أنهضهُ في أوانِ إنهاضِهِ
غيثٌ دعا طرفَهُ بإيماضِهِ
I rise at the time of my rising
A rain called the sides of its clouds with a gesture
أبْرقَ برقاً كأن لائحَهُ
من أُفقِ الخير نار حُرَّاضِهِ
It flashed a lightning as if its flashes
Were from the horizon of goodness, a kindling fire
فشدّ أنقاضه بأرحُلها
إلى غزيرِ النّوال فيّاضِهِ
So it strengthened its ruins with its feet
To the abundant outpouring in its overflowing
مشتركُ الحوض في الجميع إذا
ذادت عن الحوض كفُّ مُحتاضه
The one who shares the basin with all when
The palms of the grasping ones prevent it from the basin
ينزلُ أضيافُهُ بذي كرم
مُبصبِص الكلب غير عضّاضه
Its guests descend to one generous
Who smiles without biting
يظلُّ يبكيهمْ إذا رحلُوا
بُكاءَ غَيْلان بنت فضَّاضه
It continues crying over them when they leave
The crying of a loving she-camel over her young
سمحٌ ببذل القِرى سماحَ فتىً
سَلَّمَ عِرض القرى لعرَّاضه
Magnanimous in giving villages magnanimously an energetic youth
Who surrendered the honor of villages to its guardian
لا يُشفق المستعيدُ نائله
من وشك إملاله وإعراضه
The asking one does not pity his obtainer
From being about to fill him and turn away
يفرضُ ما اطوَّع الجواد وما
مطوِّعو الجود مثلَ فُرَّاضه
It imposes what it accustomed the generous one and what
Those who tame generosity are like its breaker
لا يبذلُ الرّفد حين يبذُله
كمشتري الجودِ أو كمقتاضه
It does not give sustenance when it gives it
Like one who buys generosity or like one who asks it
بل يفعلُ العُرفَ حين يفعلُه
لجوهر العرفِ لا لأعراضِه
But it does the custom when it does it
For the essence of custom, not for its states
يفديه قومٌ يتاجرون به
أغراضهُمْ فيه غيرُ أغراضه
A people ransom it who trade with it
Their purposes in it are not its purposes
في وعده من نواله عِوضٌ
أملأُ شيء لكفّ معتاضه
In its promise from its obtainment is a substitute
That fills something for the palm of one who asks
مُقلِّمُ الدهر ما بدا ظُفرٌ
للدهر إلا انبرى بِمقراضِهِ
Clipper of time of whatever prominent victory
Appeared for time except it sprang with its clipper
إذا دعا الشِّعرَ مادحوه له
أقبل مُعتاصُه كمرتاضه
Whenever its praisers called it for poetry
It came willingly like one called upon
أيسرُ ما يشكرُ القريضُ له
تسهيلهُ قرضَهُ لقرَّاضه
The easiest thing poetry thanks it for
Is facilitating its composing for its composer
يممه بالمديح شاعرُهُ
طريدَ إملاقه وإنفاضه
Its poet directs it with praise
A prey of his dictation and deviation
يرجُو لديه غِنىً يحطُّ به
رِحاله عن ظُهورِ أنقاضِه
Seeking through him sufficient wealth to unload
His saddle bags from the backs of his ruins
كُفِّي من الدمع يا مثبِّطتي
عن زمّ سامي التَليل نهّاضِه
Enough of tears, O my dissuader
From serving the sublime, pure wakeful one
قد يقعِد المرءَ طولُ رحلتِه
ويُصمتُ الرَّحل طولُ إنقاضه
A man may sit the length of his journey
And the saddle bags are silent the length of their emptying
كم تقنع النفس بالكفافِ وكم
تترك خوضَ الغِنَى لخُوَّاضه
How often the soul contents itself with bare necessities and how often
It leaves wading in riches to the waders
لي هِمة لم يكن ليرويها
إلا من البحرِ بعضُ أحواضه
I have an ambition that none would satisfy
Except some of the sea’s basins
حان رحيلي إلى أبي حسنٍ
مُبرم إقليمه ونقّاضه
The time for my travel to Abu Hassan has come
Its region determined and its bags packed
حكيمه المقتدى بحكمته
طبيبه المرتَجى لأمراضه
Its wise one who is imitated for his wisdom
Its doctor who is hoped for his remedies
سائس تدبيره ورائِضه
كخير سُوَّاسه وروَّاضه
Arranger of his management and cultivator
Like the best of his arrangers and nurturers
حُوَّلِهِ في الخطوب قُلَّبِهِ
حيّتِهِ في الدهاء نَضْنَاضه
His overturner in perils, his sly one in cunning
The confidante of the kings' consultation, their refuge
صاحِبِ شورى الملوك مفْزعهم
إليه في الخطب عند إرْماضِهِ
When they consult him, he comes from durability
With the cream of opinion without its extraction
إذا استشاروه جاءَ من كَثبٍ
بزُبدة الرأي دون مخَّاضه
Their dependence on him in their resting places
A watcher of the hearts’ poignant bitterness
تكلؤُهم منه في مضاجِعهم
عينا رُواع الفؤاد نبّاضه
He observes over them the affairs of a kingdom
That stood by its loosening and its curdling
يرعى عليهمْ أمورَ مملكةٍ
قامتْ بإخَلاله وإحماضه
He refines the cunning of enemies and winks at it
With his refinement and winking
يُلطفُ كيد العدى ويُغْمضُهُ
طَبّاً بإلطافه وإغماضه
If its schemes ever pounced suddenly
On fate, it made it forget the pouncing of its breaker
لو فتكتْ مرّةً مكائِدُهُ
بالدهر أنستْه فتك برَّاضه
Schemes if it threw at a mountain,
Its rocks would become like its rubble
مكائدٌ لو رمى بها جبلاً
صارت جلامِيدُه كرضراضه
He destroys the false arguments of infidels for
The people of prayer, however many they are repelled with his repelling
مِدره أهل الصلاة كم دُحِضتْ
للكفر من حجةٍ بإدحاضه
He pounds the brains of the heads of misguidance
With a pounding of compelling argument for him
يُردي بِمِرْدى من الحِجاج له
دمّاغ رأس الضلالِ هضّاضه
It suffices my brother Junnah his weeping
And suffices one with family honor his sobbing
حسبُ أخي جُنَّةٍ بكيَّته
وحسبُ ذي عُرّة بخضخاضه
His hater praises him for that
Despite his enmity and hatred
يُثني عليه بذاك حاسده
على مُعاداته وإبغاضه
A preceding one of the race track of every glory
That exhausted the runner and abandoner in its running
سابق مضمار كلّ مكرمةٍ
أعيتْ على راكضٍ وتركاضِه
He attains what the strivers uncover for him
Of the heights without his uncovering
يدرك ما تُوفض السعاةُ له
من المعالي بدون إيفاضه
He has become like perfection in his majesty
And the rest of creation like its fragments
أصبح كالكُلِّ من جلالته
وسائرُ الخلق مثلُ أبعاضِه
If his critic did not blame him for that
Then he has no critic or blamer
إن لم يعبهُ بذاك عائبُه
فما له عائبٌ ولا عاضه
If not for Ali’s nobility and his favor
Fate would have abandoned me some of its times of hardship
لولا عليُّ العُلا ومِنّتُهُ
غادرني الدهرُ بعض أحراضه
He inspires me after I was bent over and how many
Bent over ones he inspired to straighten
أنهضني بعدما رزَحْتُ وكمْ
من رازحٍ ناهضٍ بإنهاضه
O my envier, you are not empty of envy
Your share of it is painfully malicious
يا حاسدي لا خلوتَ من حسدٍ
حظكَ منه أليمُ إمضاضهِ
Fate blamed me after its blamer
So let the angry one at fate be angry at me or pleased with me
أعتبني الدهر بعد معتِبهِ
فغاضِبِ الدهر فيَّ أو راضِه
I visited the son of Yahya whom
Every glorious summit hopes for its wakefulness
زرتُ ابن يحيى الذي يؤمِّلُه
كلُّ أجبِّ السَّنام مُنتاضِه
So he returned me excited and poured for me
My livelihood while I was not pouring
فردّني مُثرياً وفضفض لي
عيشي وقد كنتُ غيرَ فضفاضِه
And his hands prepared my resting place for
My side suited after it hardened
ومهّدت مضجعي يداهُ فقد
لاءمَ جنبيّ بعد إقضاضه
And he sucked my honor so he returned it
Cracked like a garment that the washer’s palm rubbed
وماصَ عِرضي فردّهُ يققاً
كالثوب أنقتهُ كفُّ رحّاضه
When the bringer of my good fortune appeared to me
And the warner of my fate's arousal warned me
لمَا بدا لي بشيرُ غُرَّته
وراع دهري نذيرُ إنباضه
My fortune smiled at me
After its frowning and turning away
أقبلَ حظي عليَّ مبتسماً
من بعد تعبيسِهِ وإعراضه
And my fate took shelter with him
From fear of the arrow of harm and its wounder
وظل دهري له مُلاوِذَهُ
من خوف سهم الردى ومقراضه
Do not deprive fate, O Abu Hassan
Of mending the broken wing of its riser
لا تعدم الدهرَ يا أبا حسنٍ
جبرَ كسير الجناح منهاضِه
You guaranteed these people, lending to them
A custom to God, thanking for His lending
كفُلتَ هذا الأنام تُقرضُهُم
عُرفاً إلى الله شكرَ إقراضه
Until you guaranteed the chicks hidden
In the eggs before the cracking of their cracker
حتى كفلتَ الفِراخ كامنةً
في البيض قبل انقياض مُنقاضه
You toil for the people the toil of an assiduous one
Riders of the back of the indefatigable cajoler
تكدحُ للناس كدحَ مجتهدٍ
ركّاب ظهرِ الدُؤوب ركّاضه
You lowered over them the wing of compassion
That has very much decreased in number its lowerers
خَفَضْت فيهمْ جناح مَرحمةٍ
قد قَلَّ جدّاً عديد خُفّاضه
