تُعاتِبُ سُعدى أَن تنقَّل دارَها
وَأَيَّة شَمسٍ يَستَقرُّ قَرارَها
You blame Su’da that she moves her abode,
And which sun steadies its abode?
أَعارَتك سَقم الجفن وَالجفن ضامِن
مَحاسِن أُخرى جَمَّة ما يُعارها
Your sick eyelids lent you her beauty,
And other perfections, abundant, that adorn her.
يمقلتها يَقضي غِرارٌ مِنَ الكَرى
وَما يٌقطَعُ الأَسياف إِلّا غِرارها
Time passes away with its vicissitudes,
And nothing interrupts the passage of time but its vicissitudes.
إِذا نَزَلتَ أَرضاً أَضاءَت بِوَجهِها
فَسيّانَ مِنها لَيلُها وَنَهارُها
When she descended on a land, it shone with her face,
Her night and day were equalized from it.
كَواكِب لَكِنَّ الحدوج بروجها
بُدورٌ وَلَكِنَّ الخُدور سِرارُها
The planets, though lofty in their mansions,
Revolve, but their orbits are unknown.
تَأَلَّقُ مِن تَحتِ النِقاب كَأَنَّما
يلاث عَلى شَمس النَهار خِمارُها
She gleams from beneath the veil as though
Over the midday sun a cloak is thrown.
يَضُمُّ قَضيباً مِن أَراكٍ وِشاحِها
وَيَضمَن دِعصاً مِن زَرودٍ إِزارُها
She holds a staff of spears in the folds of her mantle,
And grasps a rod of oppression in the trains of her skirt.
إِذا انتقبت أَعشى النَواظِرَ وَجهُها
ضِياء وَإِشراقاً فَكَيفَ انسفارها
When she unveils, she blinds the eyes,
Her shining and illumination, then how is her concealment?
فَلا تعذلا في حُبِّها إِنَّ حُبَّها
سلافة خَمرٍ وَالحَنين خُمارُها
So persist not in loving her, verily her love
Is a draft of wine, and yearning her fermentation.
جَرَحتُ بِلَحظي خَدِّها فَتَعَمَّدَت
فُؤادي فأصمَته وَذاكَ انتِصارُها
I wounded her cheek with my glance, so she intentionally
Wounded my heart, and that was her triumph.
فَدَعها وَقَتلي إِنَّها مِن قَبيلَةٍ
إِذا وَتَرَت لَم يُمطِل الدَهر ثارُها
So leave her be, though she killed me, she is of a tribe,
If they become hostile, time will not delay their vengeance.
إِذا نَزَلَ الأَضياف كاسَت عَقيرها
وَدارَت بِلا ذَنب كؤوس عُقارُها
If guests descend, she pours her goblet,
And circulates without guilt the cups of her wine.
بَكيتُ فَحَنَّت ناقَتي فَأَجابَها
صَهيل جوادي حينَ لاحَت دِيارُها
I wept, so my she-camel showed sympathy,
Answered by the neighing of my steed when her abode appeared.
خططنا بأطراف الأَسِنَّةِ أَرضها
فأهدَت إِلَينا مِسك دارين دارُها
We roamed the extremities of the earth, so she gifted us
The musk of the two abodes and their perfume.
وَلاحَت ثَنايا الأُقحوانِ وَلَو رأت
ثَنايا الَّذي أَهواه طال استِتارُها
And the undulations of the sand dunes appeared, but had they seen
The undulations of the one I love, prolonged would be his concealment.
وَإِنّي وَإِن عاصيت في بيشة الهَوى
ليعجبني غُزلانها وَصوارُها
And though I am disobedient in the wilderness of love,
I love her gazelles and fawns.
وَيعجبني جثجاثُها وَعَرارُها
وَحنوتُها أَو شيحُها وَبهارُها
And I love her bustard and partridge and springtime,
Her warbling and trilling and blossoms.
أَرى الحُبَّ ناراً في القُلوبِ وَإِنَّما
يصعِّد أَنفاس المحب شرارُها
I see that love is fire in hearts, though in truth
It makes the breaths of lovers glow like embers.
تَوَقَّ عُيون الغانِيات فَإِنَّها
سُيوف وَأَشفار الجُفون شِفارُها
Restrain your eyes, O singers, for they
Are swords, and the lashes of eyelids their scabbards.
نفرن وَقَد عاينَّ شَخصيَ وَالمَها
إِذا أَبصرت لَيثاً تَمادى نِفارها
They fled though they saw my person, and to them
When a lion appears, protracted is their flight.
بِنَفسي طيف جاد وَهناً بِمَوعِدٍ
غُرور وَقَد خاضَ الجُفونَ غِرارُها
I swear by my soul the image of a noble steed though frail,
Deceitful its promise, hot embers its eyelashes.
أَلَمَّ وَرَحلي في فِناءينِ أَخصَبا
بِحَيث غُصونِ المَجدِ تَجنى ثِمارُها
It touched and departed, while my two abodes flourished
Where the branches of glory bear fruit.
وَهَل للمنى إِلّا أَبو الفَضلِ كعبة
يَكونُ إِلَيهِ حَجُّها واِعتِمارُها
Is there any wish except Abu Al-Fadl Ka’b
As its shrine, to which its pilgrimage and visit are?
تَخَيَّرتُهُ إِن الكِرام مَناهِلٌ
وَما يَستَوي غُدرانها وَبِحارُها
I chose him, for the generous are springs,
Not equal are their sweet and bitter waters.
فَقَبَّلتُ إِذ عاينته خُفَّ ناقَةٍ
حباني بِهِ تهجيرها وابتِكارها
I kissed, when I saw him, the fetlock of a she-camel
Who brought us together, by her driving and maneuvering,
تعرَّق رَحلي ظَهرِها فَكَأَنَّما
تَضَمَّن مِنهُ ذا الفِقارِ فِقارها
The strap of my saddle chafed her back, as though
From it the celestial sphere gained its power.
وَزنَّاه بِالدُنيا فَزادَ وَإِنَّما
يُبَيِّنُ أَقدار الرِجال اختِبارُها
And we blamed the world, yet he surpassed, but in truth
Men’s qualities are manifested through trials.
وَما يَعرف الإِنسان إِلّا بِغَيرِهِ
وَما فضلت يُمناك لَولا يَسارُها
One knows not mankind except through others,
Your right hand has no merit without your left.
أَقَلَّت ثراه همة يَمنيَّة
إِذا زارَت العيوق طالَ انحِدارها
Lesser efforts diminish the ambitions of the auspicious,
When eagles descend, prolonged is their descent.
لَهُ ماءَ وَجهٍ مُخبِرٍ عَن مَضائِهِ
وَرَونَق ماء الماضِيات غِرارُها
He has the water of an indicative face,
And the freshness of past waters are its beams.
يَخاف عَداه سيفه وَلِسانِهِ
وَيُرهِب أَنياب الليوث وزارُها
His sword and tongue frighten his enemies,
And terrify the fangs of lions and their wrist.
صِلاتُ يَدَيه كالصَلاة فَتَركُها
ذنوب لَدَيهِ ما يُرجّى اغتِفارُها
His hands’ generosity is like prayer, to neglect it
Are sins for him, for which pardon is hoped.
سَجيَّة نَفسٍ بَينَ جَنبيه حُرَّة
تُباحُ أَياديها وبحمى ذمارِها
A free soul between his sides,
Whose hands are permitted and protected by his prestige.
تَرى جودها بُخلاً بدون حَياتِها
فَيأتيكَ مِنها نَيلُها واِعتِذارُها
You see his generosity as stinginess without his life,
So from it you take his flow and apology.
وَلو جَرَّ نَفعاً دفعه النَفس لَم يَكُن
عَلى مالِها دونَ الحياةِ اقتِصارُها
Had gain pulled him to benevolence, his soul would not be
Confined to his wealth without life.
وَيُنجِز نعماه فَتَصفو وَرُبَّما
يُكَدِّر نُعماءَ الجَواد انتِظارُها
He fulfills his favors so they are pure, while sometimes
Waiting taints the favors of the generous.
وَيحقر ما يُبدي فيعظم قدره
إِلّا إِنَّ تَعظيم الأَيادي احتِقارُها
He deems negligible what he reveals, so elevates his worth,
Except that appreciating givers is their deprecation.
وَإِن عَرَّسَت أَسيافه في معرسٍ
مِنَ الحَربِ أَمسَت وَالرؤوس نِثارُها
If his swords spread carnage at the battle,
And the heads rolled, that would be their harvest.
حَكى دَعفَلاً في بأسِهِ وَنَواله
كَما يَتبَع الخيل الجِياد مهارها
He narrated Da’fil in his courage and assaults,
As horses pursue steeds in their gallop.
إِذا طالَت الآجال في حومَة الوَغى
فَفي شَفرَتي ما يَنتضيه اختِصارها
If respites stretch in the heat of battle,
Then in my blades is that which shortens them.
وَإِن عدلت عَنه العلى نَحوَ غَيرِهِ
وَحاشاه أَلجاها إِلَيهِ اضطِرارُها
If the most high veers toward another,
Far be it! Necessity drove it toward him.
يَحوز المَنايا وَالمنى مِنه أَنمِلٌ
طِوال القَنا تَزهى بِها وَقِصارُها
He seizes glories and wishes, of them slightest,
Tall of build vie through him, and shortest.
حَمَّيته أَسر بِهِ يثبت الوَغى
وَإِقدامه قطب عليه مَدارُها
I defended him, captivated by him, firm in battle,
And his daring is the axis upon which it revolves.
وَيَرضاه ضَحضاح المَنيَّة خائِضاً
وَيَشكوهُ في بحر الثَناءِ غِمارُها
He is pleased by the warbling of death, submerged,
And the sea of praise complains of his turbidity.
وَمَعرَكَة لِلنَّقعِ وَالطَير فَوقَها
سَحائِب لَكِنَّ النَجيع قِطارُها
A battlefield for the eagles and birds above it,
Though the pickings are its convoy.
سَماءٌ نعال الخيل فيها أَهِلَّة
وَلَكِنَّها لا تَستَدير صِغارُها
A sky in which the shoes of horses are permitted,
But its smallness cannot be encompassed.
وَقَد أَلبس الفرسان مِن دكن نَسجِهِ
غَلائِل مِن فوق الدُروعِ غُبارُها
The knights donned from his weaving
Mantles over the coats of mail and their dust.
حَلَفتَ بِصدر الرُمح في صَدرِ كَبشِها
فَما مَيَّزَ الأَفواهَ عَنهُ خُوارُها
You swore by the breast of the lance in the chest of its rams,
So the mouths did not distinguish them from their shame.
فَغَصَّت بِصَدرِ الرُمح ثغرة نَحرِهِ
كَما غَصَّ يَوماً بِالذِراعِ سِوارُها
The breast of the lance lodged in the slit of its throat,
As its bracelet once lodged on the forearm.
وَضَمَّ الدَم المَسفوح أَرجاء درعه
كَما ضَمَّ أَرجاء السَفينَة قارُها
The spilt blood enveloped the corners of his armor
As the pitch enveloped the corners of the vessel.
يَرُدُّ سِنان الرُمح مقلة أَزرَقٍ
بِها رَمَدٌ يَشتَد مِنهُ احمِرارُها
The point of the lance repels the blue blade
In which is chronic inflammation and its redness.
فَدتك رِجالٌ تحذر الفقر في النَدى
وَفي البُخلِ فَقرٌ لَيسَ مِنهُ حِذارُها
Men ransom you who fear destitution despite wealth,
And in stinginess is poverty, from which there is no caution.
شَهِدنا لطيٍّ أَنَّهُ خَير عُصبَة
وَصَحَّ لَنا أَن الأَمير خيارُها
We testify that Lu’ayy is the best tribe,
And it is correct for us that the commander is its best.
وَلَم أَرَ أُسدا غَيرَ آلُ مُفَرِّجِ
تَرَجّى عَطاياها وَيؤمِن زارُها
I have not seen lions other than the family of Mufraj
Whose gifts are hoped for and their visitors secured.
إِذا أَبرَمَت أَمراً فَلِلجودِ أَمرها
وَإِن هيَ لَم تُبرَم فَفيهِ اشتوارُها
When they determine a matter it is for generosity,
And if not determined, deliberation remains in it.
جِبالُ حَلومٍ أَثقَلَ الحلم سَمعها
عَن اللَغوِ حَتّى قيلَ وقَرٌ وَقارُها
The mountains of Hilm made patience so weighty
Silence was attributed to them and their dignity.
وَمِن شأنها إِسرافها في عَطائِها
فَإِن قيلَ ذا عارٌ فَذَلِكَ عارُها
And of their quality is excess in giving,
If it said this is shameful, that is their shame.
غَدا بِنجوم السَعد مِن شدَّ رَحله
إِلَيكَ وَإِن باتَت وَشَطَّ مَزارُها
Tomorrow the stars of fortune lead his traveling,
To you, though the night darkened and its journey swayed.
وَأحمد في مَدحيك وَالمَدح حلية
صياغتها منّي وَمِنكَ نُضارها
I praise you in my praise, and praise is an adornment
Whose crafting is from me, and its blossoms from you.
وَقَد يَمدَح الناس النُجومَ لِضوئِها
وَإِن كانَ مِن شَمس النَهار امتيارها
People may praise the stars for their light,
Though their preference is from the sun of daytime.
معين النَدى عالي المَدى وآكف الجَدا
مَريق الدِما وَالحَرب تسعر نارُها
Helper of dew, of lofty purpose, protector of borders,
Shedder of blood, battle igniting its fire.
