حُشاشَةُ نَفسٍ وَدَّعَت يَومَ وَدَّعوا
فَلَم أَدرِ أَيَّ الظاعِنَينِ أُشَيِّعُ
A remnant of a soul bid farewell the day they said goodbye,
So I knew not which of the two departing ones I followed.
أَشاروا بِتَسليمٍ فَجُدنا بِأَنفُسٍ
تَسيلُ مِنَ الآماقِ وَالسِمِ أَدمُعُ
They signaled a greeting, and we freely gave our souls,
While tears flowed freely from the corners of our eyes.
حَشايَ عَلى جَمرٍ ذَكِيٍّ مِنَ الهَوى
وَعَينايَ في رَوضٍ مِنَ الحُسنِ تَرتَعُ
My vitals rest upon the blazing coals of passion,
While my eyes graze within a meadow of beauty.
وَلَو حُمِّلَت صُمُّ الجِبالِ الَّذي بِنا
غَداةَ اِفتَرَقنا أَو شَكَت تَتَصَدَّعُ
If the deaf, solid mountains bore the burden we carry,
On the morning of our parting, they would have crumbled away.
بِما بَينَ جَنبَيَّ الَّتي خاضَ طَيفُها
إِلَيَّ الدَياجي وَالخَلِيّونَ هُجَّعُ
By that which is within my ribs: she whose phantom waded
Through the darkness to reach me, while the carefree slept.
أَتَت زائِراً ما خامَرَ الطيبُ ثَوبَها
وَكَالمُسكِ مِن أَردانِها يَتَضَوَّعُ
She came visiting, yet no perfume had touched her gown,
Though a scent like musk wafted from her sleeves.
فَما جَلَسَت حَتّى اِنثَنَت توسِعُ الخُطا
كَفاطِمَةٍ عَن دَرِّها قَبلَ تُرضِعُ
She barely sat before she turned to leave, quickening her pace,
Like a mother weaning her child from milk before he feeds.
فَشَرَّدَ إِعظامي لَها ما أَتى بِها
مِنَ النَومِ وَاِلتاعَ الفُؤادُ المُفَجَّعُ
My reverence for her drove away the sleep that brought her,
And my grief-stricken heart burned with pain.
فَيا لَيلَةً ما كانَ أَطوَلَ بِتُّها
وَسُمُّ الأَفاعي عَذبُ ما أَتَجَرَّعُ
Oh, that night! How long was the time I endured it,
When the poison of vipers would have been sweet to swallow.
تَذَلَّل لَها وَاِخضَع عَلى القُربِ وَالنَوى
فَما عاشِقٌ مَن لا يَذِلُّ وَيَخضَعُ
Humble yourself to her, submit in nearness and in distance,
For he is no true lover who does not bow and submit.
وَلا ثَوبُ مَجدٍ غَيرَ ثَوبِ اِبنِ أَحمَدٍ
عَلى أَحَدٍ إِلّا بِلُؤمٍ مُرَقَّعُ
There is no robe of glory save the robe of Ibn Ahmad,
Worn by another, it is but patched with baseness.
وَإِنَّ الَّذي حابى جَديلَةَ طَيِّئٍ
بِهِ اللَهُ يُعطي مَن يَشاءُ وَيَمنَعُ
Truly, He who favored the tribe of Tayy,
Through him, Allah grants or withholds as He wills.
بِذي كَرَمٍ ما مَرَّ يَومٌ وَشَمسُهُ
عَلى رَأسِ أَوفى ذِمَّةً مِنهُ تَطلُعُ
A man of such nobility, no day has ever passed
Where the sun rose upon one more faithful to his bond than he.
فَأَرحامُ شِعرٍ يَتَصِلنَ لَدُنَّهُ
وَأَرحامُ مالٍ لا تَني تَتَقَطَّعُ
Through him, the kinship ties of poetry are joined,
While the ties of hoarded wealth are severed by his hand.
فَتىً أَلفُ جُزءٍ رَأيُهُ في زَمانِهِ
أَقَلُّ جُزَيءٍ بَعضُهُ الرَأيُ أَجمَعُ
A youth whose judgment equates to a thousand parts of his age;
The smallest fraction of it outweighs the judgment of all.
غَمامٌ عَلَينا مُمطِرٌ لَيسَ يُقشِعُ
وَلا البَرقُ فيهِ خُلَّباً حينَ يَلمَعُ
He is a rain-cloud over us, pouring down without ceasing,
And its lightning is never false when it flashes.
إِذا عَرَضَت حاجٌ إِلَيهِ فَنَفسُهُ
إِلى نَفسِهِ فيها شَفيعٌ مُشَفَّعٌ
When a need is presented to him, his very soul
Acts as an intercessor to itself, and is granted its plea.
خَبَت نارُ حَربٍ لَم تَهِجها بَنانُهُ
وَأَسمَرُ عُريانٌ مِنَ القِشرِ أَصلَعُ
The fire of any war dies out if not stirred by his fingers,
He wields a tawny reed, stripped of bark and smooth.
نَحيفُ الشَوى يَعدو عَلى أُمِّ رَأسِهِ
وَيَحفى فَيَقوى عَدوُهُ حينَ يُقطَعُ
Slender-flanked, running upon the crown of its head,
It grows dull, yet its stride strengthens when it is cut.
يَمُجُّ ظَلاماً في نَهارٍ لِسانُهُ
وَيُفهِمُ عَمَّن قالَ ما لَيسَ يَسمَعُ
Its tongue spits darkness into the light of day,
Conveying words from the speaker that it cannot hear.
ذُبابُ حُسامٍ مِنهُ أَنجى ضَريبَةً
وَأَعصى لِمَولاهُ وَذا مِنهُ أَطوَعُ
The edge of a sword deals a blow less fatal,
And acts more rebellious to its master, while this obeys.
فَصيحٌ مَتى يَنطِق تَجِد كُلَّ لَفظَةٍ
أُصولَ البَراعاتِ الَّتي تَتَفَرَّعُ
Eloquent—when it speaks, you find that every word
Is a root from which all excellences branch out.
بِكَفِّ جَوادٍ لَو حَكَتها سَحابَةٌ
لَما فاتَها في الشَرقِ وَالغَربِ مَوضِعُ
In the hand of a generous one—if a raincloud mimicked it,
No spot in the East or West would be left untouched.
وَلَيسَ كَبَحرِ الماءِ يَشتَقُّ قَعرَهُ
إِلى حَيثُ يَفنى الماءُ حوتٌ وَضِفدَعُ
He is not like the sea of water, through whose depths
A fish or frog may dart until the water ends.
أَبَحرٌ يَضُرُّ المُعتَفينَ وَطَعمُهُ
زُعاقٌ كَبَحرٍ لا يَضُرُّ وَيَنفَعُ
Can a sea that drowns seekers and tastes of brine
Compare to a sea that harms none and only benefits?
يَتيهُ الدَقيقُ الفِكرِ في بُعدِ غَورِهِ
وَيَغرَقُ في تَيّارِهِ وَهوَ مِصقَعُ
The subtle mind wanders lost in the vastness of his depth,
Drowning in his current, though it be eloquent and loud.
أَلا أَيُّها القَيلُ المُقيمُ بِمَنبِجٍ
وَهِمَّتُهُ فَوقَ السِماكَينِ توضِعُ
O Chieftain residing in the city of Manbij,
Whose ambition spurs its mount above the highest stars,
أَلَيسَ عَجيباً أَنَّ وَصفَكَ مُعجِزٌ
وَأَنَّ ظُنوني في مَعاليكَ تَظلَعُ
Is it not a wonder that describing you defies all skill,
And that my thoughts limp when scaling your heights?
وَأَنَّكَ في ثَوبٍ وَصَدرُكَ فيكُما
عَلى أَنَّهُ مِن ساحَةِ الأَرضِ أَوسَعُ
That you fit within a robe, and your heart within you both,
Though your heart is vaster than the expanse of the earth?
وَقَلبُكَ في الدُنيا وَلَو دَخَلَت بِنا
وَبِالجِنِّ فيهِ ما دَرَت كَيفَ تَرجِعُ
Your heart is in this world, yet if the world and we entered it,
Along with the Jinn, we would be lost, knowing not how to return.
أَلا كُلُّ سَمحٍ غَيرَكَ اليَومَ باطِلٌ
وَكُلُّ مَديحٍ في سِواكَ مُضَيَّعٌ
Indeed, every generous man but you today is a phantom,
And every praise sung for other than you is wasted breath.
