غنى الذي يشكو من الهجر والنوى — Shibli Al Atrash

غنى الَّذي يَشكو من الهَجر وَالنَوى

وَدُموع عَيني عالمحادير ساكبه

A song from one who laments separation and distance,

while tears from my eyes pour down the slopes.

مِن مُقلَتي عَالخَد قاني مسالها

عَلى عارضها وَضح من الهَم جانبه

From my eyes, their crimson course runs down my cheek;

the traces of grief show along its side.

عَلى عارضا وَضح شَهابو من الجَفا

وَمِن فَقَد من لا مستلا عن مشاربه

A streak has appeared there from estrangement,

and from losing one whose companionship cannot be set aside.

أَيا نار قَلبي كُلَّما قَول تَنطفي

يَهب لَها جَوا ضُلوعي لَهايبه

O fire of my heart, whenever I say you will go out,

the blaze within my ribs gives you fresh flames.

يشعل بكبد المُستَهام سَعيرها

وَنار الغَضا في مُهجَتي دُوم لاهبه

Its heat burns in the liver of the lovesick,

and a fire like burning ghada wood always blazes in my soul.

وَنار الغَضا غضت عَلى مُهجة الحَشا

وَبي علة من غَير ناري ملازبه

That ghada fire has seized the innermost heart,

and besides my fire, another illness clings to me.

بي علة عيت عَلى الطب وَالدَوا

بَين المُعلق وَالحَشا وَالتَرايبة

I have an illness that defies medicine and remedy,

lodged between the heart's core, the breast, and the ribs.

بَين الحَشا وَالقَلب مدت شروشها

وَعالجتها أَما بلاها محاضبه

Between breast and heart it has spread its roots;

I have treated it, yet its affliction persists.

عالجتها تسعين لَيلة متممة

وَحار الطَبيب اللي اِعتَنى بي دَوايبه

I treated it for ninety full nights,

and the physician who cared for me was baffled by its cure.

حاضت عَلى ذر الدَوى مِن ركوبها

كبرت وَفتح به عُيون بَجوانبه

It overran even the smallest trace of medicine;

it grew and opened wounds all around.

وَاعلتي وَاكبر هَمي وَبلَوتي

قياحة بمعلق القَلب ناشبه

O my illness, my greatest worry and ordeal:

a festering sore lodged in the heart's core,

قياحة يشلي وَلمها من الجَفا

وَلا بت عَلى قَلب الشجي وَأَبلاي بِهِ

a sore whose pain estrangement stirs.

It settled upon my grieving heart and afflicted me.

وَلا ظنني لقمان يبري ولومها

وَلا كُل داء الطب يَقضي مواجبه

I do not think even Luqman could heal its pain;

medicine cannot settle every illness.

وَلا كُل داء الطب يَشفيه وَالدَوا

خُصوص الهَوا قتال ذباح صاحبه

Medicine and remedies cannot cure every disease,

especially love, which kills the one it seizes.

جسمي ضَناه الهَم وَالشَوق وَالنَوى

مِن قَبل حين شفت أَنا الراس شايبه

Grief, longing, and distance have wasted my body;

I saw my hair turn gray before its time.

عدي مثل عودا عَلى الداربارك

مَنحوز من شيل الحمول الصعابية

I am like an old beast kneeling at its home,

bowed by carrying heavy loads.

منحوزها كب خاوي الحيل والقوى

غارت عيونو وتقوص الرأس غاربه

The burden has cast it down, drained of strength;

its eyes have sunk and its head droops.

فانوا هلوا وادعوه عَالمَرَح ظاوي

في بر موحش باتل الحيل هاكبه

Its people left it, weak, by the resting place,

in a desolate waste, its strength spent.

خلوه جلد وَعادم النفع ثاوي

في زيزتا كترا مخيفه سباسبه

They left it, skin and bones, useless and still,

among frightening, empty expanses.

وَلا لو نواجد يَلحَق الظعن ماشي

يرزم عَلى ولف الصبا وَالحبايبه

Even if it could, it cannot follow the departing caravan on foot;

it groans for the companions of youth and loved ones.

وَحامَت عَلَيهِ الحايمات الجَوارح

عقب المعزة صار جلدو شطايبه

Birds of prey circle above it;

after being cherished, its hide has become scraps.

شاف الضَنا وَالمَوت بِالعين وَاِنحَنى

عَلى جنب حَتّى ينقد الطير حاجبه

It saw wasting and death before its eyes and bent

onto its side as birds pecked at its brow.

وَلا مثل ثكلى حَزينة موجعة

تندب ولدها في لحود الترايبه

Or I am like a grieving, anguished bereaved mother

lamenting her child in the earth of the grave.

وَلا خلوج المَوت حاق بجنينها

وَترزم عَلى بوا تراعيه جانبه

Or a mother whose unborn young death has taken,

lowing beside a decoy she tends.

ترزم عَلى بواً مصنع من النيا

وَرُوح الحَيا من قطعة شهور غايبه

She lows over a decoy fashioned from scraps,

the spirit of life absent from it for months.

قَلبي من الهجران تشدا وَصايفوا

دلواً بلي وَمكتكتات جَواذبه

Separation has pulled my heart as if it were

an old bucket with worn and tangled ropes.

وَدَمع البُعد يَكوي بيابي نواظري

عَن فَوق خدي دايم الدُوم ساربه

The tears of distance burn my eyes

as they stream continually over my cheek.

وَظَهري حَناه الهم وَالغَم وَالعَنا

وَشابَت مفارق لحيَتي وَالذَوايبة

Grief, sorrow, and toil have bent my back,

and the partings of my beard and hair have turned white.

كَأَني ابن تسعين جازي سنينها

مهكوب من كثر البلا وَالمصايبة

I seem a man of ninety who has lived all those years,

battered by the abundance of trials and disasters.

مَهكوب ثاوي غايب الرُشد وَالهَدا

مِن اللي جَرى وَالنَفس ذاقَت شَوايبه

Battered and still, bereft of good sense and guidance

by what happened and the bitterness my soul has tasted.

إِن جيت اعد اللي مضى بي وَصابَني

مِن الأَحواب وَالتَشتيت بَين الأَجانبه

If I began to count what has passed over me

of troubles and dispersal among strangers,

يعجز جمع حصر القَلم عن حسابها

وَلا ظَن يحصيها من الناس كاتبه

the pen would fail to reckon it all;

I doubt any scribe could count it.

لا صار لي سبع حجج في بلادنا

أَدعي مثل لَوط النَبي في أَقاربه

For seven years now, in our own land,

I have pleaded like the prophet Lot among his kin.

وَاحذر اللي يفهموا موقع الغَضَب

أَيا قَوم جوزوا وَاحسبوا للعواقبه

I warn those who understand where wrath may fall:

O people, relent and consider the consequences.

أَيا قَوم رَب العَرش لازم يجازي

اخشوا الغَضَب اخشوا مَواقع مضاربه

O people, the Lord of the Throne will surely repay deeds;

fear His wrath and where its blows may fall.

يا قَوم ما دَرب الضَلالة منجيا

يا قَوم حضضتوا الحضر وَالعَرايبه

O people, the road of error brings no deliverance;

you have stirred up town dwellers and tribes alike.

يا قَوم كُفوا عَن مَلا الناس شركم

راعوا حُقوق الجار وَيا الطَنايبه

O people, withhold your harm from everyone;

respect the rights of neighbors and guests.

يا قَوم ما هذي الطَرايق مخلصه

تَرى أَمركم يا قَوم أَخشو عَواقبه

O people, these ways bring no escape;

I fear the consequences of your conduct.

يا قَوم طيعوني وَريعوا وَورعوا

وَعيشوا مثل أَهل الوَطَن بِالمطايبه

O people, obey me, heed me, and restrain yourselves;

live kindly with your fellow countrymen.

يا قَوم كفوا الشر وَاخشون بعضكم

وَخلوا كبار القَوم تَقبض جنايبه

O people, stop wrongdoing and be wary of one another;

let the elders of the people settle disputes.

يا قَوم لازم تندموا من فعالكم

هذا عملكم سم قتال شاربه

O people, you will have to regret your deeds;

what you do is poison that kills whoever drinks it.

يا قَوم ضيعتوا المُروءة وَغَيرها

أَين الشهامة وَالشَرَف وَالمَراقبة

O people, you have squandered honor and more;

where are courage, nobility, and restraint?

قَوماً طغوا لا بُد تخرب ديارهم

من ضل ما بقيت دَوارج عَواقبه

A people who grow tyrannical will see their homes ruined;

whoever goes astray cannot evade the consequences.

اللَه لَعن قَوماً عن الحَق طَنشوا

راعوا بكتب اللَه كتب المذاهبه

God has cursed people who disregard the truth;

observe God's books and the teachings of the schools.

الكُل صموا بالقساوي وَجلمدوا

لا ما قضى رب المَخاليق واجبه

All have grown deaf and hard as stone;

the Lord of creation has not yet exacted what is due.

وَهَذا لي سنتين محبوس أَعاني

كثر المَصايب وَالبَلا وَالنكايبه

And I have spent two years imprisoned, suffering

many disasters, trials, and injuries.

غَريباً عن الأَوطان أَشكو من النَوى

عَلى غَير جَدوى اجذبونا جلايبه

A stranger far from home, I lament the distance;

they dragged us away without cause.

خانوا بنا خوانة العَهد مبطي

ساساتهم من قبل عالخون راكبه

They betrayed us, long practiced betrayers of promises;

their policies had long been set on treachery.

الترك لا أَعطوك بِاللَه توسع

تَرى دينهم بِاللَه حناث كاذبه

When the Turks give you their word by God, beware;

their oaths by God are false.

الترك انوا في جَميع العَشاير

وَكبوا غضبهم عالدروز المناصبه

The Turks spread through all the tribes

and poured their anger on the Druze who opposed them.

الترك لا طبوا بلاد أمحلونها

خلوا رعاياهم من الظلم ذاهبه

When the Turks entered a land, they laid it waste;

their subjects fled their oppression.

خلوا رعاياهم عَلى الديك يطحنوا

أَنظر عربستان مهدوم خاربه

They made their subjects grind at the mill;

look at Arabistan, demolished and ruined.

تلك الموظف وَالمشنر منفه

وَاللي سِواهم ذيخ مَجدوع شاربه

That official and that other functionary are contemptible;

the rest are wolves with shorn whiskers.

ظَلام خَوانين عزك فراقهم

قانونهم بِالحكي عادل طَلايبه

They are unjust traitors; parting from them is a blessing;

their law is fair only in speech and demands.

من لاذ عَنهم لَحظة يتركونه

لَو كان ذَنبو بِأَلف قانون حاق به

If someone seeks refuge from them, they soon abandon him,

though a thousand laws may bear on his offense.

بَل الوَيل للي يَأمَن وَيَقبضونه

هاذاك قَول البين وَالمَوت قاضبه

But woe to one who trusts them when they seize him;

that is the word of parting, with death at hand.

كَما النار تحرق من يوالي لهيبها

وَلا كَما المَلغوث إِن لاح شاطبه

As fire burns whoever draws near its flames,

or as a blazing brand burns when it appears.

لواط سكيرين يلعن طوارهم

وَاظلم من النمر ود لا صار قاضبه

Drunkards and libertines—may their conduct be cursed—

more unjust than a tiger when it pounces.

كَنه بحظوظه من يداني أخياىهم

غَير الدَراهم ينشلوا في جواذبه

Whoever approaches them seems to seek his fortune,

but they only snatch coins into their grasp.

خَسيسين من دُون البَوادي جَميعها

وَالضَيف مالو بديرة الترك واجبه

Basest of all the desert peoples,

they recognize no duty to a guest in Turkish lands.

أَنا أَشهد بِأن الترك مالهم أمانة

وَمنكور حكم الترك بِأِربع مذاهبه

I testify that the Turks have no trustworthiness,

and their rule is rejected by the four schools.

وَشلي بسوالفهم عَسى اللَه يفكنا

مِنهُم وَيرحمنا الكَريم بِمواهبه

Why speak more of them? May God free us

from them, and may the Generous One have mercy by His gifts.

وَيحسن خلاص الكُل مِنا من البَلا

وَربوعنا وَالغايبين القرايبه

May He bring deliverance from affliction to us all,

our companions and absent relatives,

بِجاه النَبي المُختاى وَالأَربعة الَّذي

بِهُم شَرَف الدُنيا بِأَربَع جَوانبه

for the sake of the chosen Prophet and the four

through whom the world is honored in all its quarters.

مِن بَعد ذا راودت نَفسي عَلى الجَفا

وَسار اليراع بِفَن مَنقود كاتبه

After this, I turned my thoughts to separation,

and the pen moved in the writer's measured art.

يا راكباً منا عَلى هيزعية

من خاص عجلات البكار النجايبه

O rider departing from us on a swift camel,

one of the finest and fleetest young she-camels,

حراً عَلى قطع الفَيافي مجربه

تشدا الظَليم اليا جفل من معازبه

seasoned and free in crossing empty wastes,

racing like an ostrich startled from its keepers.

بكره عمانية طَويلة معربة

ما تنوجد عند اللحاوين قاطبه

She is a tall, well-bred Omani young camel,

the like of which you will not find among all the camel traders.

انسف شداده فوق عالي متونها

وَاكرب حزمها وَالحقب وَاللبايبه

Set her saddle atop her high back,

and tighten her girth, hind strap, and breast straps.

من الخز وَالماهود صافي لبوسها

وَالميركة من خاص ريش الغلايبه

Her coverings are of fine silk and cloth,

and her plume is made from choice feathers.

خاص المعادن في شداده مرصعه

يلمع عزاله مثل لمع الذهايبه

Fine metalwork studs her saddle,

its ornaments gleaming like gold.

وَخرجا عقيلي في حبوك مصبغة

من عند ابن رواق للنضو جايبه

An Aqili saddlebag is dyed in rich colors,

brought by Ibn Rawwaq for the mount.

خوذ الزهاب اللي علي البعد ينفعك

دَربك طَويل وَلو مطيتك هاربه

Take supplies that will serve you over the distance;

your road is long, even with a swift mount.

لا ذوملت بالسوح ظنك شببهها

بابور بر وَفوقَها الغج قاطبه

When she strides across the open plains, you would liken her

to a land-going steam engine with its full load aboard.

دركتكم لشعيب أَنتَ وَمطيتك

من شر حاسوداً لهُ عَين صايبه

May protection reach you and your mount

from the harm of an envious eye.

من قسطموني مد دربك مشرق

وَخلي يَمينك دايم الحبل جاذبه

From Kastamonu stretch your road eastward,

keeping the reins drawn in your right hand.

تلفي عَلى مهدومة السور أَنقَرَة

يا ريتها وَبلادها الكل ذاهبه

You will reach Ankara, whose wall is in ruins;

would that it and all its land were gone.

عَلى قيسرية ضيف عند ربوعنا

وَريح ذلولك وَانسف الكور جانبه

At Kayseri, be a guest among our companions;

rest your camel and set the saddle aside.

من عقب حق الضيف يعني ثلاثة

يا صاح من قبل الفجر كون راكبه

After the guest's due—three days—

my friend, be mounted before dawn.

عَلى أَدنا خلي هجينتك تمرها

رمنها عَلى كيسوم جدي مطالبه

Let your racing camel pass onward

and urge her toward the next destination.

عا ديار بكر وماردين تيمم

سند عارفا وَكون للدرب قاضبه

Head for Diyarbakır and Mardin,

knowing the way and holding firmly to it.

وَمِنها عَلى الشَهبا وَحُبي بلادنا

وَحيي بلاد الشام حيي هضايبه

Then go to Aleppo and my beloved homeland;

greet the land of Syria and its highlands.

حَماه وَحُمص الشام ما هي بعيدة

الفَيحا اللي كُل قَلب تجاذبه

Hama and Homs in Syria are not far away,

nor is the spacious city that draws every heart.

وَمِنها عَلى حوران نحر هجينتك

عا بلادنا اللي دُوم نذكر مناقبه

Then turn your camel toward Hauran,

toward our land whose virtues we always recall.

تَلفي عَلى الدار الحَزينة ببعدنا

مرسال أشوفك جاي وَاخذ جَوايبه

You will come to the house saddened by our absence;

messenger, I see you arriving with replies.

يا دار باعثني من البُعد عاني

أَريد اكشفك وَانظر عَلى أَربع جَوانبه

O house, distance has driven me to you in pain;

I want to see you and look upon your every side.

يا دار أَشوفك لابسه حلة النيا

من بعد مانتي مثل زَهر العَشايبه

O house, I see you dressed in a garment of sorrow,

after you were like flowers among the grasses.

يا دار أَشوفك خاليه ما بك الونس

سِوى البوم وَالغربان تنعق بجانبه

O house, I see you empty, with no companionship

except owls and crows cawing around you.

أَين الخُيول الصافنات السلايل

أَين الرِماح السابلات الذَوايبه

Where are the fine, purebred horses?

Where are the long spears with streaming tassels?

يا دار كُنت العصر أَرعى بجوانبك

مثل وَقف يُوم السُوق وَالناس جالبه

O house, once I pastured near you in the afternoon;

you stood like a market day thronged with people.

من كُل مله الناس تَأوي بساحتك

جلبة صياح الخَلق للجو قاطبه

People of every community gathered in your square,

their bustling cries filling the whole air.

وَاليُوم أَشوفك خاوية يا مشحرة

قفره مثل كُوم القويرص وَجالبه

Today I see you vacant, blackened with grief,

a wilderness like heaps of barren sand.

مَجروح قَلبك دُون كُل المَساكن

وَلا مِن وَريث يشلشل الجَرح قاطبه

Your heart is wounded beyond all dwellings;

no heir is here to tend the wound.

رَمله تخيفي من يداني منازلك

يَعزاك من بَعد الصَفا وَالمَطايبه

Your sand frightens anyone approaching your homes;

you are mourned after former joy and kindness.

يا دار أَجيبيني أَيا دار علمي

يا دار أنا رداد علماً لصاحبه

O house, answer me; O house, tell me.

O house, I will carry word back to its people.

ردت عَلى الدار تبكي من النيا

يا خي أَين الغايبين الحبايبه

The house answered, weeping with grief:

My brother, where are the absent loved ones?

عساهم بخير وَيرزقوا من نصيبهم

حبين عاوجه البسيطه مطاربه

May they be well and receive their destined share,

wherever they roam upon this broad earth.

قرب لعلي انشق العلم وَانتشي

مِنكَ خبار الغاليين الذَواهبه

Come closer, that I may hear news and rejoice

at your tidings of the dear ones who have gone.

تَرى الصَبر عِندي عزيا طارش النَوا

قَلبي عَلى هَجر المُحبين ذايبه

My patience has run out, O messenger from afar;

my heart melts at the loved ones' separation.

يا خي علمني أَيا خي قُولي

يا خي من وصل العَزيزين حاجبه

My brother, tell me; my brother, speak:

who can bring me news of the dear ones?

قُلت لَها يا دار قرين وَاهجعي

الدَهر ياما بو هوال وَعجايبه

I said to her, O house, settle and rest;

time holds many terrors and wonders.

لي بِأَرض التُرك حينا تركتهم

لَكن همك شيب الكُل واجبه

I left them for a while in Turkish lands,

but concern for you has grayed everyone.

لَكن همك شَيب الرُوس وَاللحى

يا دار من بَعد الغَلا ليش سايبه

Concern for you has grayed heads and beards;

O house, why are you forsaken after being cherished?

يا دار من بَعد الغَلا ليش هامله

شمر يصدغك من طالعك قال ذاهبه

O house, why are you neglected after being cherished?

Whoever sees you turns away and says you are finished.

يا فايصه ردي علي وَجاوبي

تَريني مَعنى للمخاطب أَجاوبه

O desolate one, reply to me and answer;

I am asking you and await your reply.

قالت مثل ما شفتني يا رسولهم

مهدوم سُوري الدَهر زَعزع جَوانبه

She said: I am as you see me, their messenger;

my wall is broken, and time has shaken its sides.

خَرابا أَخوف كُل من زار ساحَتي

وَلا لي سِوى الفيران حيا الاعبه

A ruin, I frighten all who visit my courtyard;

I have only mice alive and playing there.

غدرني زَماني وَلا أَستحي من مَلامتي

وَخانَت بِنا الأَيام ما شنع مضاربه

My time betrayed me, and I am not ashamed of my lament;

the days betrayed us—how harsh their blows.

الأَيام مِنها مثل صَبر السقطري

احمض من العقم عَلى كَبد شاربه

Some days are like Socotran aloe,

more sour than bitterness on the drinker's liver.

الأَيام مِنها مثل شَهد الخَلايا

أَحلى مِن السكر عَلى قَلب صاحبه

Some days are like honey from the hives,

sweeter than sugar to the one who tastes it.

الأَيام لا مالت كَفى اللَه شرها

تَدعي الصُخور الصُم دُخان ذاهبة

When days turn against us, may God avert their evil;

they could make solid rocks drift away as smoke.

الأَيام مِنها كَيفَ بِالرَغد وَالرَخا

وَأَيام مِنها يَدعن الطفل شايبه

Some days bring comfort and ease,

and others turn a child gray.

الأَيام مِنها عز بِالسَيف وَالقَنا

وَأَيام مِنها ذل بدمث غياهبسه

Some days bring honor by sword and spear,

and others bring humiliation in dark depths.

الأَيام مِنهن أَمن ما خالطو رهب

وَأَيا مِنها خَوف تُمطر سَحايبه

Some days bring security untouched by fear,

and others bring fear beneath raining clouds.

الأَيام مِنهن يسر بِالجُود وَالسَخا

وَأَيام مِنهن عسر نشحا جَوانبه

Some days bring ease through generosity and openhandedness,

and others bring hardship and scarcity everywhere.

الأَيام يَحبلن وَالأَيام يُولدن

وَيسقين سُم عيالهن بِالنَوايبه

Days conceive and days give birth,

and give their children poison to drink through calamities.

الأَيام قلابات يَكفيك شرهن

دُولاب لاهب الهَوا الربح مال به

Days keep turning; may you be spared their evil,

a wheel driven and tilted by the wind.

بيض اللَيالي ما تجي ربع سودها

وَسُود اللَيالي دُوم عِندَك مواظبه

The bright nights are not a quarter as many as the dark;

the dark nights stay constantly beside you.

إِذا كَفيت شر اللايذات الخَوافي

عدك بخير عن الأُمور الصَعايبه

If you are spared hidden calamities,

count yourself fortunate amid hard affairs.

ما غير سلم واترك الخَوف وَالحَذر

ما دُون مَقسوم العلي سهم صايبه

Keep peace and set aside fear and caution;

no destined arrow from the Most High misses its mark.

ما دُون مَقسوم العَلي لك من البَلا

وَلو خصومك مثل قطر السَحايبه

Nothing can ward off the trial allotted you by the Most High,

even if your enemies are as numerous as raindrops.

المَولى خَير ما تَرجاه بِالضيق وَالرَخا

الخَير المَولى جَزيله مواهبه

The Lord is your best hope in hardship and ease;

the Lord's gifts of goodness are abundant.

وَاختم كَلامي بِالصَلاة عَلى النَبي

المُصطَفى اللي يقصدونه النجايبه

I end my words with blessings on the Prophet,

the Chosen One sought by the noble.

يحسن خلاص الكُل مِنا من البَلا

وَيَختم لَنا بِالخَير يَوم الرَهايبه

May He bring deliverance from affliction to us all

and grant us a good ending on the day of dread.