أبى سيد السادات إلا تظرفا — أبو الحسن الجرجاني

أبى سيِّدُ السادات إلا تظرُّفاً

وإلا وصالاً دائماً وتَعَطُّفا

The lord of lords would have nothing but refinement,

And nothing but enduring union and tender kindness.

وساعدني فيه الزمانُ فَخِلتُه

تَحَرَّجَ من ظُلمي فتاب وأسعَفا

Time favored me in this, so I imagined it

Had recoiled from wronging me, repented, and come to my aid.

وأهيفَ لو للغُصنِ بعضُ قَوَامِهِ

تَقَصَّفَ عارٌ أن أُسَمِّيَه أَهيفَا

And a slender-waisted one—if a branch had some of his form,

It would splinter; calling him slender-waisted is a shame.

تحيَّنَ غفلاتِ الوشاةِ فَزَارنا

يُعرِّجُ عن قَصدِ الطريقِ تُخوُّفا

He waited for the slanderers' lapses of attention, then visited us,

Turning aside from the straight road in fear.

فما باشَرَت نَعلاهُ موضِعَ خُطوَةٍ

من الأرضِ إلا أورثاهُ تَصَلُّفا

His two sandals touched no place where he stepped

Upon the earth without bestowing pride on it.

وتلحظُ خَدَّيهِ العيونُ فَتَنثَنِي

تساقطُ فَوقَ الأرضِ وَرداً مُقَطَّفا

And eyes behold his cheeks, then turn away,

Scattering plucked roses upon the ground.

فقلت أَحُلم أم خَوَاطرُ صَبوةٍ

تُصوِّرُهُ أم أَنشَرَ الله يُوسُفا

I said: Is this a dream, or fancies of infatuation

That picture him—or has God raised Joseph from the dead?

وفيم تَجلَّى البدرُ والشمسُ لم تَغِب

أحاولُ منها أن تحولُ وتَكسفا

And why has the full moon appeared while the sun has not set?

I try to make it withdraw and be eclipsed.

أَمَا خَشِيَت عيناك عيناً تُصِيبُها

وغُصنُكَ ذا إذ مَالَ أن يَتَقَصَّفَا

Did your eyes not fear an evil eye striking them,

And this bough of yours not fear splintering when it bent?

ولم يُحذِر الواشين من لحظاتِهِ

تَقَلُّب سَيفٍ بين جَفنَيِه مُرهَفاً

Nor were the slanderers warned against his glances

By the flashing of a keen sword between his eyelids.

فقال اشتياقاً جئتُكُم وصَبَابَةً

إليكم وإكراماً لكم وَتَشوُّفاً

He said, “I came to you out of longing and ardent love

For you, to honor you, and eager to see you.

وليس الفتى مَن كان يُنصف حاضراً

أخاه ولكن من إذا غاب أنصف

And a noble man is not one who, when present, treats fairly

His brother, but one who is fair when absent.”

ومَرَّ فلم أعلمَ لفَرطِ تحيري

أطيرُ سروراً أم أموتُ تأسُّفاً

He departed, and in my utter bewilderment I did not know

Whether to soar with joy or die of sorrow.

فيا زَورَةً لم تَشفِ قَلباً مُتَيَّماً

وِلكنَّها زادت غرامي فأضعَفَا

So, O visit that did not heal a heart enslaved by love,

But increased my passion, so it redoubled!

فلما تَمثَّلنا الهديَّة خِلتُه

تمثَّلَ فيها بَهجَةً وتَظَرُّفا

When we contemplated the gift, I thought he

Had taken shape in it as delight and refinement.

ولما مَدَدنا نحوهُنَّ الهديَّة خِلتُه

يراها الضَّنى في حُبِّه فَتحيَّفَا

And when we extended the gift toward them, I thought he

Saw in it the wasting of love for him, and pared it down

إلى باقلاء خِيف أن لا تقله

يَدَايَ لما بي من هواه فَنَصَّفَا

To broad beans, which it was feared could not be carried

By my hands, so stricken with love for him; so he halved them.

حَمَلنا بأطرافِ البنانِ ولم نَكَد

بنانا زَهاها الُحسنُ أن تتطرفا

We carried on our fingertips—and scarcely could—

Fingers whose beauty made them too proud to dye their tips.

وسوداً تَرَوَّت بالدِّهان وبُدِّلَت

بتَورِيدهِا لَوناً من النار أَكلَفَا

And black ones, soaked in oils and given

Through reddening a dusky hue from the fire.

كأفواه زَنجٍ تُبصرُ الجِلدَ أَسوَدا

وتُبصِرُ إن قَرَّت لُجَينَاً مُؤَلفَا

Like Zanj mouths: you see the skin black,

And, when they cool, see silver fitted together.

كخلق حبيب خاف إكثارَ حاسدٍ

فأظهرَ صَرماً وهو يعتقدُ الوَفَا

Like a beloved's manner: he feared an envier's chatter,

So he showed estrangement, while keeping faith at heart.

وَمُنتَزع من وَكرِ أم شفيقةٍ

يَعزُّ عليها أن يُصَاد فيَعسفا

And one snatched from the nest of a tender mother,

To whom his capture and mistreatment would be grievous.

يغذَّى غذاء الطفل طال سَقَامُهُ

فَحَنَّ عليه والداه ورَفرفا

He is fed like a child whose sickness lingered long,

So his parents took pity on him and fluttered over him.

فلما بَدَت أطرافُ ريشٍ كأنه

مبادِي نباتٍ غبَّ قَطرٍ تَشَرَّفا

Then, when feather-tips appeared, as though they were

The first shoots of plants rising after rain,

تكلَّفه من يرتجى عظم نَفِعِه

فكان به أحفَى وأحنَى وأرأفا

One whose great beneficence was hoped for undertook his care,

And tended him more closely, more tenderly, more compassionately.

يزق بما يَهوَى ويعلف ما اشتهى

ويمنع بَعدَ الشَّبعِ أن يَتَصَرَّفا

He is fed by mouth with what he loves, and given what he craves,

And kept from moving about after he is full.

فلما تراءتهُ العيونُ تَعَجُّبا

وقيل تَنَاهى بل تعدَّى وأَسرفا

Then, when eyes beheld him in wonder,

And it was said, “He has reached the limit—nay, surpassed it and gone to excess!”

أراق دَماً قد كان قبلُ يَصُونُه

كدمعةِ مُضنَى القلب رَوَّعَهُ الجَفَا

He shed blood he had formerly guarded,

Like the tear of a heartsick one whom estrangement had frightened.

تضرب حتى خِلتُ أنَّ جناحه

فُؤادي حِيناً ثم عُوجِلَ وانطفا

He thrashed until I thought his wing

Was my heart awhile; then he was swiftly dispatched, and his light went out.

فَجئ به مِثلَ الأسيرِ تَمَكَّنَت

أَعَادِيهِ منه بعد حَرب فَكُتِّفا

Then he was brought like a captive over whom

His enemies had gained mastery after battle, and so he was bound.

له أَخَوَاتٌ مِثلُه ألفت ثنى

على مثل ما كَانَا زماناً تألَّفا

He had sisters like him, brought together in pairs,

Just as the two had once been joined together.

وقال لي الفألُ الُمصيبُ مُبَشِّراً

كذا أبداً ما عِشتُما فَتَألَّفَا

And the true omen said to me with glad tidings:

“Thus forever, as long as you both live—be united!”

فيالك من أكل على ذكر مَن بهِ

تَطيبُ لنا الدنيا تَعطَّفَ أم جَفَا

Oh, what a meal, in remembrance of one through whom

The world becomes sweet to us, whether he is kind or cold!

ولم أرَ قبل اليوم تُحفَةَ متحف

أَسَرَّ وأبهَى بل أَجَلَّ وأشرَفَا

Never before today have I seen a giver's gift

More delightful and splendid—nay, grander and nobler.

علمنا به كيف التظَرُّفُ بعدَه

ومن عاشَرَ الُحرَّ الظريفَ تَظَرُّفا

Through it we learned how to show refinement thereafter;

And whoever keeps company with a noble, refined man becomes refined.