صفاح عيون لحظها ليس يصفح — Safi Al Din Al Hilli

صِفاحُ عُيونٍ لَحظُها لَيسَ يَصفَحُ

وَنَبلُ جُفونٍ لِلجَوارِحِ تَجرَحُ

Sword-blades of eyes whose glance does not pardon,

And arrows of eyelids that wound the limbs;

وَماءُ حَياءٍ لَيسَ يَنقَعُ غُلَّةً

وَنارُ خُدودٍ لِلجَوانِحِ تَلفَحُ

And water of modesty that quenches no burning thirst,

And fire of cheeks that scorches the ribs;

وَمَنظَرُ حُسنٍ في سَنا البَدرِ رَسمُهُ

إِلى القَلبِ أَحلى وَهوَ في العَينِ أَملَحُ

And a vision of beauty, its likeness in the full moon's radiance,

Is sweeter to the heart, and lovelier to the eye.

وَجَوهَرُ ثَغرٍ يُحزِنُ القَلبَ لَمحُهُ

وَقَد زَعَموا أَنَّ الجَواهِرَ تُفرِحُ

And a mouth's jewels, whose glimpse saddens the heart,

Though they have claimed that jewels bring joy.

وَصَلتٍ وَصَلتُ السُهدَ بِالجَفنِ عِندَما

غَدا وَهوَ مِن عُذري عَنِ الصَبرِ أَوضَحُ

And a smooth-faced youth—I joined sleeplessness to my eyelid when

He appeared, clearer than my own excuse for abandoning patience.

مَحاسِنُ قادَت نَحوَها شارِدَ الهَوى

وَظَلَّ إِلَيها ناظِرُ القَلبِ يَطمَحُ

Charms that drew wandering passion toward them,

And the heart's eye kept straining toward them.

إِذا ضَمَّ أَقسامَ الجَمالِ تَحَيِّزٌ

فَإِنَّ جَميلَ الصَبرِ بِالحُرِّ يَقبَحُ

When all beauty's aspects are gathered in one place,

Then graceful patience becomes unbecoming in a noble man.

فَلِلَّهِ صَبٌّ لا يُبَلُّ غَلَيلُهُ

وَإِنسانُ عَينٍ بِالمَدامِعِ يَسبَحُ

So, by God, what a lover—his burning thirst is never quenched!

And an eye's pupil swimming in tears;

وَنَفسٌ أَبَت إِلّا نِزاعاً إِلى الصِبا

تَقاعَسَها وَخطُ المَشيبِ فَتَجمَحُ

And a soul that accepts nothing but longing for youth,

The flecks of gray hold it back, yet it bolts.

وَأَشمَطُ مِن وُرقِ الحَمامِ كَأَنَّما

سَنا الصُبحِ يُصبي قَلبَهُ حينَ يُصبِحُ

And a grizzled bird among the gray doves, as though

Dawn's radiance makes his heart lovesick when morning comes.

يُرَجَّعُ تَكرارَ الهَديلِ مُغَرِّداً

فَيَصدَعُ قَلبي نَوحُهُ حينَ يَصدَحُ

He echoes his cooing again and again, warbling,

And his lament rends my heart when he sings aloud.

وَما ذاكَ إِلّا أَن شَدَوتُ فَقَد غَدا

يُلَوِّحُ بِالأَحزانِ لي فَأُصَرِّحُ

And that is only because I sang; now he has begun

To hint his sorrows to me, while I speak plainly.

وَيُذكِرُني الإِلفَ الَّذي هُوَ فاقِدٌ

وَيَعجِمُ شَكواهُ إِلَيَّ فَأُفصِحُ

And he reminds me of the companion he has lost,

And voices his complaint indistinctly to me, while I speak clearly.

وَما ضَرَّني بُعدُ الدِيارِ وَأَهلِها

بِأَرضي وَفَقدُ الطَرفِ ما كانَ يَلمِحُ

Distance from the dwellings and their people has not harmed me—

Those in my homeland—nor my eye's loss of what it once beheld.

وَرِجلايَ في أَفناءِ دِجلَةَ قَد سَعَت

وَطَرفِيَ في أَفناءِ حَرزَمَ يَسرَحُ

And my feet have trodden the environs of the Tigris,

While my gaze roams through the environs of Harzam.

مَنازِلُ لَم أَذكُر بِها السِقطَ وَاللِوى

وَلَم يُصبِني عَنها الدُخولُ فَتوضِحُ

Dwellings where I never recalled al-Siqt and al-Liwa,

Nor did al-Dukhul and Tudih entice me away from them;

وَلَم أَقرِ بِالمِقراةِ طَرفي بِمِثلِها

فَتَسرَحُ فيها العَينُ وَالصَدرُ يُشرَحُ

Nor at al-Miqrat did I feast my gaze on their like,

So the eye roams there, and the breast is eased.

فَإِن أَكُ قَد فارَقتُ إِلفاً وَمَعشَراً

كِراماً إِلى عَلياهُمُ العِزُّ يَجنَحُ

So if I have parted from a beloved companion and a company

Of noble men, toward whose eminence honor inclines,

فَصَبراً لِما قَد أَفسَدَتهُ يَدُ النَوى

عَسى أَنَّهُ بِالصالِحِ المَلكِ يَصلُحُ

Then patience with what the hand of separation has ruined:

Perhaps it will be mended through al-Salih, the king.

مَليكٌ إِذا ما رُمتُ مَدحاً لِمَجدِهِ

تُعَلِّمُني أَوصافُهُ كَيفَ أَمدَحُ

A sovereign—whenever I seek to praise his glory,

His qualities teach me how to praise.

لَهُ في الوَغى وَالجودِ نَفسٌ زَكِيَّةٌ

مِنَ اللَيثِ أَسطى أَو مِنَ الغَيثِ أَسمَحُ

In battle and bounty, he has a pure soul,

Fiercer than the lion, or more generous than the rain.

وَأَضيَقُ مِن سُمَّ الخِياطِ اِعتِذارُهُ

وَصَدرٌ مِنَ الأَرضِ البَسيطَةِ أَفسَحُ

And his refusal is narrower than a needle's eye,

And his breast is wider than the outspread earth.

تَحُلُّ بِكَفَّيهِ اللُهى عُمرَ ساعَةٍ

إلى مَلِكٍ بَيني وَبَينَكَ يُصلِحُ

Gifts rest in his palms for the span of an hour.

To a king who reconciles me and you.

لَقَد ظَلَّ يُصميني الزَمانُ لِبُعدِهِ

وَيُحزِنُ قَلبي مِنهُ ما كانَ يُفرِحُ

Indeed, time has kept striking me down because he is far away,

And what once gladdened me in it now saddens my heart.

فَقُلتُ لِصَرفِ الدَهرِ ها أَنا راحِلٌ

وَتُغلَقُ أَبوابُ السَماحِ فَيَفتَحُ

So I told the turns of fate: here I am, departing,

And the doors of generosity are shut, then he opens them.

إِلى مَلِكٍ يُخفي المُلوكَ فَيَجتَلي

وَتُغلَقُ أَبوابُ السَماحِ فَيُفتَحُ

To a king who eclipses kings and stands revealed,

And the doors of generosity are shut, then opened.

إِلى مَلِكٍ لا مَورِدُ الجودِ عِندَهُ

أُجاجٌ وَلا مَرعى السَماحِ مُصَوِّحُ

To a king whose wellspring of generosity is not

Brackish, nor the pasture of bounty withered.

إِلى مَلِكٍ يَلقى الثَناءَ بِمِثلِهِ

وَيُنعِمُ مِن بَعدِ الثَناءِ وَيَسمَحُ

To a king who meets praise with its like,

And grants favors after praise, and gives generously.

إِلى مالِكٍ لا زالَ لِلمَدحِ خاطِباً

وَزادَ إِلى أَن كادَ لِلمَدحِ يَمدَحُ

To a lord who has never ceased courting praise,

And went so far that he almost gives praise to win praise.

إِلى مَلِكٍ أَفنى القَريضَ مَديحُهُ

فَقَد زَجَّلَ المُدّاحُ فيهِ وَوَشَّحوا

To a king whose praise has exhausted poetry,

So his panegyrists have composed zajals and muwashshahs about him.

تَقولُ لِيَ العَلياءُ إِذ زُرتُ رَبعَهُ

رُوَيدَكَ كَم في الأَرضِ تَسعى وَتَكدَحُ

Glory said to me when I visited his abode:

Easy now! How long will you strive and toil upon the earth?

إِذا كُنتَ تَرضى أَن تُعَدَّ بِتاجِرٍ

هَلُمَّ فَفيهِ تاجِرُ المَدحِ يَربَحُ

If you are content to be counted a merchant,

Come, for with him the merchant of praise profits.

فَأَنتَجتُ مِن فِكري لَهُ كُلَّ كاعِبٍ

يُزَيِّنُ عِطفَيها البَديعُ المُنَقَّحُ

So I brought forth from my thoughts for him every budding maiden,

Refined rhetorical ornament adorns her two flanks.

وَخَلَّدتُ شِعري في الطُروسِ لِأَنَّني

أَرى الشِعرَ يَعلو قَدرُهُ حينَ يَقرَحُ

And I immortalized my poetry on the pages, because I

See poetry's worth rise as it matures.

فَيا مَلِكاً قَد أَطمَعَ الناسَ حِلمُهُ

لِكَثرَةِ ما تَهفو فَيَعفو وَيَصفَحُ

So, O king whose forbearance has emboldened people,

Because they so often err, and he forgives and pardons,

أَعِد غَيرَ مَأمورٍ عَلى الضِدِّ كَيدَهُ

وَاَذكِ لَهُ النارَ الَّتي باتَ يَقدَحُ

Turn the foe's own plot against him, if you please,

And fan for him the fire he spent the night kindling.

فَقَد أَيقَنَ الأَعداءُ أَنَّكَ راحِمٌ

فَباهَوا بِأَفعالِ الخَناءِ وَثُجِّحوا

For the enemies have become certain that you are merciful,

So they boasted of vile deeds, and were puffed up with pride.

إِذا ما فَعَلتَ الخَيرَ ضوعِفَ شَرُّهُم

وَكُلُّ إِناءٍ بِالَّذي فيهِ يَنضَحُ

Whenever you do good, their evil is doubled,

And every vessel oozes what it holds.

وَلَو تابَعوا قَولَ الإِلَهِ وَأَمرَهُ

لَقالوا بِأَنَّ الصُلحَ لِلخَلقِ أَصلَحُ

And had they followed God's word and His command,

They would have said that peace is better for humankind.

تَهَنَّ بِعيدِ النَحرِ وَاِنحَر مِنَ العِدى

فَجودُكَ عيدٌ لِلوَرى لَيسَ يَبرَحُ

Rejoice in the Feast of Sacrifice, and slaughter some of the foes,

For your bounty is a feast for humankind that never ceases.

وَضَحِّ بِهِم لا زِلتَ تَنحَرُ مِثلَهُم

وَمِن دونِ مَغناكَ العَقايرُ تُذبَحُ

And sacrifice them; may you never cease to slaughter their like,

And before your abode the sacrificial beasts are slaughtered.