أسْعِداني في الحُبِّ ما تعْلَمانِ
وقِفا لي فقد بَدا العَلَمانِ
Grant me the happiness of love that you both know,
And stop for me, for the two standards have appeared,
ودَعاني أُجِبْ بدَمْعيَ شَوقاً
حادثاً ما دعاكُما ودَعاني
And called me to answer with my tearful longing
For an event that called you and called me.
ما انتظَمْنا للأُنْسِ في سِلْكِ قُرْبٍ
أيُّهَا الصّاحبانِ فاغْتَنماني
We did not join together in intimacy and closeness,
O two companions, so take advantage of me!
واذْكُراني إذا بَعُدْتُ فإنّي
قَمِنٌ منكُما بأنْ تَذْكُراني
And remember me when I am far away, for I
Will yearn from you both to remember me.
هو ما تَعْرِفانِ من بَرْحِ َشوقي
فاعذِراني الغَداةَ أو فاعْذُلاني
It is what you both know of my burning passion,
So excuse me in the morning, or blame me.
نَمْنَمتْ وَجْنتي دموعي فَنمَّتْ
يومَ سارتْ بَواكرُ الأظْعان
My eyelids and cheeks wept, so they blossomed
The day the pioneers of sorrow marched forth.
سِرُّ وَجْدي مُستودَعٌ في جُفوني
وهْو يَبْدو إذا الحبيبُ جَفاني
The secret of my passion is stored in my eyelids
And it shows when my beloved frowns at me.
ظَلموني وقد بكَيْتُ لشَجْوي
حينَ لاقُوا مَلامةَ الغَيْران
They wronged me though I wept for my agony
When they blamed me to strangers.
أَخَذوا حيثُ أكتُمُ السِّرَّ فيه
وهُمُ يأْمُرونَ بالكِتْمان
They seized where I conceal the secret within me
While they order me to be silent.
بَعْدَ أنْ لم أجِدْ فُؤاديَ في صَدْ
ري جَعلْتُ الأسرارَ في الأجفان
When I could not find my heart in my chest
I made the secrets reside in my eyelids.
يا خَليليَّ خَليّاني ومَنْ أهْ
وَى وإنْ طالَ مَنْ هَواهُ هَواني
O my two friends, befriend me, even if
The one I love persists in his passion for me,
وأقِلاّ لَوْمي فإنّي أَرَى الدُّنْ
يا بإنسانِ ذلكَ الإنسان
And gently blame me, for I see that
A human is to humans as such.
ما نَسِيتُ العَهْد القديمَ ولا أَص
بحَ ناسٍ مَنْ عَهدُه أَسْلاني
I have not forgotten the old pact, nor have I
Become intimate with people whose pact failed me.
فسقَى اللهُ ليلةَ القَصْرِ والعَس
كرُ قد خَيّموا على هَمَذان
So God watered the night of power and the army
Who pitched their tents around Hamadan.
ما تَذكّرْتُها على النَّأيِ إلاّ
هَيَّجتْ لي بذكرِها أَشْجاني
I did not remember it in absence except
It stirred within me tender passions.
سلَبتْني فيها رُقادي و أَفرا
حي ومن بَعْدُ ما مضَتْ أَحزاني
It deprived me that night of sleep and joy,
And afterwards, sorrows departed from me.
هو ذاكَ الفِراقُ فارقَني نَو
مي وما عادَ بَعدَه يَلْقاني
That is the separation that parted me from
My sleep, and after it, did not find me again.
قَصَّر الوَصْلُ ليلةَ القَصْرِ منْ بَعْ
دِ تَمادي تَطاوُلِ الهجْران
The union shortened on the night of power, after
Prolonged estrangement of the two parted ones.
رُبَّ بَدْرٍ ملأتُ عَينيَّ منه
طالعاً غَيْرَ أَنّه ما هَداني
I have filled my eyes many a full moon,
Rising, though it did not guide me.
عاقِداً للقَباء منه على خَطْ
طِيّ رُمْح يَهْتَز أَو خُوطِ بان
Fastening the bow on it, on my slender figure,
A shaking spear, or twisting rope.
فارساً ناظرَيْهِ قد أخَذا لي
صَوْلَجانَيْ صُدْغَيْهِ يرتكِضان
A horseman whose two eyes have taken
My temples as racetracks where they gallop.
فَهُما يَضْرِبانِ لي كُرَةَ القَلْ
بِ المُعنَّى والحَلْبَةُ الوَجْنَتان
So they strike for me the ball of the heart’s
Meaning, and the two cheeks are the racetrack.
وهْو مع ذاك مُسمِعٌ مُبْدِعٌ حُلْ
وُ المَعاني فصيحُ نُطقِ اللِّسان
And with that he is a listening inspirer, extracting
The sweetest meanings and eloquent of tongue.
بات يَشْدو لنا وقد ضَمَّ في الحِضْ
نِ رَسيلاً يُمْلي عليه الأغاني
He spent the night singing to us, having embraced
A stream, dictating songs to it.
أَحْدَبُ القَدِّ مُحكَمُ الشَّدِّ في حلْ
قهِ شَطْرُ الحَنِيَّةِ المِرْنان
Slender of stature, sturdy of figure, in his throat
Half of gentle singing hums.
وهْو ذو ألسُنٍ ولكنَّه أَخْ
رَسُ إلاّ ما استَنْطقَتْه اليَدان
He is multi-tongued, but the most silent
Save what his hands make speak.
فبَياني كأنّه أَخَذَ الأو
تارَ منْه هَواه ممّا يَراني
So my eloquence is as if he has taken
The lute from him - his passion from what he sees of me.
والنَّدامَى في مَجْلسٍ أَدَبيٍّ
غائبِ الرّاحِ شاهِدِ الرَّيْحان
And the boon companions in a literary gathering
With absent consolation and present fragrance.
تتَعاطَى مُدامَ نَظْمٍ ونَثْرٍ
من كُؤوس يُشْرَبْنَ بالآذان
They partake of prose and verse from cups
That they imbibe through their ears.
شُعراءٌ من بَيْنِ عُرْبٍ وعُجْمٍ
نُظَراءٌ في حِدَّةِ الأذْهان
Poets of Arabs and non-Arabs alike,
Peerless in sharpness of mind.
كلّما دارَ في الخَواطرِ مَعْنىً
نظَموهُ فدار في الألحان
Whenever a meaning passes through their thoughts
They compose it into a melody.
ذاك عَصْرٌ مضَى وقد جاء عَصْرٌ
شَدَّ ما قد تَخالَفَ العَصْران
That was an age now passed, and an age has come
That greatly differs from the two ages.
حالَ حالي وحالَ في إثْرِه لوْ
ني بصَرْفِ الزَّمانِ ذي الألوان
My state has changed, and changed after it, surely,
By the turning of time of diverse colors.
زُرْتُ فازْوَرَّتِ المليحةُ إذْ حَلْ
لَتْ بحالي وجِسميَ العِلّتان
I visited beautiful Fāz, when it was adorned
With my state and physique of two illnesses.
وهْي تَهوَى العِقْيانَ لا أَنْ تَرَى مِنْ
نِيَ وجْهاً في صُفْرة العِقْيان
It craves glasses of wine, not to see
From me a face yellow fromwine.
واعْوِجاجٌ بالدَّهرِ أَن يَمْنَحَ الخَدْ
دَيْنِ منّي ما تَطْلُبُ الكَفّان
It would be unjust of fate to bestow upon
My cheeks what shrouds seek.
كيف أَرجو نَيْلَ الغِنَى في زَمانٍ
أنا بالنّاسِ فيه ذو عِرفان
How can I hope to gain wealth in a time
When I have little knowledge among the people?
ظَلَّ مالي وظَلَّ عِلْميَ فيه
وهُما في نهايةِ النُّقْصان
My money and my knowledge in it both
Declined, both reaching the utmost decline.
ورَضِينا بقسْمَةِ اللهِ إذ كا
نَ مُحالاً أَن يُجْمَعَ الفَضْلان
We are content with God's decree, for it is
Impossible to unite the two excellences.
أَن يكونَ الزّمانُ عَيْبيَ أَوْلَى
بيَ من أَن أَكونَ عَيْبَ الزَّمان
It is more fitting that the time be my fault
Than that I be the fault of time.
طاولَتْ مُدةُ الصِّيامِ شَكاتي
وعَراني من بَرْحِها ما عَراني
The prolonged fast burdened my sorrows
And exposed me in it to what exposed me.
وكأنَّ الرّجاءَ عن كلِّ خَلْقٍ
حينَ أَفطَرْتُ صامَ فيها مكاني
As if all hope in every being,
When I broke the fast, fasted in my stead.
فكمِ الصّومُ يا رَجائي وشَوّا
لُ أَتى قاصراً يدَيْ رَمَضان
How often, O my hope, has fasting come
To me short of reaching Ramadan.
قال لا فِطْرَ أَو أَرى غُرّةَ الأُسْ
تاذِ بالسّعْدِ فهْيَ عِيدُ الأماني
It said: no breakfast until I see the cheerful
Gift of the professor - it is the feast of wishes.
الّذي اعتادَ جُودُه الغَمْرُ أَن يُسْ
رِفَ بَذلاً حتّى أَقولَ كَفاني
He whose generosity is wont to submerge,
So he lavishes spending until I say: enough!
والّذي يَشْتري الثّناءَ ويُعْطي ال
وَفْدَ فيه غَواليَ الأثمان
He who buys praise and gives back
In it the wish of hopes as payment.
مَنْ بَرى اللهُ شَخْصَه للبَرايا
مِنَناً كُلَّه بغَيْرِ امْتنان
Whoever God shows favor to the people
From us, completely without obligation.
ذو عَلاءٍ وذو عَطاءٍ جَزيلٍ
فهْو ناءٍ منَ الورى وهْو دان
Of lofty station and abundant, plentiful giving -
He brings ease to the people and is brought near.
مَن ظُباهُ ومَنْ عِداه جَميعاً
ما تُقرُّ الغِرارَ في الأجفان
Whose enemies and friends alike -
Doubt does not settle in their eyelids.
ساحةٌ ما خلَتْ بها ساعَةٌ في الدْ
دَهْرِ للحاسدِينَ والضيِّفان
A plain that not an hour in time
Passed on it for enviers or guests.
من دَم سائلٍ بملْء جُفون
من مُعاديهِ أَو بملْءِ جِفان
Not a drop of blood from a requesting supplicant’s
Eyes, or from the eyelids of his opponents.
عارضٌ للجيوشِ في الجودِ فَرْدٌ
ويداه للمُرتَجي عارضان
A singular challenger of armies in generosity, unique,
And his hands to the hopeful are outstretched.
تحتَ أَعلامِه العَساكرُ في الهَيْ
جا وتحتَ الأقلامِ في الدِّيوان
Under his banners are the armies in tumult,
And under his pens are those registered.
هو يُمْضيهمُ فيَمْضونَ والمِطْ
عامُ أَصْلُ الغَناءِ للمِطْعان
He sends them forth, so they go, and bounty
Is the root of life for the reward seekers.
صارمٌ من صوارمِ المُلْكِ ماضٍ
وسَديدٌ من أَسهُمِ السُّلطان
A fierce one among the fierce swords of the kingdom, proceeding,
And a firm one of the sultan’s arrows.
مُذْ تَولّى أَمرَ المظالمِ قالَ النْ
ناسُ قد عادَ عَدْلُ نُوشَروان
Since he assumed authority over grievances, the people said:
Justice of Anushirvan has returned.
صدَقَ القائلونَ خُصَّ بذا الإس
مِ وذا النَعْتِ في الزَّمان اثْنان
Those who spoke truthfully were distinguished with this name and attribute
In time - only two.
أنت حَقّقْتَ ما ادَّعَى ذاك والصّا
دِقُ من فَجْرِيَ الظَّلامُ الثّاني
You actualized what the other claimed, and the truthful one
From my dark night is the second.
مِثْلمَا خُطَّ والمُؤخَّرُ ممّا
كتبوهُ مُقَدَّمٌ سَطْران
Just as it was written, and the delayed one was among
What they wrote, the preceding two lines.
لاحقٌ سابقٌ وكم غَلطاتٍ
كُتبَتْ في صَحائفِ الأزمان
The subsequent, preceding, and how many errors
Were written in the scriptures of time!
فرعَى اللهُ مَنْ غدا وهْو راعٍ
غَيْرَ وانٍ لنا ولا مُتَوان
May God protect whoever comes tomorrow while remaining
Our shepherd, neither weakening nor delaying.
مَنْ يُعاني أمراً يُعانُ عليه
كم مُعانٍ للأمر غيرِ مُعان
Whoever undertakes a matter will be helped
With as many helpers as the matter requires.
جمَع العرْضَ والمَظالِمَ جَمْعاً
وهما في قياسنا ضِدّان
You gathered might and grievances together
While in our view, they are opposites.
فهْو مازال آمراً بالعِدا الأجْ
نادَ أو ناهِياً عنِ العُدوان
So he continues commanding fairness,
Or forbidding transgression.
تارةً يُرهفُ الأسنةَ للرَّوْ
عِ وطَوراً يَثْني شَبا الخِرصْان
Sometimes he quickens tongues for honesty
And sometimes he blunts the swords of discord.
بنَحيلٍ يَظَلُّ ذا دَمْعةٍ سَو
داءَ تَجْري في أوجُهٍ غُرّان
With slender waist that continues shaded with a
Drop of pitch-dark tears flowing in heated faces.
يَكْتسي أنمُلَ الكُفاةِ وإلا
فهْو راضٍ بوصمَةِ العُرْيان
He wears the callouses of hard-workers, or else,
He is content with the brand of the naked.
ذو لسانٍ كأنّ في شَقّهِ مَشْ
قاً يُوالي الأسجاعَ كالكُهّان
With a tongue as if split in its cleft
Is a split, succeeding euphonies like a soothsayer.
فهْو أفعَى وليس من أهلِ نَجْرا
نَ كأفْعَى المَوصوفِ بالنَّجْران
So it is a viper, and not one of the snakes
Of Najran, like the viper described as speckled.
يَرقُمُ الطِّرْسَ وهْو كالأرقَمِ النَّضْ
ناضِ يَسْعَى لسانُه شُعْبَتان
It creates complex patterns while it, like the hissing
Viper, its tongue darts forth as two flames.
وكأن الكتابَ لمّا رأوه
لضَميرِ الفؤاد ذا إعلان
And as if the writers, when they saw it
For the heart’s conscience, announcing,
عاقَبوهُ عمّا يَبوحُ بسرِّ ال
مُلْكِ طَبْعاً فشُقَّ وَسْطُ اللسان
Punished it for divulging the secret
Of the kingdom instinctively, so the tongue was split.
يا مَطافاً للوَفدِ من كُلّ أرضٍ
ومُحلَّى بالعَدْلِ والإحسان
O frequenter of delegates from every land,
And adorned with justice and benevolence!
عُهدَتْ كَعبةٌ وجئْتَ فصارَتْ
للهُدَى اليومَ والنّدَى كَعْبتان
A sanctuary was promised, and you came, so it became
For guidance today, and dew, two sanctuaries.
غيرَ أنّي كالمُحْصَرِ العامَ بالأسْ
قامِ عن لَثْمِ أَشْرَفِ الأركان
Except that I am like the public confined
From kissing the noblemost pillar.
ورأيتُ الطَّريقَ أصبحَ كالسِّلْ
كِ إليه والنّاسَ مثْلَ الجُمان
I saw the road has become like a path
To it, and the people like thronging locusts.
وعلى خاطري وخِطاري من دو
نِ قَصدي ومَقْصدي عُقْلَتان
In my thoughts, from other than my intention
And purpose, are two concerns.
وجَرى ذكْرُه فحَلَّ العِقالَيْ
ينِ رَجائي عن ناقَتي ولساني
And his mention brought the restraining thoughts
Of my hope from my she-camel and my tongue.
وتَجلَّتْ بناتُ فِكْري فحُلِّ
يَتْ بدُرِّ الألفاظِ غُرُّ المعاني
And the daughters of my thoughts were adorned
With the full moons of words and tender meanings.
فتَهنَّ النّيروزَ وازْدَدْ سُروراً
فهْو عيدٌ مُعظَّمٌ خُسْرُواني
Congratulations on Nayrūz! And rejoice -
It is a venerated feast, Khosrowānī!
جاء ذا الفِطْرُ كالمُصَلّي معَ السّا
بقِ شَوقاً إليك يَسْتَبِقان
This breakfast has come like one praying with
A predecessor, longing for you both.
عَجَميٌّ إمامُه عَرَبيٌّ
قد ألمّا فليَهْنِكَ الزّائران
Its Persian imam, and its Arab one
Have agreed, so greet them, O visitor!
وصباحُ النَّيْروزِ أوْلى صَباحٍ
بالتَّهادي لدى الورى والتَّهاني
And the dawn of Nayrūz is the worthiest dawn
For greetings among people, and congratulations.
فَتقَبَّلْ هَديَّتي فهْيَ دُرٌّ
كلُّ دُرٍّ سواه في الأرضِ فان
So accept my gift, for it is a pearl -
Every pearl other than it in the earth will perish.
وابْقَ ما وشَّحَ الرّياضَ رَبيعٌ
حاكياً وَرْدُه خُدودَ الحِسان
And remain as long as spring has adorned
The gardens, its roses emulating beautiful cheeks.
خالداً يا ابْنَ خالدٍ لا يُطيقُ الدْ
دَهرُ ما عاش هَدْمَ ما أنتَ بان
Eternal one, O son of the eternal! Time cannot bear
To destroy what you have built.
