مَرَّ عَيشٌ عَلَيَّ قَد كانَ لَذّا
وَدَهَتني الأَيّامُ فيها وَحَذّا
The days embittered my life for me, though once it had been sweet;
they assailed me in it while I stood alone.
وَاِنثَنى عَنّيَّ الشَبابُ وَغودِر
تُ فَريداً مِنَ الأَحِبَةِ فَذّا
Youth turned away from me, and I was left
alone, cut off from loved ones, utterly solitary—
بِضَميرٍ لا لَهوَ فيهِ وَقَلبٍ
وَقَذَتهُ قَوارِعُ الدَهرِ وَقذا
with a mind where no diversion dwells, and a heart
grievously wounded by the crushing blows of Time;
وَخَليلٍ صافٍ هَنِيٍّ مَرِيٍّ
جَبَذَتهُ الأَيّامُ مِنِّيَ جَبذا
and a pure friend, delightful and wholesome,
whom the days tore from me with one violent wrench:
بُقعَةٌ مِن بُقاعِ قُرَّةِ عَيني
هِيَ أَمرى بُقاعِ وِدّي وَأَغذى
a cherished spot among the tracts that delight my eye,
the sweetest province of my love, and the most sustaining.
لَيتَ شِعري أَحالُهُ مِثلُ حالي
إِذ صَفا عَيشُهُ لَهُ وَاِلتَذّا
Would that I knew: is his condition like mine,
now that his life has grown serene and delightful to him?
سَيفُ حُكمٍ في مَفصِلِ الحَقِّ ماضٍ
شَحَذَتهُ تَجارِبُ الدَهرِ شَحذا
A sword of judgment, keen at truth’s decisive joint,
finely sharpened by the trials of Time.
ما أَراني وَإِن تَحَلّى لِيَ الإِخ
وانُ مِن بَعدِهِ لَهُم مُستَلَذّا
I cannot see myself—even if other friends seem fair to me—
ever taking delight in them after him.
قَد رَماني فيهِ الزَمانُ بِسَهمٍ
يَنفُذُ الجَوفَ وَالتَراقِيَ نَفذا
On his account, Fate has struck me with an arrow
that pierces belly and collarbones clean through.
سَرَّهُ اللَهُ حَيثُ كانَ فَما كا
نَ أَسَرَّ الدُنيا بِهِ وَأَلَذّا
May God gladden him wherever he may be—for how
the world gladdened me through him, and how delightful it grew!
وَلَقَد أَغتَدي عَلى طَرَفِ الصُب
حِ بِطَرفٍ إِذا وَنى الجَريُ بَذّا
Many a time I set out at the edge of dawn
on a noble horse that, when the gallop flags, outstrips it,
طاعِنٌ في العِنانِ يَستَنكِرُ السَو
طَ مُدِلّاً وَيَأخُذُ الأَرضَ أَخذا
straining against the reins and scorning the whip,
proudly devouring the ground in mighty strides.
وَإِذا ما عَدا فَنارٌ أَذاعَت
بِدُخانٍ تَهُذُّهُ الريحُ هَذّا
When it races, it is a fire casting forth
smoke that the wind lashes and scatters fiercely;
بَحرُ شَرٍّ يُشاغِبُ الصَخرَ قَرعاً
بِصُخورٍ وَيَنبِذُ التُربَ نَبذا
a sea of fury, battling the rock and pounding it
with stones, and violently flinging away the dust.
يَصرَعُ العيبَ وَالشُرورَ وَلا أَد
ري أَهَذا إِلَيهِ أَقرَبُ أَم ذا
It vanquishes every defect and vice—and I cannot
tell which image comes closer to it, this one or that.
أَن تَريني يا شَرُّ خَلَّفتُ أَيّا
مِيَ صِبّاً كانَ ناعِمَ البالِ لَذّا
If you see me, O Misfortune, I have left behind the days
when my youth was carefree in spirit and sweet.
وَمَشى الشَيبُ قَبلَ عَقدِ الثَلاثي
نَ فَلَمّا اِنتَهى إِلَيها أَغَذّا
Gray hair came stalking before my thirtieth year was complete;
and when it reached thirty, it hastened onward.
وَنَهى عَنّيَّ العُيونَ المَريضا
تِ وَأَنضى رَكبَ الهَوى فَأَرَذّا
It drove the languishing eyes away from me,
and wore Love’s caravan down, leaving it abject.
فَبِحَمدِ الإِلَهِ إِنَّ جَميعَ ال
خَلقِ قَد كانَ بَعضُهُ قَبلُ شَذّا
Praise be to God: I am the whole of
creation, though some of it had once been scattered.
وَأَنا الواضِحُ الَّذي إِن تَبَدّى
يَعرِفوهُ وَلا يَقولونَ مَن ذا
And I am the illustrious one who, when he appears,
is recognized—they never ask, “Who is this?”
وَقَويمٌ كَالخَطِّ يَزدادُ ليناً
بِدِماءِ الأَحشاءِ وَالجَوفِ يُغذى
And I possess a straight spear-shaft, ruled-line straight, growing ever suppler,
nourished on the blood of entrails and bellies.
ذاكَ عِندي وَقَد جَمَعتُ إِلَيهِ
رُسلَ مَوتٍ صَوائِبَ الوَقعِ حَذّا
That is mine; and I have gathered beside it
Death’s messengers, unerring in their strokes and keen,
وَدُروعاً كَأَنَّها وَجهُ ماءٍ
صافَحَتهُ ريحٌ وَعَضباً مِحَذّا
and coats of mail like the face of water
brushed by a breeze, and a finely honed sword.
Sol 5.6