تستطيب الجلوس في ظل أيك — Al Hamshari

تَستَطيبُ الجُلوسَ في ظِلِّ أَيكٍ

رَفرَفَ الطَيرُ فَوقَهُ أَسرابا

You delight in sitting in the shade of a grove,

Above which birds fluttered in flocks,

يَتَغَنّى بَينَ الثِمارُ بِلَحنٍ

هَل سَمِعتَ القِيانَ غَنَّت طِرابا

Singing among the fruits a melody.

Have you heard the singing women sing in rapture?

مِن وَحيدَينِ يَسجَعانِ سُروراً

وَشَجِيِّينِ يَشدُوانِ اِنتِحابا

From two solitary ones cooing joyfully,

And two sorrowful ones singing in lament.

وَجَرى الماءُ في الغَديرِ رَحيقا

وَجَرَت فَوقَهُ الزُهورُ حِبابا

The water flowed through the pool as nectar,

And flowers drifted over it like bubbles.

جَنَّةٌ صاغَها الإِلهُ مِنَ السِح

رِ فَفيها صَبابَةُ السُعَداءِ

A paradise God fashioned out of magic;

Within it is the yearning of the happy.

نورُها مِن وَشائِعٍ مِن هَواءٍ

فَهيَ مِنهُ في رِقِّهِ القَمَراءِ

Its light is made of skeins of air;

So it is of that air, delicate and moonlit.

وَتَغَنّي الأَطيارِ فيها اِصطِحابٌ

فَصَباها مِن عَبقَرِيِّ الغِناءِ

The birds' singing there is companionship;

Its east breeze springs from wondrous song.

مِن خَيالِ الأَشعارِ قَد صاغَها اللَ

هُ فَفيها رَوائِعُ الشُعَراءِ

From poetry's imagination God fashioned it;

Within it are the poets' wonders.

سَتَرى اِفرَليزِ تَجري عَلى العُش

بِ وَتَهفو إِلى شِراعِ المَراكِب

You will see Ifraliz running over the grass,

And yearning toward the ships' sails.

وَنِفاتيسَ في ضَفائِرِها الصُف

رِ تُغني تَحتَ الثُلوجِ الأَشاهِب

And Nifatis, in her yellow braids,

Sings beneath the gray-white snows.

وَعَذارى اليَنبوعِ تَعزِفُ موسي

قى رَبيعٍ فَوقَ الضِفافِ الشَواعِب

The maidens of the spring play music

Of springtime above the branching banks.

سَوفَ تَلقى هُناكَ كُلَّ نَعيمٍ

وَتَقَّضي فيها جَميعَ المَآرِب

You shall find every delight there,

And fulfill all your wishes within it.

أَمطَرَتكِ الرَحماتُ يا رَبَّةَ الشِع

رِ وَجادَتكِ فائِضاتُ اليَمينِ

Mercies showered upon you, O goddess of poetry,

And the right hand's outpourings lavished gifts upon you.

كُنتِ سَلوايَ في الحَياةِ وَفي المَو

تِ أَراكِ عَلى دُجاهَ خَدَّيني

You were my solace in life, and in death

I see you against its darkness, my companion.

ما أَرى تَزمَعينَ بَعدُ رَحيلا

رَبَّةَ الشِعرَ وَيكِ لا تَترُكيني

I do not think you intend to depart yet.

Goddess of poetry, alas, do not leave me!

آيَةً تَذهَبينَ في ذلِكَ المَو

تِ وَلكِن هَيا خُذيني خُذيني

O marvel, you pass into that death;

But come, take me, take me!

شانُ نَفسي وَذاكَ فِيَّ غَرامٌ

أَن تُلاقي الخُطوبَ وَالأَهوالا

It is my soul's way—and a passion within me—

To face calamities and terrors.

اِقتَبَل أَنتَ ناعِماً وَتَفَكَه

في جِنانٍ طابَت جَنىً وَظِلالا

Go forward in comfort, and take delight

In gardens sweet in fruit and shade.

سَوفَ آتيكَ بِالَّذي قَد رَآهُ

فَوقَ شَطِّ الأَعرافِ فَاِهدَأ بالا

I shall bring you what he has seen

Above the shore of al-A'raf; so be at peace.

إِنَّني سَوفَ أَلتَقي بِمَنايا

تَصرَعُ الريحَ تَنسِفُ الأَجالا

Indeed, I shall encounter deadly fates

That strike down the wind and blast away lifespans.

آهٍ يا طائِفَ الخَيالِ تَعالَ

وَاِبقَ جَنبي وَلا تُغامِر وَحدَك

Ah, phantom of imagination, come!

Stay beside me, and do not venture alone.

كَيفَ تَلقى الرَدى وَأَنتَ ضَعيفٌ

وَسِهامُ المَنونِ يَقصُدنَ قَصدَك

How can you face death when you are frail,

And Death's arrows aim for you?

وَنَدِيُّ الأَنوارِ يَلفَحُ وَجهَك

وَالنَسيمُ العَليلُ يَنسِلُ شَعرَك

Dewy blossoms scorch your face,

And the gentle breeze plucks out your hair.

فَإِذا غالَكَ الفَناءُ بِسَهمِ

كَيفَ أَرضى الفِردَوسَ داراً بَعدَك

If annihilation slays you with an arrow,

How can I accept paradise as a home after you?

قَرّ نَفساً فَإِنَّني لا أُبالي

بِشَعوبٍ وَلَستُ أَخشى الحِماما

Rest easy, for I do not care

About Sha'ub, nor do I fear death.

أَنا في روحِها الكَريهَةُ روحٌ

لا تُلاقي المَنونَ إِلّا سَلاما

Within its abhorrent spirit I am a spirit

That meets Death only with peace.

أَنا كَالبارِقِ السَماوِيِّ نورٌ

لا يَني في مُضِيِّهِ يَتَرامى

I am light, like heavenly lightning,

Tirelessly flashing onward in its course.

هُوَ يَبدو مِن حَيثُ يَحسِبُهُ النا

سُ تَعاطى مِنَ المَنِيَّةِ جاما

It appears from where people think it

Has drunk a cup from Death.

هاكَ فُلكي عَلى الدُجى يَتَراءى

مُستَضاءً كَالكَوكَبِ اللَماحِ

Behold my ship, appearing against the darkness,

Illuminated like a flashing star.

بَهرَ المَوتَ نورُهُ فَهُوَ أَعشى

يَتَحاشى مِن خَطفِهِ بِالراحِ

Its light dazzled Death, leaving him dim-sighted;

He refrains from snatching it with his palms.

يومِضُ اللَيلُ بِالسَنا مُستَطاراً

في اِصفِرارٍ يَحكي اِصفِرارِ الأَقاحى

Night flashes with radiance, all aflutter,

In a yellow hue like the yellow of daisies.

صَنَعَتهُ إِلهَةُ الشِعرَ كيما

تَتَخَطّى بِهِ شِباكَ الرِياحِ

The goddess of poetry fashioned it so that

She could cross the winds' nets in it.

فَاِصطَحِبي إِذنَ عَلَيهِ وَهَيّا

فَوقَ هَولِ الفَناءِ نَمضي سَوِيّا

Then come with me aboard it—come!

Above annihilation's terror, let us go together.

فَلَقَد تَطَبّيكَ رُؤيا المَنايا

وَتَراها حُسناً إِلَيكَ صَفِيّا

For the vision of Death may entice you,

And you may see it as beauty, a true friend to you.

كُنتَ طِفلاً عَلى المَشيبِ لَعوباً

وَمَشيباً عَلى الصِبا كُنَتِيّا

You were a playful child despite your gray hair,

And an old man despite your youth, forever saying, 'I once was.'

تَستَمِدُّ الحَياةَ مِن نورِكِ البا

لي وَتَهفو إِلى سَناهُ شَجِيّا

You draw life from your faded light,

And yearn sorrowfully toward its radiance.

لَم تَكُن غَيرَ طائِفٍ مِن ضِياءٍ

قَد طَواهُ بِهِ ظَلامٌ مُجنَح

You were only a phantom of light,

Already enfolded there by a winged darkness.

حَظُّهُ مِن حَياتِهِ ما رَآهُ

مِن تَهاويلِ جَوِّهِ وَهوَ يَسبَح

His share of life was what he saw

Of his sky's wondrous phantasms as he swam.

فَهُوَ مِن ذِكرِها الحَبيبِ مَطافٌ

لِرُؤى في ضِيائِهِ التِبرِ تَلمَح

So, through its beloved memory, he is a haunt

For visions glimmering in his golden light.

ذُكراتٌ يَرتادَهُنَّ لِقاءً

مُعقِباً في الخَيالِ بَعداً مُبَرِّح

Memories he seeks out for a meeting

That brings, in imagination, a wrenching separation.

وَنُهَيرُ مُرَقرَقٍ كَنَفَتهُ

غابَةٌ بَينَ دَغلِها يَنسابُ

And a shimmering brook, sheltered

By a forest, flows among its thickets.

بَسَطَت فَوقَ مائِهِ العَذبِ ظِلّاً

تَحتَ عَطفِ الأَمواجِ لا يَنجابُ

It spread shade above the brook's fresh water;

Beneath the waves' folds, that shade never lifts.

حَجَبَتُهُ عَنِ العُيونِ طَويلاً

وَهَداها لَهُ الصَفاءُ المُطابُ

It hid the brook from eyes for a long while,

And delightful clarity guided them to it.

سَحرَ العالَمينَ مِنهُ رَحيقٌ

فَإِذا هُم مِن صَفوِهِ شُرّابُ

A nectar from it enchanted the worlds;

Suddenly they were drinkers of its pure essence.

تَطلُبُ السَعدَ وَهوَ مِنكَ قَريبٌ

تَدَّعي الحُزنَ وَهوَ مِنكَ بَعيدُ

You seek happiness, though it is near you;

You claim sorrow, though it is far from you.

قَد طَوَيتَ الحَياةَ تَجهَدُ فيها

لَيتَ شِعري فَهَل جَدا المَجهودُ

You have passed through life, toiling in it;

Would that I knew—has the effort availed?

تَنفَحُ الناسَ مِن شَذى زَنبَقِ النو

دِ وَهُم في كَرى الحَياةِ رُقودُ

You bestow on people the fragrance of the lily of al-Nud,

While they lie asleep in life's slumber.

قَد أَضَعتَ الحَياةَ كُلَّ ضَياعٍ

في حُطامٍ فانٍ هُوَ التَخليدُ

You have squandered your life utterly

On perishable debris—that is immortality.

يا خَيالي ماذا يَطوفُ بِقَلبي

يا خَيالي ماذا يُسارِقُ أُذُني

O my imagination, what circles through my heart?

O my imagination, what steals into my ear?

أَيُّ شَيءٍ أَحُسُّ أَيُّ دَبيبٍ

مُستَلِذٍ يُخَدِّرُ الروحَ مِنّي

What is it I feel, what creeping movement,

So delightful, that numbs my soul?

إِنَّهُ أَرغَنُ الفَناءِ يُغني

وَيُعيدُ الحَياةَ في مِثلِ لَحنِ

It is the organ of annihilation, singing

And replaying life in the likeness of a melody.

جَهورِيُّ المَوجاتِ تَنفُخُ فيهِ

مُسمِعاتٌ يَفُضنَ مِن كُلِّ فَنِّ

Resonant in its waves; into it blow

Songstresses pouring forth every art.

هاكَ لَحنَ الجَمالِ هاكَ صَداهُ

هاكَ لحنَ الهَوى وَلَحنَ التَفاني

Here is beauty's melody; here is its echo.

Here is love's melody, and the melody of selfless devotion.

هاكَ لَحنَ الأَسى وَلَحنَ التَأَسّي

هاكَ لَحنَ الآمالِ لَحنَ الأَماني

Here is sorrow's melody, and the melody of consolation.

Here is hope's melody, the melody of wishes.

هاكَ لَحنَ الصِبا وَلَحنَ التَصابي

هاكَ لَحنَ المَشيبِ وَالحِرمانِ

Here is youth's melody, and the melody of acting young.

Here is the melody of gray hair and deprivation.

هاكَ كُلَّ الحَياةِ مَرَّت كَلَحنٍ

وَصَداها يَعِجُّ في الآذانِ

Here is all of life, passed like a melody,

And its echo clamors in the ears.