ومهمه مشتبه الأرجاء — Tamim Al Fatimi

ومَهْمَه مُشتبِهِ الأَرْجاءِ

جَهْمِ الفَيافِي مُوحِشِ اليَهْماءِ

And many a wasteland, its boundaries indistinguishable,

Grim in its desert reaches, desolate and trackless,

عارِي الرُّبَا إلاّ من النَّكْباء

صَلْدٍ عَزَازٍ شاسِع الفضاء

Its hills bare save for the crosswind,

Hard and stony, vast in expanse,

أجردَ مثلِ الصخرة الصمّاء

لو وسَمْته ثُغْرةُ السماء

Barren as a solid rock:

If the sky's opening marked it

بكلّ هَطّالٍ من الأَنْواءِ

كَنَهْوَرِ الغَيمْ سَحُوحِ الماء

With every downpour from the rain-bearing stars,

From towering cloud-masses streaming with water,

ما قَدَرتْ فيه على خَضْراءِ

كأنّه مَنْخَرِس البَوْغاء

It could not produce green growth there.

As though its fine earth were struck dumb,

فَهْوَ كمثل الهامة الحَصَّاء

مشتبه الإصباح بالإمساء

It is like a bald scalp,

Its morning indistinguishable from evening.

يستُر فيه رَوْنَقَ الضَّحاء

ما ترفَع الرِّيحُ من الهَباء

There the brilliance of forenoon is veiled

By the dust the wind raises,

كأَنَّما لُفّ بطِرْمِساء

قَفْرٍ يَبَابٍ بَلْقَعٍ خَلاء

As though wrapped in murky darkness.

Barren, waste, desolate, empty,

إلاّ من الآجَال والأَلآء

تعزِف فيه الجِنّ بالعشاء

Except for herds of wild cattle and bitter alāʾ shrubs.

There the jinn make music at nightfall,

عَزْفَ قِيان الشَّرْبِ بالغِناء

غَبَقْتُه في ليلةٍ لَيْلاء

As singing-girls sing for a drinking party.

I gave it an evening draught on a pitch-dark night,

دَعْجاءَ كالزَّنْجيّة السوداءِ

على عَسِيرٍ فُنُقٍ فَرْقاء

Deep black, like a black Zanj woman,

Upon a headstrong, well-fed, splay-footed she-camel,

حَرْفٍ هجانٍ لونُها قَوْداءِ

خَطّارةٍ زَيَّافةٍ وَجْناء

Lean, white in color, long-necked,

Tail-swinging, swaying in her gait, thick-cheeked,

مَضْبورةٍ تَفْعَل بالبيداء

فعلَ قَراح الماء بالصَّهباء

Powerfully knit, acting upon the desert

As pure water acts upon tawny wine.

قطعتُه مشيِّعَ الحَوْباء

بعَزْمةٍ صارمةٍ صَمَّاء

I crossed it, bold in soul,

With stern, unyielding resolve,

قطْعَ نجومِ الليل للظّلماء

حتَّى إذا قلتُ دنا التَّنائي

As the stars of night cleave the darkness.

Until, when I said, 'The far-off draws near,'

أصبح قُدَّامِيَ ما ورائي

والشمس قد حلّت ذُرَا الجَوْزاء

What lay behind me appeared before me.

And the sun had settled on the heights of al-Jawzāʾ,

تُذِيب حرًّا هامةَ الحرْباء

وتقدَح النارَ من المَعْزاء

Melting the chameleon's head with heat

And striking fire from the stony ground,

حتى ترى العِينَ لَدَى الرَّمْضَاء

جواثماً مَوْتَى على الأَطْلاء

Until you see the wide-eyed wild cattle on the burning earth,

Crouching, dead, over their calves.

والضبّ لا يبدو من الدَّامَاء

خوفاً من الإثْفَاء والإحماء

And the spiny-tailed lizard will not emerge from its burrow,

For fear of roasting and scorching.

عقدتُ وجهي فيه بالأذْكاء

عَقْدَ اللَّمَى بالشَّفَة الَّلمياء

I bound my face there to the blazing suns,

As dark tint is bound to a dusky lip.

أسيرُ في دَيْمُومةٍ جرداءِ

ليست بمَشْتاة ولا شَجْراء

I travel through a vast, bare wasteland,

Neither winter pasture nor wooded ground,

حتى وصلتُ الصبحَ بالعشاء

لا مُسْتدلاًّ بسوى ذَكائِي

Until I joined morning to evening,

With no guide but my own discernment.

وصاحبي أمْضَى من القضاء

في ظُلَم الأكباد والأحشاء

And my companion, more cutting than fate

Within the darkness of livers and entrails,

غَضْبٌ حُسَامٌ جائلُ الَّلأْلاء

كالبرق في دِيمته الوَطْفَاء

Is a sharp, cleaving sword with shifting gleam,

Like lightning within its thick-veiled raincloud.

عَليَّ زغفُ لأْمةٍ خضراء

مسْرودةٍ محبوكةِ الأجزاء

Upon me is the fine-linked mail of dark armor,

Its parts linked and tightly woven,

سابغةٍ كالنِّهْيِ بالعَراء

فلم أزَلْ في صَهوة القَبّاء

Full-length, like a pool in open country.

I remained upon the slim-waisted mare's saddle,

أَرْكض بالدَّهْماء في الدَّهْماء

مُعْتقلاً بالصَّعْدَة السَّمراء

Galloping the black mare through the black night,

Clasping the brown lance,

حتى طرَقتُ الحيّ بالخَلْصاء

من آل سعدٍ وبَني العَراء

Until I came by night to the camp at al-Khalṣāʾ,

Of the house of Saʿd and Banū al-ʿArāʾ.

همُ مُرَادِي وهمُ أعدائي

والصُّبْح قد ذاب على الهواء

They are my goal, and they are my enemies.

And dawn had melted into the air,

كالثلج أو كالفِضّة البيضاء

يا ربّة الحمراءِ والصفراء

Like snow or white silver.

O mistress of the red and the yellow,

والناقة العَيْرانة الأَدْماءِ

والخالِ فوق الوجنة الحمراءِ

And of the sturdy, white-coated she-camel,

And of the mole above the rosy cheek:

ماذا على مقلتك النَّجْلاَء

والشَّفَةِ الوَرْديّة اللَّعْساء

What harm would come to your wide eye,

Or your rosy, dusk-tinted lip,

وقدِّك المائل في استواء

ورِدْفِك المالئ للمُلاءِ

And your figure, swaying yet upright,

And your hips that fill the wraps,

وقلبِك المقلوب للجفاء

لو قُلِبَ الدّاءُ إلى الدواء

And your heart turned toward estrangement,

If the ailment were turned into its cure?

وروضة باكرة الأَنْداء

مُؤْنِقَةِ البيضاء والكَحْلاء

And many a meadow, early-dewed,

Delightful with white and dark flowers,

ظاهرِة الحمراء والصّفراء

كأنَّها المَوْشيُّ من صَنْعاء

Displaying red and yellow flowers,

Like embroidered cloth from Ṣanʿāʾ,

مُعْلَمةِ الحُلّة والرِّداء

أبهَى من الحَلْى على النساء

Its robe and cloak patterned,

More splendid than ornaments upon women:

باكرتُها في فِتْيةٍ وِضاء

بأكؤسٍ مُتْرَعَةٍ مِلاَء

I visited it at dawn among bright-faced youths,

With cups filled to the brim.

يَسعَى بها منفرِجُ القَباء

أحوَرُ رَطْب اللَّفظ والأعضاء

A server with his robe open carries them,

Dark-eyed, tender of speech and limb;

يفهَم بالّلحظ وبالإيماء

فهو مُنَى مقلةِ كلّ رَاء

He understands through glances and gestures,

The desire of every beholder's eye.

نَشربها كريمةَ الآباء

صفراءَ لا نقهَرُها بماء

We drink it, noble in ancestry,

Yellow wine we do not overpower with water,

كأنّها في البطش والصّفاء

عَزْمُ العزيز المَلِك الأَبَّاء

As though, in force and clarity, it were

The resolve of al-ʿAzīz, the unbending king,

الفاتِق الراتقِ للأشياء

والحازِم العازِم في الهيجاء

Who unravels and mends all things,

Resolute and determined in battle,

القائل الفاعِل للعلياء

ووارثِ الحكمةِ والأنباء

Speaking and acting for lofty deeds,

And heir to wisdom and tidings.

يا بنَ الهُدَى والعتْرة الغَرّاء

فَلّ بك المُلْكُ شبَا الأعداء

O son of guidance and the radiant lineage,

Through you kingship blunted the enemies' edges

وطالَ في عزّته القَعساء

حتى لقد جازَ مدى السماء

And rose in its impregnable might,

Until it surpassed the reach of heaven.

إمامةٌ مَهْدِيّة الّلواء

ودولةٌ دائمةُ البقاء

An imamate whose banner is rightly guided,

And a dynasty enduring forever,

محفوفةٌ بالعزّ والبهاء

عَمَّمْتَ بالعدل بني حوّاء

Surrounded by might and splendor.

You encompassed Eve's children with justice

وسُسْتَهم بمُحْكَم الآراء

سياسةَ الوالدِ للأبناء

And governed them with sound judgments,

As a father governs his sons,

سالمةً من فِتَنِ الأهواء

ولم تَزَلْ تسعَى على سِيسَاء

Free from the trials of whims.

And you have kept striving upon the ridge,

مُنْتَصباً للعَوْدِ والإبداء

والأخْذِ في الدولة والإعطاء

Standing ready to renew and to initiate,

To take and to give in the state,

حتى غدا الظالمُ في اختفاء

وعاد مَيْلُ الدِّين لاِستواء

Until the oppressor went into hiding

And religion's crookedness returned to straightness.

نهضتَ بالثِّقل من الأعباء

نهوضَ مَنْ زاد على الأكفاء

You shouldered the weight of burdens,

As one who rises above his peers.

كأنك المقْدارُ في الإمضاء

وكلُّ مَنْ عاداك في ضَرّاء

As though you were destiny in carrying things through:

Everyone who opposes you is in misery,

وكلُّ مَنْ والاَك في سَرّاء

أنت عِمادي وبك اعتلائي

And everyone who befriends you is in happiness.

You are my support, and through you I rise,

وجُنَّتي في السَّلْم واللّقاء

وأنت في كلّ دُجىً ضِيائي

And my shield in peace and battle.

You are my light in every darkness,

وأنتَ ممّا أَتقِي وِقائي

كم مُضْمِرٍ لي عُقَدَ الشّحناء

And my protection against what I fear.

How many a man, hiding knots of rancor toward me,

يَنْسُبُني فيك إلى السَّواء

جَبَهْتَهُ بالردّ والإقصاء

Accused me of ill will toward you!

You rebuffed him with rejection and exclusion

ولم تُمَكِّنْه من الإصغاء

حفظاً لطَاعاتي وللإخاء

And gave him no hearing,

To preserve my obedience and our brotherhood,

حتى انثنى محترِقَ الأحشاء

والعدلُ جَبْهُ الكاشح السَّعَّاء

Until he withdrew, his entrails burning.

Justice is to rebuff the spiteful tale-bearer.

لا والدّمِ الجاري بكَرْبِلاء

ومَنْ بها من دائم الثَّواء

No—by the blood flowing at Karbalāʾ,

And by those who abide there forever,

بني عليٍّ وبني الزَّهْراء

ذوِي التَّناهِي وذوي العَلاء

The sons of ʿAlī and the sons of al-Zahrāʾ,

Those of utmost excellence and high rank:

ما حُلْتُ عن مُسْتَحْسَن الصفاء

فيك ولا عن خالص الوفاء

I have not departed from praiseworthy sincerity

Toward you, nor from pure loyalty,

في ظاهرٍ مِنّى ولا خَفاء

فكيف أَنْسَى مِنَنَ الآلاَء

Either in my outward self or in secret.

How, then, could I forget your gifts of blessings,

يا مُلْبِسِي من سابغِ النَّعماء

ما فاض عن حِفْظِي وعن إحصائي

O you who clothed me in abundant grace,

Beyond my memory and my reckoning?

أضعفتَني فيه عن الجزاء

فما أُكافِي بسوى الثّناء

You made me powerless to repay it,

So I repay with nothing but praise

والشكرِ في التقريظ والإطراء

وفَيْلَقٍ مُشْتَبِهِ الضّوضاء

And gratitude, in commendation and eulogy.

And many an army, its tumult mingled,

تَضيق عنه ساحة الفضاء

مُجْتَمع الأحداث والأَرْزاء

Too vast for the breadth of open space,

A gathering of calamities and afflictions:

حُطْتَ به الدّين من الطَّخْياء

والملكَ من كلِّ امرئٍ عَصّاء

With it you guarded religion against darkness

And sovereignty against every rebel.

والمُلكُ لا يظفَر بالسَّناء

ما لم يكن يُغْسَلُ بالدماء

For kingship does not win splendor

Unless it is washed in blood.

وأشْعثٍ كالفرخ في الخرْشَاء

مِن اتّصال الجَهْد والإشْفاء

And many a disheveled man, like a chick in its egg-membrane,

From unending hardship and the brink of death,

عادَ بإنعامِك في إثْراء

كم من نَوَالٍ ويدٍ بيضاء

Became prosperous through your bounty.

How many gifts and generous favors

والَيْتَها عَوْداً على ابتداء

من غير ما منٍّ ولا إكداء

You bestowed in succession, again after the first,

Without reminders of favors or withholding!

والمجدُ للجود وللإعطاء

يا واهب الأَعْوَج العَوْجاء

Glory belongs to generosity and giving.

O giver of the Aʿwaj steed, the bent-necked she-camel,

والغادِة المَمْكورةِ العَيْناء

والبِدَرِ الموفورِة المِلاء

And the delicate maiden, shapely-legged and wide-eyed,

And abundant, brimming money-purses,

والعِيس قد أُثْقِلن بالحِباء

ما خاب يوماً منك ذو استحباء

And pale camels weighed down with gifts:

No seeker of gifts from you was ever disappointed,

ولا غدَا منقطِعَ الرّجاء

فالمال من بُشرِك في بُكاءِ

Nor found his hope cut off.

At your cheerful face, wealth is in tears,

جَوداً كَجود الغيث والدَّأْماء

من أنملٍ باكرةِ الدَمْياء

Through bounty like that of rain and the sea,

From fingers whose steady showers come early,

ليست عن المعروف في البِطاءِ

عادَ عليك العيد باستعلاء

Never slow in doing good.

May the feast return to you with exaltation,

والعزِّ في ملكك والنَّماء

ونَيْلِ ما ترجو بلا إرجاء

With might and increase in your reign,

And attainment of your hopes without delay,

ما أرَّقَ الصبَّ بُكَا وَرْقاءِ

As long as a gray dove's lament keeps a lover awake.