هلم بنا يا برق في أبرق الحمى — Abn Matouk

هلمّ بنا يا برْقُ في أبرقِ الحِمى

نُساقطُ دُرَّ الدّمْعِ فرداً وتوأما

Come with us, O lightning, on the mottled ridge of al-Hima;

let us shed tears' pearls, singly and in pairs.

هلمّ بِنا نقضي من النّدْبِ واجِباً

لعصرٍ مضى فيه وعهدٍ تقدّما

Come with us: let us fulfill an obligation of mourning

for an age spent there and an era long past.

فإن كُنتَ لي يا برقُ عَوناً فقُم بِنا

نروّي قُلوباً صادياتٍ وأرسُما

If you are my helper, O lightning, rise with us:

let us water parched hearts and the traces of dwellings.

تشبّهتَ بي دعوى ولو كنتَ مُشبِهي

بوجدٍ إذاً أصبحتَ تَبكي معي دَما

You have claimed likeness to me; were you like me

in anguish, you would then weep blood with me.

فكم بين باكٍ مُستهامٍ وبين مَنْ

تباكى خليّاً وهو يُبدي التبسُّما

How far apart are a lovelorn weeper and one who

feigns tears, carefree, while displaying a smile!

تقمّصْتُ ثوباً من دُخانٍ ومهجتي

عليها قميصٌ من لظاكَ تجسّما

I have donned a garment of smoke, while my heart

wears a shirt in which your flame has taken bodily form.

فوا عجباً تسقي الرّبوعَ مدامِعي

وقلبي إلى سُكّانِها يشتكي الظّما

Oh, wonder! My tears water the dwellings,

while my heart complains of thirst to their inhabitants.

أروحُ ولي قلبٌ إذا ما نضَحْتُه

بماءِ عُيوني كي يَبوخَ تضرّما

I go about with a heart that, whenever I sprinkle it

with my eyes' water to quell it, bursts into flame.

وأُمسي ولي دمعٌ يَجودُ بمُقلَتي

وثوبٌ إذا ما أحجَمَ الصّبرُ أقدَما

At evening I have tears flowing freely in my eye,

impetuous: when patience hangs back, they advance.

فللّهِ ما أجراهُ في مَعرَكِ النّوى

إذا الوجدُ أجرى جيشَهُ كَرّ مُعلما

By God, how swiftly they run on separation's battlefield!

When passion dispatches its army, they charge, marked for battle.

فمَنْ لي بعصرٍ كلّما مرّ ذِكرُه

بسمعي حَلا عندي ووصلٍ تضرّما

Who will restore an age whose mention, whenever it passes

through my hearing, grows sweet to me—and a union that blazed?

وليلاتِ أُنس نادمَتني بُدورُها

وفي الأرضِ زارتْني بها أنجمُ السّما

And nights of companionship whose full moons caroused with me,

when heaven's stars visited me in them upon the earth.

شِهابٌ تظنّ الشُهْبَ فيها لحُسنها

ثُغورَ الغواني البيضِ في حوّةِ اللّما

A meteor—you would take the meteors in those nights, for their beauty,

for the mouths of fair-skinned beauties amid the dusky hue of their lips.

سقى اللّه مغنىً بالحِمى صوبَ مُزنِه

يَحوكُ له وشيَ الرّبيعِ المُسهّما

May God water a dwelling in al-Hima with His rain-clouds' downpour,

weaving for it spring's arrow-patterned brocade.

ولا برحَتْ فيه الأقاحي ضواحِكاً

ولا صرفَتْ منها يدُ الدّهرِ دِرْهَما

May the daisies there never cease smiling,

nor time's hand ever spend a dirham of them.

محلٌّ به حلّ الشبابُ تمائِمي

فلا نقصَ إذ أصبحْتُ فيه متمِّما

A place where youth untied my childhood amulets:

no deficiency remained, for there I became fully grown.

ومصرعُ أسرى موثَقينَ قُلوبُهم

بحَومَتِه أضحتْ مع الطّيرِ حُوَّما

And a killing-ground for captives whose fettered hearts

in its precinct came to wheel with the birds.

حَمى حُرمةً مسّ الصّعيد صِعادَه

وأصبح فيه السّيفُ بالحِلِّ مُحرِما

It guarded a sacred precinct; the earth touched its spears,

and there the sword entered consecration on unhallowed ground.

وثغرٌ غدت منه الثّنايا منيعة

فأضحى بنقْعِ الصّافِناتِ ملثّما

And a frontier whose passes became impregnable,

veiled in the dust of poised steeds.

قد اِشتبهَتْ آفاقُه في عِراصِه

فكلٌّ حَوى منها بُدوراً وأنجُما

Its horizons and courtyards could scarcely be told apart,

for each held full moons and stars.

فكم ثَمّ من شمس بلَيلٍ تقنّعتْ

وبدرِ ظلامٍ بالنّهارِ تعمّما

How many a sun there veiled herself in night,

and a full moon of darkness wore daylight as a turban!

وليثِ عَرينٍ بالحديدِ مسرْبَلٍ

وخِشفِ كِناسٍ بالنُضارِ تخزّما

And a lion of the lair, clad in iron,

and a fawn of the covert wearing a golden nose-ring!

تميلُ بأثوابِ الحرير غُصونُه

وتنطِقُ بالسحرِ الحلالِ به الدُمى

Its boughs sway in robes of silk,

and there its statue-like beauties speak with lawful enchantment.

وتفترُّ عن ميماتِ تِبرٍ حِسانُه

يكادُ بهنّ الحُسنُ أن يتختّما

Its beauties part their lips to reveal golden mīm-shapes,

with which Beauty almost adorns itself as with rings.

مكانٌ به كنزٌ من الحُسنِ لم يزل

بآياتِ أرصادِ الحديدِ مطَلْسَما

A place holding a treasure of beauty, forever

talisman-bound by the signs of iron guardians.

حمَتْهُ سَراةٌ لا تزالُ رُماتُهم

مفوّقةً للحَتفِ هُدْباً وأسهُما

Noble lords have guarded it, their archers ever

nocking eyelashes and arrows to kill.

قد اِتّخذوا للفتكِ والطّعنِ آلةً

قُدودَ العذارى والوشيجَ المقوَّما

They have taken, as instruments of slaying and thrusting,

maidens' figures and straightened spear-shafts.

يرونَ هَوانَ الحُبّ عِزّاً وسُؤدداً

وأحسنَ آجالِ النّفوسِ التّيتّما

They deem love's humiliation honor and lordship,

and enslavement by love the finest death for souls.

تكادُ الأقاحي خجْلةً من ثُغورِهم

تَعودُ ثناياها شقيقاً مُعَندَما

The daisies, ashamed before their mouths, would almost

have their own teeth turn to blood-red anemones.

إذا نظرتْ أقمارُهم عينَ مُبغضٍ

يُطالبُهم في مَغرَمٍ عاد مُغرَما

If their moons behold the eye of one who hates them,

demanding payment from them, he becomes love-smitten.

بروحيَ منهم جيرةٌ جاوَروا الحمى

فجاروا على قلبٍ بهم قد تذمّما

My soul for neighbors among them who dwelt beside al-Hima,

then wronged a heart that had sought their protection.

همُ ألهَبوا صدري وفيه توطّنوا

فللّه جنّاتٌ ثوَتْ في جهنّما

They set my breast aflame and made their home within it:

by God, what gardens have dwelt in Hell!

حلا لي بهِم مُرُّ العَذابِ كما حَلا

لنفْسِ عليٍّ خوضُها الحتفَ مطْعَما

For their sake, bitter torment tasted sweet to me, as did

the taste of plunging into death to Ali's soul.

هُمامٌ لدى الهيجاءِ لو أنّ بأسَه

ببحرٍ طَما في مدّه لتحجّما

A valiant man in battle: had his might

been in a sea swelling at flood tide, the sea would have recoiled.

وذو عزَماتٍ لو تُصاغُ صوارِماً

لأوشكْنَ في صُمِّ الصّفا أن تُصمّما

A man of resolves which, if forged as swords,

would nearly cut clean through solid stone.

سُلالةُ خيرِ المرسَلين مطهّرٌ

أتى طاهِراً من كلّ أبلجَ أكرَما

A purified scion of the best of the messengers,

coming forth pure from every radiant, noble forebear.

أجلُّ مُلوكِ الأرضِ قدراً وقُدرةً

وأشرفُهم نفْساً وأطيبُ مُنتَمى

The greatest of earth's kings in rank and power,

the noblest in soul and finest in lineage.

جوادٌ أتى والجوّ جَونٌ فأصبحتْ

أياديه فيه كالشِّياهِ بأدْهَما

A generous man who came when the sky was dark; then

his favors were like contrasting markings on a black steed.

ووافى المَعالي بعدما خرّ سقفُها

فشيّد من أركانِها ما تهدّما

He reached the heights of glory after their roof had fallen,

and rebuilt what had crumbled of their pillars.

إذا الدهرُ أجرى جَحْفَلاً كان قبلَهُ

وإنْ هزّ سيفاً كان كفّاً ومِعصَما

When time dispatched an army, he preceded it;

and if it brandished a sword, he was its hand and wrist.

كريمٌ عُيونُ الجودِ لولا وُجودُه

لَفاضَتْ جواريها وأغضَتْ على عَمى

A generous man: without him, generosity's eyes

would have spilled their tears and lowered their gaze in blindness.

ولُطفٌ بَراهُ اللّه للنّاس مُجمَلاً

فنوّعَهُ بالمَكرُماتِ وقسّما

A kindness God created entire for mankind,

then diversified through noble deeds and apportioned.

هو العدلُ إلّا أنّه إذ يَرومُه

عدوٌّ بظُلمٍ كان أدهى وأظلَما

He is justice, except that, when he is sought

by an enemy in injustice, he proves more cunning and more unjust.

هِلالُ حِمامٍ فوقَه من دِلاصِه

هِلالُ حياةٍ يترُك الحتفَ أقصَما

A crescent of death, above whom his gleaming armor forms

a crescent of life that leaves death shattered.

وبدرُ كمالٍ بالسّروجِ بُروجُه

وليثُ نِزالٍ بالعوالي تأجّما

A full moon of perfection whose zodiacal stations are saddles,

and a lion of combat whose thicket is made of tall spears.

يرى عاملَ الخطّيّ قدّاً مُهفهفاً

ويحسَبُ إيماضَ اليمانيّ تبسّما

He sees the Khatti spear's upper shaft as a slender figure,

and takes the flashing of the Yemeni sword for a smile.

إذا ما تولّى للوثوبِ على العِدا

يكادُ عليه الدِّرْعُ أن يتفصّما

When he turns to leap upon his enemies,

the coat of mail upon him almost bursts apart.

غنيٌّ لديه لا يزالُ من الثّنا

كنوزٌ وإن أضحى من المالِ مُعدما

He is rich: he always has, from praise,

treasures, even if he becomes penniless.

له نِقَمٌ محذورةٌ عند سُخطِه

ولا غَرْوَ أن عادتْ من العفوِ أنعُما

He has punishments to be feared in his wrath,

yet no wonder if, through pardon, they turn to favors.

ضَحوكٌ إذا اِستمطرتهُ فهو بارقٌ

يجودُ وإن جرّبتَهُ كان مِخذَما

He smiles: when you seek his rain, he is lightning,

showering bounty; but if you test him, he is a cutting sword.

وصعبٌ إذا اِستعطَفتَه لانَ جانباً

وعذْبٌ إذا عادَيْتَه صارَ عَلقَما

Though stern, if you seek his kindness, his manner softens;

though sweet, if you oppose him, he turns to bitter colocynth.

حوى البأسَ والمعروفَ والنُسكَ والنُهى

وحازَ المعالي والتُقى والتكرّما

He possesses valor, kindness, devotion, and wisdom,

and has attained high honors, piety, and generosity.

أعارَ وميضَ الصّاعقاتِ حُسامَه

وصاغَ لسانَ الموتِ للرُمحِ لهذَما

He lent his sword the flash of thunderbolts,

and forged death's tongue into a keen point for the spear.

وبرقَع في فجرِ الصّباحِ جِيادَه

وجلّلها ليلاً من النّقعِ معلَما

At the dawn of morning he veiled his steeds,

and shrouded them in a battle-marked night of dust.

فتىً أصلحَ الأيّامَ بعد فسادِها

وكمّل أعوانَ الكِرامِ وتمّما

A youth who set the days right after their corruption,

and perfected the helpers of the noble, making them complete.

وبيّن ما بينَ الضّلالةِ والهُدى

فأوضحَ نهجاً طالما كان أقْتَما

He made plain the difference between error and guidance,

and illuminated a path that had long been dust-darkened.

وقوّم زَيغَ الدينِ بعد اِعوِجاجِه

فأصبحَ فيه بعدَما كان قيّما

He straightened religion's deviation after its crookedness,

and became its guardian, as he had been before.

وألزَمَ أهل النُصْبِ بالنّصّ فاِغتدى

فصيحُهمُ لا يُحسنِ النُّطْقَ أبْكَما

He bound the hostile faction by the explicit text, so that

their eloquent spokesman became mute, unable to speak.

فلولاهُ لم يصْفُ الغديرُ من القَذى

وأصبحَ غوْراً ماؤهُ وتأجّما

But for him, al-Ghadir would not have cleared of debris,

and its water would have sunk away, leaving it overgrown.

أفاضَ عليهِ من أدلّةِ فَهمِه

سُيولاً فأضحى طيّبَ الوِردِ مُفعَما

He poured upon it, from the proofs of his understanding,

torrents, till it brimmed, a pleasant place to drink.

ذكيٌّ إذا قُصّتْ دواوينُ مَدحِه

تنفّسَ صُبحُ الطّرسِ مِسكاً مختّما

Keen-minded: when the volumes of his praise are recited,

the dawn of the page breathes sealed musk.

له قلمٌ يجري الزّمان بما جرى

ويسعى القَضا في إثر مَسعاهُ حيثُما

He has a pen; time proceeds according to what it writes,

and fate follows in the track of its course, wherever it goes.

يمجّ رُضابَ النّحلِ طوراً لسانُه

وينفثُ طوراً نابُه سُمَّ أرْقَما

At times its tongue pours out the bees' sweet saliva,

and at times its fang spits a speckled serpent's venom.

يراعٌ يُريعُ البيضَ إمضاءُ حكمِه

فتحسَبُ أمضاهنّ ظُفْراً مقلّما

A reed-pen whose enacted judgment startles bright swords,

till you think the sharpest of them a clipped nail.

يترجم ما يوحي إليه جَنانُه

فينثُرُ دُرّاً في السّطورِ منظّما

It translates what his heart inspires in it,

and scatters ordered pearls across the lines.

فصيحٌ عن الأسماءِ جمجمَ لفظُه

وأسمعَ معناهُ القُلوبَ وأفهَما

Eloquent, though its speech mumbles over names,

it makes hearts hear its meaning and understand.

بروحيَ منه راحةٌ نفحَتْ بها

أناملُه من دوحِه فتكلّما

My soul for a palm of his, through which breathed

his fingertips, from his grove—and the pen spoke.

تتبّع خُضْرَ الخطِّ حتّى اِستوى بها

فحلّ على عينِ الحياةِ وخيّما

It followed the green shoots of script until it settled among them,

then alighted at the Spring of Life and made camp.

وشارفَ منها روضةَ القُدسِ فاِدّعى

إخاءَ عَصا موسى وأقلام مريَما

From there it drew near the garden of holiness and claimed

brotherhood with Moses' staff and Mary's pens.

تقدّسْتَ من طودٍ بأيمَنِ طُورِه

كريمٌ روى فصلَ الخِطابِ وترجَما

Hallowed are you, a mountain at whose Mount's right side

a noble one relayed decisive speech and interpreted it.

أمَولايَ إنّ الدهرَ يعلمُ فضلَكُم

ويعرِفُكُم أندى بَنيه وأكرَما

O my lord, time truly knows your excellence,

and knows you as the most bountiful and noble of its sons.

تملّكتُمُ رِقَّ الزّمانِ وأهلَه

فليس الليالي فيه إلّا لكُم إمَا

You have taken time and its people into bondage,

so the nights within it are nothing but your slave-girls.

لقد كان وجهُ الأرضِ أطلسَ مغبَراً

فأمسى لكم كالأفقِ يزهو منجِّما

The face of the earth was once bare and dust-covered,

but for you it became like the horizon, gleaming with stars.

تواضُعُكم أدنى مواضعَكُم لنا

وقدرُكم فوقَ السّمواتِ قد سَما

Your humility has drawn your stations close to us,

though your rank has risen above the heavens.

لعمرُك ما جُودُ السّحابِ غريزةً

ولكنّه علّمتَهُ فتعلّما

By your life, the clouds' generosity is no innate trait:

rather, you taught it, and it learned.

جرَيْتَ مع الأقدارِ في كلّ غايةٍ

فلم نَدْرِ من كان المؤثّرُ منكُما

You raced with the fates toward every goal,

so we could not tell which of you determined the outcome.

بِفَتوى أخيكَ السيفِ زُوِّجت العُلى

فعزّ حِماها حيثُ صِرْتَ لها حِمى

By your brother the sword's decree, you were wed to high glory,

and its sanctuary grew mighty when you became its refuge.

فَدُمْ سالماً ما نبّه الصُبحُ طائِراً

وما هيّجَ الأشواقَ شادٍ ترنّما

Remain safe as long as dawn wakes a bird,

and a singer's song stirs longing.

ولا زِلْتَ غيثاً برقُه يصعقُ العِدا

ويُنبِتُ نُوّارَ النُّضارِ إذا هَمى

May you remain life-giving rain whose lightning strikes down foes,

and makes blossoms of gold spring up when it pours.

ولا برِحَ الدّهرُ الحَروبُ إذا سَطا

يزورُك بالأفراحِ سِلماً مُسلِّما

May warlike time, whenever it strikes, always

visit you with joys, at peace and offering greetings.

ووافاكَ عيدُ الفِطر بالعزّ دائماً

ووفّاك صومُ الدهرِ أجراً معظَّما

May Eid al-Fitr always come to you with honor,

and lifelong fasting pay you a magnificent reward.