سل الحلبي عن حلب — Albohtry — Saqi

Ask the Aleppine about Aleppo,
about his leaving Aleppo.
I see that freeloading forced him
to settle in al-Karkh as a stranger.
Will you not tell me about the soundness
of your judgment—where has it gone?
You forgot al-Marwazi and our day
with him, which was cut short.
He had slaughtered the hens for us,
so his rooster ended up a bachelor.
Come, let us repay him for what
he sought in us and what he hoped for,
with your verse: it is a partial payment
toward the rightful debt now due.
Did he not lavish helpings on you,
from bowls you thought were pits?
And you rolled up your sleeves in earnest,
as though you were clothed in anger.
Whenever you set upon a dish,
we saw fire and firewood.
And if you spluttered from choking,
we cried out, “Woe! Ruin!”
And we feared that death
had caught you unawares, or nearly had.
And your drinking of date wine,
then snacking on fresh dates afterward—
fine qualities! Were they seen in al-Sham,
its people would cry “God is great!” in wonder.
Do you sleep, heedless of your three,
which you have neglected for sport,
though they contain what you can use to
ward off thirst and banish hunger?
A waste on your part: no good sense
have you shown, nor good manners.