أبت نوب الأيام إلا تماديا — Abn Almqrb Alaaona

أَبَت نُوَبُ الأَيّامِ إِلّا تَمادِيا

فَوَا شِقوَتا ما لِلّيالي وَما لِيا

The calamities of time refuse to do anything but persist.

Alas, my misery! What have the nights to do with me?

إِذا قُلتُ يَوماً حانَ مِنها تَعَطُّفٌ

رَأَيتُ رزاياها تَسامى كَما هِيا

Whenever I say one day, 'Their kindness is at hand,'

I see their calamities mounting just as before.

فَلَيتَ أَخِلّائِي الَّذينَ اِدَّخَرتُهُم

جَلاءً لِهَمّي لا عَليَّ وَلا لِيا

If only the close friends I kept in reserve

to dispel my worry were neither against me nor for me!

وَأَعجَبُ ما يَأتي بِهِ الدَهرُ أَنَّني

أَرى القَومَ تَرميني بِأَيدي رِجاليا

The strangest thing time brings is that I

see my tribe assailing me with my own men's hands.

عَلى أَنَّني النَدبُ الَّذي يُكتَفى بِهِ

وَبَيتُ عُلاها بَيتُ عَمّي وَخاليا

Although I am the stalwart whose help suffices,

and its house of glory is my paternal and maternal uncles' house.

أَلا لَيتَ شِعري مَن يَقُومُ لِمَجدِها

مَقامي وَيَرعى ما لَها كُنتُ راعيا

Ah, would that I knew who will stand for its glory

in my place and tend what I used to tend for it.

لَعَمري لَقَد أَرذَت جَواداً وَضَعضَعَت

عِماداً إِذا ما الهَولُ أَلقى المَراسيا

By my life, it has worn down a noble steed and shaken

a pillar of support whenever terror drops its anchors.

أَما جَرَّبَتني في الأُمُورِ فَصادَفَت

هُماماً لِأَحداثِ المُهِمّاتِ كافيا

Has it not tested me in affairs and found

a resolute man equal to the trials of grave matters,

حَمُولاً لِأَثقالِ العَشِيرَةِ رائِحاً

مَدى الدَهرِ في ما قَد عَناها وَغاديا

bearing the tribe's burdens, journeying at evening,

throughout time on whatever concerns it, and at dawn?

أَقُولُ وَقَد طالَ اِهتِمامي لِفِتيَةٍ

تَسامى إِلى غُرِّ المَعالي تَساميا

I say—my concern has long endured—to young men

soaring ever higher toward the radiant heights of glory:

إِلى مَ بَني الأَعمامِ نُسقى نِطافَها

أُجاجاً وَيُسقى الغَيرُ عَذباً وَصافيا

How long, cousins, shall we be served its waters

bitterly salty, while others are served them sweet and clear?

فَوَاللَهِ ما أَدري وَإِنّي لَصادِقٌ

عَمىً ما أَرى مِن قَومِنا أَم تَعاميا

By God, I do not know—and I speak truly—

whether what I see in our people is blindness or feigned blindness.

هَرَاقُوا ذَوِي السُمِّ الزُعافِ وَأَولَجوا

بِأَيدِيهِمُ تَحتَ الثِيابِ الأَفاعيا

They poured forth bearers of deadly venom and slipped

vipers beneath their clothes with their own hands.

لَقَد قَدَّمُوا هَيَّ بنَ بَيٍّ وَأَخَّرُوا

بَني المَجدِ مِن أَيّامِ عادٍ وَعاديا

They have advanced Hayy ibn Bayy and held back

the sons of glory since the days of ʿAd and ʿAdiya.

لَقَد ضَلَّ مَن يَبغي مِنَ العُميِ هادِياً

وَقَد ذَلَّ مَن يَرجُو مِنَ المَعزِ راعيا

Lost indeed is one who seeks a guide among the blind,

and abased is one who hopes for a shepherd among goats.

وَمَن يَتَّخِذ سَيفاً يَكُونُ غِرارُهُ

رَصاصاً يَجِد سَيفَ العَراجينِ ماضيا

Whoever chooses a sword whose cutting edge

is lead will find a sword of palm-stalks keen.

وَمَن يَجعَلِ السِنَّورَ كَلباً لِصَيدِهِ

يَرى عاوياتِ اللَيلِ أُسداً عَواديا

Whoever makes a cat his hunting dog

will see the night's howlers as charging lions.

خَلِيلَيَّ نالَ الضَيمُ مِنّي وَلا أَرى

لَهُ كاشِفاً إِلّا العِتاقَ النَواجيا

My two friends, oppression has afflicted me, and I see

nothing to dispel it but fleet, noble-bred mounts.

تَلَوَّمتُ قَومي كَي يُرِيعُوا فَلم أَجِد

عَلى الدَهرِ مِن قَومي هُماماً مُواتيا

I waited for my people to return to reason, but found

among them no stalwart to help me against time.

وَطالَت مُداراتي اللِّئامَ وَإِنَّما

سِفاهٌ لِمثلي أَن يَكُونَ المدارِيا

Long have I humored the base, and it is nothing but

folly for one like me to be the appeaser.

وَكَيفَ وَعِندي عَزمةٌ عَبدَلِيَّةٌ

أَفُلُّ بِأَدناها الحُسامَ اليَمانيا

And how could I, when mine is an ʿAbdali resolve

with whose slightest force I blunt the Yemeni sword?

وَفِيَّ عَلى حَزِّ المدى خُنزُوَانَةٌ

وَلَو أَفنَتِ الأَحداثُ حالِي وَماليا

In me is haughty pride, despite the knives' cutting,

even if calamities ruin my well-being and my wealth.

فَلا تَحسبِ اللُكعُ الضَغابيسُ أَنَّني

خَضَعتُ وَلا أَنّي أَطعتُ المُناويا

So let the vile weaklings not suppose that I

have submitted, or that I have obeyed the adversary.

فَإِن تَكُ قَومي الغُرُّ تاهَت حُلُومُها

بِها وَأَطاعَت في الصَديقِ الأَعاديا

If my illustrious tribe's judgments have strayed

with it, and it has obeyed enemies against a friend,

وَأَدنَت ذَوي الأَغراضِ فيها وَباعَدَت

لِأَمرٍ ذَوي أَرحامِها وَالمَواليا

and brought close those with designs upon it, while driving away

for some purpose its blood kin and clients,

وَأَعطَت زِمامَ الأَمرِ كُلَّ مُدفَّعٍ

مِنَ العُثرِ لا تَرضى بِهِ الزِنجُ وَاليا

and handed the reins of power to every outcast

among the bunglers, whom the Zanj would not accept as governor,

وَمَلَّ قِلاها مَن لها كانَ آمِلاً

وَرَجّى أَذاها مَن لَها كانَ راجيا

and whoever once hoped in it has tired of its hatred,

and whoever once wished it well now wishes it harm,

فَلِي سَعَةٌ عَن دارِها حَيثُ لا أَرى

بَناتِ الكُدادي يَحتقرنَ المَذاكيا

then I have ample room beyond its land, where I will not see

the ass's daughters scorning mature steeds.

فَلَستُ اِبنَ أُمِّ المَجدِ إِن لَم أَقُم بِها

مَقاومَ تُبدي لِلرَدايا مَكانيا

I am no son of glory's mother unless, upon them, I take

stands that reveal my whereabouts to deadly perils.

سَأَركَبها إِمّا لِعِزٍّ وَراحَةٍ

أُفِيدُهُما أَو يَختَلبني حِماميا

I shall ride them, either for honor and ease,

which I may gain, or my appointed death may snatch me away.

يُخَوِّفُني ذُو النُصحِ عَجزاً وَذِلَّةً

رُكُوبَ الفَيافي وَالبِحارَ الطَواميا

The adviser, out of weakness and abasement, warns me against

crossing wastelands and surging seas.

فَقُلتُ أَلَيسَ المَوتُ إِن لَم أُلاقِهِ

أَمامي أَتَتني خَيلُهُ مِن وَرائِيا

I said, 'Does not death, if I do not meet it

before me, come upon me with its cavalry from behind?'

وَما عُذرُ أَهلِ العَجزِ وَالكُلُّ تابِعٌ

جَدِيساً وَطَسماً وَالقُرونَ الخَواليا

What excuse have the helpless, when everyone follows

Jadis, Tasm, and the generations gone by?

وَهَل مُنكِرٌ لِلضَيمِ ماتَ وَلَم يَمُت

رُوَيبِضَةٌ ما زالَ بِالدارِ ثاويا

Does one who rejects oppression die, while death spares

the petty wretch who has always stayed at home?

وَمَن لَم يُفارِق مَنزِلَ الضَيمِ لَم يَزَل

يَرُوحُ وَيَغدُو مُوجَعَ القَلبِ باكيا

Whoever does not leave the dwelling of oppression never ceases

to go at evening and dawn, heart-sore and weeping.

وَمَن يَثوِ في دارِ الهَوانِ يَعِش بِها

أَخا مَضَضٍ لا يَبرَحُ الدَهرَ شاكيا

Whoever stays in the abode of humiliation lives there

a brother to anguish, complaining all his days.

وَمَن لَم يُوفِّ النِصفَ في دارِ قَومِهِ

وَيُولي الأَذى فَالرَأيُ أَن لا تَلاقيا

Whoever fails to give fair treatment in his people's land

and inflicts harm—the wise course is not to meet him.

وَمَن يَبغِ عِزّاً بِالبَلايا وَدَولَةً

يَكُن مِثلَ مَن أَمسى عَلى الماءِ بانيا

Whoever seeks honor and dominion amid afflictions

is like one who ends up building on water.

عَدِمتُ يَمِيني إِن أَقَمتُ عَلى القِلى

نَعَم وَيليها عَن قَريبٍ شِماليا

May I lose my right hand if I remain amid hatred,

yes—and soon afterward may my left follow it.

وَفُضَّ فَمي إِن لَم أُسَيِّر غَرائِباً

تُمَزِّقُ أَحساباً وَتُبدي مَساويا

May my mouth be shattered if I do not send abroad striking verses

that tear claims to nobility apart and expose faults.

يَشُقُّ عَلى القَومِ اللِئامِ سَماعُها

وَيَظهَرُ مِنها بَعضُ ما كانَ خافيا

The base find hearing them grievous,

and through them some things once hidden come to light.

فَإِن عَقَلَت قَومي لِساني بِأَرضِها

فَلَيسَ بِمَعقُولٍ إِذا كُنتُ نائِيا

If my tribe has fettered my tongue in its land,

it will not be fettered when I am far away.

سَأرسِلُ مِنها بِالدَواهي شَوارِداً

تُنَبِّهُ ذا عَقلٍ وَتُفهِمُ واعيا

I shall send forth some of them, far-roaming verses laden with calamities,

that awaken a man of sense and enlighten an attentive hearer.

وَلَو أَنَّ قَومي أَنصَفُوني لَأَطلَقُوا

يَدي وَلِساني فيهِمُ وَالقَوافيا

Had my people treated me fairly, they would have freed

my hand, my tongue, and my rhymes among them.

فَلَولاهُمُ وَاللَهِ حِلفَةَ صادِقٍ

لَما كُنتُ مَقلِيّاً لَدَيهِم وَقاليا

Were it not for them—by God, a truthful man's oath—

I would not be hated among them, nor hating them.

وَلَكِنَّما الأَوباشُ تَعلَمُ أَنَّني

أَغارُ إِذا تَعلُو التُحُوتُ الأَعاليا

But the rabble know that I

burn with jealousy when the lowly rise above the lofty.

وَإِنّي عَلى أَهلِ العُلا ذُو حَمِيَّةٍ

أُجَرِّدُ سَيفي دُونَهُم وَلِسانِيا

I have fierce zeal for those of lofty standing;

in their defense I bare my sword and my tongue.

وَآنَفُ مِن دَعوى الدَناني ضَلالَةً

بِناءَ المَعالي يا شَقاها مَعاليا

I disdain the lowly men's deluded claim

to build lofty glories—alas, what wretched glories!

فَما كَرِهَت لَمّا اِستَقامَت أُمُورُها

لِشِقوَةِ أَهلِ المَجدِ إِبعادَ دارِيا

When its affairs were set right, it did not object

to moving my home far away, to the misery of the noble.

لَقَد وَهِمَت إِنّي عَلَيها لَغُصَّةٌ

أَكُنتُ عِراقِيَّ الهَوى أَم شَآمِيا

It is mistaken: I am indeed a choking torment to it,

whether I am Iraqi in inclination or Syrian.

فَإِن ضَيَّعَت حَقّي لُكَيزٌ وَأَنكَرَت

بَنُو عامِرٍ سَعيي لَها وَاِجتِهادِيا

If Lukayz has neglected my right, and

Banu ʿAmir denied my efforts and exertions for it,

فَقَد ضَيَّعَت قَبلي رِبابٌ بَنِيَّها

وَما كُنتُ أَدري لِاِبنِ أَفصى مُساويا

Ribab had already neglected its sons before me,

and I knew no equal to the son of Afsa.

وَما هِيَ إِلّا عادَةٌ جاهِلِيَّةٌ

يُوَرِّثُها كَهلٌ مِنَ القَومِ ناشِيا

This is nothing but a pre-Islamic custom

that an elder of the people passes down to a youth.

فَهَلّا اِقتَدوا بِالحَيِّ بَكرِ بنِ وائِلٍ

فَكانَت تُفادي القَومَ مِنهُم تَفاديا

Why did they not follow the tribe of Bakr ibn Wa'il,

from whom other people used to keep well clear?

فَهُم ثَأَرُوا نابَ البَسُوسِ وَجَدَّلُوا

كُلَيباً وَلَمّا يَسلَمِ المَرءُ هانيا

For they avenged al-Basus's aged she-camel and felled

Kulayb, and they did not hand over the man Hani.

أَلا يا لَقَومي مِن عَلِيِّ بنِ عَبدَلٍ

أَلَم يَأنِ أَن تعصُوا النَصيحَ المُداجيا

Ah, my people, help against ʿAli ibn ʿAbdal!

Is it not time to disobey the dissembling adviser?

أَما حانَ مِنكُم يَقظَةٌ وَاِنتِباهَةٌ

فَتُرضِي أَخا سُخطٍ وَتُسخِطُ راضيا

Has the time not come for you to wake and take heed,

pleasing the aggrieved and angering the contented,

يُقامُ بِها كُلُّ اِمرِئٍ في مَقامِهِ

وَفي السَهوِ شَرعاً قَد أَجازُوا التَلافيا

so that every man is set in his proper place?

And in law they have allowed making amends for lapses.

فَإِن أَنتُمُ لَم تَقبَلُوها نَصِيحَةً

فَلَستُ لَكُم فيما تُحِبُّونَ لاحيا

If you will not accept it as advice,

I shall not blame you for what you love.

فَكَم ناصِحٍ قَد عُدَّ في الناسِ خائِناً

وَكَم غادِرٍ قَد عُدَّ في الناسِ وافيا

How many a sincere adviser has been counted a traitor among men,

and how many a traitor has been counted faithful among men!