ما قامَ لَولا هَواكَ المُدنَفُ الوَصِبُ
يَبكي الطلولَ وَأَهلُ المُنحَنى غَيَبُ
He would not have gotten up were it not for your love, O slender and pliable sapling.
The young men weep and the inhabitants of the valleys disappear.
وَيَسأَلُ الربعَ عَن سُكّانِهِ سَفَهاً
وَقَد مَحَت آيَه الأَرواحُ تعتَقبُ
The ignorant foolishly ask the desert about its dwellers.
And the signs of spirits have been erased and covered up.
يُكَفكفُ الدَمعَ أَحياناً وَتَبعَثُهُ
لَواعِجُ الشَوقِ أَحياناً فَيَنسَكِبُ
At times he holds back his tears, and at other times
The pangs of passion rouse them and they pour out.
صَبٌّ إِذا نامَ أَهلُ الحَيِّ أَزعَجَهُ
ذِكرٌ يُعاوِدُهُ مِن عيدِهِ طَربُ
A loved one who weeps when people sleep,
Disturbed by a memory that excites him from his festival.
تَدعو هَواجِسُهُ طَيفَ الخَيالِ وَسُلـ
ـطانُ الكَرى عَنهُ بِالأَشواقِ مُحتَجبُ
His fantasies call up the specter of imagination, while
The authority of fate hides it from him with yearnings.
يَهيمُ شَوقاً بِأَقمارٍ عَلى قُضُبٍ
مُلدٍ تَجاذَبُها ظُلماً لَها الكُثُبُ
He raves with passion for moons upon slender palm trees
Swayed by darkness, with their clusters bending over.
مِن كُلِّ واضِحَةِ اللَبّاتِ تَبسِمُ عَن
مُرَتَّلٍ زانَهُ التَأشيرُ وَالشَنَبُ
The cheeks of every radiant beauty smile
Revealing dimples adorned with down and moles.
تُريكَ مِن وَجهِها الوَضّاحِ إِن سَفَرَت
بَدراً وَتَبدو هِلالاً حينَ تَنتَقِبُ
When she unveils, she shows you from her luminous cheek
A full moon, and when veiled, she appears as a crescent.
يا ضَرَّةَ الشَمسِ إِنَّ الحُبَّ أَبعَدَني
فَلَيتَ شِعري بِماذا مِنكِ أَقتَرِبُ
O sunbeam, love has distanced me,
So I wonder through what can I approach you.
إِن كانَ لِلحُسنِ في العِشرينَ عِندَكُم
حَقُّ الزَكاةِ فَإِنّي البائِسُ الجُنُبُ
If the fair-faced ones levy a charity tax on beauty,
Then I am the most wretched pauper.
وَمَهمَهٍ طامِسِ الأَعلامِ مُتَّصِلٍ
تَواهَقَت بِيَ في أَجوازِهِ النُجُبُ
With a love-crazed camel, constantly writhing,
Whose nobility contends with him in its loftiness.
في لَيلَةٍ مِثلِ عَرضِ البَحرِ حالِكَةِ الـ
ـجلباتِ قامَت بِها لا تَهتَدي الشُهُبُ
On a night like the breadth of a tumultuous sea,
In which doubts arise and no guiding lights shine,
فَأَسفَرَ الصُبحُ لي عَن رايَةٍ بَلَغَت
أَقصى المَدى وَتَناهَت دونَها الرُتَبُ
Dawn rose for me bearing a standard
That reached the furthest horizon where ranks fall short.
المَورِدُ العَذبُ وَالنادي الرَحيبُ وَإِد
راكُ المُنى وَالقِرى وَالمَربعُ الخصِبُ
The sweet stream, the spacious grove,
The realization of wishes, settlements and fertile plain,
في ظِلِّ أَبلَجَ يُستَسقى الغَمامُ بِهِ
فَيَستَهِلُّ وَيُستَشفى بِهِ الكلَبُ
In the shade of sparkling white, from which the clouds
Are watered, then loom, and by which the dog is healed.
المُستَقِلُّ بِما أَعيا المُلوكُ بِهِ
وَالمُستَقِلُّ لَنا الدُنيا إِذا يَهَبُ
Independent in what wears out kings,
And independent for us is the world when it gives.
ثَبتُ الجَنانِ لَهُ حُلمٌ يَوَقِّرُهُ
إِذا هَفا بِحَلومِ السادَةِ الغَضَبُ
Resolute, honored by his forbearance when
The rage of the eminent subsides.
مَعَشَّقٌ لِلمَعالي لا يَزالُ لَهُ
في كُلِّ مَرتَبَةٍ عَذراءُ تُختَطَبُ
A lover of the heights, for whom, at every
Level, there is a virgin who may be proposed to in marriage.
صافي الضَمائِرِ مَرضِيُّ السَرائِرِ مَحـ
ـمودُ المَآثِرِ تُزهى بِاِسمِهِ الخُطَبُ
Pure in conscience, pleasing in intimacy,
Praiseworthy in deeds - speeches adorned with his name.
لَهُ أَيادٍ مُقيماتٌ مُسافِرَةٌ
لَم يَخلُ مِن بِرها عُجمٌ وَلا عَربُ
He has hands that are resident and traveling,
And their goodness neither excludes foreigner nor Arab.
مَولىً إِذا اِفتَخَرَ الساداتُ في مَلَأٍ
سَما بِهِ الأَشرَفانِ العِلمُ وَالحَسَبُ
A lord - when the eminent boast in an assembly -
Named by the highest of sciences and nobility.
وَإِن دَجا لَيلُ خَطبٍ عَمَّ فادِحُهُ
ذَكا لَهُ النَيِّرانِ الفَضلُ وَالأَدَبُ
If the night of calamity darkens, fatally engulfing,
His merit and courtesy shine brightly for him.
وَإِن سَقَت رَوضَةَ القِرطاسِ راحَتُهُ
رَأَيتَ سَيفيَّ وادٍ مِنهُ تَعتَجِبُ
And if his hand waters the garden of paper,
You see a flooding river of wonders from it.
كَأَنَّما صَدرُهُ البَحرُ المُحيطُ وَمِن
أَقلامِهِ غاصَةٌ لِلدُّرِ تَنتَخِبُ
As if his breast is the endless ocean,
And from his pens pearl divers selecting the finest.
إِذا اِحتَبى لِلفَتاوى فَهوَ مالِكُها
وَإِن حَبا خَجِلَت مِن جودِهِ السُحُبُ
If he inclines to legal opinions, he is their master,
And if he gives generously, the clouds are ashamed of his munificence.
فَما رَأَينا إِماماً قَبلَ رُؤيَتِهِ
يَرى النَوافِلَ فَرضاً فِعلُها يَجِبُ
We have not seen an imam before seeing him
Who sees supererogatory acts as obligatory deeds.
وَالحوبُ أَن يَسبِقَ السُؤّالُ نائِلَهُ
وَأَعظَمُ الذَنبِ أَن يَبقى لَهُ نَشَبُ
The most dreadful thing is for a request to precede its attainment,
And the greatest sin is for any speck to remain.
يَنأى بِعِطفَيهِ إِعظامٌ وَيَجذِبُهُ
طَبعٌ كَريمٌ إِلى الحسنى فَيَنجَذِبُ
He is distanced by his kindness and drawn
By his noble nature to the virtuous and pulls towards it.
يَقظانُ لِلمَجدِ يَحمي ما تَوارَثَهُ
آباؤُهُ الصيدُ مِن فَخرٍ أَبٌ فَأَبُ
Wakeful for glory, guarding the game of pride
That his forefathers hunted, from father to father.
مِن أُسرَةٍ حازَ شيبانُ الفخارَ بِهِم
فَهم لَهُ شَرَفٌ باقٍ إِذا اِنتَسَبوا
From a family that greybeards have gained pride through,
So they are an eternal nobility for him when he claims descent.
قَومٌ تَرى المَجدَ في أَبياتِهِم زُمَراً
فَالمَجدُ يُخزَنُ وَالأَموالُ تُنتَهَبُ
A people you see glory moving amongst in lines of verse,
While wealth is hoarded and possessions seized.
صيدٌ إِذا اِنتَسَبوا سُحبٌ إِذا وَهَبوا
أُسدٌ إِذا وَثَبوا حَتفٌ إِذا غَضِبوا
Lions when they claim descent, clouds when they give generously,
Lions when they pounce, deadly when they are enraged.
لَو أَزمَعوا أَمرَهُم يَوماً عَلى أَجَأٍ
رَأَيتَ أَركانَ سَلمى خيفَةً تَجِبُ
If they one day set their mind on a frightful course,
You would see the pillars of Salma trembling in fear.
يا أَيُّها الصاحِبُ المَولى الوَزيرَ وَمَن
إِلى مَفاخِرِهِ العَلياءُ تنتَسبُ
O companion, patron, minister - and one who
Claims descent to their lofty glories -
دُعيتَ في الدَولَةِ الغَرّاءِ صاحِبَها
حَقاً وَظَنَّ جَهولٌ أَنَّهُ لَقَبُ
You were called "the Companion" in the radiant State,
Rightfully, though the ignorant thought it a title.
أَلبَستَها مَجدَكَ الضافي فَباتَ لَها
ذَيلٌ عَلى مَنكِبِ الجَوزاءِ يَنسَحِبُ
You clothed it in your overflowing glory, so there remained for it
A train trailing upon the shoulder of Canopus.
وَكَم رَدَدتَ العِدى عَنها بِغَيظِهِمُ
وَأَكبُدُ القَومِ لِلأَحقادِ تَلتَهِبُ
And how often you repelled hostility from it, to the rage
Of people whose livers burned with malice!
إِذا كَتائِبُها عَن نَصرِها قَعَدَت
في حادِثٍ جَلَلٍ قامَت بِهِ الكُتُبُ
When its regiments abandoned defending it
In a momentous, dreadful event, the books rose to support it.
كَثَرتَهُم في دِمَشقٍ وَهيَ خالِيَةٌ
وَقَد أَناخَ عَلَيها الجَحفَلُ اللَجِبُ
You multiplied them in Damascus while it was empty,
Though the horrible hordes were encamped upon it.
كَتائِبٌ أَضحَتِ البَيداءُ مُتأَقَةً
مِنها وَضاقَت بِها البُطنانُ وَالحَدَبُ
Regiments that made the wilderness shake
And filled the valleys and hills.
يَقودُهُم مِن بَني أَيّوبَ كُلُّ فَتىً
ماضي العَزائِمِ لا نِكسٌ وَلا نَخِبُ
They are led by each youth of the Ayyubids
With resolute determination, no cowardice or turning back.
أُسدٌ مَخالِبُها بيضُ الظُبى وَلَها
مِنَ الذَوابِلِ غيلٌ نَبتُهُ أَشِبُ
A lion whose claws are white from hunting gazelles,
And it has a dense forest of spears with swelling buds.
حَتّى إِذا أَشرَفَت مِنهُم دِمَشقُ عَلى
حَربٍ لَها الوَيلُ مِن عُقباهُ وَالحربُ
Until Damascus looked down upon a war
That boded ill in its outcome and danger.
مَنَحتَها مِنكَ عَزماً صادِقاً خَضَعَت
لَهُ ظُبى الهِندِ وَالخَطِيَّةُ السُلُبُ
You endowed it with sincere resolve from you, so there submitted to it
The beasts of India and the smooth-sided thieves.
فَكانَ رَأيُكَ فيها رايَةً طَلَعَت
بِالنَصرِ فَاِنجابَتِ اللأواءُ وَالكُرَبُ
Thus your view for it was a standard raised up
High with victory, and the banners and misfortunes submitted.
وَباتَ أَثبَتُهُم جَأشاً وَأَحزَمُهُم
رَأياً وَأَمضى سِلاحاً عَزمُهُ الهَرَبُ
The steadiest of them in grit and the wisest
In opinion remained, and the most resolute in arms was their flight.
وَكانَ ظَنُّهُم أَن تَلتَقي بِهِم
مِصرُ البَوارَ وَتَغشى النُوبَةَ النُوَبُ
And they had thought the disasters of Egypt would befall them
And good fortune would overtake them in turn.
فَأَجفَلوا وَزَعيمُ القَومِ غايَةُ ما
يَرجو مِنَ اللَهِ أَن تَبقى لَهُ حَلَبُ
So they lost heart, and the utmost their leader
Hoped from God was that Aleppo would remain for him.
تَدبيرُ أَروَعَ لا يَعيا بِنازِلَةٍ
وَلا يَبيتُ لِخَطبٍ قَلبُهُ يَجِبُ
A planning superior to vicissitudes,
A heart that does not spend the night trembling with anxiety over calamity.
إِذا شَياطينُ بغيٍ خيفَ سورَتُها
فَإِنَّ آراءَهُ في رَجمِها شُهُبُ
When the demons of rebellion bare their faces,
His views pelt them with shooting stars.
عَزمٌ بِهِ أَخمَدَ اللَهُ الشِقاقَ وَلا
هُزَّت رِماحٌ وَلا سُلَّت لَهُ قُضُبُ
A resolve by which God suppressed conflict before
Any spears were shaken or lances cast.
وَلَو سَعى غَيرُهُ فيها لِيَرأَبَها
أَنامَهُ المُقعِدانِ العَجزُ وَالتَعَبُ
Had another sought reconciliation,
He would have been put to sleep by inadequacy and fatigue.
ضَفَت مَلابِسُ نُعماهُ عَلَيَّ فَقَد
رُدَّت بِهاليَ أَثوابُ الصِبى القُشُبُ
The garments of his bounty draped over me, so
The robes of childhood were returned to me in their beauty.
وَبِتُّ خِلواً مِنَ الآمالِ وَاِتَّصَلَت
بَيني وَبَينَ العُلى مِن بابِهِ نَسَبُ
And I spent the night devoid of hopes while ties
Were established between me and the exalted through his door.
هذا المَديحُ الَّذي ما شانَهُ خَلَلٌ
كَلّا وَلا شابَهُ في مَجدِكُم كَذِبُ
This is the praise - which has no defect -
No, nor did any falsehood mix into your glory.
مَعنىً بَديعٌ وَأَلفاظٌ مُنَقَّحَةٌ
غَريبَةٌ وَقَوافٍ كُلُّها نَخَبُ
A wondrous meaning and refined words,
Strange metaphors, all carefully chosen.
ما كُلُّ عودٍ بِنَبعٍ حينَ تَعجُمُهُ
يَخورُ تَحتَ ثَنايا العاجِمِ الغَرَبُ
Not every piece of wood, when adorned,
Sinks into the ineloquence of the foreigner’s Arabic.
قَد يَشهَدُ الحَربَ بِالزَغفِ المُضاعَفِ أَقـ
ـوامٌ وَيَشهَدُها مَن لِبسُهُ اليَلَبُ
Seasoned warriors can witness war with double armor,
As can one whose only clothing is a tattered cloak.
فَاِسلَم وَلا زالَتِ الآلاءُ سابِغَةً
عَلَيكَ ما عادَتِ الأَيّامُ وَالحُقُبُ
So be safe, and may favorable things always
Continue upon you, for all days and eras to come.
