مِن سِحرِ طَرفِكِ مِن مُجيري
يا ضَرَّةَ الرَشَءِ الغَريرِ
From the magic of your glance, who will save me?
O rival of the innocent fawn,
جِسمٌ كَخَصرِكِ في النُحو
ل وَمِثلُ جَفنِكِ في الفُتورِ
A body like your waist in its emaciation,
And like your eyelid in its languid weakness.
أَصبَحتُ أَضأَلَ مِن هِلا
لِ الشَكِّ في عَينِ البَصيرِ
I have become thinner than the crescent moon,
The one of doubt, requiring a keen eye to see.
مَحَقَ الضَنى جَسَدي فَبِتـ
ـتُ مِنَ الهَلاكِ عَلى شَفيرِ
Illness has erased my body, so I have become
Upon the very brink of destruction.
وَمَشى الرَدى في مُهجَتي
اللَهَ مِن جَهلِ الخَبيرِ
Death has walked within my soul,
God save me from the ignorance of the expert.
جَهِلَ النَطاسِيُّ عِلَّتي
لِلَّهِ مِن جَهلِ الخَبيرِ
The skilled doctor was ignorant of my ailment;
To God I complain of the expert's ignorance.
كَم سامَني جَرعَ الدَوا
وَكَم جَرَعتُ مِنَ المَريرِ
How often he burdened me with swallowing medicine,
And how much bitterness I have swallowed.
دَع أَيُّها الآسي يَدي
الحُبُّ يُدرَكُ بِالشُعورِ
Let go of my hand, O healer,
For love is perceived only by feeling.
يَدري الصَبابَة وَالهَوى
مَن كانَ في البَلوى نَظيري
Passion and love are known only
By he who is my equal in affliction.
لَو تَنظُرينَ إِلَيَّ كَالمَي
تِ المُسَجّى في سَريري
If you were to look at me, like a dead man
Shrouded upon my bed,
يَتَهامَسُ العُوّادُ حَو
لي كُلَّما سَمِعوا زَفيري
The visitors whisper around me
Whenever they hear my heavy sigh.
وَأَظُنُّهُمُ قَد أَدرَكوا
لا أَدرَكوا ما في ضَميري
And I think they have realized—
No, they have not realized what is in my secret heart.
فَأَبَيتُ مِن قَلَقي عَلَي
كِ كَأَنَّني فَوقَ السَعيرِ
So I refused, out of my anxiety for you,
To speak, as though I were upon a blazing fire.
وَأَدَرتُ طَرفي في الحُضو
رِ لَعَلَّ شَخصَكِ في الحُضورِ
And I turned my gaze among those present,
Hoping your figure was among the crowd.
فَاِرتَدَّ يَعثُرُ بِالدُمو
عِ تَعَثُّرَ الشَيخِ الضريرِ
But it returned stumbling in tears,
Like the stumbling of a blind old man.
قَد زارَني مَن لا أُحِبُّ
وَأَنتِ أَولى مَن تَزوري
Those whom I do not love have visited me,
While you are the one most worthy to visit.
صَدَّقتِ ما قالَ الحَوا
سِدُ فِيَّ مِن هُجر وَزورِ
You believed what the enviers said,
Regarding me, of abandonment and falsehoods.
وَأَطَعتِ بي حَتّى العِدى
وَضَنِنتِ حَتّى بِاليَسيرِ
And you obeyed even the enemies regarding me,
And were stingy even with the slightest thing.
أَمّا خَيالُكِ يا بَخيلَـ
ـةُ فَهوَ مِثلُكِ في النُفورِ
As for your phantom, O stingy one,
It is just like you in its aversion.
روحي فِداأُك وَهيَ لَو
تَدرينَ تُفدى بِالكَثيرِ
My soul is your ransom, and if—
Had you known—it is ransomed by much.
تيهي عَلى العاني كَما
تاهَ الغَنِيُّ عَلى الفَقيرِ
Be haughty over the captive sufferer, just as
The rich man is haughty over the poor.
أَنا لا أُبالي بِالمَصي
ر وَأَنتِ ئدرى بَِلمَصيرِ
I do not care about the destiny,
And you are more aware of the destiny.
أَهواكِ رَغمَ مُعَنِّفي
وَيَلَذُّ نَفسي أَن تَجوري
I love you despite my scolder,
And my soul delights that you are unjust.
لَيسَ المُحِبُّ بِصادِقٍ
حَتّى يَكونَ بِلا عَذيرِ
The lover is not truthful
Until he accepts no excuse.
كَم لَيلَةٍ ساهَرَتُ في
ها النَجَمَ أَحسَبُهُ سَميري
How many nights have I stayed up within them,
Watching the star, thinking it my companion.
وَالشُهبُ أَقعَدَها الوَنى
وَاللَيلُ يَمشي كَالأَسيرِ
While the meteors were seated by exhaustion,
And the night walked like a prisoner.
أَرعى البُدور وَلَيسَ لي
مِن حاجَةٍ عِندَ البُدورِ
I tend to the full moons, yet I have
No need with the full moons.
مُتَذَكِّراً زَمَن الصِبى
زَمَن الغِوايَة وَالغُرورِ
Remembering the time of youth,
The time of temptation and vanity.
أَيّامَ أَخطُرُ في المَجا
مِع وَالمَعاهِدِ كَالأَميرِ
Days I would strut in the gatherings
And the institutes like a prince.
أَيّامَ أَمري في يَدي
أَيّامَ نَجمي في ظُهورِ
Days when my command was in my hand,
Days when my star was rising.
لَمَعَ القَتيرُ بِلِمَّتي
وَيلُ الشَبابِ مِنَ القَتيرِ
Gray hair gleamed in my sidelocks;
Woe to youth from the gray hair.
لا بِالغَوير وَلا النَقا
كَلَفي وَلا أَهلِ الغَويرِ
Not at Al-Ghuwayr nor Al-Naqa
Is my infatuation, nor with the people of Al-Ghuwayr.
أَرضَ الجَزيرَةِ كَيفَ حا
لُكِ بَعدَ وَقعِ الزَمهَريرِ
O land of Al-Jazirah, how is
Your state after the fall of the bitter cold?
نَزَلَ الشِتاءُ فَأَنتِ مَلعَ
بُ كُلِّ ساقِيَةٍ دَبورِ
Winter has descended, so you are the playground
Of every driving west wind.
وَتَبَدَّلَت تِلكَ العَرا
صُ مِنَ النَضارَةِ بِالدُثورِ
And those courtyards have changed
From freshness to obliteration.
أَمسَيتِ كَالطَلَلِ المَحي
ل وَكُنتِ كَالرَوضِ النَضيرِ
You have become like a barren ruin,
While you used to be like a blooming garden.
آهاً عَلَيك وَآهِ كَيـ
ـفَ نَأَتكِ رَبّاتُ الخُدورِ
Ah for you, and ah, how
The mistresses of the boudoirs have distanced themselves from you.
المائِساتُ عَنِ الغُصو
نِ السافِراتُ عَنِ البُدورِ
Those swaying like branches,
Unveiling faces like full moons.
الذاهِباتُ مَعَ النُهو
دِ الذاهِباتُ مَعَ الصُدورِ
Those walking with rising breasts,
Those walking with hearts held high.
الحاسِراتُ عَنِ السَوا
عِد وَالتَرائِب وَالنبُحورِ
Revealing their forearms,
And chests and throats.
القاسِياتُ عَلى القُلو
بِ الجانِياتُ عَلى الخُصورِ
Cruel to the hearts,
Criminals against their own waists.
المالِكاتُ عَلى اللَآ
لِءِ في القَلائِد وَالثُغورِ
Possessors of pearls
In their necklaces and their smiles.
الضاحِكاتُ مِنَ الدَلا
لِ اللاعِباتُ مِنَ الحُبورِ
Laughing out of coquetry,
Playing out of joy.
الآخِذاتُ قُلوبَنا
في زَيَّ طاقاتِ الزُهورِ
Taking our hearts,
Dressed in the fashion of bouquets of flowers.
بيضُ نَواعِمُ كَالدُمى
يَرفُلنَ في حُلَلِ الحَريرِ
White, soft ones like dolls,
Trailing in robes of silk.
مِثلُ الحَمائِمِ في الوَدا
عَة وَالكَواكِبِ في السُفورِ
Like doves in gentleness,
And stars in brilliance.
مِن كُلِّ ضاحِكَةٍ
كَأَنَّ بِوَجهِها وَجهَ البَشيرِ
From every laughing woman,
As if her face holds the face of a herald of good news.
أَنّى أَدَرتُ الطَرفَ في
ها جالَ في قَمَرٍ مُنيرِ
Wherever I turned my gaze within,
It roamed over a shining moon.
يا مَسرَحَ العُشّاقِ كَم
لي فيكَ مِن يَومٍ مَطيرِ
O theater of lovers, how many
Bountiful days I had in you.
تَنسى البَرِيَّةُ عِندَهُ
يَومَ الخَوَرنَق وَالسَديرِ
Mankind forgets, in its presence,
The days of the palaces of Khawarnaq and Sadir.
وَلَكَم هَبَطتُك وَالحَبي
بَةَ فازِعينَ مِنَ الهَجيرِ
And how often I descended into you with the beloved,
Fleeing from the midday heat.
في زَورَقٍ بَينَ الزَوا
رِقِ كَالحَمامَةِ في الطُيورِ
In a boat among the boats,
Like a dove among birds.
مُتَمَهِّلٌ في سَيرِهِ
وَالماءُ يُسرِعُ في المَسيرِ
Taking its time in its course,
While the water hastens in its flow.
وَالشَمسُ إِبّانَ الضُحى
وَالجَوُّ صافٍ كَالغَديرِ
The sun in the mid-morning,
And the air is clear like a brook.
وَلَكَم وَثَبنا وَفي التِلا
ل وَكَم رَكَضنا في الوُعورِ
And how often we leaped on the hills,
And how often we ran in the rugged places.
وَلَكَم أَصَحنا لِلحَفي
ف وَكَم شَجَينا بِالخَريرِ
And how often we listened to the rustling,
And how often we were moved by the murmuring water.
وَلَكَم جَلَسنا في الرِياضِ
وَكَم نَشَقنا مِن عَبيرِ
And how often we sat in the meadows,
And how often we inhaled fragrance.
وَلَكَم تَبَرَّدنا بِما
نُهَيرِكِ الصافي النَميرِ
And how often we cooled ourselves with the water
Of your clear, wholesome little river.
طَوراً نَنامُ عَلى النَبا
ت وَتارَةً فَوقَ الحَصيرِ
At times we sleep on the plants,
And at times upon the mat.
لا نَتَّقي عَينَ الرَقيـ
ـب وَلا نُبالي بِالغَيورِ
We do not fear the eye of the spy,
Nor do we care about the jealous one.
فَكَأَنَّها وَكَأَنَّني الأَ
بَوانِ في ماضي العُصورِ
As if she and I were the First Parents
In the eras of the distant past.
حُسِدَت عَلَيَّ مِنَ الإِنا
ثِ كَما حُسِدتُ مِنَ الذُكورِ
She was envied for having me by the females,
Just as I was envied by the males.
ظَنَّ الأَنامُ بِنا الظُنو
ن وَما اِجتَرَحنا من نَكيرِ
People thought suspicious thoughts about us,
Yet we committed no objectionable act.
قَد صانَ بُردَتَها الحَيا
ء وَصانَني شَرَفي وَخيري
Modesty protected her robe,
And my honor and virtue protected me.
وَمَطِيَّةٍ رَجراجَةٍ
لا كَالمَطِيَّة وَالبَعيرِ
And how often we rode a shaking mount,
Not like a riding beast or a camel.
ما تَأتَلي في سَيرَها
صَخّابَةً لا مِن ثُبورِ
It does not slacken in its course,
Noisy, but not from destruction.
تَجري عَلى أَسلاكِها
جَريَ الأَراقِمِ في الحُدورِ
It runs upon its wires,
Like the running of speckled snakes down a slope.
طَوراً تُرى فَوقَ الجُسو
ر وَتارَةً تَحتَ الجُسورِ
Sometimes it is seen above the bridges,
And sometimes beneath the bridges.
أَناً عَلى قِمَم وَآ
ناً في كُهوفٍ كَالقُبورِ
At times on peaks and
At times in caves like graves.
تَرقى كَما تَرقى المَصا
عِدُ ثُمَّ تَهبِطُ كَالصُخورِ
It ascends as elevators ascend,
Then it drops like rocks.
فَإِذا عَلَت حَسِبَ الوَرى
أَنّا نُصَعِّدُ في الأَثيرِ
And when it rises, people think
That we are ascending into the ether.
وَإِذا هَوَت مِن حالِقٍ
هَوَتِ القُلوبُ مِنَ الصُدورِ
And when it plunges from a high place,
Hearts plunge from the chests.
وَالرَكبُ بَينَ مُصَفِّقٍ
وَمُهَلِّلٍ جَذلِ قَريرِ
The riders are between clapping
And cheering, joyful and settled.
أَو خائِفٍ مُتَطَيِّرٍ
أَو صارِخٍ أَو مُستَجيرِ
Or fearful and superstitious,
Or screaming or seeking refuge.
هِيَ في التَقَلُّبِ كَالزَما
ن وَإِنَّما هِيَ لِلسُرورِ
It is like Time in its fluctuations,
Except that it is for pleasure.
وَمُدارَةٍ في الجَوِّ
يَحسَبُها الجَهولُ بِلا مُديرِ
And a machine spun in the air,
The ignorant one thinks it has no operator.
لَو شِئتَ نَيلَ النَجمِ مِن
ها ما صَبَوتَ إِلى عَسيرِ
If you wished to reach the star from it,
You would not have aspired to something difficult.
مَشدودَةٍ لَكِنَّها
أَجرى مِنَ الفَرَسِ المُغيرِ
It is tethered, yet
Faster than a charging horse.
زَفّافَةٍ زَفَّ الرِنا
لِ تَسفُ إِسفافَ النُسورِ
Gliding like ostriches glide,
Hovering low like vultures.
وَلَها حَفيفٌ كَالرِيا
ح وَهَدرَةٌ لا كَالهَديرِ
It has a rustle like the winds,
And a roar not like any ordinary roar.
كَالأَرضِ في دَوَرانِها
وَلَكَالمِظَلَّةِ في النُشورِ
Like the earth in its rotation,
And like a parasol in spreading out.
القَومُ فيها جالِسونَ
نَ عَلى مَقاعِدَ مِن وَثيرِ
The people sit within it
Upon seats of soft plush.
وَالريحُ تَخفُقُ حَولَهُم
وَكَأَنَّما هُم في قُصورِ
The wind flutters around them,
As if they were in palaces.
وَالجَمعُ يَهتُفُ كُلَّما
مَرَّت عَلى الحَشدِ الغَفيرِ
The crowd shouts whenever
It passes over the vast throng.
وَلَكَم تَأَمَّلنا الجُمو
عَ تَموجُ كَالبَحرِ الزَخورِ
And how often we contemplated the crowds
Rippling like a swelling sea.
يَمشي الخَطيرُ مَعَ الحَقيـ
ـرِ كَأَنَّما هُوَ مَع خَطيرِ
The noble walks with the lowly,
As if he were with a noble.
وَتَرى المَهاةَ كَأَنَّها
لَيثٌ مَعَ اللَيثُ الهَصورِ
And you see the beauty as if she is
A lion alongside a crushing lion.
مُتَوافِقونَ عَلى التَبا
يُنِ كَالقَبيلِ أَوِ العَشيرِ
Agreeing upon their difference,
Like a tribe or a clan.
لا يَرهَبونَ يَدَ الخُطو
بِ كَأَنَّما هُم خَلفَ سورِ
They do not fear the hand of misfortune,
As if they are behind a wall.
يَمضي النَهار وَنَحنُ نَحـ
ـسَبُ ما بَرِحنا في البُكورِ
The day passes and we think
That we are still in the early morning.
أَبقَيتَ يا زَمَن الحَرو
رِ بِمُهجَتي مِثلَ الحَرورِ
You have left, O season of heat,
Within my soul something like burning heat.
وَلَّت شُهورٌ كُنتُ أَر
جو أَن تُخَلَّدَ الدُهورِ
Months have turned away that I hoped
Would be eternal for ages.
وَأَتَت شُهورٌ بَعدَها
ساعاتُها مِثلُ الشُهورِ
And months came after them
Whose hours are like months.
لَيسَت حَياةُ المَرءِ في الدُن
يا سِوى حُلمٍ قَصيرِ
Man's life in this world is not
Anything but a short dream.
وَأَرى الشَبابَ مِنَ الحَيا
ةِ لَكَاللُبابِ مِنَ القُشورِ
And I see youth within life
Like the core within the shell.
ذَهَبَ الرَبيعُ ذَهابَهُ
وَأَتى الشِتاءُ بِلا نَذيرِ
Spring has gone its way,
And winter has come without warning.
وَتَبَدَّدَ العُشّاقُ مِثلَ
تَبَدُّدِ الوَرَقِ النَثيرِ
And the lovers have scattered like
The scattering of fallen leaves.
رَضِيَ المُهَيمِنُ عَنهُمُ
وَاللَهُ يَعفو عَن كَثيرِ
May the Guardian be pleased with them,
And God forgives much.
