سطعت شموس قبابهم بزرود — Abn Matouk

سطَعَتْ شُموسُ قِبابِهم بزَرُودِ

فهَوَتْ نُجومُ مَدامِعي بخُدودي

The suns of their domes shone at Zarud,

and the stars of my tears fell down my cheeks.

وتلاعَبَتْ فرَحاً بهِم فتَياتُهم

فطَفِقْتُ أرسُفُ في الهوى بقُيودي

Their maidens frolicked in delight at them,

while I began to shuffle in love's fetters.

وعلى الحِمى ضرَبوا الخيامَ فليتَهُم

جعلوا من الأطْنابِ حَبلَ وريدي

On the protected grounds they pitched their tents; would that they

had made my jugular vein one of their guy ropes.

عهدي بهم تحيا الرّسومُ وإن عفَتْ

فعلامَ أحشائي ذَواتُ هُمودِ

In my remembrance of them, the traces live, though effaced;

why, then, do my inmost parts lie lifeless?

وحياتِهم لولاهُمُ ما لذّ لي

شهدُ الهَوى المَسمومُ بالتّفْنيدِ

By their lives, were it not for them, I would not savor

love's honey, poisoned with reproach.

كلّا ولا اِستعذَبتُ سائِلَ عَبرةٍ

لولا مُلوحَتُها لأوْرَقَ عودي

No, nor would I have found a flowing tear sweet:

but for its saltiness, my stem would have put forth leaves.

تفدي القنا ما في مناطقِهم وإنْ

هي أشبهَتْ شَدّاتِها بعُقودِ

May lances ransom what lies within their girdles, though

their joints resemble those girdles' fastenings.

نفرٌ تكادُ لِطيبِهم بأكفّهم

تَحكي ذوابلُهم رَطيبَ العودِ

A band so fragrant that, within their palms,

their dry lances almost resemble fresh aloeswood.

لا زالَ في وَجَناتِهم ماءُ الصّبا

يَسقي رياضَ شقائقِ التّوريدِ

May the water of youth remain forever in their cheeks,

watering the gardens of their rosy anemones.

وسقَتْهُمُ مُقَلُ الغَمامِ منَ الحَيا

دَمْعاً يخدِّدُ وجْنةَ الجُلْمودِ

And may the clouds' eyes water them with rain—

tears that furrow the cheek of solid rock.

للّهِ فيهِم أسرةٌ لا تُفتَدى

أسْرى الهَوى من سجنِهم بنُقودِ

How wondrous the captors among them! There is no ransoming

love's captives from their prison with coin.

كم من قُلوبٍ بينهُم فوقَ الثّرى

وجَبَتْ وأيْدٍ أُلصِقَتْ بكُبودِ

How many hearts among them, upon the dust,

have fallen, and hands been pressed against livers!

تَلقى المنيّةَ بين بيضِ خُدودِهم

بسطَتْ ذراعَيْها بكلِّ وَصيدِ

You find death among their white cheeks,

stretching out both arms at every threshold.

تحت المغافِرِ والغفائِرِ تنجلي

منهم بُدورُ أسرّةٍ وسُعودِ

Beneath helmets and veils shine forth

their full moons of countenance and good fortune.

ضربوا القِبابَ من الحرير وزرّروا ال

أبوابَ منها في نُصولِ حَديدِ

They pitched domes of silk and buttoned the

doors of those tents onto iron blades.

رقّتْ خُدودُهُمُ فرقّ تغزُّلي

وقَسَتْ قلوبُهمُ فلانَ شَديدي

Their cheeks grew delicate, and my love poetry grew delicate;

their hearts grew hard, and my strength softened.

طلبوا حِفاظَ رِهانِ أربابِ الهوى

فاِستودَعوها في حِقاقِ نُهودِ

They sought to safeguard the pledges of love's masters,

and lodged them in the caskets of their breasts.

وحموا الثّغورَ فطاعَنوا من دونِها

برِماحِ خطٍّ أو رِماحِ قُدودِ

They guarded their frontiers, thrusting in their defense

with lances of Khatt or lances of slender forms.

ما خِلْتُ قبلَ ثُغورهم أن يُنبِتَ ال

ياقوتُ بيضَ اللّؤلؤِ المَنضودِ

Before their mouths, I never thought the

ruby could sprout white pearls in rows.

ولوِ اِستطَعْتُ بأن أُجَسِّمَ لفظَهُم

لنظَمْتُ منه قلائِدي وعُقودي

And if I could give substance to their words,

I would string from them my necklaces and chains.

في الكَرْمِ معنىً سرُّه لشفاهِهم

نمّتْ عليه معاصرُ العُنقودِ

Within the vine lies a meaning whose secret belongs to their lips,

betrayed by the presses of the grape-cluster.

بعثوا إليّ الطّيفَ في طلبِ الكرى

فأتى وردّ إليهم بهُجودي

They sent their phantom to me, seeking slumber;

it came, then returned to them with my sleep.

يا صاحِ هذا حيّهُم فاِنزِلْ به

واِنشُدْ هنالكَ مُهجةَ المَعمودِ

Friend, this is their encampment: alight here,

and seek here the stricken lover's heart.

بمعارجِ الأقمارِ من تَلَعاتِه

عرّجْ فثمّ مهابِطُ المَقصودِ

At the moons' stairways, among its uplands,

turn aside: there are the alighting places of the one you seek.

وأطِلْ بعَرصَتِهِ السّجودَ فإنّما

مسعاكَ منه في محلِّ سُجودِ

And prolong prostration in its courtyard, for

your striving there is only in a place of prostration.

واِلثِمْ حَشاهُ مفتّشاً في تُربِه

فهناك ضيّعتِ الحِسانُ عُهودي

And kiss its bosom, searching through its soil,

for there the beauties betrayed my vows.

وهناك ألقيتُ العصا وأناخَ بي

حادي الهَوى ووضعْتُ ثمّ قُتودي

There I laid down my staff, and was brought to rest

by love's camel-driver; there I set down my saddle-frames.

يا حبّذا عصرٌ على السّفحِ اِنقضى

ولذيذُ عيشٍ بالعقيقِ رَغيدِ

How dear an age that passed upon the slope,

and the sweetness of carefree life at al-Aqiq!

عصرٌ بسَمعي إذ يمرُّ حديثُهُ

يحلو لديّ به فناءُ وُجودي

An age whose tale, as it passes through my hearing,

makes the extinction of my being sweet to me.

ما لي وما للدّهرِ لا أصحو به

من سُكرِ بَيْنٍ أو خمارِ صُدودِ

What have I to do with time? In it I never sober

from the drunkenness of parting or the hangover of rejection.

أوَ ما كَفَتْهُ نائِباتُ خُطوبِه

حتّى رَماني في صُدودِ الغِيدِ

Were the blows of its calamities not enough for it,

that it cast me into the rejection of slender beauties?

ما بالُ أهوى البيضَ منها وهْي في

فَوْدَيَّ تُنكِرُها وتعشَقُ سُودي

Why do I adore their fair ones, while on

my temples they spurn the white and love my black?

لا تُنكِري يا بيضُ بيضَ مَفارِقي

فلرُبَّ شانٍ ذمّ شأنَ حَميدِ

Do not spurn, fair beauties, the white of my hair-partings:

many a detractor has condemned a praiseworthy quality.

أنا مِجْمَرٌ والشيْبُ نارُ تسَعُّري

وسوادُ فَوْدي مثلُ لونِ خُمودي

I am a brazier, and gray hair is the fire of my blazing;

the black of my temple is like the color of my extinguishing.

ليس الحُسامُ إذا تجرّد متنُه

في الضّرْبِ مثل الصّارمِ المَغمودِ

The sword, when its blade is bared, is not

in striking like the keen sword sheathed.

حتّام تجرَعُ يا فؤادُ من المَهى

ومن الزّمانِ مرارةَ التّنكيدِ

How long, my heart, will you drink from oryx-eyed beauties

and from time the bitterness of affliction,

وتَميلُ للبيضِ الحِسانِ تطرُّباً

مَيلَ العَليّ إلى خِصالِ الجودِ

and incline toward fair beauties in rapture,

as the exalted one inclines toward the traits of generosity?

خيرُ الملوكِ سَليلُ أكرَمِ والدٍ

خلَف الغطارِفةِ الكِرامِ الصيدِ

The best of kings, scion of the noblest father,

heir to noble, proud-browed chieftains.

حرٌّ أتى بعد النبيّ وآله ال

أطهارِ للتأسيسِ والتأكيدِ

A noble man who came after the Prophet and his family, the

pure, to lay foundations and strengthen them.

سمْحٌ إذا اِنتجَعَ العُفاةُ بنانَهُ

هطلَتْ سحائِبُها بغيرِ رُعودِ

Generous: when supplicants seek pasture at his fingers,

their clouds pour down without thunder.

عَضْبٌ إذا ما العَزْمُ جرّد حدَّهُ

ضربَتْ بشعْرَتِه يدُ التأييدِ

A sharp sword: when resolve bares its edge,

the hand of support strikes with its fine edge.

رامٍ إذا اِشتدّ النِصالُ تنصّلَتْ

منه سِهامُ الرأيِ بالتّسديدِ

An archer: when blades rage fiercely, there issue

from him arrows of judgment, aimed true.

قاضٍ إذا اِختلفَ الخُصومُ كأنّما

فصْلُ الخِطابِ رواهُ عن داودِ

A judge: when litigants disagree, it is as though

he transmitted decisive speech from David.

بطلٌ أساوِدُ لُدنِه يومَ الوغى

تذَرُ الأسودَ فرائِساً للسِّيدِ

A hero: the black serpents of his supple spears, on battle day,

leave lions as prey for the wolf.

ذو راحةٍ مَزبورةٌ بخطوطِها

آياتُ وعدٍ بُيّنَتْ ووَعيدِ

He has a palm within whose lines are inscribed

clear verses of promise and threat,

وعزائِمٍ يومَ الكفاحِ لدى اللّقا

قامَتْ مَقامَ الجَحْفَلِ المَحشودِ

and resolutions that, on the day of struggle, at the encounter,

take the place of a massed army.

تتنفّسُ الصّعَداءَ خوفَ صِعادِه

مُهَجُ العِدا فتذوبُ بالتّصعيدِ

Deep sighs are breathed in fear of his lances

by his enemies' hearts, which dissolve through sublimation.

عدَمُ الشّريكِ له بكلِّ فضيلةٍ

يقضي لهُ بمزيّةِ التّوحيدِ

His having no partner in any virtue

entitles him to the distinction of uniqueness.

طلبَ العُلا بسُيوفِه فاِستخرَجَتْ

بالفتْكِ جوهرَ كنزِها المرصودِ

He sought greatness with his swords, and they extracted

by slaughter the jewel of its guarded treasure.

حظُّ العدوّ لديه بيضُ حديدِه

والوفد حُمرُ نُضارِه المَفقودِ

The enemy's portion with him is his white steel,

and the envoys', his red gold, parted with.

وافى العُلا من بعدِ طولِ تأوّدٍ

فأقامَ ما فيها منَ التأويدِ

He reached glory after its long decline,

and straightened all the crookedness within it.

وتعطّلَتْ بئرُ النوالِ وإنْ نَشا

ظفَرَ العُفاة بعذبِها المَورودِ

The well of bounty lay idle; yet, if it rose [reading uncertain],

supplicants gained its sweet, much-frequented water.

ملكٌ كأنّي إن نطَقْتُ بمدحِه

شتّتُّ في الأسْماعِ سِمْطَ فَريدِ

A king: whenever I speak his praises, it is as though I

scattered a strand of choice pearls into listening ears.

فكأنّني للناشِقينَ أفُضُّ عن

مختومِ مِسْكٍ فيه عند نَشيدي

It is as though, for those who inhale, I broke the seal off

sealed musk, as I chant his praise.

لو تشعُرُ الدُنيا لقالَتْ إنّ ذا

مضمونُ أشعاري وبيتُ قَصيدي

If the world could feel, it would say: This is

the substance of my poems, the central verse of my ode.

لو تُنصِفُ الأيّامُ لاِعترَفتْ له

بفضيلةِ المَولى وذُلِّ عَبيدِ

If the days were fair, they would acknowledge his

excellence as a master, and their own abasement as slaves.

لو لم تُنافِسهُ النجومُ على العُلا

خدمَتْ رَفيعَ جنابِه المَحسودِ

Had the stars not rivaled him for the heights,

they would serve his lofty, envied presence.

تَلقى برؤيتِه المُنى أوَ ما تَرى

عُنوانَه بجبينِه المَسعودِ

In seeing him you find your wishes; do you not see

his sign upon his auspicious brow?

تجري بأجمعِهِ المحبّةُ للنّدى

جرْيَ الصّبابةِ في عُروقِ عَميدِ

Love of generosity runs through all of him,

as ardent longing runs in a stricken lover's veins.

وأشدُّ فَتْكاً في الكُماةِ بنَصلِهِ

من لحظِ مودودٍ بقلبِ وَدودِ

And with his blade he is deadlier among armored champions

than a beloved's glance in a loving heart.

قبَسٌ يكادُ إذا تسعّرَ بأسُهُ

عنهُ تسيلُ الدِّرْعُ بعدَ جُمودِ

A flame: when his might blazes, it nearly

melts the armor off him, once solid.

لو تَرتَمي في اليمِّ منه شرارةٌ

لغدَتْ به الأمواجُ ذاتَ وُقودِ

If a spark from him were flung into the sea,

the waves would burst into flame through it.

تأوي أسنّتُه الصّدورَ كأنّما

خلطَ القُيون حديدَها بحُقودِ

His spearheads seek shelter in chests, as though

the smiths had mixed their iron with grudges.

والبيضُ حيث بُدورُها اِعترفَتْ له

بالفَضْلِ أكرمَها بكلِّ جُحودِ

And the white blades, when their moons acknowledged his

superiority, he honored with every ingrate.

ما فاتَهُ فخرٌ ولا ذمُّ الوَرى

يَرْقى لِكُنْهِ مقامِهِ المَحمودِ

No glory escaped him, nor can mankind's blame

rise to the essence of his praised station.

بِنداهُ يخضرُّ الحصى فكأنّما

أثَرُ الصّعيدِ له بكلِّ صَعيدِ

By his bounty pebbles turn green, as though

the soil's power were his in every tract of earth.

فالمَجْدُ مَقصورٌ عليه أثيلُهُ

والعزُّ تحتَ ظِلالِه المَمْدودِ

Deep-rooted glory is confined to him,

and honor lies beneath his outspread shade.

موْلىً شوارِدُ فضلِهِ ونوالِه

فينا تَفوتُ ضوابِطَ التّحديدِ

A lord whose far-ranging excellences and gifts

among us surpass the bounds of definition.

كلُّ المَفاخِرِ والمناقِبِ جُمِّعَتْ

فيه على الإطْلاقِ والتقْييدِ

All glories and virtues have been gathered

in him, in the absolute and in the particular.

يا اِبنَ المَصاليتِ الّذين بسَعْيِهمْ

حازوا العُلا منْ طارِفٍ وتَليدِ

O son of the intrepid men who, through their efforts,

won greatness, newly earned and long inherited,

ورَوَوْا أسانيدَ المفاخرِ والتُقى

في عزِّ آباءٍ لهُم وجُدودِ

and transmitted the chains of glory and piety

through the might of their fathers and forefathers.

رهْطٌ بهم شرَفُ الأنامِ وعنهُمُ

نُقِلَتْ أصولُ الذِّكرِ والتّحميدِ

A clan through whom mankind has honor, and from whom

the foundations of remembrance and praise were transmitted.

وضعوا لكَ المجدَ الأثيلَ وأسّسوا

فرفَعْتَهُ بقواعِدِ التّمْهيدِ

They laid down ancient glory for you and founded it;

you raised it upon firmly prepared footings.

زخْرَفْتَهُ ونقشْتَ فيه لمنْ يَرى

صوراً من التّعظيمِ والتّمجيدِ

You adorned it and engraved within it, for all who see,

images of exaltation and glorification.

لولا وُرودُك للجزيرةِ ما زَهَتْ

وَجناتُ جنّاتٍ لها بورودِ

But for your arrival in al-Jazira, there would not have blossomed

the cheeks of its gardens with roses.

كلّا ولا سحَبَتْ على ساحاتِها

أغصانُ قاماتٍ ذُيولَ بُرودِ

No, nor across its courtyards would there have trailed

from branchlike figures the hems of striped robes.

فارَقْتَها فخشيتُ بعدَك أنّها

تُضحي كما أضحتْ ديارُ ثَمودِ

You left it, and I feared that after you

it would become as the dwellings of Thamud became.

كانت بطوفانِ المهالك فاِغتَدَتْ

لمّا رَجَعْتَ على نجاة الجودي

It was amid a flood of perils, but came to be,

when you returned, in the safety of al-Judi.

أنقَذْتَ أهليها ولو لم تأتِهم

ما قومُ لوطٍ منهمُ بسَعيدِ

You saved its people; had you not come to them,

Lot's people would have been no happier than they.

اللّهُ حسبُك كم غفَرْتَ لمُذنِبٍ

منهم وكم أطلَقْتَ من مَصفودِ

God is enough for you! How many a sinner you forgave

among them, and how many a shackled man you freed!

فليهنها الرحمنُ منك برجعةٍ

فيها رُجوعُ سُرورِها المَفقودِ

May the All-Merciful gladden it with your return,

in which its lost joy returns.

واِلبَس ثِيابَ الأجرِ صافيةً فقدْ

بعثَ الصّيامُ بها رسولَ العِيدِ

And wear the spotless robes of reward, for

fasting has sent Eid's messenger bearing them.

لا زِلْتَ للإسلامِ أشرفَ كعبةٍ

لم تَخْلُ يوماً من طَوافِ وُفودِ

May you ever remain Islam's noblest Kaaba,

never, for a day, without delegations circling you.