طَيفٌ بلُبنانَ من مِصرٍ إليَّ سَرَى
حتى إذا أنِسَت عيني به نَفرا
A phantom from Egypt came by night to me in Lebanon;
just when my eye had grown familiar with it, it fled.
وَلّى يَشُقُّ أديمَ الليلِ معُتسفاً
فما عَرَفتُ لهُ عيناً ولا أثَرا
It turned away, cleaving the skin of night, blindly wandering;
I could discern neither its form nor any trace.
يا مُرسِلَ الطَّيفِ لو علَّمْتهُ كَرَماً
أُنْسَ اللقاءِ كما علَّمتَني السَهَرا
O sender of the phantom, if only, in kindness, you had taught it
the warmth of meeting, as you taught me wakeful nights.
وكيفَ يأنَسُ ضَيفٌ حيثُ ليسَ لهُ
إلاّ سَخينةَ دمعٍ في الظَلامِ قِرَى
How can a guest feel at ease where he has
nothing but a hot tear, served as hospitality in the dark?
ما أنصَفَتْنا الليالي الغادراتُ بنا
دَجَتْ علينا ولم تترُكْ لنا القَمَرا
The treacherous nights have dealt unfairly with us:
they closed dark over us and left us no moon.
داءٌ نُعالجُهُ بالصبرِ وَهْوَ لنا
داءٌ وكم عِلَلٍ قد أَبرأت أُخَرا
An affliction we treat with patience—yet patience itself is for us
an affliction; and how many an ailment has cured another!
غاب الحبيبُ فغابَ الأُنسُ عن فِئةٍ
خَيالهُ في سُويداواتِها حَضَرا
The beloved went away, and fellowship left a company
in whose hearts’ deepest chambers his image remains present.
إن كانَ قد عَزَمَ الأسفارَ مُغترباً
فإنَّ أشواقَنا لا تَعرِفُ السَّفَرا
If he has resolved to journey abroad,
then surely our longings know nothing of travel.
غال النَّوى عهدَ من تجلو لطائِفُهُ
سِحرَ البيانِ ويجلو وَجهُهُ السَحَرا
Distance vanished in the days of one whose subtle graces
reveal eloquence’s magic, and whose face lights the dawn.
عَرَفتُ فيهِ قُصوري واعتَرَفتُ بهِ
فما أُبرِّئُ نفسي منهُ مُعتذِرا
In him I saw my own shortcomings and confessed them;
I will not acquit myself of them by pleading excuses.
يا أيُّها الحَسَنُ الميمونُ طالعُهُ
أحسَنتَ حتى ملأتَ السَمْعَ والبَصَرا
O fair one, auspicious in your rising,
you have so excelled that you fill both hearing and sight.
ما زلتَ تجلو علينا كُلَّ قافيةٍ
قد شبَّبَتْ بمعاني حُسنها الشُعَرا
You never ceased unveiling for us every poem
whose lovely meanings have moved poets to sing of love.
يَهُزُّكَ الشِّعرُ إنشاداً فنحنُ بهِ
نَغُوصُ في البحر حتى نجتني الدُّرَرا
Poetry stirs you when it is recited; through it, we
dive into the sea until we gather pearls.
هذِهْ رسالةُ مشتاقٍ تذكِّرُكم
عهداً قديماً عساهُ قبلها ذُكِرا
This is a letter from one who longs, recalling you—
an old bond, perhaps spoken of before this letter.
ظمآنُ يحلو إذا اشتَدَّ الظَّماءُ لهُ
ماءٌ ولكنَّ في إفراطِهِ خَطَرا
A thirsty man, when his thirst grows fierce, finds sweet
water—but in excess of it there lies danger.
Sol 5.6