left desolate
The plains once graced by people's presence.
يا أيها الربْعُ الذي قد أوحشت
من بعد رحلة أهله عَرَصاتُه
After their departure, your symbols are transformed,
Your fields gloomy for want of their vitality.
وتنكَّرت من بعده آياتُه
وتكدَّرت من فقدهم ساحاتُه
You host no more the guests you hosted,
Nor do your valleys bear their wild cows.
أمسى فلا سُكَّانُه سكّانُه
كلا ولا غاداته غاداتُه
Your days break with no youths,
Your wild does roam no longer.
وغدَا ولا فتيانُه فتيانُه
كلا ولا ظبياتُه ظبياتُه
Does anguish consume you as it did Mattayam
When the tides of grief engulfed him after their leave-taking?
هل أنت في الأحزان مثل متيَّم
دهمته بعد فراقهم غمراتُه
As the noon of his youth departed smiling,
And the nights of old age descended upon his brow
لما تَوَلّى مسرعاً عصر الصِّبا
وتبسَّمَتْ عن ثغره ليلاتُه
Though refined by love, the brother of old age
Is blemished by its legacies upon his virtues.
وأخو المشيبِ وإن تلطَّفَ في الهَوى
عند الحِسانِ مثالبٌ حسناتُه
Though excessive in disdain, the brother of youth
Is excused, for blameworthy are his rebuffs.
وأخو الشباب وإن تزايد جفوةَ
عند الحِسانِ حميدةٌ جَفَواتُه
Though unsightly the state of the old one,
His condition remains benign to the lover.
وأخو المشيبِ وإن صَفَتْ أَحوالُه
عند الحِسانِ ذميمةٌ حالاتُه
One cannot complain if vigor departs the mature one,
While the faults of the youth are readily forgiven.
وأَخو الكهولة لا يقالُ إذا هَفَا
وأخو الصِّبا مقبولةٌ هفواتُه
Just as freely pardoned are the errors of the child
While the lapses of the old are burdensome indeed.
وأَخو الصِّبا مغفورةٌ ذَلاّتُه
وأَخو المشيبِ عظيمةٌ ذَلاّتُه
They were the cup-bearers of the days of boyhood and youth,
When the heady wine of passion bore its fruits.
سَقياً لأيام الشبيبة والصِّبا
إذ مَفْرِقى مسودَّةٌ شعراتُه
Days of play and joy, fresh and verdant,
Love displayed its wares throughout the land.
أَيامَ عود اللهو غَضٌّ ناضِرٌ
والحبُّ يائعةُ الجَنا ثمراتُه
Life was carefree, fate looked upon us with favor,
As spring scattered before us its blooms.
والعيشُ أغيدُ والزمانُ مساعِدٌ
والدهر زاهرةٌ لنا زهراتُه
I was the beloved of the beautiful one, but when
The garb of youth was doffed, the wild cows wandered far.
كنتُ الحبيب إلى الحسان فمذ نَضَا
ثوبَ الشبابِ تباعدت ظبياتُه
I became as one discarded and felled,
My withered branches intensely anguished by separation.
أَمسيتُ كالملقَى الطريح موسداً
صفر البنان شديدةٌ لوعاتُه
I bear no fault but my age, and thus proceeds
The mortal sphere, when destinations are reached.
لا ذَنْبَ لي إلا المشيبُ وهَكذا
كل الأنام إذا انتهت غاياتُه
Thus time fractures and binds anew,
Such are the ways of this world and its people.
وكذا الزمان مُفَرِّقٌ ومؤلِّفٌ
هذا الزمانُ وهذه عاداتُه
Had it not been for the son of the Yemenite Sword,
The rightly guided path would not have regained its parts.
لولا ابن سيفِ اليعربيُّ لما غدا
شملُ الهدى مجموعةً أشتاتُه
Through him every grim age smiles,
Through him the darknesses enshrouding our faith are dispelled.
فيه تبسَّمَ كل دهرٍ عابسٍ
وبه انجلت عن ديننا ظُلُماتُه
Through him the concord of lovers regained its form
After integration, though now its term has elapsed.
وبه تبدَّد شملُ أَرباب الهوى
بعد التِئام وانقضى ميقاتُه
That rightly guided Imam, intrepid and bold,
Whose strikes against injustice will always be told.
ذاك الإمامُ العادلُ الشهمُ الذي
دون الورى مشهورةٌ كرَّاتُه
And so his son, the pure one, the hero of the Arabs
The lord of dew upon whom fearsome attacks were launched.
وكذا ابنه الزاكى أبو العرب الفَتى
ربُّ النَّدَى مرهوبةٌ سطواتُه
O House of Yemen, you are the downpour of mankind,
Through you our time regained its wholesomeness.
يا آل يعربَ أَنتمو غيثُ الورى
بكم استطابَ بدهرنا ساعاتُه
The days turned just and prosperous with your justice and munificence,
Through you the kingdom grew upright and the law held its balance.
أَضحى الزمان بعدلكم ونوالكم
وبعطفكم محمودةً أَوقاتُه
Through you faith emerged from the darkness of concealment,
Without you its signs would not have been illuminated.
بكم استقام الملكُ واعتدلَ القَضَا
وغدت بكم منشورةً راياتُه
Through you justice was upheld and guidance was spread,
Without you its tree would not have borne fruit.
بكم استنارَ الدينُ بعد طُموسه
لولاكمُ ما أُوضحت آياتُه
O lords of realms, you tower above mankind,
Blessed is the age that claims you as its lords.
وبكم أُقيم العدلُ وانتشر الهدى
لو لاكم ما أورفت شجرانه
No wonder that fate bows to you in your time,
When you are its heroes, lions and protectors.
يا سادة الأملاك طرا في الورى
طوبَى لدهرٍ أنتمُ ساداتُه
Let fate be gentle in the age that counts you
As its kings, governors and judges.
لا غروَ إن دان الزمانَ وأنتمُ
أبطالُه ولَيوثه وحُماتُه
You who thwart the wiles of the envious one,
Whose plots against you come to nothing.
فَلْيَهْنَ دهرٌ أنتمُ أَقيلُه
ومُلوكه ووُلاتُه وقُضاتُه
You who melt the hearts of the envious,
Foiling those who doubt and scheme against you.
مدحي لكم أبداً لأكبتَ حاسداً
ذهبتْ بفطنة قلبِه سكراتُه
If my devotion cannot comfort you,
My words at least will dash the hopes of your foes.
وأُذيبَ قلبَ الحاسدين بمدحكم
وأُذِلَّ مَن لعبت به شبهاتُه
Accept them as a bride adorned by her splendor,
As the full moon enhanced the light in its halo.
إن لم تُغنِكُم راحتي بمهنَّدٍ
فبقْوَلِي ترُدى العِدَى كلماتُه
خذها عروساً تُزْدَهِى قسماتها
كالبدر زانَتْ نورَه هالاتُه
