يا رب قد عجز الطبيب الآسي — Salah Magdy

يا رَب قَد عَجز الطَبيب الآسي

عَن علة هدمت رَصينَ أَساسي

O Lord, the healing physician has failed

against an illness that demolished my solid foundation.

أَنا عَبد إِحسان ضَعيف ما لهُ

جلَدُ الصَبور عَلى اِمتِحان قاسي

I am a weak servant of kindness, who has none

of a patient man's endurance under a harsh trial.

يا رَب قَد عَزَّ الدوا واستعضل ال

داءُ الَّذي أَوهى قويَّ مراسي

O Lord, medicine has grown scarce, and intractable is the

disease that weakened my sturdy moorings.

إِنلَقَد أَضرّ بِمَسِّه

حَلقي وَضيع فكرَتي وَحَواسي

Indeed, with his touch he has harmed

my throat and ruined my thought and senses.

وَهُوَ الَّذي نَشر الجُروح بِداخل

وَنَزيفُها أَضحى بِلا مِقياس

He is the one who spread wounds within,

and their bleeding became measureless.

وَبجهله قَتلوَساقه

مِن دستإِلى الأَرماس

Through his ignorance he killed and drove him

from a seat of honor to the graves.

وَالطَرد كانَ لَهُ الجَزاء وَليتَهم

طَرَحوه حَياً في مُذابِ نُحاس

Dismissal was his punishment; would that they

had thrown him alive into molten copper!

وَمِن العَجائب وَهوَ أَوّلُ مُجرمٍ

يَمتاز في نادي

Among the wonders—though he is the foremost criminal—

he stands distinguished in a gathering.

لَكنهُ عَما قَليلٍ يَلتَقي

ما قَدّمت يُمناه دُونَ مُواسي

Yet before long he will encounter

what his right hand sent ahead, with none to console him.

وَيَقول الشَقي

لا تَضرب الأَخماس في الأَسداس

And the wretch says:

“Do not multiply fives by sixes,

وَاصبر عَلى نُوَبِ الزَمان فَلَوعَتي

وَهيَ العقوق تَدوم مَع إِفلاس

and endure time's reversals; for my anguish—

which is unfilial conduct—endures with destitution,

حَتّى أَموت وَبِالجَحيم يَقودني

عَمل بِهِ سوّدت لي قُرطاسي

until I die, and into Hell I am led

by a deed with which I blackened my own page.”

جاءَ فَما أَفاد علاجُه

شَيئاً فَغابَ بِقدّه المَيّاس

He came, but his treatment did not help

at all; then he vanished with his swaying figure.

وَاليُودُ سلَّطهُ عَلى عنقي عَلى

جَهلٍ فَأَحرَقَني بِشدّة باس

He applied iodine to my neck in

ignorance, burning me with fierce violence.

وَبَدا عَلى عُنقي بِأَقرب مدّةٍ

وَرمٌ كخُرّاجٍ بِقدْرِ الراس

On my neck, in the shortest time, appeared

a swelling like an abscess, as large as a head.

منع التَنفُّسَ وَالرقاد وَقَد غَدا

مِن فَوق صَدري مثل طود راسي

It prevented breathing and sleep, and became

above my chest like a firmly rooted mountain.

فَتأهبت نَفسي إِلى سَفرٍ بِهِ

أَلقى شِفائي في جِنان الآس

My soul prepared for a journey on which

I would find healing in gardens of myrtle.

وَأُفارق الدُنيا بِلا أَسَف عَلى

أَيامها وَأَلذُّ بِاستئناس

I would leave the world without regret for

its days, and delight in companionship.

وَأَعيش في دار البَقاء منعَّماً

بِجِوار أَبرارٍ بِها أَكياس

I would live blessed in the abode of eternity,

beside righteous souls there, wise and discerning.

وَأَقول مِن فَرح بِما قَد نلته

يا لَيت قَومي يَعلَمون وَناسي

And say in joy at what I had attained:

“Would that my people knew, and my fellow men!”

وَزعمتُ أَني راحلٌ فتجهزت

يَوم الوَداع لرحلَتي أَفراسي

I thought I was departing, and so were readied

my horses for my journey on the day of farewell.

لَكن إِلَه العَرش سَخَّر لي فَتىً

مِنهُ يَفرّ الداء دُون مَساس

But the God of the Throne put a young man at my service,

from whom disease flees without a touch.

هُوَ أَحمَد بِنُ محمدٍ مَن ذكرُهُ

يَبقى مَدى الدُنيا بِغَير تَناسي

He is Ahmad ibn Muhammad, whose remembrance

endures as long as the world, never forgotten.

فَتبدّد الخرَّاج بِالبزل الَّذي

ردّ الحَياة لِميت الإِيجاس

The abscess dispersed through the drainage that

restored life to one dead from apprehension.

نعم الرَئيس اِبن الرَئيس أَخو الذَكا

حَمدي أَميري رافع الوَسواس

Excellent is the chief, son of a chief, endowed with wit:

Hamdi, my prince, dispeller of anxious doubts.

وَرث العُلوم جَميعَها عَن والد

مِنهُ تعلم سائرَ الأَجناس

He inherited all the sciences from a father

from whom people of every race learned.

ذاكَ الشَهيد بِدار أَحباشٍ سَطا

بِغياً عَليهم صاحبُ الحرّاس

That martyr in the Abyssinians' land, where an assault

was unjustly made upon them by the master of the guards.

فَعَلَيهِ رَحمة رَبه في جَنة

فيها الشَهيد عَلى الأَرائك كاسي

May his Lord's mercy rest upon him in a garden

where the martyr sits clothed upon couches.

وَأَتَت عَجوزُ النحس بِالزَيت الَّذي

في الحَلق أَضرمَ شُعلةَ المقباس

The old woman of ill luck came with the oil that

kindled a firebrand's flame in my throat.

وَقضت بِأَن الداء يذهب عَنوةً

مِن طليِها المَصحوب بِالأَخراس

She declared that the disease would be forced away

by her application, accompanied by muteness.

فَدفعتها عَني وَقُلت أَرى الشَفا

في البُعد عَن شَمطا مِن الأَرجاس

I pushed her away and said: “I see healing

in keeping away from a gray-haired woman among the vile.”

وَاِبن الحُسين قَد استمرّ بهمة

فيها الرَجاءُ محالفٌ إِيناسي

Ibn al-Husayn persisted with resolve

in which hope was allied to my reassurance.

وَهُوَ المهذب صهر أَفضلِ ناظرٍ

أَربى بِفطنته عَلى الجلاس

He is the refined son-in-law of the finest overseer,

surpassing those around him in discernment.

وَلَقد ذكرتك مرتين وَلَم أَحل

عَن ذكر مَن يُحيي هَشيم غراسي

I have mentioned you twice, and have not turned away

from recalling him who revives my withered plantings.

وَنَما بِعنقي آخر في لَونه

وَصِفاته كَجَواهر الأَلماس

Another grew in my neck, in its color

and qualities like jewels of diamond.

وَاِبن الحُسين سَطا عَلَيهِ بِمبضعٍ

قَد قَدّ مِنهُ مُعظم الأَحباس

Ibn al-Husayn attacked it with a scalpel,

cutting away most of its enclosures.

فَاِنساب مِنهُ بِاندفاقٍ زائدٍ

قيحٌ وَقُطرانٌ كَما الرجّاس

From it there poured in a great rush

pus and tar, like a turbulent sea.

لَكنهُ بَعد الثَلاثة قَد طَمى

بِمضرّ طَمْيٍ لاح كَالمتراس

But after three it swelled

with a harmful swelling, looming like a barricade.

فَتَكوّنت مِن بَعد ذَلِكَ غدّةٌ

هِيَ كَالحِجارة لَونُها نِبراسي

Then after that a gland formed,

like stone, its color lamp-like.

وَمَع المَراهم وَالضَمائد لَم تَزَل

تَزداد تَحجيراً بدون قِياس

Despite ointments and dressings, it never ceased

hardening beyond measure.

وَكرهت أَن أَبقى بِأَقبَح غدة

مِن دُونِها مَوتي بِكُلِّ حَماس

I loathed remaining with that hideous gland;

I would fervently choose death instead of it.

فَطَلبت مِن

وَهُوَ السَفيه سلالة الأَدناس

So I sought from...

a fool, offspring of the filthy.

فَأَتى بِحُقٍّ فيهِ سمٌّ قاتلٌ

متكفل بِالحَتف عند تماس

He brought a little pot containing deadly poison,

guaranteed to bring death upon contact.

منه اشتريت الحُقَّ بالقدر الذي

أرضاه ممتثلاً وَطَرفي خاسي

From him I bought the pot for the sum that

satisfied him, complying, my gaze abased.

وَهُناك لِلدَلْكِ العَنيف تجرّدت

مِنهُ يَمينٌ مِن حَديدِ الباس

There, for violent rubbing, was bared

his right hand, with iron might.

فَتبدَّلت مِني البَشاشةُ بَغتةً

بِعَبوس شَيخ لِلفَناء يُقاسي

My cheerfulness suddenly changed

to the scowl of an old man struggling with death.

وَعَلمتُ أَني هالك فَصفعتُه

مِن غَير عافية بِنعلِ مَداسي

I knew I was doomed, so I slapped him

without mercy, with the sole of my shoe.

لَكنهُ غنَّى وَقال مُهَينِماً

كاسي مِن الدِنِّ اِحتساه الحاسي

But he sang and said in a murmur:

“My cup from the wine jar—the drinker drained it.”

وَتجسم الخرّاجُ في عُنقي وَقَد

أَضحى يُحاكي لحيةَ التيّاس

The abscess grew massive in my neck and

came to resemble a goat keeper's beard.

فَابن الحسين المُرتَجى لملمة

بِالبَزل فكَّ مُوَتَّرَ الأَقواس

Then Ibn al-Husayn, the hope in a calamity,

by drainage loosened the taut bows.

وَالقيح وَالقطران قَد خَرجا مِعاً

بِسُهولة مِن داخل الأَكياس

The pus and tar both came out together,

easily, from inside the sacs.

عشراً وَعشراً ثُمَّ خَمساً قَد جَرى

سَهمُ الفَتيل إِلى قصيّ حداس

Ten and ten, then five, there ran

the wick's arrow to a distant [unclear].

وَالأَمر أَعياني فَقُلت لِخادِمي

فوزي بِفَوزي صاحب البُرجاس

The matter exhausted me, so I told my servant:

“My success lies in Fawzi, master of the target,

جرّاح مَصر وَحبرها وَطبيبها

محيي بفطنته ذَكاء إِياس

Egypt's surgeon, its scholar and physician,

who through his discernment revives the intelligence of Iyas.”

لَما أَتى عِندي وَعاين حالَتي

وَاِهتمّ في الإنقاذ مِن اِنباس

When he came to me and examined my condition,

and concerned himself with rescuing me from [unclear],

كتب الدَواء وَشَخَّص الداء الَّذي

عَنهُ تعامَت زمرة

he prescribed medicine and diagnosed the illness

to which a group had willfully turned blind.

يا رَب قَد عَجز الجَميع فَداوني

مِما يُدكدكُ شامِخات رَواسي

O Lord, all have failed; heal me

of what crushes lofty, firmly rooted mountains.

يا رَب هَذا الداء أَحجم بي عَن ال

إقدام مُنفَرِداً عَلى الجَوّاس

O Lord, this illness has kept me from

advancing alone against the prowling lion.

يا رَب هَذا الداء أَوهى قوّتي

وَتبدّل الإكثار بِالإخفاس

O Lord, this illness has weakened my strength,

and abundance has turned to poverty.

يا رَب إِن لَم تَشفني مَن يَشفِني

مِن علة مَنشورة البُرطاس

O Lord, if You do not heal me, who will heal me

of an illness with its [unclear] spread wide?

يا رَب قَد طالَت لَيالي علَّةٍ

نَزلت بشدّتها عَلى درناس

O Lord, long have been the nights of an illness

that descended in its fury upon a lion.

يا رَب قَد شمت العدوّ وَما دَرى

أَنّ الشَماتة شَأن كُلِّ دقاس

O Lord, the enemy has gloated, not knowing

that gloating is the habit of every base fellow.

يا رَب نفّس بِالعَوافي كربَتي

وَابعث إِلى جفني لَذيذ دُكاس

O Lord, relieve my distress with good health,

and send sweet drowsiness to my eyelid.

يا رَب أَوصالي عُراها قَد غَدَت

مَفكوكةً مِن بَعضِها بدِياس

O Lord, my limbs' bonds have become

loosened from one another by trampling.

يا رَب يَكفي ما لَقيت مِن العَيا

وَامنن عَليّ مِن الشفا بدِخاس

O Lord, enough of the exhaustion I have suffered;

graciously grant me healing in abundance.

يا رَب قَد ضاقَت بِما رَحبت عَلى

نَفسي جِبالٌ في خِلال دهاس

O Lord, for all their breadth, they have closed in upon

my soul—mountains amidst soft sands.

يا رَب ما نَفعت رقىً في مدنفٍ

بِالبَهنَسا الغرّا وَلا أهناس

O Lord, incantations did not help a gravely ill man

in splendid al-Bahnasa, nor in Ahnas.

يا رَب ما نجع العِلاج وَلا هَوا

بوشٍ وَلا قوصٍ وَلا أَبناسِ

O Lord, neither treatment worked, nor the air of

Bush, Qus, or Abnas.

يا رَب مالي في الخلاص وَسيلة

إِلا نبيك طَيِّب الأَنفاس

O Lord, I have no means of deliverance

except Your Prophet, whose breath is sweet.

يا مُصطفى إِن لم تَكُن لي شافِعاً

في هَول داء حار فيهِ نطاسي

O Mustafa, if you will not intercede for me

amid the terror of an illness that baffled an expert physician,

مَن فيهِ يَشفَع لي سِواك وَإِنَّهُ

صَعب العِلاج وَأَنتَ أَنتَ الآسي

who besides you will intercede for me in it? For it is

hard to treat, and you—you are the healer.

يا أَفضل الثقلين يا خَير الوَرى

كادَ العَيا يَقضي بِقَطع سَياسي

O best of humans and jinn, O finest of all creation,

exhaustion nearly decreed the severing of my spine,

وَعرى جَميع العَظم من لحمٍ بِهِ

جسم الخَلى مِن كُل ضرّ كاسي

and stripped every bone of flesh, in which

the body of one free from every harm is clothed.