حي بلبيس منزلا في العماره — Al Busayri

حَيَّ بُلْبَيْسَ مَنْزِلاً في العِمَارَهْ

وَتَوَجَّهْ تِلْقَاءَ بِئْرِ عُمَارَهْ

Greet Bilbays, a dwelling amid settled lands.

And turn toward Umarah's Well.

فالبَتيَّاتِ فالحِرازِ فَتُبتي

ت َفشُبْرا البَيُّومِ فالخَمَّارَهْ

Then al-Batiyyat, al-Hiraz, and Tubtit;

then Shubra al-Bayyum, then al-Khammarah.

وإذا جِئْتَ حَاجِزاً بَيْنَ بَلبَي

سَ وَقليوبَ مِنْ خَرابِ فَزارَه

And if you reach a barrier between Bilbays

and Qalyub, amid the ruins of Fazarah,

فارجِعِ السَّيْرِ بَيْنَ بَنْهَا وَأَت

ريبَ وكلٌّ لِشَاطِئ الْبَحْرِ جَارَه

retrace your route between Banha and Athrib;

both are neighbors to the riverbank.

وَإذَا ما خَطَرْتَ مِنْ جَانِبِ الرم

لِ بِفاقُوسَ فاقْصِدِ الخَطَّارَهْ

And if you pass along the sandy side

at Faqus, make for al-Khattarah,

وَشَمَنْدِيلَ وهْيَ مَنْزِلَةُ الجي

شِ وَسَعْدَانَةٍ مَحَلِّ غِرَارَهْ

and Shamandil, the army's encampment,

and Sa'danah, the abode of Ghirarah.

خَلِّنِي مِنْ هَوَى البَداوةِ إني

لَسْتُ أَهْوَى إِلَّا جَمالَ الحَضارَهْ

Spare me love of nomad life, for I

love only the beauty of settled life.

واقْرِ تِلْكَ القُرَى السلامَ فَإِن أَع

يَتْكَ منها عبارَةٌ فإشارَهْ

Convey greetings to those villages; if words

fail you in doing so, then a gesture.

إنَّ قَلْبِي أَضْحَى إلى ساكِنِيهَا

باشتِياقٍ وَمُهْجَتِي مُسْتَطارَهْ

My heart has turned toward their inhabitants

in longing, and my soul has taken flight.

أَذْكَرَتْنا عَيْشاً قديماً نَزَعْنَا

هُ لِبَاساً كَالحُلَّةِ المُسْتَعَارَهْ

They recalled for us an old life we stripped

off like a garment, like a borrowed robe,

وزماناً في الحُسنِ وجْهَ عَلِيٍّ

ذا بَهاءٍ وبَهْجَةٍ وَنَضَارَهْ

and a time as beautiful as Ali's face,

full of splendor, delight, and freshness.

صاحبٌ لا يزالُ بالجُودِ والإف

ضالِ طَلْقَ الْيَدَيْنِ حُلْوَ العِبارَهْ

A patron, ever generous and beneficent,

open-handed and sweet in speech.

كمْ هَدانا مِنْ فضلِهِ بِكِتابٍ

مُعْجِزٍ مِنْ عُلُومِهِ بِأَثارَهْ

How often, from his bounty, he guided us with a book,

inimitable, with a trace of his learning.

وجهُهُ مُسْفِرٌ لِعَاقِبِهِ ما نح

تَاجُ في الجُودِ عِنْدَهُ لِسفارَهْ

His face shines upon his follower; we have no need

of an intermediary for his generosity.

يَدُهُ رُقْعَةُ الصَّباحِ فما أَغ

رَبَهَا مِنْ سلامَةٍ وَطَهارَهْ

His hand is a page of dawn; how wondrous

it is in soundness and purity!

يَذْكُرُ الوعْدَ في أُمورٍ ولا يَذْ

كُرُ جَدْوَى وَلو بِكلِّ إمارَهْ

He remembers promises in various matters, but not

his benefactions, even with every reminder.

إنما يَذْكُرُ العَطِيَّةَ منْ كا

نتْ عَطاياهُ تارَةً بعدَ تارهْ

Only one remembers a gift whose giving

comes on one occasion, then another.

سَيِّدِي أَنْتَ نُصْرَتِي كلما شَن

نَ عَلَيَّ الزَّمانُ بالفَقْرِ غارَهْ

My master, you are my support whenever

Time raids me with poverty.

شابَ رَأْسِي وما رَأسْتُ كأنِّي

زامِرُ الحَيِّ أَوْ صغيرُ الحارَهْ

My head has gone gray, yet I have not become a chief, as though I were

the neighborhood's piper, or the alley's little boy.

وَابن عِمْرَانَ وَهْوَ شَرُّ مَتاعٍ

لِلْوَرَى في بِطانَةٍ وَظِهَارَهْ

And Ibn Imran, the worst stuff

for mankind, in lining and outer covering:

حَسَّنَ القُرْبُ منكُمْ قُبْحَ ذِكْرَا

هُ كَتَحْسِينِ المِسْكِ ذكْراً لفارَهْ

closeness to you has improved his ugly reputation,

as musk sweetens the name of a mouse.

فَهْوَ في المَدْحِ قَطْرَةٌ مِنْ سَحَابِي

وَهْوَ في الهَجْوِ مِنْ زِنَادِي شَرَارَهْ

In praise, he is a drop from my cloud;

in satire, a spark from my fire-flint.

ما لهُ مِيزَةٌ عَلَيَّ سِوَى أن

نَ لهُ بَغْلَةً وما لِي حِمَارَهْ

He has no advantage over me, except that

he owns a mule, while I have no she-ass.

وَعِياظٌ تدْوَى الدَّوَاوينُ منه

لا بمعنىً كأنُّهُ طِنْجِهارَهْ

And Iyaz makes the bureaus ring,

not with meaning, as though he were a tinjiharah drum.

يَتَجَنَّى بِسوءِ خُلْقٍ عَلَى النا

سِ وَنَفْسٍ ظَلومَةٍ كَفَّارَهْ

He wrongfully accuses people through ill temper

and a cruel, ungrateful soul.

لَمْ تُهَذِّبْهُ كلُّ قاصِرَةِ الطَّر

فِ أَجَادَتْ بأَخْدَعَيْهِ القصارَهْ

No downcast-eyed one has disciplined him,

though each did fine fulling on his neck's two veins.

وَابنُ يَغْمورَ إذْ كساهُ منَ الدر

رَةِ دِرْعاً كأنَّه غَفَّارَهْ

And Ibn Yaghmur, when he clothed him with the whip

in armor that looked like a mantle:

طَبَعَتْ رَأْسُهُ دَماً وَبِسَاطِي

جلْدَةً أَوْ حَسِبتُهُ جُلَّنَارَهْ

it stamped his head with blood, and my carpet

with a scrap of skin—or what I thought a pomegranate blossom.

وسليمانُ كلما قَرَعَ القَرْ

عَةَ طَنَّتْ كَأنَّها نُقَّارَهْ

And Sulayman: whenever he struck the bald pate,

it rang as though it were a drum.

وَقعاتٌ تُنْسي المُؤرِّخَ ما كا

نَ مِنْ سُنْبسٍ وَمِنْ زُنَّارَهْ

Blows that make the chronicler forget the events

of Sunbus and of Zunnarah!

إنْ جَهِلْتُمْ ما حَلَّ في ساحلِ الشي

خِ مِنَ الصّفحِ فاسْألُوا البَحَّارَهْ

If you do not know what befell at Sahil al-Shaykh

in the way of slaps, ask the boatmen.

قَالتِ البَغْلَةُ التي أَوْقَعَتْهُ

أَنا ما لي على الغُبونِ مَرَارَهْ

The mule that threw him said,

"I have no stomach for these wrongs.

إِنَّ هذا شَيْخٌ له بِجَوَارِي

هِ معَ الناس كلَّ يَوْمٍ صِهَارَهْ

This is an old man who, through his slave-girls,

gains marriage-connections with people every day."

قَلْتُ لا تَفْتَرِي عَلَى الشاعرِ الفِق

قِيهِ قالتْ سَلِ الفَقِيهَ عُمارَهْ

I said, "Do not slander the poet-jurist."

She said, "Ask the jurist Umarah.

لو أتاهُ في عرْسِهِ شَطْرُ فَلْسٍ

لرأَى البَيْعَ رَجْلَة وشطَارَهْ

If he were offered half a fils for his wife,

he would think the sale manliness and cleverness."

قلتُ هذَا شادُّ الدَّوَاوِينِ قالتْ

ما أَوَلّي هذا عَلَى الخَرَّارَهْ

I said, "He supervises the bureaus." She said,

"I would not put him in charge of the privy."

قلتُ ذِي غَيْرَةُ الأُبَيْرَةِ أَلَّا

تَشْتَهِي أَنْ تُفَارِقَ الأَبَّارَهْ

I said, "This is the little needle's jealousy, not

wanting to part from the needle-maker."

قالتَ اَقْوَى وكيفَ أُغيرُ مِنِّي

عِنْدَ شيخٍ كَلٍّ بِغَيْرِ زِبَارَهْ

She said, "He is spent! How could I be jealous for myself

over a helpless old man without a penis?"

قلتُ ما تَكْرَهِينَ منه فقالت

أَيُّ بُخْلٍ فيه وأَيّ قَتَارَهْ

I said, "What do you dislike about him?" She replied,

"What miserliness he has! What stinginess!

أنا في البيْتِ أَشْتَهِي كَفَّ تِبْنٍ

وَمِنَ الفُرْطِ أَشْتَهِي نُوَّارَهْ

At home I long for a handful of straw;

among the loose fodder, I long for a blossom.

وعَلِيقِي عليه أَرْخَصُ مِنْ ما

لِ المَوارِيثِ في شِرَا ابنِ جُبَارَهْ

My fodder is cheaper for him than the property

of inheritances in Ibn Jubarah's purchase.

سَرَق النِّصْفَ واشتَرى النِّصْف بالنِّص

فِ وَأَفْتَى بأَنَّ هذا تِجارَهْ

He stole half and bought half for half,

and ruled that this was commerce.

لا تَلوموا إذا وَقَعْتُ مِنَ الجَو

عِ فإنّي مِنَ الْخَوَى خَوَّارَهْ

Do not blame me if I fall from hunger,

for I am weak from an empty belly.

ما كفَاهُ مِنَ الطَّوافِ بِبُلْبَي

سَ إِلى أَنْ يَطُوفَ بي السَّيَّارَهْ

His roaming through Bilbays did not suffice

until he took me round among the travelers.

آهِ مِنْ ضَيْعَتِي وما ذاكَ إِلَّا

أَنَّ ما لِي عَلَى الغُبُونِ مَرَارَه

Alas for my neglect! All this is only

because I have no stomach for these wrongs.

أُكْمِلَتْ خِلْقَتي وَشَيبي وما لي

في حُجُورٍ اُخْتٌ وَلا فِي مِهَارَهْ

My form is fully grown, and so is my gray hair, yet I have

no sister among mares or among foals.

أَيُّ شِبْرِيَّةٍ أَلَذُّ وِطاءً

مِنْ رُكُوبي وأَيُّما شَبَّارَهْ

What shibriyyah boat has a softer berth

than riding me—and what shabbarah boat?

عَيَّرَتْنِي بها بِغالُ الطواحي

نِ وقالتْ تَمَّتْ عليكِ العِيَارَهْ

The mill-mules taunted me for it

and said, 'Your disgrace is complete.'

دُرْتُ حتى وَقَعْتُ عِنْدَ المنَاحِي

سِ فيا لَيْتَ أنني دَوَّارَهْ

I went round until I fell among the ill-starred;

would that I were a mill-turner!"

وَلقدْ أَنْذَرْتُهُ فَرَأَيْتُهُ

جَاهِلِيَّاً لم تُغْنِ فيهِ النّذارَهْ

I warned him, yet found him

a man of ignorance, untouched by the warning.

وَقَوَافِيَّ ليسَ فيها صِقالٌ

مِنْ نَدىً لا وليس فيها زَفَارَهْ

My rhymes bear no burnishing

from largesse—no—and no greasy smell.

كلُّ عَذْرَاءَ ما تُرَدُّ مِنَ الكف

ءِ بِعَيْبِ وَلا زَوالِ بَكارَهْ

Each is a virgin, never rejected by a fitting mate

for a blemish or lost virginity.

سِرْنَ مِنْ حُسْنِهِنَّ في الشَّرْقِ والغَرْ

بِ فَكُنَّ الكَواكِبَ السَّيَّارَهْ

Their beauty carried them through East and West,

so they became the wandering stars.

لَنْ يَصِيدَهُنَّ النَّوال مَنْ بَحْرِ فِكْرِي

أَوَ يُصْطَادُ الدُّرَّ بالسِّنَّارَهْ

Largesse will not catch them from the sea of my thought;

can pearls be caught with a fishhook?

غَيْرَ أَنِّي أَعْدَدْتُهَا لِخَطَايَا

وَذُنُوبٍ أَسْلَفتهَا كَفَّارَهْ

But I have prepared them for my misdeeds

and past sins, as an expiation.

أَوَ لَمْ تَدْرِ أَنَّ مَدْحَ عَلِيٍّ

مِثْلُ حَجٍّ وَعُمْرَةٍ وَزِيَارَهْ

Do you not know that praising Ali

is like a hajj, an umrah, and a visitation?

أَيُّهَا الصاحبُ المُؤَمَّلُ أَدْعُو

كَ دُعَاءَ استغاثَةٍ واستجارَهْ

O patron in whom hope is placed, I call

on you with a plea for help and protection.

أَثْقَلَتْ ظَهْرِيَ العِيالُ وَقد كن

تُ زَماناً بهم خَفيفَ الكَارَهْ

My dependents have burdened my back, though I was

once lightly laden with them.

ولوَ اَنِّي وحْدِي لَكُنْتُ مُرِيداً

في رِباطٍ أَو عَابِداً في مَغَارَهْ

If I were alone, I would be a disciple

in a lodge, or a worshipper in a cave.

أحَسَبُ الزُّهْدَ هَيّناً وَهوَ حَرْبٌ

لسْتُ فيه ولا منَ النَّظَّارَهْ

Do I think asceticism easy? It is a war

in which I take no part, not even as a spectator.

لا تَكِلنِي إلى سِواكَ فَأخْيَا

رُ زَماني لا يَمْنَحُونَ خِيَارَهْ

Do not entrust me to anyone else; the finest men

of my age will not give even a cucumber.

وَوُجُوهُ القُصَّادِ فيه حَدِيدٌ

وَقلوبُ الأَجْوادِ فيه حِجَارَهْ

Petitioners' faces in this age are iron,

and generous men's hearts are stones.

فإذَا فازَ كَفُّ حُرٍّ بِبِرٍّ

فَهْوَ إمَّا بِنَقْضَةٍ أَو نِشَارَهْ

If a free man's palm obtains a benefaction,

it is either a scrap or sawdust.

إِنَّ بَيْتِي يقول قد طالَ عَهْدِي

بِدُخُولِ التَلِّيسِ لِي وَالشِّكَارَهْ

My house says, "It has been a long time

since a coarse sack or grain-bag entered me,

وطعامٍ قد كَانَ يَعْهَدُهُ النا

سُ مَتاعاً لهمْ ولِلسيَّارَهْ

or food that people once knew

as sustenance for themselves and for travelers.

فالكوانينُ ما تُعابُ مِنَ البَرْ

دِ بَطَبَّاخَةٍ وَلا شَكَّارَهْ

The braziers are not reproached for their cold

by a cook or anyone with thanks to give.

لا بِساطٌ ولا حَصِيرٌ بِدِهْلِي

زي وَلا مَجْلِسي ولا طَيَّارَهْ

No carpet or mat in my vestibule,

nor in my sitting-room, nor in a rooftop chamber."

ليس ذا حالُ مَنْ يُرِيدُ حيَاةً

لِعيالٍ ولا لِبَيْتٍ عِمَارَهْ

This is no state for one seeking a livelihood

for dependents or upkeep for a house.

قلتُ إنَّ الوَزِيرَ أَسْكَنَ غَيرِي

فِي مَكاني ولي عليه إجَارَهْ

I said, "The vizier has housed someone else

in my place, though I have a lease with him."

قِيلَ إنَّ الوزِيرَ لَنْ يَقْصِدَ الفَس

خَ فَلِمْ لا رَاجَعْتَ في الخَرَّارَهْ

It was said, "The vizier will not seek cancellation;

why have you not appealed concerning the privy?"

أسقَطَتْهُ مِنْ ظَهْرِنَا فَأَرَتْنَا

جَيْبَهُ لازِماً لِبَطْنِ المَحَارَهْ

It dropped him from our back, showing us

his collar pressed against the belly of the litter.

ثُمَّ شَدُّوهُ بالإِزَارِ فخِلْنا

هُ الْخَيالِيَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ السِّتَارَهْ

Then they bound him with a waist-wrapper, and we thought

him the shadow-puppeteer behind the curtain.

لَمْ يُفَضِّلْ عليكَ غيرَكَ لكن

نَ عطاياهُ كَالكُؤوسِ المُدَارَهْ

He has not preferred another over you, but

his gifts are like cups passed round.

فسأَغْدُو به سعيداً كأنّي

لاعْتِدَالِ الرَّبِيعِ للشَّمسِ دارَهْ

So I shall be happy in it, as though I were

a halo round the sun in spring's mild weather.

وَيَشُوقَ الأَضْيَافَ في بادَهَنْجٍ

مِنْ بعيدٍ قُرُونُهُ كالمَنَارَهْ

And guests will be drawn to its windcatcher,

whose horns from afar resemble a minaret.

إنَّ بَيْتَاً يغْشَاهُ كلُّ فقِيرٍ

مِنْ عَلِيٍّ في ذِمَّةٍ وَخِفَارَهْ

A house visited by every poor man

stands under Ali's pledge and protection.

صَرَفَ اللَّهُ السُّوءَ عنه وَآتا

هُ مِنَ المَجْدِ والعُلا مَا اختَارَهْ

May God turn evil from him, and grant

him what he has chosen of glory and eminence.