لمن الديار كأنها الوشم — Al Staley

لمن الدّيارُ كأنها الوشْمُ

لم يبق إلا العهد والرّسمُ

Whose are these dwellings, as though they were a tattoo?

Nothing remains but the memory and the traces.

عُجْنا بها أنْضاؤُنا أُصُلاً

فعرفتها لأَيا وبي وهمُ

We turned aside there with our weary mounts at evening.

I recognized them with difficulty, uncertain as I was.

ظلْنا نُسائلها متى عَريت

أو هل لها بقطينها علْمُ

We kept asking them when they had become deserted,

or whether they knew of their inhabitants.

بل كيف تَنطق دمنةٌ درست

آياتها ومعالمٌ طُسْمُ

But how can a deserted campsite speak? Effaced

are its signs, and its landmarks are obliterated.

عَهدي بها والدّار جامعةٌ

بالحيّ حيث يجاور الصِّرْمُ

I remember it when the dwelling was thronged

with the tribe, where the band camped nearby.

ومسارحُ الغزلان راتعةٌ

بين الأَنيس ظباؤها الأُّدْمُ

And in the gazelles’ pastures grazed

their white does among the people,

من قبل أن تدعوهمْ نِيةٌ

لفراقنا وعلى النّوى عزْمُ

before a purpose summoned them

to part from us, with resolve to journey far.

ولدى الحجال نواعمٌ خُمُصٌ

غيد الشَّوى ممْكورة رُذْمُ

And by the curtained chambers, delicate, slender-waisted women,

supple-limbed, rounded in form, and full-hipped,

مكحولة الأَجفان حالية

أجيادها وخصُورها هُضْمُ

with kohl-darkened eyelids and adorned

necks, while their waists were slender.

وإذا ابتسمن أريننا شنبَاً

ولمىً به التفليج والظَّلمُ

When they smiled, they showed us sweet, cool teeth,

and dusky lips, with spaced teeth and a lustrous sheen.

وفتور أَجفان يكسّرها

مرضُ الدّلال وما بها سُقمُ

And languid eyelids, made drooping

by the malady of coquetry, though no sickness afflicted them.

ما كانَ أَحسنها وأَطييبها

من عيشةٍ إنْ لم يكن إثْمُ

How beautiful it was, and how delightful,

that life—if there were no sin in it!

لمَا استفاض اللهوُ وانبسطت

للعيش فيه ظلالُهُ السُّحمُ

When revelry abounded and spread out

for life there its dark shades;

عصر الصبا أَيام أَسعدنا

مَلقى سعادَ وأَنعَمت نُعْمُ

the season of youth, the days when we were gladdened

by meeting Su’ad, and Nu’m bestowed her favors.

يجري علينا للصبا نفسٌ

بين الحسان وللهوى حُكمُ

A breath of youth flowed over us

among the beauties, and love held sway.

وتراضع الكرماء صافيةً

مثلَ العقيق يدرّها الكرْمُ

And the generous suckled together on clear wine,

like agate, which the vine made flow.

وترنم القينات واصْطخَبتْ

ناياتها والزير والْبَمّ

And the singing women sang, and clamorous grew

their flutes, the treble string and the bass.

وهناك طاب العيش في رغدٍ

من حيث لا حزن ولا وهمُ

There life was sweet in ease and plenty,

with neither sorrow nor anxiety.

ثم انقضى ما كان من زمنٍ

فكأنّه بل ليته حُلْمُ

Then all that time passed away,

as though it were—no, would that it were—a dream.

هذا الفتى وعسى يكون لهُ

عقب الضلالة فالهدى حتْمُ

Such is this youth; may there be for him

a sequel to his straying—for guidance is imperative.

للشّيب عاقبةٌ يكون لهَا

حِلمٌ يجيش وبَحرُها يطمُو

Gray hair has an outcome, bringing

wisdom that surges, its sea rising,

بمديح سادات لفضلهم

في صفح كل سريرة رقمُ

through praise of lords whose excellence

is inscribed upon the page of every heart.

والناس في جنب العُلى عَرَض

ومحمّد بن معمّر جسْمُ

People, beside high nobility, are mere accidents,

while Muhammad ibn Mu’ammar is its substance.

وله أَبو عمر آبٌ ولَهُ

من آل نبهان الرّضى عمُّ

And Abu Umar is his father, and he has

al-Rida, the worthy one, of the house of Nabhan, as his uncle.

للسيّد المأمول في سَمَدٍ

ولهُ أَبو عبد الإله اسْمُ

For the lord in Samad in whom hopes are placed,

Abu Abd al-Ilah is his name.

شبل الملوك الأكرمين غدا

بأبي المعَمّر جَدّه يسمُو

A lion-cub of the noblest kings, he has come

to rise through Abu al-Mu’ammar, his grandfather.

ومن العمُومة من عشيرته

كُرماءُ حيث الحرب والسِّلمُ

And among his paternal kin, from his clan,

are generous men in war and peace.

ومنالخؤولة في نزار له

ببني زيادٍ منصبٌ ضخْمُ

And through his maternal kin in Nizar, he has

through the sons of Ziyad a mighty standing.

وحسود مجدك بعد ذلك في

فيهالحصى ولانفه الرَّغمُ

And the envier of your glory, after all this, has

gravel in his mouth, and dust upon his nose.

ومحمّد المحمودُ ليس على

أَفعاله لوم ولا ذمُّ

And Muhammad the praised incurs no

blame for his deeds, nor any reproach.

والحمدُ بالحُسنى له عِوضٌ

والجد حظ والعُلى قسمُ

Praise for his goodness is his recompense,

good fortune his lot, and high honor his share.

والجود موجود به ولقد

يَلوي به من غيره العُدْمُ

Generosity is found in him, whereas indeed

want withholds it from others.

عرفَ المُلوكُ له تقدُّمه

في المكرمات فماله خصمُ

Kings have recognized his precedence

in noble deeds, so he has no rival.

ما فاته بفضيلةٍ أَحدٌ

في كل مكرمة له سهمُ

No one has surpassed him in virtue;

in every noble deed he has a share.

وله إِذا نزلَ المهمُّ به

فكر يجول وخاطر شَهْمُ

And when a grave matter befalls him, he has

thought that ranges widely and a discerning mind.

فيه البصيرة والذّكاء معاً

واللّوذعيّة فيه والفهمُ

In him are insight and intelligence together,

and quick-wittedness is in him, and understanding.

والأريحيّةُ والمضاءُ له

والرَأيُ والنَجدات والعزمُ

Generous spirit and decisiveness are his,

and judgment, acts of valor, and resolve.

وهو الحليمُ ولا يطيش به

غضبٌ يكون ورآه السّلمُ

He is forbearing, nor is he driven to rashness by

anger behind which lies peace.

للسّخط منه العفوُ يَتبعُهُ

برُّ الرّضى ولغيظهِ الكَظْمُ

His displeasure meets with pardon, followed by

the kindness of his favor; his fury meets with restraint.

كل امرئٍ ممّن لهُ شرفٌ

تشْبيهه بمحمّدٍ ظُلْمُ

Every man who possesses nobility—

to liken him to Muhammad is unjust.

إنَّ النساء المحصنات مَعاً

من أن يلدن بمثله عُقْمُ

Indeed, all chaste women together

are barren of bearing one like him.

ولقد يبيتُ على الملوك لهُ

شرف أشمٌ ونائل فعُمُ

Indeed, he passes the night above kings, possessed of

towering honor and overflowing bounty.

أبقى أبو عمر له شرفاً

لا يستطاع لبيته هدْمُ

Abu Umar left him enduring honor,

whose house cannot be brought down.

وحماه بينَ الأسد يمنعه

وعلاه حيث تألّق النّجْمُ

His sanctuary, amid lions, affords him protection,

and his eminence is where the star shines.

ولقومه في كل ناحيةٍ

حبل قد اعتصمت به الهُضْمُ

And in every region his people have

a rope to which the oppressed have clung,

وذَرى حمَته مَنْ يلوذ بهِ

سُمُر القنا والشُّقرُ والدُّهمُ

and heights that have sheltered whoever takes refuge with him:

tawny lances, chestnut horses, and black horses.

أَمحمدَ بنَ معمّر عمرت

لك عن مكارمك العُلى الشُّمُ

O Muhammad ibn Mu’ammar, there have flourished

for you, through your noble deeds, the towering heights of honor.