حرام على الأجفان أن ترد الغمضا — Sibt Ibn Altaawithy

حَرامٌ عَلى الأَجفانِ أَن تَرِدَ الغُمضا

وَقَد آنَسَت مِن جَوِّ كاظِمَةٍ وَمضا

The eyelids are forbidden to approach sleep,

For they have glimpsed a flash from Kazimah's sky.

بَدا كَالصَفيحِ الهِندُوانِيِّ لَمعُهُ

وعادَ كَليلاً لا تَجُسُّ لَهُ نَبضا

Its gleam appeared like an Indian blade,

Then grew dull, with no pulse to be felt.

فَذَكَّرَني عَهدَ الأَحِبَّةِ بِاللَوى

وَشَوطَ صِبىً أَفنَيتُ مَيدانَهُ رَكضا

It recalled for me the days of loved ones at al-Liwa,

And youth's race, whose course I exhausted in running.

قَضى الكَلِفُ المَحزونُ في الحُبِّ حَسرَةً

وَيَأساً وَدَينُ المالِكيَّةِ ما يُقضى

The sorrowful lover died of anguish in love,

And despair, yet the debt to al-Malikiyyah remains unpaid.

وَقالوا اِقتَنِع بِالطَيفِ يَغشاكَ في الكَرى

وَكَيفَ يَزورُ الطَيفُ مَن لَم يَذُق غُمضا

They said, 'Be content with the phantom that visits you in sleep.'

But how can a phantom visit one who has not tasted sleep?

جَوىً صَعَّدَتهُ زَفرَةُ البَينِ فَاِعتَلى

وَدَمعٌ مَرَتهُ لَوعَةُ الحُزنِ فَاِرفَضّا

Heartache, raised by a sigh of parting, mounted high;

And tears, drawn forth by grief's burning pain, streamed out.

وَفي الرَكبِ مَجبولٌ عَلى الغَدرِ قَلبُهُ

أُسِرُّ لَهُ حُبّاً فَيُعلِنُ لي بُغضا

In the caravan is one whose heart is fashioned for treachery;

I conceal my love for him, while he proclaims hatred for me.

مِنَ الهَيفِ أَعداني النُحولَ بِخَصرِهِ

وَأَمرَضَني تَفتيرُ أَجفانِهِ المَرضى

One of the slender-waisted, he infected me with thinness through his waist,

And the languor of his ailing eyelids made me ill.

تَقَلَّدَ يَومَ البَينِ هِنديَّ صارِمٍ

وَأَلحاظُهُ مِمّا تَقَلَّدَهُ أَمضى

On the day of parting he girded on a keen Indian sword,

Yet his glances were sharper than the blade he wore.

رَضيتُ بِقَتلي في هَواهُ وَلَيتَهُ

وَقَد رَضِيَت نَفسي بِهِ قاتِلاً يَرضى

I consented to be slain for love of him; would that he—

My soul having accepted him as its slayer—would consent.

عَجِبتُ لَهُ مِن زائِرٍ يَركَبُ الدُجى

إِلَيَّ وَما كَدَّ المَطِيَّ وَلا أَنضى

I marveled at him, a visitor riding through the darkness

To me, without wearying or wearing out the mounts.

فَأَرشَفَني مِن ريقِهِ بابِلِيَّةً

وَأَلثَمَني مِن ثَغرِهِ زَهَراً غَضّا

He let me sip Babylonian wine from his saliva,

And offered me fresh blossoms from his lips to kiss.

وَنادَمتُ مِنهُ دُميَةً وَرَقيبُهُ

عَلى حَنَقٍ يُدمي أَنامِلَهُ عَضّا

I shared wine with him, a sculpted beauty, while his watcher

In rage bit his fingertips until they bled.

سَرى مِن أَقاصي الشَأمِ يَقطَعُ طَيفَهُ

إِلى مَضجَعي طولَ السَماوةِ وَالعَرضا

His phantom traveled by night from farthest Syria, crossing

To my bed, across al-Samawah's length and breadth.

كَما باتَ يُسري نائِلُ اِبنِ مُحَمَّدٍ

إِلى طالِبي مَعروفِهِ يَقطَعُ الأَرضا

Just as Ibn Muhammad's bounty travels through the night

To those who seek his kindness, crossing the earth.

كَريمُ المُحَيّا لا يَغُصُّ عَلى القَذى

جُفوناً وَلَكِن إِن رَأى هَفوَةً أَغضى

Noble of face, he suffers no grit

In his eyelids; yet when he sees a lapse, he looks away.

إِذا جِئتَهُ تَبغي المَوَدَّةَ وَالقِرى

رَأَيتَ الوَفِيَّ الحُرَّ وَالكَرَمَ المَحضا

When you come to him seeking affection and hospitality,

You see a loyal, noble man, and unalloyed generosity.

وَقى عِرضَهُ مِن أَن يُذالَ بِمالِهِ

وَلا خَيرَ في مالٍ إِذا لَم يَقِ العِرضا

With his wealth he shielded his honor from humiliation;

There is no good in wealth that does not protect honor.

وَقامَ لِتَدبيرِ الوِزارَةِ مَوقِفاً

زَليلاً لِمَن رامَ الوُقوفَ بِهِ دَحضا

He took his stand in managing the vizierate, on a footing

Slippery and treacherous to anyone who sought to stand there.

فَجانَبَ خَفضَ العَيشِ شَوقاً إِلى العُلى

وَمَن باتَ صَبّاً بِالعُلى جانَبَ الخَفضا

He shunned life's ease, yearning for the heights;

Whoever remains enamored of the heights shuns ease.

وَتُبدي لَهُ الدُنيا جَمالاً وَشارَةً

فَيَمنَحُها صَدّاً وَيوسِعُها رَفضا

The world displays to him its beauty and finery,

But he grants it a rebuff and heaps rejection upon it.

وَيَسهَرُ في رَعيِ المَمالِكِ طَرفُهُ

وَمَن كانَ مُستَرعىً لَها هَجَرَ الغُمضا

His eye stays awake, watching over the kingdoms;

One entrusted with their care forsakes sleep.

إِذا هَمَّ بِالجَدوى تَتابَعَ جودُهُ

إِلى سائِليهِ تابِعاً بَعضُهُ بَعضا

When he resolves to give, his bounty flows in succession

To his petitioners, one gift following another.

وَإِن كَدَّرَ المَعروفَ بِالمَطلِ باخِلٌ

حَباَكَ وَلَم يَمنُن بِهِ رائِجاً نَضّا

If a miser clouds his kindness by delay,

He gives you current, ready cash, without vaunting his gift.

رَضَيتُ عَنِ الأَيّامِ لَمّاّ جَعَلتُهُ

سَفيري إِلى دَهري وَقَد كُنتُ لا أَرضى

I grew content with the days when I made him

My envoy to fate, though before I had not been content.

حَمانِيَ مِن جَورِ اللَيالي وَصَرفِها

يُلاحِظُني شَزراً وَيَنظُرُني عَرضا

He shielded me from the nights' injustice and their vicissitudes,

Which eyed me askance and looked at me sidelong.

وَأَنهَضَني مِن كَبوَةِ الجِدِّ جِدُّهُ

وَحَمَّلَني ما لا أُطيقُ بِهِ نَهضا

His diligence raised me from fortune's stumble,

And loaded me with more than I could rise beneath.

فَلَولاهُ لَم تُسفِر وُجوهُ مَطالِبي

وَلا صادَفَت يَوماً مِنَ الحَظِّ مُبيَضّا

Without him, the faces of my wishes would never have brightened,

Nor found a single day white with good fortune.

حَلَفتُ بِشُعثٍ في ذُرى العيسِ جُثَّمٍ

كَأَنَّ عَليهِ مِنهُما أُسُداً رُبضا

I swore by disheveled pilgrims crouching atop pale camels,

As though lions from among them lay crouched upon the mounts.

وَكُلِّ هَضيمِ الكَشحِ بَضٍ تَقاذَفَت

بِهِ البيدُ مُزجٍ مِن مَطِيَّتِهِ نِقضا

And by every slender-flanked, tender-skinned man whom

The deserts tossed about, as he urged on his worn-out mount.

تَخُبُّ بِهِ حَرفٌ يُعَرِّقُها السُرى

فَلَم يُبقِ شَيئاً في الأَديمِ وَلا نَحضا

A lean she-camel trots with him; night travel strips her flesh,

Leaving nothing within her hide, not even flesh.

يُخَلِّفُها الإِدلاجُ وَالسَيرُ خِلفَةً

فَتَحسِبُها في العَرضِ مِن ضُمُرٍ عِرضا

Night travel and marching leave her a spent remnant,

So wasted that, viewed broadside, you take her for a mere outline.

إِذا خَلَعَت ثَوبَ الأَصيلِ تَدَرَّعَت

ثِيابَ الدُجى تُنضي الرَكائِبِ أَو تُنضى

When she casts off the garment of late afternoon, she dons

The robes of darkness, wearing out the mounts or being worn out.

يَؤُمّونَ مِن أَعلامِ طَيبَةَ مَنزِلاً

بِهِ تَنفُضُ الأَوزارَ زُوّارُها نَفضا

They seek a dwelling among the landmarks of Taybah,

Where her visitors shake their sins completely off.

لَقَد حُفَّ بِالتَأيِيدِ مَنصِبُ سودَدٍ

إِلَيكَ جَلالَ الدينِ تَدبيرُهُ أَفضى

A station of eminence has truly been surrounded with support,

Whose administration has passed to you, Jalal al-Din.

وَأَصبَحَ شَملُ المَجدِ وَهوَ مُجَمَّعٌ

وَقَد كانَ في أَيّامِ غَيرِكَ مُنفَضّا

And glory's company is now gathered together,

Though in the days of others it was scattered.

وَلَولاكَ تُحيي ما عَفا مِن رُسومِهِ

لَقُوِّضَ بُنيانُ المَكارِمِ وَاِنقَضّا

Had you not revived what had faded of its traces,

The edifice of noble deeds would have been dismantled and fallen.

إِلَيكَ ثَناءً أَبرَمَتهُ مَوَدَّةٌ

أَمِنتُ عَلَيها النَكثَ عِندَكَ وَالنَقضا

Here is praise for you, woven firmly by affection,

Which I trust is safe with you from breach or unraveling.

قَلائِدَ حَمدٍ لَم أَزِدكَ بِنَظمِها

جَلالاً وَلَكِنّي قَضَيتُ بِها الفَرضا

Necklaces of praise: by stringing them I added to you no

Majesty, but with them I fulfilled my duty.

بَقيتَ لِإِسداءِ المَكارِمِ ما سَمَت

سَماءٌ وَما أَرضَت بِصَوبِ الحَيا أَرضا

May you endure to bestow noble favors as long as

The sky stands high and gladdens the earth with pouring rain.

وَما مَلَكَت إِلّا وَأَمرُكَ حاكِمٌ

عَليها يَدُ الأَيّامِ بَسطاً وَلا قَبضا

And may it never wield power except with your command ruling

Over it—the hand of days—whether opening or closing.