في كل منقلب غيظ أساء به — Al Ahnaf Alakbari

في كلّ منقلب غيظ أساء به

وكلّ منقلب لي فيه ما يتر

At every turn, anger afflicts me;

and every turn holds something that hurts me.

وكل يوم أرى في صرفه عبرا

تدقّ في جنبها الآيات والعبر

And each day I see lessons in its vicissitudes,

beside which signs and lessons seem slight.

تراع بالخطب وقتا ثم يتبعه

خطب يهون الذي ولى ويحتقر

You are alarmed by a calamity for a time, then it is followed

by another that makes the one now past seem slight and contemptible.

تبارك الله باد العلم والأثر

أم غيّرت صالحات الخلقة الغير

Blessed be God! Knowledge and tradition have perished—

or have reversals changed what was good in creation?

بقدر ما كانت الآداب نافقة

وتشتهي صارت الآداب تحتضر

As greatly as culture was once prized

and sought after, culture now lies dying.

والحلم والعلم والأخبار ضائعة

والخير محتقر والشر مشتهر

And forbearance, knowledge, and histories lie neglected,

and goodness is despised, while evil is renowned.

أشقى الورى في زمان السوء من سلفت

أيّامه بين قوم كلهم غرر

The most wretched of mankind in an evil age is he whose earlier

days were spent among people all illustrious,

وخلفته الليالي بعد فقدهم

على أناس زمان كلهم بقر

and whom the nights have left, after he lost them,

among people of an age who are all cattle.

لقد دفعت إلى قوم إذا انتسبوا

فلا ربيعة تؤويهم ولا مضر

I have been thrust among people who, when they trace their lineage,

are sheltered by neither Rabi'a nor Mudar.

ما يطمع الضيف في أزوادهم بخلا

على الخصاصة ولا موسى ولا الخضر

A guest cannot hope for their provisions, such is their stinginess,

despite his need—not even Moses or al-Khidr.

عند الشرور مرابيح فإن حضروا

سوق المكارم في أوطانها خسروا

They profit greatly in evil; but if they enter

the market of noble deeds in their own lands, they lose.

فمن رأى ما رأت عيناي من نفر

كانوا هم الراس فيه السمع والبصر

So whoever has seen, as my eyes have, a company of men

who were the very head, with hearing and sight within it,

ثم اغتدى بين هذا النشء أتبعهُ

جهّالهم وتأوى قلبه الحذر

then came among this rising generation, pursued

by its ignoramuses, with caution taking refuge in his heart—

ذاك الغريب يقينا ليس من نزحت

دارٌ به وسعى في همّه القدر

that is surely the stranger—not one driven far away

by his dwelling, with fate laboring to bring him grief.

بقاني الله حتّى صرت في نفر

من سوقة ما لحرّ فيهم وطرُ

God has kept me alive until I have come among a company

of commoners, among whom a noble man finds no fulfillment.

عن المعالي إذا ما استنهضوا غيبٌ

وإن دناة بدت أو غيبة حضروا

When summoned to noble pursuits, they are absent,

but if baseness or backbiting appears, they are present.

أيد طوال إلى المكروه ما قدروا

وفي ابتناء المعالي شانها القصر

Their hands reach far toward wrongdoing whenever they can,

but in building noble heights, shortness mars them.

أشدّهم رغبة في ودّ صاحبه

عند الرخاء وفي اللأواء لا ورر

The most eager among them for his companion's affection

in prosperity is no refuge in adversity.

كالقوس في الحرب لا يرجى الغناء بها

ولا القتال إذا ما خانها الوتر

Like a bow in war: no help can be hoped from it,

nor combat, when its string betrays it.

أو نخلة السوء يأوي البوم مذ يفعت

في رأسها وهي لا شيص ولا كثر

Or a worthless palm: since it grew tall, owls have sheltered

in its crown, though it has neither shriveled dates nor palm pith.

وصاحب السوء لا ترجى منافعه

كصفحة الذئب لا صوف ولا شعر

And no benefit can be hoped from a bad companion,

like a wolf's flank: neither wool nor hair.

قد تطلع الشمس والأقذاء تحجبها

أو الضباب ويحمي ورده النهر

The sun may rise while motes conceal it,

or fog; and the river may bar access to its waters.

وينزل الغيث في أرض مسبّخة

وينثني وهي لا نبت ولا شحر

And rain descends on salt-ridden ground,

then turns away, leaving neither plants nor trees.

إني سمعت بقوم أوطنوا هجرا

والدومتين وطابت عندهم هجر

I have heard of people who settled in Hajar

and al-Dumatayn, and found Hajar pleasant.

باعوا المنازل والأوطان وانتقلوا

سوء الجوار جلاهم بعد ما صبروا

They sold their dwellings and homelands and moved away;

bad neighborliness drove them out after they had endured.

تقدّس الله فالأرزاق قد قسمت

ما حمّ آت وما لم يقضه عسر

Holy is God: livelihoods have already been apportioned;

what is decreed will come; what He has not ordained is hard to obtain.

حظّ الأديب اللبيب الماء والكسر

وحظّ ذي الجهل فيه المال والبدر

The cultured, intelligent man's share is water and crusts,

and the ignorant man's share in it is wealth and moneybags.

وكم أديب غبيّ في تقلّبه

وكم غبيّ فقير ماله كسر

And many a cultivated man is inept in his dealings,

and many a poor fool has crusts for his wealth.

إن المبخّل يستغني ويحتكر

والحرّ ما عاش يستغني ويفتقر

The man deemed miserly grows rich and hoards,

while the noble man, throughout his life, grows rich and poor.

من العلامة في الأشرار أنهمُ

في كل ما كثرت أموالهم كفروا

One mark of the wicked is that

whenever their wealth increases, they show ingratitude.

وفي الكرام علامات إذا منعوا

عاذروا بصبر وإن أعطوا الغنى شكروا

And the noble have their marks: when they are denied,

they patiently make allowances; when given wealth, they give thanks.

لقد دفعت إلى أمر تحمّله

هدم الحياة وفي أشيائه أشر

I have been thrust into a plight whose endurance

destroys life, and whose affairs are full of insolence.

أجري على الطبع في تأديب جاهلهم

ورده عن قبيح مثله غرر

I follow my nature in disciplining their ignoramus;

and turning one like him from wrongdoing is perilous.

وينثني مغضبا نحوي يقاتلني

وأنثني من وراء الحق أعتذر

And he turns angrily toward me, fighting me,

while I draw back from behind the truth, apologizing.