غزالة الصبح تحكي نرجس الغسق — Shehab Al Din Al Khalouf

غَزَالَةُ الصبحِ تَحْكِي نرجسَ الغَسَقِ

وَصَارمُ البرقِ يَحْكِي وَرْدَةَ الشفَقِ

Morning's gazelle, the sun, mirrors the narcissus of dusk,

And lightning's sharp sword mirrors the rose of twilight.

وَغَادةُ الحُورِ تُجْلَي في الغلائلِ إِذْ

ألْقَتْ قِنَاعَ الدجَى عَنْ وَاضِحِ الفَلَقِ

And the maiden of the houris is unveiled in gauzy robes, as

She cast the veil of darkness off the radiance of dawn.

وَعَنْبَرُ الغيمِ أذْكَاهُ الشُّعَاعُ إلَى

أنْ عَمَّ نَشْرُ شذَاه كُلَّ مُنْتَشِقِ

And sunlight kindled the clouds' ambergris, until

Its wafting perfume reached everyone who breathed it in.

وَالجو أظهرَ أفرَاسَ النسيمِ فَمَا

أجرى سَوابقَهَا فِي حَلْبَةِ الأفُقِ

And the air revealed the breeze's steeds—how

Swift their racers were in the horizon's arena!

وزاجرُ الرَّعْدِ يَحْدُو عِيسَ مُزْنَتِهِ

يَسُوقُ برقاً إلَى بستانه العَبِقِ

And thunder's driver chants his rain cloud's pale camels onward,

Driving lightning toward his fragrant garden.

وَالقطرُ أهْدَى عقودَ الدرّ تَجْلِيَةً

للروضِ لمَّا رَآهُ عَاشِقَ العَبَقِ

And rain offered pearl necklaces as bridal adornment

To the garden, when it saw it in love with fragrance.

وَرَاشِ سَهْمَ الحَيَا قَوْسُ السَّحابِ إلَى

أن صَادَرَتْهُ يَدٌ الأوْرَاقِ بِالدَّرَقِ

And the clouds' bow feathered rain's arrow, until

The leaves' hand seized it with shields.

وَالروضُ يضحك عن ثغر الاقَاحِ وَقَدْ

أبكته بالقطرِ عيْنُ القَارِضِ الغَدِقِ

And the garden smiles, revealing a mouth of daisies, though

The bountiful poet's eye had made it weep with rain.

وَالنَّهْرُ ينسابُ فِي مَجْرَى نهايتهِ

كَمَا جَرَى الدمع من أجْفَانِ مُخْتَلِقِ

And the river glides along its course toward its end,

As tears flowed from a fabricator's eyelids.

وَالروضُ يجلُو عَرُوسَ الزَّهْرِ فِي حُلَلٍ

قد جمَّع الحسنُ مِنْهَا كل مُفْتَرِقِ

And the garden unveils the bride of blossoms in robes

From which beauty has gathered all that was scattered:

مِنْ اصفر فَاقِع أو أخْضر عَطِرٍ

أوْ ابيض ناصع أوْ أحمر شَرِقِ

Of vivid yellow or fragrant green,

Or pure white, or glowing red.

والطل قَبَّلَ خَد الورد منْ شَغَفٍ

وَالريحُ جردَ متنَ السيفِ من خَلِقِ

And dew kissed the rose's cheek out of passion,

And the wind stripped the sword's blade of its worn covering.

وَخلخلت سُوقَ أغصان النَّقَا فُلَجٌ

قد نَقَّطَتْ وِجْنَةَ البستان وَالحَدَقِ

And rivulets ankleted the shanks of the dune's boughs,

Having dotted the garden's cheek and eyes.

وَهَاتِفُ الطَّلّ نَادَى فِي أرَاكَتِهِ

مَا لِي أرَى الآسَ يُبْدِي أذْنَ مُسْتَرِقِ

And the dew's caller cried out in his arak tree:

'Why do I see the myrtle displaying an eavesdropper's ear?'

والنرجس الغض نَادَى الزهْرَ مبتسماً

يَا ضَاحكَ الثغر سَامِ سَامِيَ الحَدَقِ

And the tender narcissus called to the blossoms, smiling:

'O smiling-mouthed one, rival the one with lofty eyes!'

وَالوَرْدُ أظْهَرَ دينَاراً مذهبَّةً

لما تَغَنَّتْ لَهُ الوَرْقَاءُ فِي الوَرَقِ

And the rose displayed a gilded dinar,

When the gray dove sang to it among the leaves.

وابرزت رَاحَةُ النسرين إذ فُتِحَتْ

شُذُورَ تِبْرٍ مِنَ البلَّوْرِ فِي طَفَقِ

And the eglantine's palm, when it opened, displayed

Flecks of native gold from crystal, in [unclear].

وَفِي وِلادَتِهِ سِر بَدَا عَجَباً

لم تستطعْ حملَهُ الدنيا وَلَمْ تُطِقِ

And at his birth a mystery appeared, a marvel

That the world could neither bear nor endure.

وَعِنْدَمَا وَضَعَتْهُ أمُّهُ نَظَرَتْ

مِنَ العَجَائِب أمْراً غَيْرَ مُخْتَلَقِ

And when his mother bore him, she beheld

Among the wonders something not fabricated.

يَا أشْرَفَ الخلق عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَنْزِلَةً

وَمَنْ عَلَى الرفْرَفِ العَالِي المَقامِ رَقِي

O noblest of creation in rank before God,

And you who ascended upon the Rafraf of lofty station,

يَا غَايَةَ الرسْلِ يَا بَحْرَ السَّمَاحِ وَيَا

مُنْجِي العُبَيْدَ المسيءَ المذنبَ الغَرِقِ

O culmination of the messengers, O sea of generosity, O

Savior of the lowly servant, erring, sinful, drowning!

يَا أوسعَ الرسلْ جاهاً يا كريم أقِلْ

مِنَ الخَطَايَا التِي قَدْ ألْزَمَتْ عُنُقِي

O greatest of the messengers in standing, O generous one, release me

From the sins that have bound my neck.

قد اثقلتِني ذنُوبٌ لَيْسَ يحصرُهَا

سَمْتُ الثوَابِ فلم تُحْصَرْ ولم تُطَقِ

Sins have weighed me down; they cannot be encompassed by

The path of reward; they remain uncounted and unbearable.

وَلَيْسَ لِي عَمَلٌ ارْجُو النجَاةَ بِهِ

إلاّ مديحك يَا مُنْشِي مِنَ العَلَقِ

And I have no deed through which I hope for salvation

Except praising you, O bringer-forth from clinging clots.

فَكُنْ شفيعي إذَا ضاق الحسَابُ غَداً

وَألْجِمَ النَّاسُ يَوْم العَرْضِ بِالعَرَقِ

So be my intercessor when the reckoning presses hard tomorrow,

And people are bridled with sweat on the Day of Presentation.

وكُنْ مُغِيثِي إذَا اشتد الظَّمَا وَشَكَا

جَفْنِي الحَرِيقُ لِدَمْعٍ جَارَ فِي الغَرَقِ

And be my rescuer when thirst grows fierce and

My scorched eyelid complains of tears that drowned it unjustly.

فَكَمْ عَدُوّ بَغَى ظلْماً عَلَيّ وَهَل

إلاّكَ مُعْتَمَدِي فِيمَا مَضَى وَبَقِي

For many an enemy has wrongfully attacked me; is there

Any support for me but you, in what has passed and what remains?

وشرّفِ ابنَ خَلُوفٍ بالشهَادَةِ كَيْ

يغدُو عَلَى المُرْتَقَى قَدْ جَازَ كُل تَقِي

And honor Ibn Khaluf with martyrdom, so that

He may reach the heights, having surpassed every devout soul.

وارْحمْ شُيُوخِي وآبائِي وَجُدْ كَرَماً

للمُسْلِمِين بعفوِ مِنْكَ مُنْدَفِقِ

And have mercy on my teachers and forefathers, and generously bestow

Upon the Muslims forgiveness flowing freely from you.

وَصَلّ تَتْرَى عَلَى مَنْ جاء مُعْجِزَةً

بِقُلْ أعُوذُ بِرَب النَّاسِ والفلقِ

And send blessings, one after another, upon him who came as a miracle

With 'Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind and daybreak,'

وآلِهِ والصحابة والتابعين له

مَا ناحَ حَادِي الحِمَى في دوحة الغَسَقِ

And upon his family, the Companions, and those who follow him,

As long as the sanctuary's singer laments in dusk's spreading tree.