ريم هضيم يروم هضمي — Al Imad Al Asbahani

ريمٌ هَضيمٌ يَرومُ هَضْمي

منْ سُقمِ عينيهِ عينُ سقمي

A slender gazelle seeks to oppress me;

From his eyes' languor comes the very source of my sickness.

وطرفُهُ في فُتورِ صَبْري

وخضرُهُ في نحولِ جسمي

And his glance lies in my patience's languor,

And his waist [reading uncertain] in my body's wasting.

ما جدَّ في ثَلْمِ ثَغْرِ صَبْري

لو جادَ لي ثغرُهُ بلثمِ

He would not have striven to breach my patience's frontier,

Had his mouth bestowed a kiss on me.

في عارضيهِ طِرازُ حُسْنٍ

بهيُّ نَسْجٍ شَهْيُّ رَقْمِ

On his cheeks is an embroidery of beauty,

Splendid in its weave, delightful in its pattern.

ووجهُهُ بالعِذارِ بَدْرٌ

أُحيطَ منْ هَالةٍ بتمِّ

His face, framed by cheek-down, is a full moon,

Enclosed by a halo in full circle.

وردُ حياءٍ ومسْكُ خَطٍ

ينمُّ هذا وذاك يُنْمي

A rose of modesty, and musk of cheek-down:

This tells tales; that fosters growth.

قد نُقِّطَتْ شمسُ وجنتيهِ

للحُسْنِ مِنْ خالهِ بنجمِ

The sun of his cheeks has been dotted

For beauty's sake, with the star of his mole.

واهي مناطِ الوشاحِ حُلَّتْ

فيه بوَجْدي عُقودُ عَزْمي

Slender at the sash's fastening: undone

Through my love for him are the knots of my resolve.

نطَاقُه في القياسِ نُطْقٌ

وعطْفُهُ جانحٌ لسلْمي

His girdle, by analogy, is speech;

And his side inclines toward peace with me.

وخُلْقُه جَامحٌ لحربي

وعطْفُهُ جانحٌ لسلْمي

Yet his nature runs wild toward war with me;

And his side inclines toward peace with me.

إلامَ ظلماً يصدُّ أَلمْي

صادي قلبيَ عن ريمِ ظَلمِ

How long will the dark-lipped one [reading uncertain] unjustly bar

My thirsty heart from the froth of his saliva?

لو أطلق الرَّسمَ من وصالي

لم أَبلُ في صدِّه كرسمِ

Had he granted my due allowance of union,

I would not have worn away in his rejection like a trace.

أفكرتُ في عزِّهِ وذُلّي

فهامَ في الحالتينِ فَهْمي

I pondered his might and my abasement,

And my understanding wandered bewildered in both states.

مِنْ وَهَجِ الوجهِ دمعُ عيني

بذوبِ قلبٍ يهيمُ يَهْمي

From the blaze of his face, my eye's tears

Stream with the melting of a heart distraught with love.

إذا غدا الدَّمعُ من وشاتي

فبوحُ سرِّ الهوى بكتمي

When tears become one of my betrayers,

Love's secret is disclosed by my concealment.

إن رُمت يا عاذلي صلاحي

فخلِّني والهوى وزعمي

If you seek my reform, O my reproacher,

Then leave me with my love and my conviction.

شاهدْ بعيني الحبيبَ تشهدْ

أًنَّ هواهُ من المهمِّ

Behold the beloved through my eyes, and you will testify

That loving him is a matter of importance.

لومُكَ يُذكي الغرامَ قلْ لي

أَنت نَصيحي أَم أَنتَ خَصْمي

Your blame kindles passion; tell me:

Are you my adviser or my adversary?

ولا ساءني واللومُ لومٌ

كلامُ سوءٍ وأَسوُ كلمِ

May it not hurt me—blame is blame—

This evil talk, while I heal a wound.

يا بدرُ بادِرْ بشمس راحٍ

يقشعُ منها غمامُ غمِّ

O moon, hasten with a sun of wine,

By which my sorrow's cloud is dispersed.

وانقعْ وُقِيْتَ الأذى أُواماً

لابنِ كريمٍ ببنتِ كَرْمِ

And quench—may you be shielded from harm—the thirst

Of a nobleman's son with the vine's daughter.

وهُزَّ منّي للأنسِ عِطْفاً

وخصَّ جيش الأسى بهزم

And sway my side toward fellowship,

And single out the army of sorrow for defeat.

واجعلْ رضاعي جنَى رضابٍ

بفيكَ منه يعزُّ فَطْمي

And make my suckling a harvest of sweet saliva

In your mouth, from which my weaning is hard.

فريقكَ الحلو عَذْبُ وردٍ

يروي صدى القلب وهو يُظمي

For your sweet saliva is a refreshing draught

That quenches the heart's thirst even as it makes it thirst.

واشفِ غليلي بشًَهْدِ ثَغْرٍ

جناهُ ترياقُ كلِّ سُمِّ

And heal my burning thirst with the honey of a mouth

Whose harvest is the antidote to every poison.

بقدِّك السّاحرِ التّثني

جُدْ ليَ مِنْ غُصْنهِ بضمِّ

By your stature, enchanting in its swaying,

Grant me an embrace from its branch.

بخدِّك الباهرِ التجلِّي

جُدْ ليَ مِنْ وَرهِ بشمِّ

By your cheek, dazzling in its radiance,

Grant me a scent from its rose [reading uncertain].

يا حارمي في الوصال حَظِّي

مُوَفِّراً بالفراق قَسْمي

O you who deny me my share of union,

And lavish upon me my portion of separation,

وقاتلي بالصُّدودِ ظُلماً

لا تتقلَّد دمي وإثمي

And unjustly kill me by rejection,

Do not shoulder my blood and my sin.

يا رامياً قوسَهُ بحتفي

موتَرُهُ ما يزال يُصمي

O archer, whose bow is aimed at my death,

His strung bow never ceases to strike fatally.

بالعينِ والحاجبينِ تُغني

عن كلِّ قوسٍ وكلِّ سَهمِ

With eye and eyebrows you dispense

With every bow and every arrow.

يا حبّذا بالعراق نُعمى

شكرتها في وصالِ نُعمِ

How welcome, in Iraq, was a blessing

For which I gave thanks through union with Nu'm.

أَرمي بطرفي هوىً إليها

وهي لقلبي باللحظ ترمي

I cast my glance toward her in love,

While she shoots glances into my heart.

غداةَ مَغْنى حِمَاي حاوي

حُوّ من الغانيات حُمِّ

That morning, my sheltered dwelling held

Dark-lipped ones among the dark-haired beauties.

أيام فوق السَّماء أَمري

وَفْقَ مُرادي وتحت حُكمي

Days when my standing was above the heavens,

In accord with my wishes and under my command;

أَيام حلّ دمي المصون ال

حرام في بذلهِ لأُدمِ

Days when my guarded blood became lawful—the

Inviolable blood—when shed for dusky beauties.

أُدمي بلثمي خُدودَ بيضٍ

عيونُهُا للقلوب تُدمي

I make fair women's cheeks bleed with my kisses;

Their eyes make hearts bleed.

واجتلي الكأسَ في ندامى

غرٍ من الأكرمين شُمِّ

And I behold the cup among drinking companions,

Radiant, proud men from the most noble.

غدا بنسج الغرام فينا

ينسجُ عَقْلاً لكلِّ فَدْمِ

It began weaving passion among us,

Weaving intelligence for every dullard.

نسمو

من نفحات الصَّبا لنسمِ

We rise

From the east wind's breaths toward breezes.

لثم ُرٍ

بين عقيقٍ وفضّ ختمِ

Kissing [remaining fragment unclear].

Between carnelian and the breaking of a seal.

عقود العقول تُلقى

من التصابي بكفِّ فصمِ

The bonds of reason are cast

By dalliance into the hand of rupture.

ليالي الوصال زهراً

تبدَّلت في النَّوى بُسحمِ

The radiant nights of union

Changed in separation into dark ones.

سواد فودي

مذ عقبت بيضها بدُهمِ

The black hair at my temples,

Since their white nights were replaced with dark ones,

يشيبُ في الرأسِ مثلَ نارٍ

توقَّدتْ من خلالِ فحمِ

Turns gray upon my head like fire

Kindled amid charcoal.

يزيدُ منّي الهمومَ ذكري

أَيامَ عمرٍ مضينَ قُدمِ

My remembering increases the cares within me—

Of days of life that passed long ago.

رضتُ طويلاً جُموحَ حظِّي

فلم يلنْ عودُهُ لِعَجمي

Long did I tame my fortune's wildness,

Yet its wood did not soften under my testing.

ليس يُعادي الزَّمان غيري

كأنَّ فضلي إليهِ جُرمي

Time is at enmity with none but me,

As though my excellence were my crime against it.

أَكظمُ غيظي وليس جدِّي

لغائظاتِ الأمورِ كظمي

I curb my rage, but my fortune shows not

My restraint before vexing affairs.

أَيا زماني الغشوم أَقصِرْ

إنّكَ لا تستطيعُ غَشْمي

O my tyrannical time, desist!

You cannot oppress me.

عبدُ الرَّحيمِ الرَّحيم أَضحى

عوني على خَطبِكَ الملمِّ

The merciful Abd al-Rahim has become

My aid against your besetting calamity.

أَلوذُ منه بذي جَنابٍ

يُلجىء طُرّاقَهُ وينمي

From it I seek shelter with one whose precinct

Shelters his visitors and helps them prosper.

بالسَّيدِ الأروعِ المرجَّى

لكشفِ إزلٍ وكَفِّ أَزمِ

With the splendid lord in whom hope is placed

For lifting distress and checking hardship;

بالفاضلِ الأفضلِ الأجلِّ

المفضَّلِ الأشرفِ الأشمِّ

With the virtuous, most excellent, most august,

The favored, noblest, loftiest;

بحاتمي النَّوالِ سَمْح

ليس يرى الجودَ غيرَ حتم

With one Hatim-like in bounty, generous,

Who sees generosity as nothing but a duty.

غيثُ غياثٍ وجودُ جودٍ

وبحرُ علمٍ وطَوْطُ حِلْمِ

A rain of relief, the embodiment of generosity,

And a sea of knowledge, a mountain [reading uncertain] of forbearance.

ذو أَنَفٍ أَنْفُ كلِّ خطبٍ

يقتادُ من بأسهِ بِخطمِ

A man of pride: the nose of every calamity

Is led by his might with a nose-rope.

زكاءُ نجرٍ ورحبُ صدرٍ

وطولُ باعٍ وطيبُ جِذْمِ

Purity of stock, breadth of heart,

Far-reaching power and goodness of root;

ومُزْنُ مَنٍ ووجهُ مَنْحٍ

غيرُ جَهامٍ وغيرُ جهمِ

Rainclouds of favors, a face of gifts,

Neither rainless nor scowling.

محاسَنا الرأي منه عَدْلاً

كلَّ ظلاَّمٍ وكلَّ ظُلم

His counsel's radiance has justly effaced

Every oppressor and every injustice.

المنعمُ المستحقُّ منِّي

جميع شكري ببعضِ شكمِ

The benefactor who deserves from me

All my thanks for even a little recompense.

وما بنى المجدَ مثلُ مولىً

خصَّ النَّدَى مالَهُ بهزمِ

None has built glory like a lord

Whose generosity singled out his wealth for defeat.

ذو محتدٍ في النِّجار زاكٍ

وسؤددٍ في الفخار ضخمِ

Of a lineage pure in its stock,

And lordship mighty in renown;

نُعماهُ تُرجى لكفِّ بؤسٍ

وفكِّ أَسرٍ وجَبرِ يُتمِ

His blessings are hoped for to check misery,

To free captives and mend orphanhood.

يراعُهُ في اليمينِ منه

تستخرجُ الدُّرَّ من خضمِّ

His reed pen in his right hand

Extracts pearls from a boundless sea.

فهو حسامٌ لم يبقِ داءً

إلاَّ وقد خصَّهُ بحسمِ

It is a sword that has left no malady

Without singling it out for excision.

وحدُّهُ حصَّ كلَّ حَصدٍ

من كلِّ ما نائبٍ بثلمِ

Its edge has shorn away every devastation,

From every ... calamity, with a notch [text unclear].

يُروّضُ الطِّرسُ منه مُزجى

سُحبٍ من المكرماتِ سُحمِ

The parchment grows meadow-like beneath what it drives—

Dark clouds of generous deeds.

سطورُهُ للعُلَى نجومٌ

تخفضُ في أَوجها وتسمي

Its lines are stars for lofty glory;

They abase and exalt within their zenith.

إنْ جاءَ عافٍ فنجمُ سَعدٍ

أَو جاءَ عَاتٍ فنجمُ رجمِ

If a supplicant comes, it is a star of good fortune;

Or if a rebel comes, a star of stoning.

أَقلامُهُ خاطبتْ خُطوباً

من ظفرها ظفرتْ بقلمِ

His pens addressed calamities,

Winning the clipping of their claws.

كم عقدتْ راية لرأْيٍ

مؤيد عزمه بحزمِ

How many a banner they raised for a judgment,

Its resolve supported by firmness.

والسَّمعُ والصلبُ للأَعادي

ما بينَ وقرٍ بها ووقم

The enemies' hearing and backbone

Meet, through them, deafness and crushing.

له يدٌ للوليِّ منها

ولي وليٌّ ووَسْمُ وسمي

He has a hand from which a friend receives

Rain upon rain, and the mark of season-opening rain.

ما وابلٌ منجمُ الغوادي

بكلِّ سهلٍ وكلِّ حَزْمِ

No downpour from the intermittent morning rains,

Over every plain and every rugged height—

هام ربابٌ بالوشي منه

هامَ الرُّبى في بديعِ وَشْمِ

Clouds pouring its embroidery over

The hilltops in marvelous markings,

يحوكُ نسج الرَّبيعِ فيه

نَمارقَ الزّهرِ فوقَ أكم

Weaving spring's fabric there,

Flower cushions over the hills—

أَغزرَ من جودهِ وفصحٍ

في العجزِ عن وَصْفهِ لبكمِ

Is more abundant than his bounty; even the eloquent

Are mute, unable to describe it.

مولايَ حالي كما تراهُ

في نَقْصِ حَظٍّ وَفضْلِ هَمِّ

My lord, my state is as you see it:

Short of good fortune, with an excess of care.

لم يقضِ ديني وكلَّ يومٍ

غريمُ دهري يزيدُ عزمي

My debt has not been paid; each day

Time, my creditor, increases my resolve.

أَهلي مقيمونَ من دمشقٍ

في بلدةٍ نارها بلجمِ

My family, of Damascus, are residing

In a town whose fire is held in reins.

قد طالَ ذيلٌ بهم فطوِّل

طُولاً بجاهي العريضِ كمِّي

Their train has grown long; so lengthen

My sleeve with bounty, by my ample standing.

أَصبحتُ في مصرَ ذا رجاءٍ

إلى النّدَى الجمِّ منكَ جمِّ

I have come to be in Egypt with hope,

For abundant bounty from you—abundant hope.

أَصابَ قصدي وتمَّ أَمري

وبانَ نُجحي وفازَ أَمي

My aim has hit its mark, my affair is fulfilled,

My success is clear, and my intent has prevailed.

وإنّني قد وجدتُ وَجْدي

منكَ كما قد عدمتُ عُدمي

Indeed, I have found my wealth

Through you, just as I have lost my poverty.

نَعَشْتَني من عثْارِ دَهْري

فَحُزْتَ حَمْدي وَحَازَ ذمِّي

You lifted me from the stumbling of my time,

So you gained my praise, and it gained my blame.

عندي مواعيدُ للمعالي

يَمْطُلُ دهري بها بزُغْمي

I have promises of high honors

Which time delays, despite my protests.

نتيجةُ النُّجحِ منكَ يقضي

أَنَّ المواعيدَ غير عُقمِ

The outcome of success from you decrees

That those promises are not barren.

وِلي مُنى كلّها أَراهُ

منكَ على خبرةٍ وعلمِ

And I have wishes, all of which I foresee

From you, through experience and knowledge:

قضاءُ دَيْني ونَيْلُ سُولي

وَحفْظُ جاهي وجريُ رسمي

Payment of my debt and attainment of my desire,

Preservation of my standing and continuance of my stipend,

وَصنيعةٌ لا يضيعُ فيها

عَزْمي كما لا يفوتُ غُنْمي

And a favor in which there is no wasting

Of my resolve, just as my gain does not elude me.

وحرمةٌ تستنيرُ منها

سعودُ قَدْري في أُفقِ عُظْمِ

And an honored protection from which shine

The fortunate stars of my rank in greatness's horizon.

يَممتُ أَمّاً ولستُ أَرضى

تيّمماً في جَنابِ يَمِّ

I sought my goal, and I will not accept

Dry ablution beside a sea.

لِمْ أَمَلي لم يزَنْ بنُجحٍ

لِمْ شَعَثي لم يُعَنْ بلَمِّ

Why has my hope not been adorned with success?

Why has my disarray not been helped by reunion?

رُمْ رَمَّ أَمري وحلِّ حالي

ما كَرَمٌ في الورى كَرَمَّي

Seek to mend my affairs, and adorn my state;

No generosity among mankind is like mending me.

رُثَّ ثرائي بكلِّ طَرْزٍ

وغُثَّ جاهي بغيرِ شحْمِ

My wealth is threadbare in every fashion,

And my standing is lean, without any fat.

مُضارعُ الفعلِ حظُّ فضلي

وعائقُ الصَّرفِ حرفُ جَزْمِ

My merit's fortune is an imperfect-tense verb,

And a jussive particle is what blocks its inflection.

نَاهيكَ من مُخوِلٍ مُعمِ

يَحنو على المُخولِ المُعمِ

A bestower of all-embracing bounty suffices you [reading uncertain],

Tender to the endowed, encompassed by bounty [reading uncertain].

كلُّ عدوٍّ شَناكَ يَلْقى

في الناسِ طَمْسَ اسمه كطسمِ

Every enemy who hates you will meet

Among men the erasure of his name, like Tasm.

شَمْلُ العدا والعروضُ منهم

ما بينَ شتٍّ وبينَ شَتمِ

The enemies' unity, and their honor [reading uncertain],

Lie between dispersal and abuse.

ونلْتَ عزّاً بغيرِ صَرْفٍ

وَوَصْلَ مُلْكٍ بغيرِ صُدْم

And may you attain honor without reversals,

And uninterrupted rule without a clash.

تَمَلَّها فهي بكْرُ فكري

شَهيةٌ من نِتَاجِ شَهْمِ

Enjoy her: she is my thought's virgin offspring,

Delightful, born of a spirited man.

حَدَوْتُ عيْسي بها فجاءتْ

شَقْشَقةً من هَديرِ قَرْمِ

I urged my pale camels onward with her, and she came

A throaty outburst from a stallion camel's bellow.

بحركَ طامي والعباب فاغسل

طمي في نظمها ورمي

Your sea overflows in surging waves; so wash away

My silt in her verses, and my decay [reading uncertain].

لي خاطرٌ مُجبلٌ لهمِّي

فَنَحتُهُ من صَفاً أَصمِّ

My imagination is blocked by my care;

So I carved it from unyielding stone.

أَقدَمَ رَغباً فحامَ رُعباً

لقدرِ فخرٍ لديكَ فَخمِ

It advanced eagerly, then hovered in terror

At the immense stature of your glory.

إليكَ يا كعبة المعالي

حَجَّ حجاهُ بلُطفِ حَجم

To you, O Kaaba of high virtues,

Its intellect made pilgrimage, with gentle restraint.

أَجْرِ على الوهم عُظْم شاني

واجبرْ على الوَهنِ عظمَ نظمي

Let the greatness of my standing course through thought,

And mend, despite its weakness, the bone of my verse.

بصفحةِ الصَّفحِ منكَ يبدو

جِرْمُ قصوري بغيرِ جُرْمِ

On the page of your pardon appears

The body of my shortcoming, free of guilt.

باسمكَ للشكر باسماتٌ

مِنّي مُنىً سُقتُهنَّ باسمي

In your name, smiling with thanks,

Are wishes of mine, driven forth in my name.

أَقبلْ وأَفضلْ عليَّ وافضل

عُرْبَ معانٍ لديَ عُجمِ

Accept, bestow your bounty upon me, and favor

Eloquent meanings that, to me, are mute.

ما دمتَ عوني فليس يَغدُو

جميلُ رَسْمي قبيحَ وَصمِ

So long as you are my aid, it will never become—

My fair mark—an ugly blemish.