تشتت شمل الصبر واتصل الضد — Sharif Al Aqili

تَشَتَّتَ شَملُ الصَبر وَاِتَّصَلَ الضِدُّ

فَوا أَسَفا طالَ التَأَسُّفُ وَالوَجدُ

Patience's unity broke apart, and its opposite drew together.

Oh, what sorrow! Lamentation and longing have lasted long.

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكو أَنَّ قَلبي يُذيبُهُ

بِرَهرَهَةٌ كَالبَدرِ حَفَّ بِها السَعدُ

To God I complain that my heart is melted by

a tender, full-bodied beauty, like the full moon, surrounded by good fortune.

فَلِلوَصلِ مِن بَعدِ الصَدودِ جَبينُها

وَلِلسُخطِ مِن بَعدِ الرِضا فَرعُها الجَعدُ

So her brow is reunion after estrangement,

and her curled locks are anger after contentment.

وَلِلمِسكِ وَالكافورِ وَالدُرِّ وَالمَها

لَواحِظُها وَالثَغرُ وَالصُدغُ وَالخَدُّ

And musk, camphor, pearls, and oryx are mirrored in

her glances, her mouth, her temple-lock, and her cheek.

وَنَكهَتِها عِندَ التَنَفُّسِ عَنبَرٌ

وَريقَتُها في كُلِّ أَوقاتِها شُهدُ

Her breath, when she breathes, is ambergris,

and her saliva is honey at every hour.

لَقَد أُعطِيَت في خَلقِها غايَةَ المُنى

فَلَيسَ لَها في الناسِ شِبهٌ وَلا نِدُّ

In her form she was granted the utmost one could wish for;

among people she has neither likeness nor rival.

تَرى وَصلَ مَن يَدنو إِلَيها مُحَرَّماً

فَطوبى لِمَن أَضحى لَهُ عِندَها رِفدُ

She considers union with anyone drawing near her forbidden;

so blessed is whoever comes to enjoy her favor.

بَدَت فَتَبَدَّت بِالسَلامِ تَعَرُّضاً

وَلَم يَكُ عِندي في الَّذي قَصَدَت عِندُ

She appeared, then showed herself with a greeting, seeking my attention,

and I had no resistance to what she intended.

وَراحَت بِروحي وَاِستَقَلَّت بِمُهجَتي

وَلَيسَ لِما لا بُدَّ مِن كَونِهِ بُدُّ

She departed with my soul and bore away my heart's blood;

there is no avoiding what must come to pass.

فَلَمّا رَأَتني نازِحَ الصَبرِ أَعرَضَت

وَلَكِنَّها بِالطَبعِ لَيسَ لَها رَدُّ

When she saw me bereft of patience, she turned away;

yet, by her nature, she cannot be resisted.

فَسُقمِيَ في جَنبِ الهَوى وَسبيلِهِ

وَما خانَني صَبري وَما صَنَعَ الصَدُّ

So my sickness is in love's cause and on its path,

as are my patience's betrayal and what rejection has wrought.

فَإِن جِئتُ أَشكو ما أُقاسيهِ أَعرَضَت

وَلَم تَسمَعُ الشَكوى وَلَم يَنجَحُ القَصدُ

If I come to complain of what I suffer, she turns away;

she does not hear the complaint, and my purpose finds no success.

فَكَيفَ اِحتِيالي مَعشَرَ الناسِ أَرشِدوا

أَخا حُرَقٍ فَالصَبُّ لَيسَ لَهُ رُشدُ

What recourse have I? People, give guidance to

one consumed by burning anguish: the lovesick have no sound judgment.

هُوَ الحُبُّ لا تَسلُكُ مَدى الدَهرِ طُرقَهُ

فَما كُلُّ قَلبٍ شابَهُ حَجَرٌ صَلدُ

Such is love: never in all your days tread its paths,

for not every heart has hard stone mingled within it.

وَكُن عَن جَميعِ العالَمينَ بِمَعزِلٍ

فَما مِنهُم حُرٌّ وَلا مَن لَهُ عَهدُ

And keep yourself apart from all mankind;

none among them is noble, nor does any keep a pledge.

وَلا تَعتَقِد مِنهُم عَلى ذي بَشاشَةٍ

فَسِلمُهُم حَربٌ وَقُربُهُمُ بَعدُ

And trust no one among them who wears a cheerful face;

their peace is war, and their nearness is distance.

وَخَمّارَةٍ نَبَّهتُها بَعدَ هَجعَةٍ

وَجُنحُ الدُجى حَيرانُ كَالقارِ مُسوَدُّ

And I awakened a woman wine-seller from her slumber,

while night's wing lay bewildered, black as pitch.

يَشُقُّ جَلابيبَ الدُجى بي عَمَرَّدٌ

أَقَبُّ الحَشا عَبلُ الشَوى جُرشُعٌ نَهدُ

A tall, strong steed bore me, cleaving the robes of darkness,

lean-bellied, thick-limbed, broad-chested, and powerfully built.

سَريعُ الخُطىى لا يُدرِكُ الطَرفُ لَونَهُ

إِذا شاءَ شَدّاً كانَ طَوعاً لَهُ الشَدُّ

Swift of stride, he was too fast for the eye to discern his color;

when he wished to gallop, galloping obeyed him.

فَلَو أَنهُ وَالبَرقُ يَوماً تَسابَقا

لَقَدَّمَهُ مَشياً وَخَلَّفَهُ بَعدُ

Had he and lightning raced one day,

he would have outstripped it walking and left it behind afterward.

جَوادٌ جَوادٌ لا يَرُدُّ عِنانَهُ

إِذا اِنهَزَمَت بِالصَيدِ يَومَ الوَغى الجُردُ

A noble steed, generous, who never turns back his reins,

when sleek steeds flee with proud chiefs on the day of battle.

وَلي صاحِبٌ ماضي الغِرارِ مُخَدَّمٌ

صَقيلٌ بِهِ تُزهى عضلى العَرَبِ الهِندُ

And I have a companion, keen-edged and well attended,

polished, through which India boasts over the Arabs.

يَظَلُّ إِلى خَلفِ الطُلا مُتَطَلِّعا

كَذي ظَمَأٍ حَيرانَ لاحَ لَهُ وِردُ

It keeps gazing toward the backs of necks,

like a bewildered thirsty man to whom a watering-place appears.

وَأَيُّ فَتىً لاقاهُ داجٍ رَواقُهُ

وَقَد ضَمَّهُ ما بَينَ أَحشائِهِ الغِمدُ

And what a young warrior to encounter, his pavilion dark,

with the scabbard clasping him within its innards!

فَوافَيتُها وَهناً فَقالَت مِنَ الفَتى

فَقَد نالَ مِنكَ السَيرُ لا شَكَّ وَالكَدُّ

So I reached her late at night; she said, “Who is the young man?

Travel and toil have taken their toll on you, no doubt.”

فَقلتُ لَها قِرمٌ هِمامٌ غَضَنفَرُ

تَكامَلَ فيهِ البَأسُ وَالجودٌ وَالمَجدُ

I told her, “A chief, a valiant man, a lion,

in whom courage, generosity, and glory have reached perfection;

صَبورٌ عَلى الأَهوالِ كَهفٌ لِمَن لَجا

إِلَيهِ وَعَضبٌ لَيسَ يَنبو لَهُ حَدُّ

steadfast amid terrors, a refuge for whoever flees

to him, and a keen sword whose edge never glances off.”

فَقالَت وَما تَبغي فَقُلتُ مُدامَةٌ

تُشَتِّتُ شَملَ الهَمِّ أَوَّلَ ما تَبدو

She asked, “And what do you seek?” I said, “Wine

that shatters sorrow's unity the moment it appears.

وَلا تَجعَلي بِالرَدِّ قَصدِيَ ضائِعاً

لَدَيكَ فَماءُ الوَجهِ يُذهِبُهُ الرُدُّ

Do not let refusal make my errand fruitless

with you, for refusal drains the water of one's face.”

فَقالَت سَتَلقى ما تُحِبُّ مُيَسَّراً

فَقُلتُ لَها هاتي فَذا كُلُّهُ وَعدُ

She said, “You will find what you love readily provided.”

I told her, “Bring it; all this is only a promise.”

فَقامَت فَقالَت لا وَعيسى اِبنِ مَريَمٍ

فَقُلتُ لَها لِلَهِ ثَمَّ لَكَ الحَمدُ

She rose and said, “No, by Jesus, son of Mary!”

I told her, “Praise be to God, and then to you.”

وَجاءَت بِها راحاً كَأَنَّ إِناها

إِذا ما تَبَدّى دُرَّةٌ حَشوُها وَردُ

And she brought wine, as though its vessel,

when it came into view, were a pearl filled with roses.

لَها حَبَبٌ لَما أُريقَت كَأَنَّهُ

مِنَ الدُرِّ طَوقٌ لِلزُجاجَةِ أَو عِقدُ

It had bubbles when poured, as though they were

a pearl collar or necklace around the glass.

وَإِن مُزِجَت لاحَت كَوَجنَةِ عاشِقٍ

وَفاحَت لَنا مِسكاً يُخالِطُهُ نَدُّ

And when mixed, it shone like a lover's cheek,

and wafted to us the scent of musk mingled with aromatic incense.

وَجاءَت بِمَشوقِ القَوامِ رَضَيتُهُ

نَديماً إِذا دارَت أَباريقُنا يَشدو

And she brought a tall, slender man whom I welcomed

as a drinking companion; he sang whenever our pitchers made their rounds.

وَقَد غابَ عَنّا الهَمُّ حَتّى كَأَنَّما الزَما

نُ لَنا مِمّا حَبانا بِهِ عَبدُ

And sorrow vanished from us, until it was as though Time

were our slave, thanks to what it had bestowed on us.

وَأَنفَسُ عَيشِ المَرءِ ما لَم يَكُن لَهُ

إِذا هَمَّ بِاللِذاتِ مِن دونِها ضِدُّ

And a man's finest life is one in which he has no

adversary barring his way when he seeks pleasures.