صبا من شاب مفرقه تصابي — Abn Rumi

صِبا من شاب مَفْرِقُهُ تَصابي

وإن طلب الصِّبا والقلبُ صَابي

The youthfulness of one whose parting has turned gray is mere affectation,

even if he seeks youth and his heart still yearns.

أعاذِلُ راضني لك شيب رأسي

ولو لا ذاك أعياكِ اقتضابي

O reproacher, my gray hair has tamed me for you;

without that, breaking me in would have defeated you.

فلُومي سامعاً لكِ أو أَفيقي

فقد حان اتِّئابُكَ واتِّئابي

So reproach one who listens to you, or come to your senses:

the time has come for your shame and mine.

وقد أغناكِ شيبي عن ملامي

كما أغنى العيونَ عن ارتقابي

My gray hair has spared you the need to blame me,

as it has spared eyes the need to watch me.

غضضتُ من الجفون فلست أَرمي

ولا أُرمى بطرفٍ مسترابِ

I have lowered my eyelids, and no longer shoot glances,

nor am I shot at by a suspicious gaze.

وكيف تعرُّضي للصيد أَنَّى

وقد رِيشتْ قِداحي باللُّغابِ

How could I venture after game—how indeed—

when my arrows have been feathered with faulty plumes?

كفى بالشيب من ناهٍ مُطاعٍ

على كُرهٍ ومن داعٍ مُجابِ

Gray hair suffices as a forbidding voice obeyed

unwillingly, and a summoning voice answered.

حططتُ إلى النُّهى رحلي وكلَّتْ

مطيّةُ باطلي بعد الهِبابِ

I have set down my saddle with good sense, and grown weary

has the mount of my folly, after its headlong vigor.

وقلت مُسلِّماً للشيب أهلاً

بهادي المخطئين إلى الصوابِ

Submitting to gray hair, I said: Welcome

to the guide who leads the erring toward what is right.

ألستَ مُبشِّري في كلّ يومٍ

بوشكِ ترحُّلي إثرَ الشبابِ

Do you not announce to me each day

my imminent departure in the wake of youth?

لقد بشّرتني بلحاقِ ماضٍ

أحبَّ إليَّ من بَرْدِ الشرابِ

You have announced my reunion with one departed,

dearer to me than a cool draught.

فلستُ مسمِّياً بُشراك نَعْياً

وإِن أوعدتَ نفسي بالذَّهابِ

So I do not call your glad tidings a death announcement,

though you threaten my soul with departure.

لك البشرى وما بشراك عندي

سوى ترقيع وَهْيك بالخضابِ

Yours is the reward for good news; your reward from me

is only to mend your rents with hair dye.

وأنت وإن فتكت بحبِّ نفسي

وصاحبِ لذتي دون الصِّحابِ

Though you have slain my soul's beloved

and the companion of my pleasure above all companions,

فقد أعتبتني وأمتَّ حقدي

بِحَثِّك خَلْفَه عَجِلاً ركابي

you have appeased me and killed my resentment

by hastening my mounts urgently after him.

إذا ألحَقتني بشقيق عَيْشِي

فقد وَفَّيتني فيه ثوابي

If you reunite me with my life's own brother,

you will have paid me my recompense for him in full.

وحسبي من ثوابي فيه أني

وإيّاهُ نؤوب إلى مآبِ

It is recompense enough for me that I

and he should return to one resting place.

لعمرُك ما الحياةُ لكلّ حيٍّ

إذا ولَّي بأسهُمِها الصُّيابِ

By your life, what is life to any living soul

when youth departs with its sure-striking arrows?

سقى عهدَ الشبيةِ كلُّ غيثٍ

أغرَّ مُجلجلٍ داني الرَّبابِ

May every raincloud water the days of youth,

bright, thunderous, with clouds hanging low:

ليالي لم أقلْ سَقْياً لعهدٍ

ولم أَرغَبْ إلى سُقيا سَحابِ

nights when I never wished rain upon a bygone time,

nor sought a watering from clouds;

ولم أتنفس الصُّعداءَ لَهفاً

على عيشٍ تداعَى بانقضابِ

nor heaved a deep sigh in longing

for a life collapsing into severance.

أطالعُ ما أمامي بابتهاجٍ

ولا أقفو المُولِّي باكتئابِ

I looked at what lay ahead with delight,

and did not follow what departed with dejection.

أَجِدَّ الغانيات قَلَيْنَ وصلي

وتَطْبيني إليهنَّ الطَّوابي

Have the beauties truly come to hate my company,

while the enchantresses still lure me toward them?

صددن بأعيُنٍ عني نَوابٍ

ولسن عن المَقاتل بالنوابي

They turn from me with eyes that glance aside,

yet never glance aside from the vital spots.

ولم يصدُدنَ من خَفَرٍ ودَلٍّ

ولكن من بِعادٍ واجتنابِ

They have not turned away from modesty or coyness,

but from estrangement and avoidance.

وقلنَ كفاكَ بالشيبِ امتهاناً

وبالصَّرمِ المُعَجَّلِ من عِقابِ

They said: Gray hair is humiliation enough for you,

and swift severance punishment enough.

وما أنصفنَ إذ يَصرِمْنَ حَبلي

بذنبٍ ليس مني باكتسابِ

They are unjust when they cut my bond

for a fault I did not acquire myself.

وكُنَّ إذا اعتدَدْنَ الشيبَ ذنباً

على رجلٍ فليس بمُستتابِ

When they count gray hair a sin

against a man, he is allowed no repentance.

ومَا لَكَ عند من يعتدُّ ظلماً

عليك بذنب غيرِك من مَتابِ

What chance of repentance have you with someone who unjustly

charges you with another's fault?

يذكِّرني الشبابَ صَدىً طويلٌ

إلى بَرَدِ الثنايا والرُّضابِ

A long thirst reminds me of youth,

a thirst for cool front teeth and sweet saliva,

وشُحَّ الغانِياتِ عليهِ إلّا

عن ابن شَبيبةٍ جَوْنِ الغُرابِ

and the beauties' stinginess with it, except

toward a son of youth, raven-black.

فإن سقَّينَني صَرَّدْن شُربي

ولم يكُ عن هوىً بل عن خلابِ

If they give me drink, they stint my draught;

it is not from love, but from deception.

يُذكِّرني الشبابَ هوانُ عَتبي

وصدُّ الغانيات لدى عتابي

The slighting of my reproach reminds me of youth,

and the beauties' turning away when I remonstrate.

ولو عَتْبُ الشَّباب ظهيرُ عَتْبي

رَجَعْنَ إليَّ بالعُتبى جوابي

Had youth's reproach supported my reproach,

they would have answered me with reconciliation.

وأصغى المُعرضاتُ إلى عتابٍ

يُحَطُّ به الوُعُول من الهِضابِ

The women who turn away would have listened to a reproach

that brings ibexes down from the hills.

وأَقلقَ مضجعَ الحسناء سُخطي

فأرضَتني على رَغمِ الغِضاب

My displeasure would have disturbed the beauty's bed,

and she would have appeased me despite the angry ones.

وبتُّ وبين شخصينا عَفافٌ

سِخابُ عِناقِها دون السِّخابِ

I would have spent the night with chastity between our bodies,

my embrace her necklace in place of her necklace.

ولو أني أطعتُ هناك جهلي

لكنتُ حِقابها دون الحِقابِ

Had I obeyed my folly there,

I would have been her girdle in place of her girdle.

يُذكّرني الشبابَ سهامُ حَتْفٍ

يُصبنَ مقاتلي دون الإهابِ

Arrows of death remind me of youth,

striking my vital spots beneath the skin.

رمتْ قلبي بهنّ فأقصدتْهُ

طُلوعَ النَّبْلِ من خَلَل النِّقابِ

She shot them into my heart and felled it,

as the arrows emerged through the gaps in her veil.

فراحتْ وهْي في بالٍ رَخيٍّ

ورحتُ بلوعةٍ مثْل الشّهابِ

She went away with an untroubled mind,

and I went away with an anguish like a flame.

وكلُّ مبارزٍ بالشيب قِرْناً

فمَسْبيٌّ لعمرُك غيرُ سابي

Anyone who challenges a rival armed with gray hair

is, by your life, a captive, not a captor.

ولو شهد الشبابُ إذاً لراحتْ

وإن بها وعيشك ضِعْفَ مابي

Had youth been present, she would have left

with twice my suffering in her, by your life.

فيا غَوثاً هناك بقَيْدِ ثأري

إذا ما الثأرُ فات يدَ الطِّلابِ

O for help there in securing my vengeance,

when vengeance escapes the pursuer's hand!

فكم ثأرٍ تلاقتْ لي يداهُ

ولو من بين أطرافِ الحرابِ

How often youth's two hands recovered vengeance for me,

even from among the points of spears!

يُذكرني الشبابَ جِنانُ عَدْن

على جنبات أنهارٍ عذابِ

Gardens of Eden remind me of youth,

along the banks of sweet-water rivers.

تُفَيِّئُ ظلَّها نفحاتُ ريحٍ

تهزُّ متونَ أغصانٍ رِضابِ

Puffs of wind shift their shade,

shaking the lengths of dewy branches.

إذا ماسَتْ ذوائبُها تداعت

بواكي الطير فيها بانتحابِ

When their treetops sway, there call to one another

the weeping birds within them, sobbing.

يُذكِّرني الشبابَ رياضُ حَزْنٍ

ترنَّم بينها زُرقُ الذُّبابِ

Upland meadows remind me of youth,

with blue flies humming among them,

إذا شمسُ الأصائلِ عارضَتها

وقد كَرَبَتْ تَوارَى بالحجابِ

when the late-afternoon sun shines across them,

almost disappearing behind its veil,

وألقتْ جُنحَ مغْربها شُعاعاً

مريضاً مثل ألحاظ الكَعابِ

and casts, at the approach of sunset, a ray

faint as the glances of young maidens.

يذكرني الشبابَ سَراةُ نِهْيٍ

نَميرِ الماءِ مُطَّرِد الحَبابِ

The surface of a pool reminds me of youth,

its water sweet, its ripples running steadily.

قَرَتهُ مُزنةٌ بِكرٌ وأضحَى

تُرقرقُهُ الصِّبا مثلَ السّرابِ

A virgin raincloud fed it, and now

the east wind makes it shimmer like a mirage,

على حَصْباءَ في أرضٍ هجانٍ

كأن تُرابها ذَفِرُ المَلابِ

over pebbles in a fair, pure land,

whose soil seems pungent with saffron perfume.

له حُبُكٌ إذا اطَّردتْ عليه

قرأت بها سُطوراً في كتابِ

It has woven ripples which, when they run across it,

make me read lines in a book.

تُذكّرني الشبابَ صباً بَليلٌ

رسيسُ المَسِّ لاغبةُ الرِّكابِ

A moist east wind reminds me of youth,

faint of touch, with weary mounts.

أتت من بعدِ ما انسحبتْ مَلياً

على زهْر الرُّبى كلَّ انسحابِ

It came after trailing a long while

over the flowers of the hills, trailing fully,

وقد عَبِقَتْ بها ريَّا الخُزامى

كَريّا المِسك ضُوِّعَ بانتهابِ

with the fragrance of lavender clinging to it,

like musk's scent scattered as it is plundered.

يُذكّرني الشبابَ وميضُ برقٍ

وسجعُ حمامةٍ وحنينُ نابِ

A flash of lightning reminds me of youth,

a dove's cooing and an old she-camel's yearning.

فيا أسفَا ويا جزعَا عليه

ويا حَزَنَا إلى يومِ الحسابِ

O my regret, my anguish over it!

O my sorrow until the Day of Reckoning!

أأُفجعُ بالشباب ولا أُعزَّى

لقد غَفَل المُعزِّي عن مُصابي

Am I bereaved of youth and offered no consolation?

The consoler has neglected my calamity.

تَفَرَّقْنَا على كُرهٍ جميعاً

ولم يكُ عن قِلَى طولِ اصطحابِ

We parted, both unwilling,

not from the dislike bred by long companionship.

وكانت أيكتي ليدِ اجتناءٍ

فعادتْ بعدَهُ ليدِ احتطابِ

My grove once offered a hand fruit to gather;

after youth it offered a hand firewood to cut.

أيا بُرْدَ الشباب لكنتَ عندي

من الحَسَنَاتِ والقِسَمِ الرِّغابِ

O cloak of youth, you were to me

among life's blessings and rich allotments.

بَليتَ على الزمان وكلُّ بُردٍ

فبينَ بِلىً وبين يدِ استلابِ

You wore out with time; every cloak

lies between wearing out and a hand that snatches it.

وعزَّ عليَّ أن تبْلى وأبقى

ولكنَّ الحوادثَ لا تُحابي

It grieved me that you should wear out while I remained,

but calamities show no favoritism.

لَبِستك برهةً لُبْسَ ابتذالٍ

على علمي بفضلك في الثيابِ

I wore you a while as everyday clothing,

though I knew your excellence among garments.

ولو مُلِّكْتُ صَوْنَكَ فاعلمَنْهُ

لَصنتُكَ في الحريز من العِيابِ

Had I been given power to preserve you—know this—

I would have kept you in the safest clothing chest,

ولم أَلبَسْك إلّا يوم فخرٍ

ويوم زيارة المَلكِ اللُّبابِ

and worn you only on a day of glory

or a day of visiting the peerless king:

عبيد الله قَرْم بني زُريقٍ

وحسبُك باسمه فَصْلَ الخطابِ

Ubayd Allah, the chief of Banu Zurayq;

his name alone suffices as the decisive word.

فتى صَرُحَتْ خلائقُهُ قديماً

فليست بالسَّمارِ ولا الشهابِ

A man whose qualities have long been pure,

neither thin, watered milk nor diluted milk.

ولم يُخْلَقنَ من أَرْيٍ جميعاً

ولكن هُنَّ من أرْيٍ وصَابِ

They were not all made of honey,

but of honey and bitter sap.

وما مَنْ كان ذا خُلُقَين شتَّى

وكانا ما جدَينِ بذي ائتشابِ

No man possessed of two differing traits,

both noble, is a muddled blend.

له حلمٌ يَذُبُّ الجهلَ عنهُ

كذبِّ النحل عن عَسلِ اللِّصابِ

He has forbearance that wards folly away from him,

as bees defend the honey in rock-clefts.

وما جهلُ الحليمِ لَهُ بجهلٍ

ولكنْ حدُّ أُظفورٍ ونابِ

A forbearing man's fury is no folly in him,

but the sharpness of a claw and fang.

يلينُ مُلايناً لمُلاينيهِ

ويَخشُنُ للمُخاشِنِ ذي الشِّغابِ

He is gentle, dealing gently with those gentle to him,

and harsh toward the contentious man who treats him harshly.

وراء معاطِفٍ منهُ لِدانٍ

إباءُ مكاسرٍ منهُ صِلابِ

Behind his supple bends

lies the resistance of joints hard to break.

كَخُوط الخيزرانِ يُريك ليناً

ويأبى الكسر من عطفيهِ آبِ

Like a bamboo shoot, he shows you suppleness,

yet a resisting strength in his joints refuses to break.

يُنضنِضُ منهُ مَنْ عاداه صِلّاً

من الأصلال مَخْشيَّ الوثابِ

Whoever opposes him rouses a tongue-flicking viper in him,

one of the vipers whose spring is feared.

إذا ما انسابَ كان لَهُ سحيفٌ

يَميرُ الحارشينَ من الضِّبابِ

When it glides, it makes a swishing sound,

supplying lizard-hunters with lizards.

يُميتُ لُعابُهُ من غير نهشٍ

وأدنى نفثِهِ دون اللُّعاب

Its saliva kills without a bite,

as does its slightest breath, short of saliva.

وذلك منه في غير ارتقاءٍ

ظهورَ الموبقَاتِ ولا ارتكابِ

All this comes from him without mounting

the backs of deadly sins or committing them.

إليه يشار أيُّ رئابِ صدعٍ

إذا ما الصدعُ جلَّ عن الرئابِ

He is pointed to: what a mender of rifts,

when a rift has grown beyond repair!

يُضيء شهابُهُ في كلِّ ليلٍ

فتنجابُ الدجى أيَّ انجيابِ

His flame shines in every night,

and darkness is utterly dispersed.

إذا ما الخُرْتُ لم يسلكْهُ خِلْفٌ

تَغَلْغلَ فيه ولّاجُ الثقابِ

When a camel's teat cannot pass through the aperture,

the penetrator of holes makes his way deep inside.

وليس بوالجٍ في الخُرْتِ إلّا

مُمِرُّ الخلقِ سُلِّكَ لانسرابِ

None enters that aperture except

one firmly twisted in form, threaded to slip through.

غدا جبلاً جبالُ الأرضِ طُرّاً

تضاءَلُ تحته مثلُ الظِّرابِ

He has become a mountain beneath which all earth's mountains

dwindle like little hills.

يُلاذُ بمعقل منه حريزٍ

ويُرعى حوله أَثرى جَنابِ

Refuge is sought in his secure stronghold,

and the richest pasture is grazed around him.

ثِمالاً للأَراملِ واليتامى

يثوبُ الناسُ منهُ إلى مَثَابِ

A mainstay for widows and orphans,

he offers people a refuge to which they return.

بساحتِهِ قدورٌ راسياتٌ

تُفارطها جِفانٌ كالجوابِ

In his courtyard stand firmly set cooking pots,

with bowls like reservoirs vying with them.

له نارانِ نارُ قِرىً وحربٍ

ترى كلتيهما ذاتَ الْتهابِ

He has two fires, one of hospitality and one of war;

you see both blazing.

عجبتُ ولستُ أبرحُ مِن نداهُ

طوال الدهرِ في أمرٍ عُجابِ

I marvel, and never cease finding in his bounty,

throughout my life, a wondrous matter.

له عزٌّ يُجيرُ على الليالي

ومالٌ مُستباحٌ كالنهابِ

He has might that grants protection against the nights,

and wealth freely accessible like plunder.

وأعجبُ منه أنَّ الأرض سالتْ

بصوبِ سمائه إلّا شِعابي

More astonishing is that the earth has flowed

with his sky's downpour, except my ravines.

فقولا للأميرِ وإنْ رآني

بمَزْجر ما يُهانُ من الكلابِ

So say, you two, to the emir—even if he sees me

where despised dogs are driven away—

أما لي منْ دُعاءٍ مُستجابٍ

لديك مع الدُّعاءِ المستجابِ

Have I no prayer to be answered

by you among the answered prayers?

أظلَّ سحابُ عُرفِك كل شيءٍ

ودرَّ على البلادِ بلا عصابِ

The cloud of your kindness has shaded everything,

and poured upon the lands without needing a milking-rope,

سوايَ فإنني عنهُ بظهرٍ

كأني خلفَ مُنقطِعِ الترابِ

except me: I am beyond its reach,

as though behind the earth's farthest edge.

يجودُ بسيْبِهِ أبداً لغيري

ويخلُبني ببرقٍ غير خابي

It lavishes its bounty forever on others,

and beguiles me with lightning that never fades.

أما لي منهُ حظٌّ غيرُ برقٍ

تُشبِّهه العيونُ حريقَ غابِ

Have I no share of it except lightning

that eyes liken to a forest fire?

أبيتُ أشيمُهُ وأذودُ نومي

ويُرزَقُ صوبَهُ أقصى مصابِ

I spend the night watching it and driving sleep away,

while the remotest place receives its downpour.

سقيتَ الواردين بلا رشاءٍ

كدجلةَ مدَّها سيلُ الروابي

You watered those who came without their needing a well-rope,

like the Tigris swollen by torrents from the hills.

وأدليتُ الدِّلاءَ فلم تَؤُب لي

بملءٍ من نَداك ولا قُرابِ

I lowered my buckets, but they did not return to me

full of your bounty, nor even nearly full.

هبالي ما لِقَدْحي يُوري

ألم أقدَحْ بزندٍ غير كابِ

My effort is dust—what fire does my striking kindle?

Did I not strike with a fire-stick that does not fail?

لقد أيقنتُ أني لم يُقصِّرْ

تخَيُّرِيَ الزّنادَ ولا انتخابي

I know for certain that neither fell short:

my choosing of fire-sticks nor my selection.

ألم تَسبِقْ جيادي خارجاتٍ

بخرَّاجٍ من الضِّيَقِ الهوابي

Did not my steeds race ahead, coming forth

with one skilled at escaping daunting straits?

فما للتاليات لديك تحظَى

بحظِّ سوابِق الخيلِ العِرابِ

Why, then, do those following win from you

the portion of the foremost thoroughbred horses?

أتحرُمني لأني مستقِلٌّ

وأني لستُ كالرَّزْحى السِّغابِ

Do you deprive me because I am self-sufficient,

and because I am not like the exhausted and hungry?

فما تحمي ذواتُ الدَّرِّ درَّاً

إذا صادفْنَ ملآنَ الوِطابِ

Milk-bearing animals do not withhold their milk

when they encounter someone whose milk-skins are full.

ولا تختصُّ بالحَلَبِ العيامَى

إذا الحُلّاب قاموا بالعِلابِ

Nor do they reserve their milk for the thirsty

when the milkers rise with their bowls.

ولكن لا تزالُ تَدُرُّ عفواً

لكل يدٍ مَرَتْها لاحتلابِ

Rather, they keep yielding freely

to every hand that strokes them for milking.

وما يطوي العمارَةَ كلُّ غيثٍ

إلى الأرض المعطَّلة اليبابِ

No rain simply passes over cultivated land

for abandoned, barren ground;

ولكن لا يزال يجودُ كُلّاً

بجَوْدٍ أو بَوبْلٍ ذي انسكابِ

rather, it keeps watering all of it

with abundant rain or a cascading downpour,

لإحياء التي كانت مَواتاً

وحفِظ العامرات من الخرابِ

to revive what was lifeless

and preserve cultivated lands from ruin.

وإن أكُ من نداهُ على صعودٍ

فإني من نداك على انصبابِ

Though I stand uphill from his bounty,

I stand downhill from yours.

فلا تَضَعَنَّ رِفدَك دون قدري

فليس يفوتُ بسطَتَكَ انتصابي

So do not set your gift below my worth;

my height does not exceed your reach.

وما سيْبُ الأميرِ بسيلِ وادٍ

يقصِّر أن ينَال ذرا الروابي

The emir's bounty is no valley torrent

that falls short of reaching the hilltops.

وظنَّي أنه لو كان سيلاً

لعلَّمه التوقُّلَ في العقابِ

I think that, were it a torrent,

he would teach it to climb the mountain passes.

لقد رجَّيْتُ في عملي رجاء

فلا أصدُر بلا عملٍ مُثابِ

I have placed a hope in my labor;

let me not depart without rewarded work.

ولا يكنِ الذي أمَّلْتُ منهُ

كرقراقِ السراب على الحِدابِ

Let not what I have hoped from him

be like a shimmering mirage upon the ridges,

ولا كرمادٍ اشتدت رياحٌ

به عُرْضَ الصَّحاصح فَهْوَ هابِ

nor like ashes driven by fierce winds

across the open plains, blown away.

كأني أَدَّري بنداك صيداً

يُباعدُهُ دُنُوِّيَ واقترابي

It is as though, in seeking your bounty, I stalked prey

that my approach and nearness drive farther away.

لذاك إذا مررتَ وتلك تَشفي

من الحسَّاد أو صابَ الوِصَابِ

For that, when you pass—and this cures

the enviers' pangs of sickness—

تشير إليَّ بالمحروم أيدٍ

كأيدي الناس في يوم الحصابِ

hands point to me as the deprived one,

like people's hands on the day of pebble-throwing.

تَطاول بي انتظارُ الوعدِ جدَّاً

ورَيبُ الدهرِ يؤذِنُ بانشعابِ

Waiting for the promise has grown very long for me,

while time's uncertainties warn of parting.

فيا لكِ حسرةً إن أحتقبْها

إلى جَدَثي فيا سوءَ احتقابي

O what a regret, if I carry it

to my grave—what an evil burden to carry!

وكان الوعدُ ما لم تُعطنيه

يدُ الإنجازِ شرَّ حِباءِ حابِ

A promise, until it is handed to me

by fulfillment, is a giver's worst gift.

أعوذ بطيب خِيمِكَ من مِطالٍ

حماني ورد بحرِك ذي العُبابِ

I seek refuge in your good nature from a delay

that has barred me from your surging sea.

وما هذا المطال وليس عهدي

بنفسك من قرائنك الصعابِ

What is this delay, when I have never known

your own soul among your stubborn companions?

يروضُ النفسَ من صَعُبتْ عليه

ولم تكُ في الندى طوعَ الجِنابِ

He must tame his soul to whom it proves stubborn,

and will not move docilely beside him in generosity.

وأنت كما علمت قرينُ نفسٍ

تُطيعك في السماح بلا جِذابِ

But you, as I know, are companion to a soul

that obeys you in generosity without a tug.

فمن أيِّ الثنايا ليتَ شعري

أتاني المطلُ أم أيِّ النِقَابِ

From which mountain passes, I wonder,

has delay come to me, or from which defiles?

أفكِّر في نِصابٍ أنت منهُ

فيُغْلَقُ دون عذرِك كلُّ بابِ

I think of the stock from which you spring,

and every door to an excuse for you is shut.

وكم في الناس من رجلٍ لئيمٍ

يقوم بُعذرهِ لؤْمُ النِّصابِ

How many a base man among people

has the baseness of his stock standing as his excuse!

ألستَ المرءَ لا عزمٌ كَهامٌ

ولا بخلٌ إليهِ بذي انتسابِ

Are you not the man to whom neither dull resolve

nor miserliness can claim kinship?

تجودُ بنانُهُ والغيثُ مُكْدٍ

ويمضي عزمُهُ والسيف نابِ

His fingers give when rain fails,

and his resolve cuts through when the sword is blunted.

أَلستَ المرءَ يَجْبِي كلَّ حمدٍ

إذا ما لم يكنْ للحمدِ جابِ

Are you not the man who gathers every praise

when praise has no other gatherer?

تُوائلُ من لسان الذّمِّ رَكْضاً

وتَثْبُتُ للمهنَّدةِ العِضابِ

You flee at a run from the tongue of blame,

yet stand firm before sharp Indian blades.

تُظاهِرُ دونَ عرضِكَ كلَّ درعٍ

تُظَاهرُ للطِّعانِ وللضرابِ

You layer every coat of mail before your honor,

as armor is layered for thrusts and blows.

نَعُدُّ مَعايباً للغيثِ شتَّى

وما في جودِ كفّك من مَعابِ

We count many faults in rain,

but there is no fault in your hand's generosity.

وجدنا الغيثَ يهدِمُ ما بنينا

سوى الخِيَمِ المُبدَّى والقِبابِ

We have found rain demolishing what we build,

except tents pitched in the open and domed pavilions.

ويمنعنا الحَرَاكَ أشدَّ منعٍ

وإلا سامنا حَطْمَ الرقابِ

It utterly prevents us from moving;

otherwise, it subjects us to broken necks.

ويحتجبُ الضياءُ إذا سقانا

وما ضوءٌ بجودك ذو احتجابِ

Light is concealed when it waters us,

but no light is concealed by your generosity.

وفضلُ جَداك بعدُ على جداهُ

مُبينٌ لا يُقابَلُ بارتيابِ

Moreover, the superiority of your bounty to its bounty

is plain, admitting no doubt.

تَجُودُ يداك بالذهبِ المُصفَّى

إذا ما الغيثُ عَلَّل بالذِّهابِ

Your hands give refined gold

when rain offers only a scant sprinkling.

وجودك لا يُغِبُّ الناس يوماً

وجودُ الغيث تاراتُ اعتقابِ

Your generosity misses people not a single day,

while rain's generosity comes in alternating spells.

وتتفقان في خلقٍ كريمٍ

فَتَشْتَرِكَانِهِ شِرْكَ الطِّيابِ

You and rain agree in one noble trait,

sharing it as good companions share.

تجودان الأنام بلا امتنانٍ

بما تُستمطَران ولا احتسابِ

Both give to humankind without reminding them of favors,

what is requested of you, without reckoning the cost.

فعِشْ في غبطةٍ ونعيم بالٍ

ومُلْكٍ لا يَخَافُ يدَ اغتصابِ

So live in felicity and peace of mind,

and in a dominion fearing no usurping hand.

وآخِرُ خُطْبةٍ لي فيك قولي

وليس عتابُ مثلك بالغِلابِ

My final address concerning you is this:

one like you is not reproached by coercion.

بمهما شئْتَ دونك فامتحنِّي

فإنك غايتي والصَّبْرُ دابي

Put me to whatever test you please;

you are my goal, and patience is my habit.

وليس لأنني سُدَّتْ سبيلي

ولا عَجَزَ اصطرافي واضطرابي

Not because my path has been blocked,

nor because my seeking and striving have failed,

ولكني وما بي مدحُ نفسي

أرى عاب التكذُّب شرَّ عابِ

but because—without intending self-praise—

I consider falsehood the worst of faults.

وإن جاوزتُ مدحَك لم يزل بي

تكذُّبيَ المدائحَ واجتلابي

If I went beyond praising you, I would remain occupied

with falsifying praises and contriving them.

متى أَجدُ المدائح ليت شعري

تُواتى في سواك بلا كِذابِ

When, I wonder, shall I find praises

coming readily for another without lies?

وبعدُ فإنَّني في مُشْمَخِرٍّ

عصائبُ رأسِه قِطَعُ الضَّبَابِ

Besides, I stand upon a lofty height

whose summit's headbands are pieces of mist.

أحلَّتْنِيهِ آباءٌ كرامٌ

بتيجانِ الملوكِ ذوو اعتصابِ

Noble forefathers established me there,

their brows bound with the crowns of kings.

فكيف تنالني كفٌّ بِنَيْلٍ

وليس تنالني كفُّ العُقابِ

How can a hand reach me with a gift,

when even an eagle's talon cannot reach me?

أَكُفُّ الناسِ غيرَك تحت كفِّي

وقابُ الناس غيرك دون قابي

All people's hands but yours lie beneath my hand,

and all people's reach but yours falls below mine.

تعالتْ هضبتي عن كلِّ سيلٍ

وفاتتْ نبعتي نَضْخَ الذِّنابِ

My hill has risen above every torrent,

and my bow-wood tree beyond the spray of lesser streams.

فليس ينالني إلا مُنِيلٌ

يُطلُّ عليَّ إطلال السحابِ

None can reach me except a giver

who overlooks me as clouds do.

وما كانت أصول النَّبعِ تُسْقَى

معاذ اللَّه من قَلَص الجِبَابِ

The roots of bow-wood trees were never watered—

God forbid—from the scant seepage of wells.

فذلك عاقني عن شَدِّ رحلي

وعن عَسْفي المهامِهَ واجتيابي

That has kept me from tightening my saddle

and from traversing and crossing the trackless deserts.

ولولاهُ لما حنَّتْ قِلاصي

إلى وطن لهنَّ ولا سِقَابِ

But for that, my young she-camels would not have yearned

for a homeland of theirs, nor for their male calves.

ولا أرعتْ على عَطَنٍ قديمٍ

ولا حفِلتْ بِنَأيٍ واغترابِ

They would not have lingered at an old watering-place,

nor cared about distance and exile.

ولا ألفتْ مُقَلْقِلَهَا بخيلاً

بحسراها على غَرْثَى الذئابِ

Nor would they have found their driver stingy

with their worn-out ones toward hungry wolves.

ولا بَرَحَتْ تَقَدُّ الليلَ قدَّاً

بأعناقٍ كعيدانِ الخصابِ

They would have kept slicing through the night,

with necks like the stems of date-palms.

فما سَرَتِ النجومُ سُرَايَ فيهِ

ولا انسابتْ أفاعيهِ انسيابي

The stars would not have traveled through it as I traveled,

nor its vipers glided as I glided.

إذاً ولراعَت الصيرانَ عَنْسي

بحيث تُشَقُّ عنهن السوابي

Then my sturdy she-camel would have startled the wild cattle

where their birth-membranes are torn from them.

وعامت في دَهاسِ الرَّملِ عوماً

وإن عرضتْ عَوَانِكُها الحوابي

She would have swum through the soft sand,

even when its heaped, massive dunes barred the way.

ولو أني قطعتُ الأرض طولاً

لكان إليك من بعدُ انقلابي

Yet had I crossed the earth lengthwise,

my return afterward would have been to you.

إذا كنتَ المآبَ ولا مآبٌ

سواك فأين عنك بذي الإيابِ

Since you are the destination, and there is no destination

but you, where could one returning go away from you?

سأصبرُ موقناً بوفور حظي

وأجر الصابرين بلا حسابِ

I shall be patient, certain of my ample portion

and the patient ones' reward without reckoning.

ومهما تَبَّ من عملٍ وقولٍ

فما عملُ ابنِ مدحِك للتَّبابِ

Whatever deeds and words may perish,

the labor of your praise's own son is not for ruin.