هند عذراء أسلمتها المقادير — Rfaat Alsalibi

هندُ عذراءُ أسلمتها المقادير

لذئبٍ يروغ خبثاً ومكرا

Hind was a maiden whom the fates surrendered

To a wolf, dodging with malice and deceit.

عبثُ همه ولهو وقصفٌ

لا يبالي من الجريمة وزرا

Frivolity was his concern, amusement and revelry;

He cared nothing for the guilt of crime.

وذئاب الأنام أضرى من الذئب

وأمضى في الفتك ناباً وظفرا

The wolves of mankind are fiercer than the wolf,

And sharper of fang and claw in slaughter.

شاقه حسنها فهام بقد

كقضيب الأراك ما زال نضرا

Her beauty stirred his longing; he was enamored of a figure

Like a bough of arak, still fresh.

ومضى ينصب الأحابيل للحسن

ويبدى الهوى ويكتُمُ شرا

He went on laying snares for beauty,

Showing love while concealing evil.

مدّ اشراكه وحام عليها

برقب الصيد جاهداً يتحرى

He spread his snares and circled around her,

Watching for prey, diligently seeking it.

مرّ جذلان باسم الثغر

وضاح المحيا يتيه عجبا وكبرا

He passed by, joyful, a smile upon his lips,

Radiant of face, strutting in conceit and arrogance.

ورأتهُ العذراءُ يرمقها حبا

فراحت بنظرة منه سكرى

The maiden saw him gazing at her lovingly,

And became drunk on a glance from him.

راعها منه مقلةٌ تنفث السحر

ووجه يضيء حسنا وبشرى

She was awed by an eye of his, breathing enchantment,

And a face radiant with beauty and glad promise.

غرّها ذلك السراب فضلّت

في صحارى فجوره فهي حيرى

That mirage deceived her, and she went astray

In the deserts of his depravity, bewildered.

ورأت في هواه أمنيةَ القلب

وراحت تنيله الوصل سرا

In his love she saw her heart's desire,

And began granting him union in secret.

سعدت لحظة بوصل شقيّ

أورثتها العناء والحزن دهرا

She rejoiced a moment in an ill-fated union,

A moment that left her hardship and sorrow for an age.

هتكت سترها الرذيلة والغدر

وكم كاعب تضلّلُ غدرا

Vice and treachery tore away her veil,

And how many a maiden is treacherously led astray!

بدّلتها الأيامُ بالسعد بؤساً

وشقاءً وبالهناءة ضرا

The days replaced her joy with misery

And wretchedness, and her comfort with harm.

وجفاها أترابها من عذارى الحي

إذ قارفت من الأمر نكرا

Her peers among the maidens of the quarter shunned her,

For she had committed a shameful deed.

فذوى غصنُها الرطيب وكانت

كقضيب الريحان طيباً ونشرا

Her tender bough withered; once she had been

Like a sprig of basil in perfume and fragrance.

تلك كانت أحلى من الفجر حسناً

وكعذارء هيكل القدس طهرا

She had been sweeter in beauty than the dawn,

And as pure as a virgin of Jerusalem's temple.

دنّستها الغداة كف زنيم

ينحر الحسن والفضائل نحرا

That morning, a baseborn villain's hand defiled her,

Slaughtering beauty and virtues outright.

سلبتها الحياة والأمل الحلو

فلم تستطع على الذل صبرا

It robbed her of life and sweet hope,

And she could not endure humiliation.

سهدت ليلها الطويل تبث

النجم مرّ الشكاة تكابد جمرا

She lay sleepless through her long night, pouring out

Her bitter complaint to the star, enduring burning coals.

وبها ما بها من السقم البادي

وطيّ الحشا تكابد جمرا

And her sickness was plain to see,

While in the folds of her breast she endured burning coals.

كلما راجعت صحائف ماضيها

وعمراً بالعز والطهر مرّا

Whenever she reviewed the pages of her past

And a lifetime passed in honor and purity,

ورأت حاضراً تلطّخ بالعار

وأضحى من الفضيلة صفرا

And saw a present stained with disgrace

And now utterly devoid of virtue,

تتمنى لو يقبض الموت نفساً

أوردتها موارد الذل غدرا

She wished that death would seize a soul

That had treacherously brought her to humiliation's watering places.

كيف تقضي بالسم بالنار

بالنهر وأي الأسباب ما كان مرا

How might she die—by poison, by fire,

By the river—by any means, however bitter?

احرقتها لإثمها ألسُنُ الناس

ومن في الأنام يقبَلُ عذرا

People's tongues burned her for her sin;

And who among mankind would accept an excuse?

ان من تحمل الجريمة سراً

تلد العار والفضيحة جهرا

Indeed, she who carries crime in secret

Gives birth to shame and scandal openly.

ودرى الأهل بالفضيحة فاهتاج

أخوها وهب يطلب ثأرا

Her family learned of the scandal, and rage seized

Her brother, who sprang up seeking revenge.

وانتضى خنجراً يضيء دجى

الليل سناه ويملأ القلب ذعرا

He drew a dagger, lighting the darkness

Of night with its gleam, filling the heart with terror.

ومشى ثابت الجنان يذيق الأخت

في الخدر طعنة منه نكرا

He walked, steadfast of heart, to make his sister taste

A dreadful stab from him in her chamber.

فأهابت به وقد خيم اليأس

وأخنى على الشقية صدرا

She cried out to him, while despair had settled

And ravaged the wretched woman's breast:

أي أخي لا تني ومزق جناني

أنا بالقتل والمنية أحرى

O my brother, do not falter; tear my heart apart;

I am more deserving of killing and death.

أنا دنست بالخطيئة عرضي

أنا لم أبق للفضيلة سترا

I have defiled my honor with sin.

I have left no veil for virtue.

رجَفَت كفُه وقد سقط الخنجر

منها وراح يلهث بهرا

His hand trembled, and the dagger fell

From it; he began gasping for breath.

وافاق الحنان في قلبه القاسي

وفاضت مدامع منه شكرى

Tenderness awoke in his hardened heart,

And grateful tears overflowed from him.

وتولّته نوبةٌ من جنون

صار يهذي بها كمن علّ خمرا

A fit of madness seized him;

He raved in it like one who had drunk wine again.

ومضى هارباً يقَهقِهُ في الأس

واق مستهتراً ولم يدر أمرا

He fled, guffawing through the

Markets, heedless and knowing nothing.

ومضت تلكمُ الشقيةُ للدير

تنيل الوجود نظرة حيرى

That wretched woman went to the convent,

Casting a bewildered glance at existence.

شيعت عالما قد اصطرع الب

ؤس به والنعيم كرا وفرا

She bade farewell to a world where misery had wrestled

With bliss, charging and retreating.

تنشدُ الأمن والسلام وتبغي

لبقايا الأحزان في الدير قبرا

She sought safety and peace, and desired

A grave in the convent for the remnants of sorrow.