عدل الحبيب فمن يجورُ
ودنا فأين بنا يسيرُ
The beloved has dealt justly—who, then, can wrong us?
The beloved is just—who, then, will be unjust?
And he has drawn near—where will he lead us?
And he has drawn near—where will he lead us?
عوضت من عيس تدو
ر بي الفلا كأس تدور
In place of camels that once roamed
I was given, in place of white camels that roam
with me through the wilderness, I was given a circling cup.
the desert with me, a cup passed round.
وشربت ما وسع الصغي
ر وزدت ما حمل الكبير
I drank all that the small vessel could hold,
And I drank all the small cup held
then more—all that the great one could bear.
and added all the large one carried.
نبهت ندماني وقد
عبرت بنا الشعرى العبور
I roused my drinking companions when
I roused my drinking companions, when
Sirius the Crosser had crossed with us.
Sirius, the Crossing Star, had passed over us.
والبدر في أفق السما
ء كروضة فيها غدير
The full moon on heaven’s horizon
And the full moon on heaven's horizon—
was like a garden with a stream.
like a garden with a pool within it.
هبوا فقد عيي الرقي
ب ونام وانتبه السرور
Rise! The watcher has grown weary,
Rise, for the watcher has grown weary
and slept; joy has awakened.
and slept, while joy has awakened.
وأشار إبليس فقل
نا كلنا نعم المشير
Iblis gave the signal, and we said—
And Iblis gave counsel, and we said,
all of us—“What an excellent counselor!”
all together, 'What an excellent counselor!'
صرعى بمعركة تع
ف الوحش عنها والنسور
Fallen in a battlefield from which
We lay fallen on a battlefield
wild beasts and vultures recoil;
that wild beasts and vultures shun.
نوار روضتنا خدو
د والغصون بها خصور
the blossoms of our garden are cheeks,
Our garden's flowers are cheeks,
and its branches are slender waists.
and its branches are waists.
والعيش أستر ما يكو
ن إذا تهتكت الستور
Life is at its most discreet
And life is most veiled
when the curtains are torn aside.
when the veils are torn away.
هبوا الى شرب المدا
م فإنما الدنيا غرور
Rise and drink the enduring
Rise to drink wine,
wine—for this world is only delusion.
for the world is nothing but delusion.
طاف السقاة بها كما
أهدت الصيد الصقور
The cupbearers passed her round, as
The cupbearers passed it round, just as
falcons present their quarry:
falcons bring their quarry as a gift.
عذراء يكتمها المزا
ج كأنها فيه ضمير
a virgin wine whom blending conceals,
A virgin, concealed by the water mixed with her,
as though within it she were a secret thought.
as though she were a hidden thought within it.
وتظن تحت حبابها
خداً تقبله ثغور
Beneath her bubbles you imagine
And beneath her bubbles you imagine
a cheek kissed by many mouths.
a cheek kissed by mouths.
حتى سجدنا والإما
م أمامنا بم وزير
Until we bowed down in worship, the ima—
Until we prostrated ourselves, the prayer leader
—m before us the bass and treble strings.
before us being the bass string and the treble.
وإذا صحونا فاللسا
ن العذب والفكر الغزير
And when we sober up, the tongue is
And when we sobered, our speech was
sweet, and thought flows abundantly.
sweet, and our thought abundant.
نفتض معنى أو يولد
بيننا مثل وزير
We break open a meaning, or one is born
We deflower a meaning, or there is born
among us like a vizier;
among us the equal of a vizier,
أو يمدح الملك الجلي
ل السيد الفرد الخطير
or it praises the glorious king,
or the majestic king is praised—
the lord, peerless and august.
the lord, peerless and illustrious.
ما عزه شيء بغا
ه فكيف أعوزه النظير
Nothing he sought ever defied him—
Nothing he sought proved beyond him;
how, then, could an equal elude him?
how, then, has an equal eluded him?
وغداة أنس بشرت
ك بها المعازف والخمور
On a morning of convivial joy, you were given glad tidings
And a morning of delight was heralded
of it by instruments and wine,
to you by musical instruments and wines,
إذ ماء ورد غيثنا
والارض تربتها عبير
when rosewater was our rain,
when rosewater was our rain,
and the earth had perfume for soil.
and the earth's soil was perfume.
تغري بصب الماء يا
ملكاً أنامله بحور
The water entices an ardent lover—O
You urge the pouring of water, O
king whose fingertips are seas!
king whose fingers are seas.
ويقول سيبك هكذا
صبت على العافى البدور
Your bounty says, “Just so
And your bounty says, 'Thus
have full moons poured upon the petitioner.”
full moons were poured upon the petitioner.'
ويقول سيفك هكذا
تحرى إذا غضب النحور
Your sword says, “Just so
And your sword says, 'Thus
does it seek out throats when angered.”
are throats sought when it grows angry.'
هيهات تبتسم الثغو
ر ولم تسد بك الثغور
Never could mouths have smiled
Impossible for mouths to smile
had the frontiers not been secured through you.
before the frontiers are secured by you.
قد أذعنت أرض العد
و وجاء بالنصر البشير
The enemy’s land has submitted,
The enemy's land has submitted,
and the herald has brought news of victory.
and the herald has brought news of victory.
هذي الأماني لي عبي
د والسرور معي اجير
These hopes are slaves to me,
These wishes are slaves to me,
and joy is my hired servant.
and joy is a hired servant at my side.
لاقيته فغضضت طر
فى إذ بدا القمر المنير
I met him and lowered my gaze
I met him and lowered my gaze
when the radiant moon appeared.
when the radiant moon appeared.
وجررت اذيالي بمج
له وقلت فمن جرير
I trailed my robes in the glory
And I trailed my robes with a scroll [reading uncertain],
of his presence and said, “Who, then, is Jarir?”
and said, 'Who, then, is Jarir?'
وكأن عاماً عشته
في ظلة يوم قصير
A year I lived
And it was as though a year I had lived
beneath his shade seemed but one short day.
lay in the shade of one short day.
Sol 6.1