يعان المستعين بك البعيد — Abn Rumi

يُعانُ المُسْتَعينُ بِكَ البعيدُ

وحَظِّي من مَعُونتك الزَّهيدُ

The distant man who seeks your aid is helped,

while my share of your help is meager.

وما ذنبي إليكَ سوَى جِوَارٍ

قَريبٍ مثْلَما قَرُبَ الوريدُ

What fault have I before you but being a neighbor,

as close as the jugular vein,

وَوُدٍّ بين شَيْخَيْنَا قَديم

على الأيام مَعْقدُهُ وَكيدُ

and old affection between our two elders,

whose bond stays firm through all the days,

وَقُرْبَى نِحْلَتْي أدبٍ ورأْيٍ

بأبعدَ منهما قَرُبَ البعيدُ

and kinship in the two pursuits of letters and thought—

with ties more distant than these, the far-off have drawn near—

وأنِّي لمْ يزل أمَلي قديماً

عَقيدَكَ ما تقدَّمَهُ عقيدُ

and that my hope has always, from of old,

been your sworn companion, with none pledged before it?

سَبَقْتُ به إليكَ لدنْ كلانا

وَليدٌ أوْ يُضارعه الوليدُ

I came to you with it first, when each of us

was newborn, or scarcely older than a newborn.

وكان القلب يُؤنِسُ منك رُشْداً

ولَيْسَ بِكَاتِم الرشد الرَّشيدُ

And the heart discerned sound judgment in you,

and the judicious do not hide good judgment;

ويشهدُ أنْ سَتَسْمُو للمعالي

فتبلُغَها فما كذب الشَّهِيدُ

and testified that you would rise to lofty honors

and attain them—and the witness did not lie.

فَمَالَكَ حَادَ عُرْفُ يديك عني

وما للعرف عن مثْلي مَحيدُ

Why, then, has the bounty of your hands turned away from me,

when bounty should not shun a man like me?

ومَالي لا أزال لديْكَ أُحْبَى

حَباءً يُجْتَوَى منْه المزيدُ

And why am I forever granted at your hands

a gift that makes one loathe receiving more?

دَهَانِي منْ جفائك ما دهاني

ولم يَكُ للزَّمَان به وَعيدُ

Your coldness brought upon me what it did,

though Time had never threatened such a blow.

عذْرتُكَ لوْ عرفْتُكَ خارجيَّاً

طَريفَ المجْد ليس له تليدُ

I would have excused you, had I known you as an upstart,

new to glory, with none inherited of old.

فقلتُ رأى قَديمي فيه نَقْصٌ

فلست أحبُّه ما عادَ عيدُ

Then I could say: he sees my ancient lineage as a reproach to him,

and thinks, 'I shall not love him as long as festivals return.'

فَكَيْفَ ولستَ تَعْلَمُنِي عَلِيماً

بنقْص في قديمكَ يا سعيدُ

How then, when you do not know me as one aware

of any flaw in your ancestry, Sa'id?

ألستَ المرْءَ والدُه حُميدٌ

وحسْبُكَ من سناءٍ لا أزيدُ

Are you not the man whose father is Humayd?

That is glory enough for you; I need say no more.

ألستَ ابن الذين غَنَوا قديماً

هُمُ الأحرار والناسُ العَبيدُ

Are you not the son of those who lived of old,

themselves free men, while other people were slaves?

أتحسِبُني زهاك الحظ عندي

فَحَشوُ جوانحي حسدٌ شديدُ

Do you suppose that fortune has exalted you in my eyes,

so that fierce envy fills my breast?

وما حَسَدِي وشأَنُكَ غَيْرُ شأني

أيَحْسُدُ صائداً ما لا يصيدُ

Why should I envy, when your calling is not mine?

Does one who does not hunt envy a hunter?

وكيف وما وقعْتُ أمامَ ظَنِّي

وكيف وما حَظِيتُ كما أُريدُ

And how, when I have not surpassed my expectations?

And how, when I have not prospered as I wish?

لئن أرضاك هذا الحظُّ حظاً

فإني مُسْتَرِيثٌ مُسْتَزِيدُ

Even if this lot satisfies you as good fortune,

I find it slow in coming, and ask for more.

ألم تر أن نُعْمَى اللَّه شُنَّتْ

عليك فطالها شخص مديدُ

Have you not seen God's bounty poured

upon you, yet a tall figure overtopped it?

أفِدْ ما شئتَ من جَاهٍ ومالٍ

فأَنْتَ لديَّ تُزْهِي ما تُفيدُ

Acquire whatever rank and wealth you wish,

for in my eyes you adorn whatever you acquire.

أَيُزهي شخْصَ مثلِكَ عند مثلي

أبا عثمان سِرْبَالٌ جديدُ

Could a man like you be exalted in the eyes of one like me,

Abu Uthman, by a new robe?

وليس ابْنُ المقفَّع في نَقِير

لديْكَ إذا عُدِدْتَ ولا يزيدُ

Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ is not worth a date-stone's speck

beside you, when you are reckoned—nor is Yazid,

ولا كُلْثُومٌ المجْمُوعُ فيه

إلى الْخُطَب الرَّسَائلُ والقصيدُ

nor Kulthum, in whom were gathered

epistles and verse alongside oratory;

ولا عبدُ الحميد وإنْ زهاه

تَقَادُمُ عهْدِهِ شَهِدَ الحَمِيدُ

nor Abd al-Hamid, though he was adorned

by the antiquity of his time—the Praiseworthy has borne witness.

فكيف أراك تَقْصُرُ عن مَنَالٍ

وأَنْتَ الْفَردُ في الناس الوحيدُ

How, then, do I see you fall short of a goal,

when you alone are peerless among men?

يراكَ بمثْلِ تلكَ العيْنِ أعْشَى

وحَاشَا منْ لهُ بَصَرٌ حديدُ

Only the dim-sighted would look on you that way,

never one whose sight is keen.

وبَعْدُ فقد تَرَى اسْتِغْلاَقَ أَمْرِي

وطُولَ حِرَانِهِ ما يَسْتَقيدُ

And now, you see how my affairs are locked fast,

how long they have balked, refusing to be led.

وعندكَ إن أردتَ النَّفْعَ نَفْعٌ

وعنْدي ضِعْفُهُ شُكْرٌ عَتيدُ

You have the means to help, if you wish to help,

and I have twice that much gratitude ready.

فَهَبْ لي مَحْضَراً يشْفِي ويكْفِي

إذا أبْدأْتَ فيه لا تُعِيد

So grant me a hearing that heals and suffices,

where, once you begin, you need not repeat,

تَهزُّ به الأمِيرَ فليس يُغْني

عن الهَزِّ السُّرَيْجيِّ الرَّدِيدُ

with which you rouse the emir; for there is no replacing

a Surayji flourish with mere repetition.

أترضَى أن حُرِمْتُ وفاز غيري

بآمال لها طلع نضيدُ

Would you be content that I am denied while someone else wins

hopes whose palm-blossoms cluster thickly,

وأنت لكلَّ مَكْرُمةٍ عِمَادٌ

أجَلْ ولكلَّ ذي كرم عَميدُ

while you are a pillar of every noble deed—

yes, and the chief of every generous man?