عن الخيال لنا ليالي الأبرق — Sharif Al Murtaza

عنّ الخيالُ لنا ليالي الأبرقِ

والرَّكبُ بين مسهَّدٍ ومؤرَّقِ

The apparition appeared to us on the nights at al-Abraq,

while the riders were sleepless or tormented by wakefulness,

ومصرّعين من الكلال كأنّهمْ

صبحوا وما صبحوا بكلّ مروَّقِ

or laid low by exhaustion, as though

they had been plied with clear wine at dawn, though none had been given.

متوسّدين وقد أَمالَ رقابهمْ

سُكرُ الكرى لهمُ خدودَ الأينُقِ

They pillowed their heads, their necks bent

by sleep's intoxication, upon the she-camels' cheeks.

إن كان زوراً باطلاً فَلَطعمهُ

حلوٌ شهيٌّ في فم المتذوّقِ

If it was a baseless falsehood, still its taste

is sweet and delicious in the mouth of one who savors it.

لم ينهَهَ عنّي تقوُّسُ صَعْدَتي

والشّيبُ يضحك ثغرُه في مَفْرَقي

The bending of my spear-like frame did not keep it from me,

though gray hair's mouth laughs at my parting.

ومرشّفِ الوجناتِ لولا حسنُهُ

سَلَتِ القلوبُ معاً فلم تتعشّقِ

And one with kissable cheeks—were it not for his beauty,

all hearts would have found solace and never fallen in love.

يَسبِي العيونَ بحُسنِ خدٍّ مونقٍ

حاز الجمالَ وغضِّ قَدٍّ مورقِ

He captures eyes with the beauty of a delightful cheek,

which possesses beauty, and with a tender, leafy figure.

وافى وَهاماتُ الكواكبِ مُيَّلٌ

والصُّبحُ قد ألقى يداً في المشرقِ

He arrived while the heads of the stars were inclining,

and dawn had cast a hand into the east.

واللّيلُ في بُرْدٍ رقيقٍ أزرقٍ

سَمَلٍ ولكنْ بعدُ لم يتخرّقِ

Night wore a thin blue mantle,

threadbare, but not yet torn to shreds.

بَرَدَتْ زيارتُهُ غليلَ تحرُّقي

وشفتْ وما علمتْ طويلَ تشوّقي

His visit cooled the thirst of my burning longing,

and unwittingly healed my prolonged yearning.

ما زدتُه شيئاً وبين جوانحي

لهبُ الغرامِ على الحديثِ المونقِ

I gave him nothing more—though between my ribs

burned love's flame—than delightful conversation.

يا لائِمي في الحبِّ لو قاسيتَه

لعلمتَ أنّك كاذبٌ لم تَصدُقِ

O you who blame me for love, had you endured it,

you would know you are lying, not speaking truth.

ما كنتَ للعذل الّذي لم تُلفِني

أُصغِي إِليه من الصّبابةِ مُعنِقي

You could not, by reproaches you never found me

heeding, drive me swiftly away from ardent longing.

فدع الملامةَ لا مفيقٌ من هوىً

فينا ولا في رأيه من مُفْرِقِ

So leave off blame: none awakens from love

among us, nor does anyone recover sober judgment.

قل للوزير أبي المعالي واِبنِها

وسليلِ كلِّ نجيبةٍ لم تُخفِقِ

Tell the vizier, Abu al-Ma'ali, and son of lofty honors,

and scion of every noble woman who never failed:

يا سيِّدَ الوزراءِ من ماضٍ ومِن

آتٍ ومخلوقٍ ومن لم يُخلَقِ

O lord of viziers, of those gone before and those

yet to come, those created and those not yet created:

لازلتَ بين تملّكٍ وتحكّمٍ

أبداً وبين تصعُّدٍ وتحلُّقِ

May you ever remain between sovereignty and command,

forever, between ascending and soaring,

في خَفضِ عيشٍ لا يزول نطاقُهُ

عن ساحتيك وظلّ عزٍّ مُحدِقِ

in a life of ease whose girdle never slips

from your two courts, and in honor's encircling shade.

للَّهِ دَرُّك حيث تَشتجِرُ القنا

تحت العجاج على ظهور السُّبَّقِ

God bless your excellence where the lances interlock

beneath the dust-cloud, upon the backs of fleet steeds,

واليومُ غصّانٌ بكلِّ مجدَّلٍ

فوق الثّرى وبأذرعٍ وبأسْوُقِ

while the day is choked with every fallen warrior

upon the earth, with arms and legs,

والموتُ يستلب النّفوسَ بطعنةٍ

أو ضربةٍ فكأنّما لم تُخلَقِ

and death snatches souls away with a thrust

or blow, as though they had never been created.

أوقَدْتَه حتّى اِستَطار شرارُه

وغمرتَ فيه فَيْلقاً في فَيْلَقِ

You kindled it until its sparks flew far,

and plunged one army into another within it.

وعصابةٍ مَرَقَتْ فرُضْتَ جِماحَها

حتّى اِلتَوى فكأنّما لم تمرُقِ

And many a band rebelled; you tamed its unruliness,

until it bent, as though the band had never rebelled.

أنزلتها قَسْراً على حكم الظُّبا

وقضيّةِ العالي الأشُمِّ الأزرقِ

You forced it to submit to the judgment of blades

and the verdict of the lofty, proud, blue-steeled lance.

والبِيضُ بين مُسلَّمٍ ومثلَّمٍ

والسُّمرُ بين مصحّحٍ ومدقَّقِ

The bright swords were either intact or notched,

and the brown lances either sound or splintered.

لا تَحْفَلَنْ بالغابطين على الّذي

أُوتيتَ من بحر الفخارِ المُفهَقِ

Pay no heed to those who envy you for what

you were granted from glory's brimming sea.

وقهرتَهمْ بمحلّةٍ لا ترتَقى

وبهرتَهمْ في جودك المتدفّقِ

You surpassed them with a station none can climb,

and dazzled them with your overflowing generosity.

ودعِ الحَسودَ يقول ما هو أهلُهُ

فالقولُ بين مكذَّبٍ ومصدَّقِ

And let the malicious envier say what befits him,

for words are either disbelieved or believed.

ليس الحسودُ وإنْ تموَّه أمرُهُ

في النّاس إلّا كالعدوِّ المُحنَقِ

The envious man, however disguised his nature,

is nothing among people but an enraged enemy.

أَنَا في بني عبد الرّحيم مُخَيَّمِي

وإذا علقتُ فمنهمُ متعلَّقِي

My camp is among Banu Abd al-Rahim,

and whenever I form an attachment, it is to one of them.

وبنشرهمْ عَبِقٌ ولولا أنّه

يا صاحبي نشرٌ لهمْ لم أعْبَقِ

I am fragrant with their perfume; and were it not

their perfume, my friend, I would bear no fragrance.

أعطيتُهمْ ودّي ولو بيدِي المنى

شاطرتُهمْ من مدّتي ما قد بِقي

I gave them my affection; were wishes in my hand,

I would share equally with them what remains of my life.

ولو اِنّ في كفّي الشّبابَ وقد مضى

لبذلتهُ وخصصتُهمْ بالريّقِ

And were youth in my palm, though it has passed,

I would give it freely, reserving its freshest prime for them.

في أيّ شِعْبٍ من شعوبِ مُرادهمْ

حتّى أُتاهِمَ لم أخِبَّ وأعنِقِ

In what mountain pass among the passes of their desires

have I not trotted and cantered, all the way to Tihamah?

فبأيّ أمرٍ فيهمُ لم ألْتَبِسْ

وبأيّ حبلٍ منهمُ لم أعلَقِ

Then what affair of theirs have I not become involved in,

and to what cord of theirs have I not clung?

كم أنقذوا من حتفِ كربٍ واسعٍ

أو أخرجوا من كفّ خطبٍ ضيّقِ

How many they have rescued from death amid vast anguish,

or drawn from the grasp of constricting calamity!

ورقَوْا منَ العلياء ما لا يُرتقى

وأتوا من الغايات ما لم يُلحَقِ

They climbed heights of glory none can climb,

and reached goals none had attained.

ومتى رأيتَهمُ رأيتَ تقرّبي

من دارهمْ وتخصّصِي وتحقّقِي

Whenever you see them, you see my closeness

to their house, my special attachment and sincere commitment.

لا باعد اللَّهُ اللِّقاءَ ولا رمى

شملاً يضمّ جميعَنا بتفرّقِ

May God never keep our meeting distant, nor strike

the union that gathers us all with separation.

قد زارنا التّحويلُ يُخبر أنّه

أبداً يقابلنا بوجهٍ مُشرقِ

The year's turning has visited us, announcing that it

will always greet us with a radiant face.

صقلَ الإلهُ حسامَه وأزارَه

طَلْقاً بكلِّ تهلُّلٍ وتألُّق

May God polish his sword and send him visiting,

bright-faced, all joyful smiles and radiance.

كم ذا لنا أملٌ به متنظَّرٌ

شوقاً ومن قلبٍ به متعلّقِ

How many a hope in him we await,

with longing, and how many a heart clings to him!

وكساه من حُلَلِ القبول مجاسداً

ما كنّ من وشْىٍ ومن إستَبْرَقِ

And may He clothe him in favor's robes, garments worn close to the body,

not made of embroidered fabric or heavy silk brocade.

وبه مفاخرُ دهرِنا وعلاؤه

دون الدّهور على الجبال الشُّهَّقِ

Through him our age's glories and eminence,

alone among the ages, stand upon towering mountains.

وَإِذا اِستمعتَ فلا تُصِخْ إلّا إلى

كَلِمٍ جلبن على الورى من منطقي

And if you listen, lend your ear only to

words from my speech that ring out over mankind,

في رونقٍ بَهِجٍ وليسَ برائقٍ

ما لم يكن عَذْباً ولا ذا رونقِ

in joyful splendor—for nothing is pleasing

that is neither sweet nor lustrous—

ومُنَمَّقٍ طبعاً وكلُّ مُنَمَّقٍ

بتعسّفٍ يلقاك غيرَ مُنَمَّقِ

and naturally adorned; whatever is adorned

by forced effort meets you unadorned.

وإذا نطقتُ بغير مدح فضائلٍ

جُمعتْ لكمْ فكأنّني لم أنطِقِ

And when I speak of anything but praise for virtues

gathered for you, it is as though I have not spoken.