هذا الحمى فانزل على جرعائه — Abn Matouk

هذا الحِمى فاِنزِلْ على جَرعائِهِ

واِحْذَرْ ظُبا لَفَتاتِ عِينِ ظِبائِهِ

This is the sanctuary; alight upon its sandy ground.

And beware the blades in the turning glances of its wide-eyed gazelles.

واِنشُدْ به قلباً أضاعَتْه النّوى

من أضلُعي فعَساهُ في وَعْسائِهِ

And seek there a heart that separation lost

from between my ribs—perhaps it lies in its soft sands.

وسَلِ الأراكَ الغضَّ عن روحٍ شكَتْ

حَرَّ الجَوى فلجَتْ إلى أفيائِهِ

And ask the fresh arak trees about a soul that complained

of lovesickness's heat, then sought refuge in its shades.

واِقصِد لُباناتِ الهَوى فلعلّنا

نَقضي لُباناتِ الفؤادِ التّائِهِ

And seek love's desires; perhaps we

may fulfill the wishes of the wandering heart.

واِضمُم إليكَ خُدودَ أغصانِ النّقا

واِلثِمْ ثُغورَ الدُرِّ من حَصبائِهِ

And draw to yourself the cheeks of the sand-dune branches,

and kiss the pearly mouths among its pebbles.

واِسْفَحْ بذاكَ السّفْحِ حول غَديرِه

دمعاً يعسجِدُ ذَوبَ فضّةِ مائِهِ

And shed upon that hillside, around its pool,

tears that turn its water's molten silver to gold.

سَقياً له من ملعبٍ بعُقولِنا

وقُلوبِنا لعِبتْ يَدا أهوائِهِ

May rain bless that playground: with our minds

and hearts the two hands of its passions played.

مغنىً به تهوى القُلوبُ كأنّما

بالطّبعِ يجذبُها حصى مَغنائِهِ

A dwelling where hearts fall in love, as though

the pebbles of its abode draw them by their very nature.

أرجٌ حكى نفَسَ الحَبيبِ نَسيمُهُ

يُذكي الهَوى في الصّبِّ بَردُ هَوائِهِ

A fragrant place, whose breeze recalls the beloved's breath;

the coolness of its air kindles love in the ardent lover.

نفَحاتُهُ تُبري الضّريرَ كأنّما

ريحُ القميص تهبّ من تلقائِهِ

Its fragrant wafts heal the blind, as though

the shirt's scent were blowing from its direction.

فلتحْذَرِ الجَرحى به أن يسلكوا

يوماً فيشتاقوا ثَرى أرجائِهِ

So let the wounded beware of traveling through it

one day, lest they yearn for the soil of its precincts.

عهدي به ونُجومُ أطرافِ القَنا

والبِيضُ مشرقَةٌ على أحيائِهِ

I remember it when the stars of the spear-tips

and the bright swords shone over its encampments,

والأُسْدُ تزأرُ في سُروجِ جِيادِه

والعِينُ تبغَمُ في حِجالِ نِسائِهِ

and lions roared in the saddles of its steeds,

and wide-eyed gazelles called softly in its women's curtained chambers.

والطّيفُ يَطرقُه فيعثُرُ بالرّدى

تحت الدُجى فيصدُّ عن إسرائِهِ

And the dream-phantom visits it by night and stumbles upon death

beneath the darkness, then abandons its nocturnal journey.

والظلُّ تقصرُه الصَّبا وتمدُّهُ

والطيرُ يعرِبُ فيه لحن غِنائِهِ

And the east wind shortens its shade and lengthens it,

and the birds articulate there the melody of their song.

لا زالَ يَسقي الغَيثُ غُرَّ مَعاشرٍ

تَسقي صوارِمُهم ثَرى بَطحائِهِ

May rain never cease to water the noble clans

whose keen swords water the soil of its gravelly valley.

لا تُنكِرَنْ يا قلبُ أجرَك فيهِمِ

هُمْ أهل بَدرٍ أنت من شُهدائِهِ

Do not deny, O heart, your reward among them:

they are the people of Badr; you are among its martyrs.

لولا جُمودُ الدُرِّ بين شِفاهِهم

ما ذابَ في طَرْفي عقيقُ بُكائِهِ

Were it not for the pearls' hardness between their lips,

the agate of its weeping would not melt within my eye.

للَّهِ نفسُ أسىً يصعِّدها الأسى

ويردّها في العَيْنِ كفُّ قَذائِهِ

God, what a sorrowing soul, lifted upward by grief,

and driven back within the eye by the hand of its mote!

حُبِسَتْ بمُقلتِه فلا من عَينه

تجري ولم تَرجعْ إلى أحشائِهِ

It is imprisoned in his eyeball: neither from his eye

does it flow, nor has it returned to his innards.

مَنْ لي بخِشفِ كِناسِ خِدرٍ دونَه

ما يُحجِمُ الضرغامُ دون لِقائهِ

Who will bring me the fawn of a curtained bower's covert, guarded by

what makes the lion recoil from an encounter?

أحوى حوى إلْفَ الجآذِر في الفَلا

والشيءُ منجذبٌ إلى نُظرائِهِ

Dark-lipped, he has won the fawns' friendship in the wilderness,

for a thing is drawn toward its own kind.

حسنٌ إذا في ظُلمةِ اللّيلِ اِنْجلى

تعشو الفراشُ إلى ضياءِ بَهائِهِ

A beauty: when he appears in the darkness of night,

moths seek the light of his splendor.

يُلقي شعاعُ الخدِّ منه على الدُجى

شفقاً يعصفِرُ طيْلَسانَ سمائِهِ

The radiance of his cheek casts upon the darkness

a twilight glow that dyes its sky's mantle with safflower.

فالبرقُ منه يلوحُ تحت لِثامِه

والغصنُ منه يَميلُ تحت ردائِهِ

Thus lightning flashes from him beneath his veil,

and a bough sways beneath his cloak.

لا غَرْوَ إن زارَ الهلالُ محلّهُ

فشقيقُهُ الأسنى برُحْبِ سنائِهِ

No wonder if the crescent visits his dwelling:

its brighter brother is there, in the broad expanse of his radiance.

أو نحوَهُ نسرُ النجومِ هَوى فلا

عجباً فبَيضتُهُ بخِدرِ خِبائهِ

Or if the stellar Eagle swoops toward him, there is

no wonder: its egg is in the inner chamber of his tent.

أنيابُ لَيثِ الغابِ من حُجّابهِ

ولواحظُ الحرباءِ من رُقَبائِهِ

The forest lion's fangs are among his doorkeepers,

and the chameleon's glances are among his watchers.

كم قد خلوْتُ به وصِدقُ عَفافِنا

يجلو دُجى الفحشاءِ فجرُ ضِيائهِ

How often I have been alone with him, and our sincere chastity—

the dawn of its light dispels the darkness of indecency.

ما لي وما للدّهرِ ليسَ ذُنوبُه

تفْنى ولا عُتبى على آنائهِ

What have I to do with Time, or Time with me? Its sins

never end, nor is there redress against its moments.

يجني على فضلي الجَسيمِ بفضلِه

وكذا الجَهولُ الفضلُ من أعدائهِ

It wrongs my immense merit through its own excess,

as does the ignorant man: merit is among his enemies.

فكأنّما هو طالبي بقِصاصِ ما

صنعَتْهُ آبائي إلى أرْزائهِ

It is as though it demands of me retribution for what

my forefathers did to its calamities.

شِيَمُ الزّمانِ الغدرُ وهو أبو الوَرى

فمتى الوفاءُ يُرام من أبنائهِ

Time's nature is treachery, and it is the father of humankind;

when, then, can fidelity be sought from its sons?

لحِقوهُ في كلِّ الصفاتِ لأنّهم

ظُرِفوا به والماءُ لونُ إنائِهِ

They have followed it in all its qualities, for they

are contained within it, and water takes the color of its vessel.

فعَلامَ قلبي اليومَ يجرَحُه النّوى

ولقد عهِدْتُ الصّبرَ من حُلَفائهِ

Why, then, does separation wound my heart today,

when I have known patience to be among its allies?

وإلى مَ نَدبي للديارِ كأنّه

فرضٌ عليّ أخافُ فَوْتَ أدائِهِ

And how long shall I lament the dwellings, as though it were

a duty upon me whose performance I fear to miss?

يا حبّذا عيشٌ على السّفحِ اِنقضى

والدّهرُ يلحظُنا بعَينِ وفائِهِ

Ah, how sweet the life that passed upon the hillside,

while Time regarded us with the eye of its fidelity,

والشملُ منتظِمٌ كما اِنتظمَ العُلا

بِندى عليٍّ أو عُقودِ ثنائهِ

and our fellowship was united, as lofty honors were arrayed

through Ali's bounty, or the necklaces of his praise.

وليالياً بيضاً كأنّ وجوهَها

من فوقِها سحّت أكفُّ عطائِهِ

And white nights, as though their faces

had been showered from above by the palms of his giving.

بحرٌ إذا ما مدّ فاِبنُ سحابِنا

يدري بأنّ أباهُ لجُّ سخائهِ

An ocean: whenever it swells, the child of our clouds

knows that the deep sea of his generosity is its father.

ذو فتكَةٍ إن كان باللّيثِ الفَتى

يُدعى مجازاً فهو من أسمائِهِ

A wielder of deadly might: if a youth is called a lion

figuratively, for him it is a true name.

وأنامِلٍ إن كان يُعرَفُ بالحَيا

فيضُ النّوالِ فهنّ من أنوائِهِ

And fingers—if 'rain' is the name given to

the flood of bounty, then they are among its rain-bearing stars.

ملكٌ يعوذُ الدينُ فيه من العِدى

فيَصونُ بيضتَهُ جناحُ لِوائِهِ

A king in whom religion seeks refuge from its enemies;

the wing of his banner safeguards its egg.

كالزَّنْدِ يُلهِبُه الحديدُ بقَرْعِهِ

فيكادُ يوري البأس من أعضائِهِ

Like a fire-stick set aflame by the striking of iron,

he almost kindles valor from his limbs.

يسطو بعزْمَتِه الجبانُ على العِدى

كالسّهمِ يحمِلُه جناحُ سوائِهِ

By his resolve the coward attacks his foes,

like an arrow borne by the wing upon its shaft.

بالفضلِ قلّد فيه جِيدَ متوّجٍ

تُمسي الثُريّا وهْي قُرطُ علائهِ

In him, merit garlands the neck of a crowned sovereign,

whose high glory wears the Pleiades as its earring.

مَنْ للهِلالِ بأن يَصوغَ سِوارَهُ

نَعْلاً فيمشي وهْو تحت حِذائِهِ

Who can grant the crescent to forge its bracelet

into a sandal, so he may walk with it beneath his shoe?

بل مَنْ لنعْشٍ أن تكونَ بناتُه

تُضحي لديه وهْيَ بعضُ إمائهِ

Rather, who can grant Na'sh that its daughters

should stand before him as some of his handmaids?

فطنٌ تكادُ العُميُ تُبصرُ في الدُجى

لو أنّها اِكتحلَتْ بنورِ ذكائِهِ

So perceptive that the blind could almost see in darkness,

if they lined their eyes with the light of his intelligence.

يرمي العيوبَ بذهنِ قلبٍ قُلَّبٍ

فتلوحُ أوجهُها له بصفائهِ

He targets flaws with the mind of a versatile heart,

and their aspects appear to him through its clarity.

لو أنّ عينَ الشمسِ عن إنسانِها

سُئِلتْ لأهدَتْنا إلى سَودائِهِ

If the sun's eye were asked about its pupil,

it would direct us to his heart's dark core.

أو قِيلَ للمِقدارِ أين سهامُه

كانت إشارتُه إلى آرائهِ

Or if Destiny were asked where its arrows lie,

its gesture would point toward his judgments.

يا طالبَ الدُرِّ الثّمينِ لحَلْيِهِ

لا تشتريه من سوى شُعرائهِ

O seeker of precious pearls for your adornment,

buy them from none but his poets.

أينَ اللآلي من لآلئ مَدحِه

ظفِرَتْ بها الأفكارُ من دأمائهِ

Where are pearls beside the pearls of his praise,

which thoughts have won from his ocean?

إنْ كُنتَ تجهلُ يا سَؤل صِفاتِه

فعليكَ نحنُ نقصُّ من أنْبائهِ

If you do not know his qualities, O questioner,

then attend: we recount some of his tidings.

العدلُ والرأيُ المسدَّدُ والتُقى

والبأسُ والمعروفُ من قُرَنائِهِ

Justice, well-directed judgment, and piety,

valor and beneficence are among his companions.

ذاتٌ مجرّدةٌ على كلّ الورى

صدقَتْ كصدقِ الكُلّ في أجزائهِ

An abstract essence, applicable to all humankind,

true as the whole is true within its parts.

انظُرْ مَغاضَتَهُ تَرى عجباً فقدْ

شملَ الغديرَ البحرُ في أثنائِهِ

Look at his water-pool: you will see a marvel, for

the pool has encompassed the ocean within its folds.

فهْو ابنُ مَنْ سادَ الأنامَ بفضلِه

خلَفُ الكِرامِ الغُرِّ من أبنائهِ

For he is the son of one who mastered humankind through his merit,

among his sons, the heir of illustrious nobles.

صلّى ووالدُه المُجلّي قبلَه

فأتى المدى فخراً على أكفائِهِ

He came second, his father the front-runner before him,

and reached the finish in proud triumph over his peers.

سِيّانِ في الشرفِ الرفيع فنَفْسُه

من نفسِه وعُلاهُ من عَليائِهِ

The two are equal in exalted honor: his essence

comes from his father's essence, his glory from his father's glory.

من آل حيدرةَ الألى ورثوا العُلا

من هاشمٍ والضّربَ في هيجائهِ

Of Haydara's house, those who inherited lofty honor

from Hashim, and the striking of blows in his battle.

آلُ الرسولِ ورهطُه أسباطُه

أرحامُه الأدْنَوْنَ أهلُ عبائهِ

The Messenger's family and clan, his grandsons,

his nearest kin, the people of his cloak.

نسبٌ إذا ما خُطَّ خِلْتَ مِدادَهُ

ماءَ الحياةِ يفيضُ في ظَلْمائِهِ

A lineage which, when written, makes you think its ink

is the water of life flowing through its darkness.

نسبٌ يَضوعُ إذا فضَضْتَ خِتامَه

فيُعطِّرُ الأكوانَ نَشرُ كِبائِهِ

A lineage that wafts fragrance when you break its seal,

and the scent of its incense perfumes all worlds.

أينَ الكرامُ الطالبونَ لحاقَهُ

منهُ وأين ثَنايَ من نَعمائِهِ

Where are the nobles who seek to catch up with him

beside him? And where is my praise beside his favors?

يا أيّها المَولى الّذي بيمينِه

في المال قد فتكَتْ ظُبى آلائِهِ

O master, in whose right hand

the blades of his favors have ravaged wealth,

سَمعاً فدَيْتُك من حَليفِ مودّةٍ

مدْحاً يَلوحُ عليهِ صِدقُ ولائِهِ

Hear—may I be your ransom—from an ally in affection,

praise upon which his sincere devotion shines.

مدحاً تَميلُ له الطِباعُ كأنّني

أتلو عليهِ السحرَ في إنشائِهِ

Praise to which temperaments incline, as though I

were reciting a spell over it in composing it.

بصفاتِك اللّاتي بهرْنَ مزَجتُه

فعبِقْن كالأفواهِ في صَهبائِهِ

I have mingled it with your qualities that dazzled,

and they gave fragrance like aromatics in its red wine.

فاِستَجلِه نظماً كأنّ عروضَه

زهَرُ الرُبا ورويّهُ كرُوائِهِ

So behold it as verse, as though its meter

were the hilltops' blossoms, and its rhyme-letter like their freshness.

واِسْرُرْ هِلالَ العيدِ منكَ بنظرةٍ

تكفيهِ نقْصَ التِمِّ من لألائِهِ

And gladden the Eid crescent with a glance from you

that remedies the lack of fullness in its glitter.

فجبينُك المَيمونُ يمنحُه السّنا

وعُلاكَ يرفعُه لأوجِ سنائِهِ

For your auspicious brow grants it brilliance,

and your loftiness raises it to the zenith of its radiance.

طلب الكمالَ وليس أوّلَ طالبٍ

وأتى إلى جَدواكَ باستجدائِهِ

It sought perfection, and is not the first seeker,

and came begging for your generosity.

واِظْهَرْ لهُ حتّى يراكَ فإنّه

صبٌّ كساهُ الشوقُ ثوبَ خَفائِهِ

And show yourself to it until it sees you, for it

is a lover whom longing has clothed in the robe of its concealment.

ولَيَهْنِكَ الصّومُ المُباركُ فِطرُهُ

واللَّهُ يختِمُه بحُسنِ جزائِهِ

And may the breaking of the blessed fast gladden you,

and may God seal it with His gracious recompense.