Sol 6.1

  1. تذكرت مصراً والأخلاّء والدهرا

    سقى الله ذاك السفح والناس والعصرا

    I remembered Egypt, dear friends, and days gone by.

    May God water that hillside, the people, and that age.

  2. وقالت ظنوني في الشآم ادعُ لذةً

    فقال لها ماضي الزمان اهبطوا مصرا

    In Syria my fancies said, “Call for delight!”

    But bygone time replied to them, “Go down to Egypt!”

  3. تقول أناسٌ إن جلق جنةٌ

    فما بال أحشاء الغريب بها حرّى

    Some people say that Jilliq is a paradise;

    why, then, do a stranger’s entrails burn there?

  4. بروحي فتان اللواحظ أغيد

    شديد التجني ما أضرّ وما أضرى

    My soul would ransom that supple youth with bewitching glances,

    relentless in unjust reproach—how harmful, how fierce!

  5. من الغيد يحمي لحظُ عينيه ثغرَه

    ولم أرَ سيفاً وحده قد حمى ثغرا

    One of the lissome beauties, whose eyes’ glance guards his mouth—

    yet never have I seen a sword alone defend a frontier.

  6. تثنى قضيباً فاح مسكاً رنا طلاً

    سطا أسداً غنى حماماً بدا بدرا

    He swayed like a bough, breathed musk, gazed like a fawn;

    pounced like a lion, sang like a dove, appeared like a full moon.

  7. وصيرني الواشون حتى حذرتهم

    فها أنا مقتولٌ على حبه صبرا

    The slanderers brought me to such a pass that I feared them;

    here I am, slain in captivity for loving him.

  8. أحاكي حبابَ البابليّ وتغرَه

    بدمعيَ واللفظ الجماليّ والدرا

    I imitate the bubbles of Babylonian wine and his mouth,

    and al-Jamali’s speech and pearls, with my tears.

  9. رئيس محا وِزْرَ الزمان بجوده

    وشدّ لأبناء الرجا مئزراً إزرا

    A chief who erased time’s sin through his generosity,

    and firmly girded himself to aid the sons of hope.

  10. إذا ما رأيت الدهر يلهب تارة

    فنل يا لإبراهيم نأمن به الدهرا

    Whenever you see fate blazing up,

    then gain aid—“O Ibrahim!”—through him we are safe from fate.

  11. ولذ بحماه للمكارم والهدى

    تجد علمه يقري وأضيافه تقرى

    Seek refuge in his protection for noble gifts and guidance;

    you will find his learning feeds, and his guests are fed.

  12. ومعدن خير بالفضائل والهدى

    لطلابه يهدي الجواهر والنثرا

    And a mine of goodness who, through virtues and guidance,

    bestows jewels and prose on those who seek him.

  13. بفضل يديه أو بفضل دعائه

    تشيم وتستسقي الغمائم والقطرا

    Through the bounty of his hands or the grace of his prayer,

    you watch the clouds and pray for rain.

  14. وقال أناس جاوز الشعرُ قدرَه

    فقلت نعم والله قد جاوز الشعرى

    Some said, “The poetry has exceeded his worth.”

    I said, “Yes, by God—he has surpassed Sirius!”

  15. ألا أيها المجري له اللوم في الندى

    لقد جئت شيئاً في مسامعه نكرا

    O you who direct reproach at him for generosity,

    you have brought something abhorrent to his ears.

  16. سريّ سما للفضل والناس هجد

    فسبحان من بابن السيادة قد أسرى

    A noble man who rose toward excellence while others slept—

    glory to Him who bore Ibn al-Siyada on a night journey!

  17. له قلم قد جاوز الغيث فاغتدى

    ينمق في أرجاء مهرقه الزّهرا

    He has a pen that has outdone the rain, and now

    paints flowers across the expanse of his parchment.

  18. ويبعث من دهم السطور إلى العلى

    محجلة في طيِّ أدراجه غرَّا

    It sends from the blackness of the lines toward the heights

    white-stockinged, white-blazed steeds within his folded scrolls.

  19. زهى غصنه حتى إذا خيفت الوغى

    رنا وانثنى كالسيف والصعدة السمرا

    Its bough flourished, until, when battle was feared,

    it gazed and bent like a sword and a tawny lance,

  20. بيمن امرئٍ أحيى به ميت الرجا

    وبدّل عسر الحادثات لنا يسرا

    through the blessing of a man who with it revived dead hope

    and turned the hardship of calamities to ease for us.

  21. وما فيه من عيب يعد لعائب

    سوى أنه بالجود يستعبد الحرَّا

    He has no fault a faultfinder can count,

    except that his generosity enslaves the free.

  22. ولله سرٌ في معاليه مودعٌ

    ولا عجبٌ للسرّ يستودع الصدرا

    God has a secret lodged in his lofty virtues;

    no wonder a secret should be entrusted to a breast.

  23. أمولاي لي قصدٌ تخطى لك الورى

    كما يتخطى الليلَ من يطلب الفجرا

    My lord, I have a purpose that passed all mankind by for you,

    as one seeking dawn passes through the night.

  24. فدونك آمالاً قديماً رجاؤها

    ودونك من نظم الثنا غادة عذرا

    So receive hopes long held in expectation,

    and take, from woven praise, a lovely virgin maiden.

  25. تناهى الحيا وقتاً وغالبها الجوى

    فجاءت تعد السهل نحوك والوعرا

    For a time modesty reached its height, but ardent longing wrestled with her;

    so she came toward you, counting off smooth ground and rough.

  26. وتشكو عقوق المعرضين وبخلهم

    إليك فتلقى عندك البرّ والبحرا

    She complains of the ingratitude and stinginess of those who turn away,

    to you—and finds with you kindness and an ocean of bounty.