وما الشعر إلا ما استفز ممدحا — أبو الحسن الجرجاني

وما الشِّعْرُ إلَّا ما استَفَزَّ مُـمَدَّحًا

وأطربَ مُشتاقًا وأرضَى مُغاضِبا

And poetry is only what stirs the man it praises,

and delights one who yearns and appeases one who is angry.

أطاعَ فلم توجَدْ قَوافيهِ نُفَّرًا

ولمْ تأتِهِ الألفاظُ حَسْرَى لواغِبا

It yields, so its rhymes are never found skittish,

nor do words come to it exhausted and weary.

وفي الناس أتبَاعُ القَوَافِي تراهُمُ

يبثُّونَ في آثارهنَّ المقانِبا

And among people are pursuers of rhymes—you see them

sending cavalry bands along their tracks.

إذا لحَظوا حَرْفَ الرَّوِيِّ تبادَروا

وقد تركوا المعنَى مع اللَّفْظِ جانِبا

When they glimpse the rhyme-letter, they rush ahead,

having left meaning and wording aside.

وإن مُنِعُوا حُرَّ الكَلامِ تَطَرَّقوا

حَواشيهِ فاجْتاحوا الضَّعيفَ المقاربا

And if denied noble speech, they make their way to

its fringes, plundering weak, mediocre speech.

ولكنني أرمي بكلِّ بديعةٍ

يَبِتْنَ بألبابِ الرِّجالِ لَواعِبا

But I let fly with every wondrous verse;

they spend the night toying with men's minds.

تَسيرُ ولمْ تَرْحَلْ وتدنو وقد نأتْ

وتَكْسِبُ حُفَّاظَ الرِّجالِ المراتِبا

They journey without departing, and draw near though far away,

and win rank for the men who memorize them.

ترَى النَّاسَ إمَّا مُسْتَهامًا بذِكْرِها

ولوعًا وإمَّا مُسْتَعيرًا وغاصِبا

You see people either lovestruck at their mention,

ardently devoted—or else borrowing and stealing them.

أذودُ لَئام الناسِ عنها وأتقي

على حَسَبي إن لم أصُنهَا الَمعَايبا

I drive the base among men away from them, and fear

disgrace upon my honor if I fail to protect them.

وأعضُلُها حتى إذا جاء كُفؤُها

سمحتُ بها مستشرفات كواعبا

And I withhold them from marriage until their worthy match comes;

then I freely bestow them—expectantly poised maidens with budding breasts.

وأيُّ غيورٍ لا يجيبُ وقد رأى

مكارمَك اللاتي أتَينَ خواطِبا

And what jealous guardian would not consent, having seen

your noble qualities, which have come courting?