أإنْ بَكَتْ ورقاءُ في غُضْنِ بانْ
تصَدّعتْ منك حصاةُ الجَنانْ
If a dove weeps upon the branch of a ban tree,
Does the firm core of your heart shatter?
وأذكرَتْهُ من زمانِ الصّبا
طيبَ المغاني والغواني الحسان
And reminds him of the days of youth,
Of the sweet dwellings and the beautiful, alluring women.
كيفَ رَمَتْ بالنّارِ أحشاءَهُ
ذاتُ هديلٍ في رياضِ الجِنَان
How did she cast fire into his entrails,
That cooing dove in the gardens of Paradise?
يُرَنّحُ الغصْنَ نسيمٌ بها
مُعَانقٌ بين الغصون اللّدان
A breeze makes the branch sway with her,
Embracing among the supple, tender twigs.
ومقلتاها لو بكتْ عنهما
فاللؤلؤ الرّطبُ له مقلتان
And her two eyes, had she wept from them,
Moist pearls would serve as her eyes.
ما ذاك إلا لنوى غربةٍ
قسا عليها الدهرُ فيها ولان
That is only due to the distance of exile,
In which fate was harsh to her, then softened.
حمامةَ الأيك أبيني لنا
من أين للعجماءِ نُطقُ البيان
O dove of the thicket, clarify for us,
From where does a mute creature possess eloquent speech?
هل خانكِ المخزونُ من دمعَةٍ
بكى بها عنك فمن خان هان
Did your hidden tear betray you,
Weeping it for you? For whoever betrays is disgraced.
يا ليلةً عَنّتْ لِعَينَي شجٍ
للدمع ما بينهما لجّتان
O night that appeared before the eyes of a sorrowful man,
While between them flow two gulfs of tears.
سوداءُ تُخفي بين أحشائِها
من فَلَقِ الإصباح طفلاً هِجان
A black night that conceals within its entrails,
A pure, white child born from the break of dawn.
كأنّما قرطُ الثريّا لَهُ
في أُذْنِها خفقُ فؤادِ الجبان
As if the earring of the Pleiades for it,
In its ear, is like the pounding heart of a coward.
كأنّما فوقَ قذالِ الدّجى
لجامُ طِرْفٍ ما له من عنان
As if upon the nape of the darkness,
Is the bridle of a steed that has no reins.
كأنّما الإظلام بحرٌ طما
والشرقُ والغربُ له ساحلان
As if the darkness is a surging sea,
And the east and west are its two shores.
كأنّما الخضراءُ من زُهرِها
روضة خرقٍ نورها أقحوان
As if the green heavens, with their shining stars,
Are a vast meadow whose blossoms are chamomiles.
كأنّما النّسران قد حَلّقا
كي يُبْصِرَا حرْباً تُثيرُ العُثَان
As if the two Eagles have soared,
So they might behold a war stirring up dust.
كأنّما انقضّا وقد آنسا
مصارعَ القتلى التي ينعيان
As if they have swooped down, having sensed
The battlegrounds of the slain whose death they mourn.
كأنّما الجوزاءُ مختالةٌ
تسحبُ فضلاً من رداء العنان
As if Orion is strutting proudly,
Dragging the trailing hem of the sky's cloak.
كأنّها راقصةٌ صَوّبَتْ
وزاحمَ الغربَ بها منكبان
As if she is a dancer who has dipped down,
Her two shoulders crowding the western horizon.
كأنّما شُدّتْ نطاقاً فما
تبدو لها تحتَ ثيابٍ يدان
As if she is bound tightly with a girdle, so that
No hands appear for her beneath her garments.
كأنّما الشهبُ الّتي غَرّبَتْ
شهبُ خيولٍ في استباقِ الرّهان
As if the shooting stars that have set in the west,
Are the white blazes of horses racing for the prize.
كأنما الصّبحُ له راحةٌ
تلقط في الآفاق منها جمان
As if the morning has a palm,
Gathering pearls from the horizons.
نَكّبْتُ عن ذِكْرِ الهوى والمها
ونفيها للشيخِ غير الهوان
I turned away from the mention of passion and the beautiful oryxes,
For an old man to banish them is not a humiliation.
واهاً لأيّامِ الشبابِ الذي
ظلّ به يحلم حتى اللّسان
Ah, alas for the days of youth, which
Even the tongue continued to dream of!
سلني عن الدّنْيا فعندي لها
في كلّ فنّ خَبَرٌ أو عيَان
Ask me about the world, for I possess concerning it
In every art, a report or an eyewitness account.
فما على الأرض عليمٌ بما
تجتمع الشهبُ له في القران
For there is no one on earth knowledgeable of what
The stars gather for in their conjunction,
ولا مكانٌ تتجارى به
خيلُ القوافي غيرُ هذا المكان
And there is no place where
The horses of rhymes race, other than this place.
ولا ندىً فيه ضروبُ الغنى
إلا ندى هذا مليكِ الزّمان
And there is no generosity containing all kinds of wealth,
Except the generosity of this king of the age.
هذا عليٌّ نجل يحيى الّذي
في قَصْدهِ نيلُ المنى والأمان
This is Ali, the son of Yahya, who,
In seeking him, lies the attainment of desires and safety.
هذا الذي في الملك أضحى له
عِرْضٌ مصونٌ ونوالٌ مُهَان
This is the one who in kingship has achieved
A preserved honor and wealth generously bestowed.
هذا الذي شامَ لنصرِ الهُدى
منْ غيرِ شمّ كلَّ عَضْبٍ يمان
This is the one who drew, to support guidance,
Without ever sheathing it, every sharp Yemeni sword.
مَنْ بِشرُهُ تَرْجَمَ عن جوده
والجودُ في البشر له ترجمان
He whose cheerful face translates his generosity,
And generosity in his cheerful face finds its translator.
من تلزمُ الناسَ له طاعةٌ
قد أمرَ اللهُ بها في القُرَان
He to whom the people owe an obedience
That God has commanded in the Quran.
فَمَشْرِقَا الأرضِ على فضله
لمغربيها أبداً حاسدان
Thus, the two easts of the earth, for his bounty,
Are forever envious of its two wests.
القاتلُ الفقرَ بسيفِ الغنى
بحيثُ حدّاهُ له راحتان
The slayer of poverty with the sword of wealth,
Where its two edges are his own two palms.
والثابتُ الحلمِ إذا ما هَفَتْ
له من الحلم هضابُ الرّعان
And the firm in forbearance, whenever others slip,
Possessing towering mountains of forbearance.
لا يَعْرِضُ المطلُ لانجازه
ولا يشين المنّ منه امتنان
Procrastination never obstructs his fulfillment of promises,
Nor does a boastful reminder mar his giving.
تمنّ ما شئتَ على فضله
من الأماني وعليه الضمان
Wish whatever you desire from his bounty,
Of aspirations, and the guarantee is upon him.
مُملَّكٌ تخفقُ راياته
فيتّقِيهِ مّنْ حَوَى الخافقان
A crowned king whose banners flutter,
So whoever is contained within the two horizons fears him.
لقاؤه مُرْدٍ لأقرانه
إذا تلاقتْ حلقات البطان
Meeting him is fatal to his adversaries,
When the rings of the saddle-girths meet in battle.
يبني بركضِ الجرد من أرضه
سماءَ نقع يومَ حَرْبٍ عوان
By the galloping of short-haired steeds from his land, he builds
A sky of dust on the day of a fierce war.
يكرّ كاللّيْثِ مُبيداً إذا
ما عَرّدَ النكسُ وَخامَ الهدان
He attacks like an annihilating lion, when
The weak flee and the cowardly shrink back.
ضرْباً وطعناً بشبا مُنْصُلٍ
كأنّه لفظٌ له معنيان
Striking and thrusting with the edge of a blade,
As if it were a single word possessing two meanings.
نورُ هُدىً في الصّدر من دسته
ونارُ بأسٍ فوْق ظهر الحصان
A light of guidance at the fore of his council,
And a fire of valor upon the back of his horse.
لا تخشَ من كيد عدوّ الهدى
إنّ عليّاً لَعَلَيْهِ مُعَان
Do not fear the deceit of the enemy of guidance,
For truly, Ali is aided against him by God.
عانى خداعَ الحربِ طفلاً فما
يُقعْقعُ القِرْنَ له بالشنان
He endured the deceits of war as a child, so
No adversary can frighten him by rattling dried skins.
حَمى حِمى الإسلامِ من ضَيمهِ
واستنصرَ الحقَّ به واستعان
He protected the sanctuary of Islam from its oppression,
And the truth sought victory and help through him.
يقدّمُ الأبطال في جحفلٍ
والطيرُ والوحشُ له جحفلان
He leads the heroes in a massive army,
While the birds and the wild beasts form two armies for him.
معتادةً أكْلَ لحوم العدى
غدت خماصاً ثم راحت بطان
Accustomed to eating the flesh of the enemies,
They set out hungry and return with full bellies.
من كلّ ذئبٍ أو عُقابٍ له
كلَّ مكرٍّ فيه شلوٌ خِوَان
From every wolf or eagle, which has
At every charge, a torn limb as a feast.
من كلّ مرهوب الشّذا مُقدمٍ
بَرْدٌ عليه حرُّ لَذْعِ الطّعان
From every dreaded, fierce warrior, advancing boldly,
To whom the scorching heat of spear-thrusts feels cool.
يَغْشَى بِهِ الطِّرْفُ صدورَ القنا
فهو سليمُ الرّدْفِ دامي اللَّبَان
His steed plunges him into the chests of the spears,
So its hindquarters remain safe while its chest is bloodied.
إذا التقى الجمعانِ في مأزِقٍ
وَفَلّ بالطّعْن سنانٌ سنان
When the two hosts clash in a narrow strait,
And one spearhead shatters another through thrusting.
يا من يُفيضُ العرفَ من راحةٍ
مفاتحُ الأرزاقِ منها بنان
O you who pour forth kindness from a palm,
Whose fingertips are the keys to livelihoods!
بقيتَ للجودِ حليفَ العُلى
فأنْتَ والجودُ رضيعا لبان
May you remain for generosity an ally of eminence,
For you and generosity are brothers nursing from the same breast.
وإن تلاكَ العيدُ في بهجَةٍ
فأنْتَ عيدٌ أوّلٌ وهو ثان
And if the festival follows you in its joy,
Then you are the first festival, and it is the second.
