ما للخيال جفا وقد بعد المدى

قسماً لقد شطَّ المزارُ فما اهتدى

Why has the dream-apparition grown estranged, now that the distance is great?

I swear, the place of visitation is far, and it found no way.

أبتِ الصَّبابةُ أن أبيت مهوّماً

ومن العجائب أن يزور مسهَّداً

Yearning refused to let me spend the night dozing,

and it is a wonder that it should visit one kept awake.

ما ذاك أجبتُ أن خفيت من الضَّنى

فرأيت عاراً أن يزور العوَّدا

Why so? I was told I had vanished from wasting sickness,

so I deemed it shameful for it to visit the visitors to the sick.

ولئن أجبتُ مع الخفاء مسائلاً

فكذا يجيب ولست تبصره الصدى

And if, while invisible, I answer a questioner,

so too an echo answers, though you cannot see it.

ظمأي بمهضوم الحشا ريَّان من

ماءِ الشَّباب وخصرهُ يشكو الصّدى

My thirst is for a slender-waisted one, well-watered with

the water of youth, though his waist complains of thirst.

عبقَ النَّسيم بقدهِ فتأوَّدت

أعطافهُ وبصدغهِ فتجَّعدا

The breeze clung fragrantly to his figure, and there swayed

his flanks; it clung to his temple-lock, and that curled.

كالظَّبي طرفاً والسُّلافةِ ريقةً

والدعص ردفاً والقضيب تأوُّدا

Like a gazelle in his gaze, like fine wine in his saliva,

like a sand dune in his hips, like a slender branch in his swaying.

وكأنَّ جذوةَ حدّه في مائهِ

ناري تزيد على البكاء توقدا

And the ember of his edge within its watery sheen seems like

my fire, burning more fiercely with weeping.

متقلدٌ سيفاً كفاهُ شيمهُ

لحظٌ دماءَ العاشقينَ تقلَّدا

He wears a sword; he is spared drawing it by

a glance that wears lovers' blood as a necklace.

عجباً لرمحُ القدّ يفتكُ غير مع

تقلٍ وسيفِ اللَّحظ يقطع مغمدا

How strange: the spear of his stature slays without being couched,

and the sword of his glance cuts while sheathed.

يمسي كما يضحي فؤادي والأسى

ويعودني برحُ الغرام كما بدا

My heart and sorrow meet evening as they meet morning,

and passion's torment revisits me just as it began.

أمهدي أنَّ التفرُّقَ في غدٍ

لا تسمِ يومئدٍ غداً إلاَّ ردى

O bearer of tidings to me that separation comes tomorrow,

on that day, call tomorrow nothing but death.

سارت دموعُ العين تسبقُ عيسهم

وخداً لأنَّ العذل كان لها حدا

The eye's tears journeyed ahead of their pale camels,

at a swift trot, for reproach was their driving song.

وضللتُ في صُبح المباسم والضُّحى

كيف السبيلُ وقد اصلًّنَي الهدى

And I lost my way amid the dawn of smiling mouths and the morning light;

how can I find the way, when guidance has led me astray?

عرج على الأَطلال صُبحةَ بينهِم

إن شئتَ أن تلقى الصباح الأسودا

Turn aside to the ruins on the morning of their departure,

if you wish to meet the black morning.

إن عاد صبحي وهو ليلٌ دامسٌ

فبما صبحتُ الليلَ صبحاً سرمدا

If my morning has become a pitch-dark night,

it is because I made the night an everlasting morning.

ولئن خلا ذاك الكناسُ فطالما

أهدى لنا ذاك الغزالَ الأَغيدا

And though that gazelle's covert is empty, how often

it offered us that gracefully swaying gazelle.

وأما وعيشِك لو صحوتُ من الهوى

ولقيت في دينِ الصبابة مُرشدا

But, by your life, had I awakened from love,

and found a guide in the faith of passion,

لحمدتُ حادثة النوى من بعد ما

وهبت لنا قاضي القضاة محمدا

I would have praised the coming of separation, after it

gave us Muhammad, the chief of judges:

المنعم الندسَ البليغ المصقع الحب

رَ الكريمَ اللوذعيَّ الأمجدا

the benefactor, discerning, eloquent, resounding orator, the scholar,

generous, keen-witted, most glorious.

لولاهُ كان الحمد غير منظَّمِ

ولكان عقد المكرمات مبدَّدا

Without him, praise would have remained unstrung,

and the necklace of noble deeds would have lain scattered.

حاز التَّمام مع التمائم مرضعاً

ودعوهُ في المهد الجراد السِيّدا

He attained perfection along with his amulets, still a suckling,

and in the cradle they called him 'the locust, the lord' [unclear reading].

أفنى اللهى جوداً فان وافيته

مُستجدياً وهبَ العلى والسُّيدا

He exhausted his gifts through generosity; if you come to him

seeking alms, he grants eminence and lordship.

ذو الكفِ ما أندى وربُّ الجود

ما أدنى ومتفرع العلى ما ابعدا

Possessor of that hand—how generous! Lord of bounty—

how near! Climber of the heights—how far aloft!

وإذا انتجعت الأكرمين موالداً

وافيت محيي الدين أكرمَ مولدا

And when you seek the noblest by birth,

you come upon Muhyi al-Din, noblest in birth,

وأسحّهم كفاً وأشمخ همة

وأعَّمهم رفداً واشرف محتدا

the most lavish-handed, the loftiest in aspiration,

the broadest in giving, the noblest in ancestry.

إن صال كان غضنفرا أو سيل كا

ن كنهوراً أو سل كان مهندا

When he attacks, he is a lion; when petitioned, he is

a rain-laden cloud; when drawn, he is an Indian-forged sword.

ما فارق الحدباء طالب رفعةٍ

بل سار في طلب العفاةِ وانجدا

He did not leave al-Hadba seeking high rank,

but journeyed in search of supplicants, heading upland.

منح النوالَ مقوّضِاً ومعّرسِاً

فزكا مغيباً في الأنام ومشهدا

He bestowed gifts while striking camp and while halting for the night,

and his worth grew among people, absent and present.

لا يعدمُ القصادُ دعوة شاكرٍ

من راحتيه سحابة أو موردا

May those who seek him never lack—a grateful man's prayer—

a cloud or a watering-place from his two palms.

ما كلُّ من أبدا أعاد وإن سقى

روىَّ وإن أس المكارمَ شيَّدا

Not everyone who begins repeats, or, if he waters,

quenches thirst, or, if he founds noble deeds, builds them high.

انضنى الركائبَ والجفونَ إلى العلى

أولى بمن عشق العلى أن يسهدا

He wore out mounts and eyelids in pursuit of eminence;

it is fitting that whoever loves eminence should stay awake.

والسيف لا يزعُ الحوادث كامناً

في غمدهِ حتى يكونَ مجرَّدا

And the sword does not repel calamities while hidden

in its sheath, until it is drawn bare.

والمجدُ ضدُّ الطيف لا يسري إلى

ثاوٍ ولا يغشى العيونَ

And glory is the opposite of a dream-phantom: it does not travel by night to

one who stays put, nor does it visit the eyes.

يا ابن الكمالِ وكل خلقٍ ناقصٌ

وابن السماحِ وكان فذاً مفردا

O son of perfection, though every creature is deficient,

and son of generosity, which was unique and alone:

إن كان عيسى قبلُ أحيا واحداً

فذّاً فكم أحييت خلقاً بالندّى

if Jesus once brought one person to life

alone, how many people have you revived with bounty!

ولئن حوى موسى يداً بيضاء معج

زةً فكم لكَ مثلها فيهم يداً

And though Moses possessed a white hand—a miracle—

how many such hands of yours are there among them!

فبضوءِ بشركَ يستضاءُ إلى الغنى

وبنور رأيك في الحوادث يهتدى

By the light of your cheerful face, one finds the way to wealth,

and the light of your judgment guides through calamities.

إنْ أحزنَ الحسَّادَ إنك قادمٌ

فالشمسُ كيف تروق عيني أرمدا

If your arrival has saddened the envious,

how, then, could the sun delight the eyes of one with sore eyes?

فأقم بحيثُ تشاءُ إنَّك سائرٌ

مجداً أقام الحاسدين واقعدا

So dwell wherever you wish: you are ever journeying

in glory that makes the envious rise and sit.

مهما تغب عن محضرٍ شهدوا بهِ

والصُّبحُ ليس يمكن أن يحجدا

Whenever you are absent from a gathering, they attest your glory;

and dawn cannot be denied.

زهدتني في الماجدينَ وحقُّ منْ

يحظى بمثلكَ فيهمِ أن يزهدا

You made me indifferent to other noble men; rightly should one

who enjoys someone like you among them turn away.

منْ كلَّ ما زعمَ الكرام وجدتهُ

إلاَّ النوالَ لديكمُ والموعدا

I found all the favors the generous claimed tainted with reproach [reading uncertain],

except the gifts and promises you offer.

وأبيكَ ما كلُّ السيوف تشيمهُ ال

أيدي ولا كلُّ السحائب يجتدى

By your father, not all swords are drawn by

hands, nor is every cloud sought for bounty.

فليحمدنَّك من عينتَ بأمرهِ

وأقلُّ حالةِ منعمٍ أن يحمدا

The man whose affairs you cared for must surely praise you;

and the least a benefactor deserves is to be praised.

أتلفتَ مالكَ دون مهجةِ مالهِ

وبذلتَ مالك كي ينامَ ويرقدا

You exhausted your wealth defending the lifeblood of his wealth,

and gave your wealth so he might sleep and rest.

وغدوتَ خصمَ الدهرِ فيه مخلفاً

ما نالَ منهُ ومصلحاً ما افسدا

And you became Time's adversary on his behalf, replacing

what it took from him and mending what it ruined.

ما كلُّ سيفٍ تنتضيه بقاطعٍ

حدّاً ولا كلُّ السهام مسدَّدا

Not every sword you draw has a cutting

edge, nor is every arrow aimed true.

لجمعتَ ملكهمُ وكان مشتَّتاً

ورددتَ مجدهمُ وكانَ مشرَّدا

You surely reunited their dominion, once scattered,

and restored their glory, once driven away.

ولقد ظهرتَ بمعشرٍ ضلوا

فظلَّ الفضلُ فيهم حائراً متلدّدا

You appeared among a company that had gone astray,

so merit remained among them bewildered, looking about.

دفنوه في أوراقهِ ولفقدهِ

أسلافكم لبسَ المداد مسوّدا

They buried it in its pages; because it had lost

your forebears, the ink dressed itself in black.

كانوا إذا نصلوا قنا أقلامهم

فالمال مقتولٌ بها قبل العدى

Whenever they fitted points to the shafts of their pens,

wealth was slain by them before their foes.

ولئن عددتُ وناقصاً في بلدةٍ

فالليلُ قد جمعَ السُّهى والفرقدا

And though I am counted with an inferior in one town,

night has gathered both al-Suha and al-Farqad.

وإذا أطلتُ القولُ وهو مجوَّدٌ

فالسبقُ محمودٌ على طول المدى

And if I prolong my speech, while it is well wrought,

winning is praiseworthy over a long course.

ومن العجائبِ أن أقصرَ عن مدى

دانٍ وقد حزتُ المحلَّ الأبعدا

It is a wonder that I should fall short of a range

so near, after attaining the farthest station.

نوَّرتَ ليلَ الظنِّ يا بدرَ الدُّجى

ونسختَ أي المحلِ يا غيث الجدا

You illuminated the night of doubt, O full moon of darkness,

and erased the signs of drought, O rain of bounty.

فبقيتَ تحيى باللَّهى رممَ المنى

كرماً وتقتل بالسمَّاح العسجدا

So may you endure, reviving with gifts the decayed remains of hopes,

in generosity, and slaying gold through liberal giving.

أبداً يجيبُ نداك إن عافٍ دعا

عن فاقةٍ وسطاكَ إن خطبٌ عدا

Forever your bounty answers when a supplicant cries

from poverty, and your might answers when calamity assails.