مَلامي النَوى في ظُلمِها غايَةُ الظُلمِ
لَعَلَّ بِها مِثلَ الَّذي بي مِنَ السُقمِ
To blame the distance for its cruelty is the height of injustice,
For perhaps it suffers a sickness akin to my own.
فَلَو لَم تَغَر لَم تَزوِ عَنّي لِقاءَكُم
وَلَو لَم تُرِدكُم لَم تَكُن فيكُمُ خَصمي
Had it not been jealous, it would not have withheld your meeting from me,
And had it not desired you, it would not have been my rival for your heart.
أَمُنعِمَةٌ بِالعَودَةِ الظَبيَةُ الَّتي
بِغَيرِ وَلِيٍّ كانَ نائِلَها الوَسمي
Will that gazelle grant the favor of her return?
She whose generosity was the first spring rain, falling without a cloud.
تَرَشَّفتُ فاها سُحرَةً فَكَأَنَّني
تَرَشَّفتُ حَرَّ الوَجدِ مِن بارِدِ الظُلمِ
I sipped from her lips at the magic hour of dawn, as though I were
Sipping the heat of passion from the coolness of her lustrous teeth.
فَتاةٌ تَساوى عِقدُها وَكَلامُها
وَمَبسِمُها الدُرِّيُّ في الحُسنِ وَالنَظمِ
A maiden whose speech and necklace are perfectly matched,
Her pearl-white smile rivaling them in beauty and arrangement.
وَنَكهَتَها وَالمَندَلِيُّ وَقَرقَفٌ
مُعَتَّقَةٌ صَهباءُ في الريحِ وَالطَعمِ
Her breath blends the scent of Mandali aloe-wood and strong wine,
An aged vintage, golden-red in both fragrance and taste.
جَفَتني كَأَنّي لَستُ أَنطَقَ قَومِها
وَأَطعَنَهُم وَالشُهبُ في صورَةِ الدُهمِ
She shunned me, as if I were not the most eloquent of her people,
And the deadliest with a spear, when stars are veiled by the dark dust of war.
يُحاذِرُني حَتفي كَأَنِّيَ حَتفُهُ
وَتَنكُزُني الأَفعى فَيَقتُلُها سُمّي
My own death wars against approaching me, as if I were its demise,
And should a viper bite me, my own venom would strike it dead.
طِوالُ الرُدَينِيّاتِ يَقصِفُها دَمي
وَبيضُ السُرَيجِيّاتِ يَقطَعُها لَحمي
The long Rudayni spears shatter against my blood,
And the white Surayji blades are severed by my flesh.
بَرَتني السُرى بَريَ المُدى فَرَدَدنَني
أَخَفُّ عَلى المَركوبِ مِن نَفَسي جِرمي
Night journeys have whittled me down as a knife shapes wood, rendering me
Lighter upon my mount than the very breath I draw.
وَأَبصَرَ مِن زَرقاءِ جَوٍّ لِأَنَّني
إِذا نَظَرَت عَينايَ ساواهُما عِلمي
I am keener of sight than Zarqa of the Yamama, for indeed,
Whenever my eyes gaze upon a thing, my knowledge equals their vision.
كَأَنّي دَحَوتُ الأَرضَ مِن خِبرَتي بِها
كَأَنّي بَنى الإِسكَندَرُ السَدَّ مِن عَزمي
It is as if I spread out the earth myself, so deep is my knowledge of it,
As if Alexander built his great iron wall from my own resolve.
لِأَلقى اِبنَ إِسحاقَ الَّذي دَقَّ فَهمُهُ
فَأَبدَعَ حَتّى جَلَّ عَن دِقَّةِ الفَهمِ
All to meet Ibn Ishaq, he of the subtle understanding,
Who creates wonders until he transcends the grasp of subtle minds.
وَأَسمَعَ مِن أَلفاظِهِ اللُغَةَ الَّتي
يَلَذُّ بِها سَمعي وَلَو ضُمِّنَت شَتمي
I hear within his words the language that delights my ear,
Bringing pleasure to my hearing, even were it to carry my rebuke.
يَمينُ بَني قَحطانَ رَأسُ قُضاعَةٍ
وَعِرنينُها بَدرُ النُجومِ بَني فَهمِ
The right hand of the Banu Qahtan, the head of Quda'a,
Their pinnacle of pride, the full moon among the stars of Banu Fahm.
إِذا بَيَّتَ الأَعداءَ كانَ اِستِماعُهُم
صَريرُ العَوالي قَبلَ قَعقَعَةِ اللُجمِ
When he launches a night raid, the only warning the enemy hears
Is the screech of spears striking home before the clatter of bridles.
مُذِلُّ الأَعِزّاءِ المُعِزُّ وَإِن يَئن
بِهِ يُتمُهُم فَالموتِمُ الجابِرُ اليُتمِ
He humbles the mighty and exalts the humble; and if he orphans them,
Then he who made them orphans becomes the mender of their loss.
وَإِن تُمسِ داءً في القُلوبِ قَناتُهُ
فَمُمسِكُها مِنهُ الشِفاءُ مِنَ العُدمِ
And though his spear becomes a malady in the hearts of men,
The hand that holds it holds also the cure for poverty.
مُقَلَّدُ طاغي الشَفرَتَينِ مُحَكَّمٍ
عَلى الهامِ إِلّا أَنَّهُ جائِرُ الحُكمِ
He is girded with a tyrannical, double-edged blade, made arbiter
Over the skulls of men, though truly it is a ruthless judge.
تَحَرَّجَ عَن حَقنِ الدِماءِ كَأَنَّهُ
يَرى قَتلَ نَفسٍ تَركَ رَأسٍ عَلى جِسمِ
It shrinks from sparing blood, as if it considers
The leaving of a head upon a body to be a mortal sin.
وَجَدنا اِبنَ إِسحاقَ الحُسَينِ كَجَدِّهِ
عَلى كَثرَةِ القَتلى بَريئاً مِنَ الإِثمِ
We have found al-Husayn ibn Ishaq to be like his grandsire:
Guiltless of sin, despite the multitude of the slain.
مَعَ الحَزمِ حَتّى لَو تَعَمَّدَ تَركَهُ
لَأَلحَقَهُ تَضيِيعُهُ الحَزمَ بِالحَزمِ
Possessed of such resolve, that were he to try and abandon it,
His very negligence of resolve would lead him back to resolve.
وَفي الحَربِ حَتّى لَو أَرادَ تَأَخُّراً
لَأَخَّرَهُ الطَبعُ الكَريمُ إِلى القُدمِ
And in war, were he to desire a retreat,
His noble nature would drive him backward—into the vanguard.
لَهُ رَحمَةٌ تُحيّ العِظامَ وَغَضبَةٌ
بِها فَضلَةٌ لِلجُرمِ عَن صاحِبِ الجُرمِ
He possesses a mercy that revives dry bones, and a wrath
That exceeds the magnitude of the crime and the criminal alike.
وَرِقَّةُ وَجهٍ لَو خَتَمتَ بِنَظرَةٍ
عَلى وَجنَتَيهِ ما اِنمَحى أَثَرُ الخَتمِ
And a delicacy of countenance—were you to stamp it with a mere glance,
The impression of that seal would never fade from his cheek.
أَذاقَ الغَواني حُسنُهُ ما أَذَقنَني
وَعَفَّ فَجازاهُنَّ عَنّي عَلى الصُرمِ
His beauty has made the fair maidens taste the torment they inflicted on me,
And by his chastity, he has avenged my rejection at their hands.
فِدىً مَن عَلى الغَبراءِ أَوَّلُهُم أَنا
لِهَذا الأَبِيِّ الماجِدِ الجائِدِ القَرمِ
May everyone on this dusty earth be his ransom—and I the first,
For this proud, glorious, bountiful, and noble lord.
لَقَد حالَ بَينَ الجِنِّ وَالأَمنِ سَيفُهُ
فَما الظَنُّ بَعدَ الجِنِّ بِالعُربِ وَالعُجمِ
His sword has severed safety from the Jinn themselves;
What hope, then, remains for mere Arabs or Persians?
وَأَرهَبَ حَتّى لَو تَأَمَّلَ دِرعَهُ
جَرَت جَزَعاً مِن غَيرِ نارٍ وَلا فَحمِ
He inspires such terror that were he to gaze upon his own mail,
It would melt into liquid iron from fear, without fire or coal.
وَجادَ فَلَولا جودُهُ غَيرَ شارِبٍ
لَقيلَ كَريمٌ هَيَّجَتهُ اِبنَةُ الكَرمِ
He gives so freely that, were his generosity not sober,
One would say: "A noble spirit stirred by the daughter of the vine."
أَطَعناكَ طَوعَ الدَهرِ يا اِبنَ اِبنِ يوسُفٍ
لِشَهوَتِنا وَالحاسِدو لَكَ بِالرُغمِ
We have obeyed you as time obeys fate, O grandson of Yusuf,
Out of our own desire, while your enviers obey you against their will.
وَثِقنا بِأَن تُعطي فَلَو لَم تَجُد لَنا
لَخِلناكَ قَد أَعطَيتَ مِن قُوَّةِ الوَهمِ
We trusted so fully that you would give, that even had you not,
We would have believed we received the gift, by the sheer force of our faith.
دُعيتُ بِتَقريظيكَ في كُلِّ مَجلِسٍ
وَظَنَّ الَّذي يَدعو ثَنائي عَلَيكَ اِسمي
I have been summoned to praise you in every gathering,
Until the caller mistook my praise of you for my very name.
وَأَطعَمتَني في نَيلِ مالا أَنالُهُ
بِما نِلتُ حَتّى صِرتُ أَطمَعُ في النَجمِ
You have fed my ambition to attain what seemed unattainable,
Through your gifts, until I now covet the stars themselves.
إِذا ما ضَرَبتَ القِرنَ ثُمَّ أَجَزتَني
فَكِل ذَهَباً لي مَرَّةً مِنهُ بِالكَلمِ
When you strike down a foe and then bestow a gift upon me,
Then weigh out gold for me, matching the depth of the wound you inflicted.
أَبَت لَكَ ذَمّي نَخوَةٌ يَمَنِيَّةٌ
وَنَفسٌ بِها في مَأزِقٍ أَبَداً تَرمي
Your Yemeni pride refuses to allow me any cause for blame,
As does a soul that casts itself forever into the heart of peril.
فَكَم قائِلٍ لَو كانَ ذا الشَخصُ نَفسَهُ
لَكانَ قَراهُ مَكمَنَ العَسكَرِ الدَهمِ
How many have said: "If this man's body were his soul alone,"
"His very frame would act as an ambush to hide a vast army."
وَقائِلَةٍ وَالأَرضَ أَعني تَعَجُّباً
عَلَيَّ اِمرُؤٌ يَمشي بِوَقري مِنَ الحِلمِ
And a speaker—by which I mean the Earth—crying out in wonder:
"Upon me walks a man who carries my own weight in wisdom."
عَظُمتَ فَلَمّا لَم تُكَلَّم مَهابَةً
تَواضَعتَ وَهوَ العُظمُ عُظماً عَنِ العُظمِ
You became so great that when awe silenced those who would speak to you,
You humbled yourself—and that is a greatness far beyond all greatness.
