قال يوما لأسود — Abn Rumi

قال يوماً لأسود

ناكه وسط ممرغَهْ

He said one day to a black man

who fucked him in the middle of his wallowing-place:

حُكَّ درزي بخصيتَيْ

ك قليلاً بنغنغه

“Rub my seam with the two testicles

of yours a little, with a tickling motion.”

ثم قفّى بضرطة

ذات هول مترَّغه

Then he followed it with a fart,

terrifying and filthy.

قال

والله بيَّغه

He said:

“By God—bayyagha!”

قلت نكها فإنها

فقحة تعرف اللغه

I said, “Fuck it, for it is

an anus that knows the language.”

وبديع من البدائع يسبي

كل عقل ويطَّبي كل طرفِ

And a marvel among marvels captivates

every mind and beguiles every eye.

وُفِيَ الحسنَ والملاحة حتى

ما يوفيه واصف حق وصفِ

It was given beauty and charm in such full measure

that no describer can do its description justice.

قدحٌ كان للرشيد اصطفاه

خلف من ذكوره غير خَلْفِ

A goblet that was al-Rashīd's, chosen

by an heir among his male offspring, no unworthy heir.

كفم الحب في الحلاوة بل أح

لى وإن كان لا يناغى بحرف

Like the beloved's mouth in sweetness—indeed, even

sweeter, though no tender word is exchanged with it.

صيغ من جوهر مصفى طباعاً

لا علاجاً بكيمياء مُصَفِّ

Fashioned of a precious substance, pure by nature,

not by treatment with a refiner's alchemy.

تنفذ العين فيه حتى تراها

أخطأته من رقة المُستَشفِّ

The eye passes through it, until you think its gaze

has missed the cup, so fine is its transparent substance.

كهواء بلا هباء مشوب

بضياء أرقِق بذاك وأصفي

Like air without dust, mingled

with light—how delicate and pure it is!

وَسَطُ القَدر لم يكبَّر لجرعٍ

متوالٍ ولم يُصَغَّر لرشفِ

Of middling size, not made large for gulps

in succession, nor made small for sipping.

لا عجول على العقول جهولٌ

بل حليم عنهن في غير ضعف

Neither hasty nor reckless toward minds,

but forbearing with them, without weakness.

يمتع الشاربين بالشرب فيه

وبلذات كل قصف وعزف

It delights drinkers in drinking from it,

and with the pleasures of every revel and musical performance.

ما رأى الناظرون قداً وشكلاً

فارساً مثله على بطن كف

Never have onlookers seen, in stature and shape,

a horseman like it upon the palm of a hand.

ليس يخلو إذا تعاطاه قوم

من أكف يمسحنه بتحفّي

Whenever people pass it around, it never lacks

hands that stroke it with loving care.

ما رأوه إلا استُخِفَّ حليمٌ

لم يكن قبل ذاك بالمستخفِّ

They never see it but a sober man is carried away,

one never prone to such lightness before.

تؤثر العين أن تنزَّه فيه

عند قول الكرى لذي العين أغفي

The eye prefers to take its pleasure in it

when drowsiness tells the eye's owner, “Doze off.”

فيه نونٌ معقرب عطفته

حكماء القيون أحسن عطف

It bears a scorpion-curved nūn, bent

by master smiths into the finest curve,

مثل عطف الأصداغ في وجنات

من غزال يُزهَى بحسن وطرف

like the curling of temple-locks along the cheeks

of a gazelle proud of its beauty and glance.

ذخرته لك العواقب عندي

يتخطاه كل حين وحتف

The turns of fate have kept it with me for you;

every doom and death passes it by.

فتمتع به وعش في سرور

ألف عام ولستُ أرضى بألف

So enjoy it, and live in joy

a thousand years—and a thousand will not satisfy me.

ثم إني مشمر من ثيابي

فملاقيك من عتابي بزحف

Then I gird up my robes,

and confront you with a marching host of my reproaches.

أمن العدل أن حُرمت وغيري

من عطاياك بين غرف وجرف

Is it just that I am deprived, while others

scoop and sweep up your gifts?

عمَّ من عمَّ مدحه الناس طراً

منك جود سماؤه ذات وكف

He whose praise embraced all people was embraced

by bounty from you, its sky dripping rain.

وعداني أن أستخصَّك مدحي

يا ابن يحيى وتلك خطة خسف

But reserving my praise for you has left me excluded,

O son of Yaḥyā—and that is a humiliating lot.

ليس ترضى بما فعلت قواف

أنت منها مصدِّرٌ ومقفّي

Rhymed verses are not pleased with what you have done,

you, who give them their openings and rhymes.

مِدَحٌ فيك صنتها كل صون

تحت عرض ظَلِفتَه كل ظلف

Praises of you I have guarded with the utmost care,

beneath an honor you have kept wholly unsullied.

بعضها قد بدا وبعض يراعي

أن يُرى للعطاء موضع كشف

Some have appeared; others wait

for generosity to offer an occasion to unveil them.

لا تُكذِّب مخيلة لك أضحت

يخطف الطرف لمعها كل خطف

Do not belie your rain-promising cloud, now that

its gleam snatches the eye again and again.

لُهوةٌ أو فإسوةٌ يا ابن يحيى

أتأسّى بها فتُبرد لهفي

A gift—or else a consoling example—O son of Yaḥyā,

in which I may find solace, cooling my anguish.

رِش جناحي أو سمِّ لي مُستريشا

لك أضحى وريشه غير وحف

Feather my wing, or name me one who sought feathers

from you, yet now has plumage that is not thick.

وعلى فارطِ العتاب فإني

واطئٌ من معاتبي كل رضف

Yet, despite my excessive reproach, I

tread upon every burning stone of my grievances.

قائل فيك للعدو مقالاً

فيه كَبتٌ له وإرغام أنف

I speak of you to the enemy in words

that mortify him and rub his nose in the dust.

أيهذا المسائلي بعليٍّ

أنا طَبٌّ به فسائل وأحف

O you who question me about ʿAlī,

I know him well: ask, and press your questions.

لعليٍّ في ذروة المجد بيتٌ

لم يُسقَّف سوى السماء بسقف

ʿAlī has a house at the summit of glory,

roofed with nothing but the sky.

شاد بنيانه إلى النجم جودٌ

يهدم المال باعتداء وعسف

Generosity raised its structure to the stars,

demolishing wealth with aggression and force.

يا لَقومٍ لجوده كيف يبني

وهو سيل وكل سيلٍ معفِّي

O people, marvel at his bounty: how can it build

when it is a torrent, and every torrent sweeps away?

لو تكون الجبال مالاً أو البح

ر لغاداهما بنسف ونزف

If the mountains were wealth, or the

sea, he would assail both at dawn, pulverizing and draining them.

هل تراه ومالُه غيرُ نهبٍ

أم تراه وجاهُه غيرُ وقف

Do you see him with his wealth anything but plunder,

or with his standing anything but an endowment?

ما يرى نُهزة من العرف إلا

ثقفتها يد امرئ منه ثَقف

He sees no opportunity for bounty but

an adept man's hand seizes it from him.

قُذِفت خيفة الملامة منه

في فؤاد مشيَّعٍ كلَّ قذف

Fear of blame has been hurled within him,

with full force into a valiant heart.

فهو ما شئت من جبان شجاع

آمن راجف الحشا كل رجف

So he is, as you will, a coward and a brave man,

secure, yet trembling to the core with every tremor.

حاسر للسلاح مجتاب درع

دون أدنى قوارص القول زغف

Unarmored against weapons, but wearing a coat

of supple mail against the slightest sting of words.

يتقي نفحة اللسان ويغشى

كل طعن وكل ضرب طِلَخْف

He guards against a breath of the tongue, yet plunges into

every thrust and every massive blow.

يقبل البخس في الثناء عليٌّ

ويكيل الجزاء كيل موفِّي

ʿAlī accepts short measure in praise,

and gives rewards in full measure.

ما افترينا في مدحه بل وصفنا

بعض أخلاقه وذلك يكفي

We have fabricated nothing in his praise, but described

some of his qualities, and that suffices.

لو مدحناه بالذي ليس فيه

وقع المدح منه موقع قرف

Were we to praise him for what he does not possess,

the praise would amount to a slur against him.

ولكنا كناحلي المسك عَرفاً

من سواه مكان أطيب عرف

And we would be like those who give musk a scent

from elsewhere, in place of its sweetest fragrance.

ما لنا في مديحه غير نظم

للمساعي التي سعاها ووصف

All we do in praising him is versify

and describe the endeavors he has pursued.

هذه غِيبتي برغم عدو

يَغضف الأذن دونها كل غضف

This is my “backbiting,” despite an enemy

who firmly shuts his ear against it,

وبرغم اللُّهى التي راغمتني

فهي عني مصروفة كل صرف

and despite the gifts that have affronted me,

for they are kept utterly away from me.

من يكن كهفه سواك فحسبي

بك في النائبات من كل كهف

Whoever has another as his refuge, I need only

you in calamities, in place of every other refuge.