Sol 6.1

  1. أتلكَ رياضٌ أَم خدودٌ نواعمُ

    وفيها أَقاح أَم ثُغورٌ بواسمُ

    Are those gardens, or tender cheeks?

    And in them, daisies, or smiling mouths?

  2. مَراعٍ لعَمْري للشّفاهِ خَصيبةٌ

    ولكنْ لها الرّمحُ الرُّدَينِيُّ كاعم

    Fertile pastures for lips, by my life,

    yet a Rudayni spear muzzles them.

  3. وما عُهِدَتْ من قبلِ أَوْجُهِ سِرْبِهم

    أَزاهيرُ من نُقْبٍ لَهُنَّ كَمائم

    Before the faces of their flock, none had known

    flowers whose calyxes were veils.

  4. وفيهنَّ مَرقوبُ الطُّلوعِ إذا بَدا

    يُقاسِمُني العَيْنَينِ منه مُقاسِم

    Among them is one whose rising is awaited; when he appears,

    a rival vies with me for both eyes' view of him.

  5. ولم يَكْفِني أَنْ نَوَّلَ الوْردَ خَدُّهُ

    مُشابَهةً والأُقْحوانَ المَباسم

    It did not suffice me that his cheek bestowed on the rose

    a likeness, and his smiling mouths on the daisy,

  6. إلى أَنْ حكَى نَوْرَ الشّقائقِ نَفْسَهُ

    فَرُحْتُ وقَلْبي بالشّقائقِ هائم

    until he himself resembled the bloom of anemones.

    I went away, my heart enamored of anemones.

  7. غداةَ بدا واللّوْنُ أَحمَرُ قانِئٌ

    كأَثْوابهِ والقَلْبُ أَسودُ فاحِم

    That morning he appeared, his color a deep crimson,

    like his clothes, and his heart coal-black.

  8. أُجَمِّعُ أَزهارَ الرَّبيعِ تَعَلُّلاً

    فمنْها بكفِّي ما تَزالُ ضَمائم

    I gather spring flowers for consolation;

    bouquets of them are always in my hand.

  9. وما لي على لَثْمِ المُشابَهِ قُدْرةٌ

    فأَرضَى بأَنّي للمُشابِه لاثم

    I have no power to kiss the one they resemble,

    so I content myself with kissing what resembles him.

  10. ولمّا أَبَى إلاّ صُدوداً أَحبّتي

    وقد شَفّني عَهْدُ الهوَى المُتَقادِم

    When my beloveds would grant nothing but estrangement,

    and the longstanding bond of love had wasted me away,

  11. رَثَى لي وقد ساوَيْتُه في نُحولِه

    خياليَ لمّا لم يكُنْ ليَ راحِم

    it pitied me, since I had matched its thinness—

    my phantom, when I had no one to pity me.

  12. فدلَّسَ بي حتّى طَرقْتُ مكانَهُ

    وأَوهَمْتُ إلْفي أَنّه بيَ حالِم

    It smuggled me in until I visited his dwelling by night,

    and I made my beloved think he was dreaming of me.

  13. فبِتْنا ولا يَدْري بِنا النّاسُ ليلةً

    أنا ساهرٌ في عَيْنِهِ وهْو نائِم

    We spent a night together, unknown to anyone:

    I wakeful in his eye, while he slept.

  14. ولمّا أَتتْ دونَ التَّلاقي وعَهْدِه

    عُهودٌ لأَيّامِ الفراقِ ذَمائم

    When there came between us and reunion and its promise

    blameworthy pledges to the days of separation,

  15. وأَصبحَ جِيرانُ الغَضا وإلى الحِمَى

    بِهمْ حُدِيَتْ تلك المَطىُّ الرَّواسم

    and the neighbors of the ghada trees were bound for the protected pasture,

    borne by those swiftly striding mounts, urged onward,

  16. فما مِنهمُ إلاّ خيالٌ مُسَلِّمٌ

    ولا فيهمُ إلاّ ظنونٌ رَواجم

    nothing remained of them but a phantom offering greetings,

    and nothing concerning them but blindly cast conjectures.

  17. رَمَيْتُ إلى أعلامِ نَجْدٍ بنَظْرةٍ

    وقد دَرَسَتْ منْهنَّ تلكَ المَعالم

    I cast a glance toward the heights of Najd,

    though those landmarks among them had faded.

  18. وقَفْتُ بها أَستَحْلِبُ العَيْنَ عَبْرةً

    كأَنّيَ والأَطلالَ بَوٌّ ورائِم

    I stood there, milking a tear from my eye,

    as though I and the ruins were a stuffed calf and a yearning she-camel.

  19. وقُلتُ وقد عُجْنا بذي البان عَوْجةً

    وأَعبقَنا منها مع الصُّبْح ناسِم

    I said, when we had turned aside at Dhu al-Ban,

    and a morning breeze from there had perfumed us:

  20. أَدارُكِ أَم دارينُ هَبّتْ بها الصَّبا

    ولَطْمُ المَطايا أَرضَها أَم لَطائم

    Is this your dwelling, or Darin, stirred by the east wind?

    Is this the mounts' pounding of its earth, or perfume-laden caravans?

  21. ولي حاجةٌ عنْد الزَّمانِ لِذكْرِه

    لها الدَّهْرَ أَشْعاري عليهِ رَتائم

    I have a need of Time, and to remind it,

    my poems are reminder-knots upon it forever.

  22. تقاضَى بها في كلِّ مُمْسىً ومُصبَحٍ

    حُداةٌ وعِيسٌ طُلَّحٌ ومَخارِم

    Through them, at every dusk and dawn, payment is claimed

    by camel-drivers, weary pale camels, and mountain passes.

  23. ركائبُ يَغْذوها ويأْكُلها الفَلا

    برَعْيٍ وطَيٍّ فهْيَ طُعْمٌ وطاعِم

    Mounts that the wilderness nourishes and consumes,

    through grazing and traversing: they are both food and feeders.

  24. فطَوراً لزوراءِ العراقِ مَزارُها

    وطوراً إلى أَرْضِ الجبالِ العَزائم

    At times their destination is al-Zawra in Iraq,

    and at times their resolve turns toward the land of al-Jibal.

  25. عسَى أَن يَجودَ الوِرْدُ يوماً ببِلّةٍ

    فما أنا إلاّ مُعْطِشٌ بَعْدُ حائِم

    Perhaps the watering-place will one day grant some moisture;

    for I am still only a thirsty one circling it.

  26. تُعُجِّبَ من ذا العامِ كيف تَرادفَتْ

    له دِيَمٌ أَمطارُهُنَّ دَوائم

    This year provoked wonder: how there followed one another

    steady rains whose downpours never ceased!

  27. وقد أَسرفَتْ جُوداً فطَوْراً لآلِئٌ

    إلىالأَرضِ أَلقَتْها وطوراً دراهِم

    They have been lavish in bounty: sometimes pearls

    they cast upon the earth, and sometimes silver coins.

  28. فقُلتُ صَفِيُّ الدِّينِ سَبّبَ هذِهِ

    فلا يَلُمِ السُّحْبَ الغَواديَ لائِم

    I said: Safi al-Din has brought these about;

    let no one blame the morning clouds.

  29. لقد وَلِيَتْ يُمْناهُ وهْي غَمامةٌ

    فمِنْ طَرَبٍ ما تَسْتَفيقُ الغَمائم

    His right hand has indeed taken office, and it is a cloud;

    so, in their rapture, the clouds never regain their senses.

  30. فتلْكَ الّتي تَهْمي أكَفٌّ نواثرٌ

    علينا سُروراً لا عُيونٌ سَواجِم

    Those pouring down are hands scattering gifts

    upon us in joy, not weeping eyes.

  31. غدا وهْو مُستوفي الممالكِ كُلِّها

    إلى قلمٍ منهُ تَفيءُ الأَقالِم

    He has become chief accountant of all the realms;

    to a pen of his the provinces return.

  32. وكان لها شَرْقٌ وغَرْبٌ تَطرَّفا

    وواسطةٌ فيها تُقامُ المَقاوِم

    They had an east and a west at either extremity,

    and a center where assessments are established.

  33. فأَصبحَ منه في ثلاثِ أَناملٍ

    حُسامٌ لأَدْواءِ الثَّلاثةِ حاسِم

    Thus, in three of his fingers, there came to be

    a sword decisively curing the maladies of all three,

  34. ليَحْفَظَ مَالَ اللهِ ممّنْ يُضيعُهُ

    وتَجْريَ فيه للحُقوقِ المَقاسِم

    to preserve God's wealth from those who squander it,

    and ensure its apportionment to rightful claims.

  35. هلِ الجودُ إلاّ الكَفُّ والمالُ مِعْصَمٌ

    وهل حامِلٌ للكفِّ إلاّ المَعاصِم

    Is generosity anything but the hand, and wealth its wrist?

    And what bears the hand except the wrists?

  36. لقد قَسَمَ الأَموالَ قِسْمةَ عادلٍ

    فتىً هُوَ في الأَموالِ قاضٍ فَحَاكِم

    Indeed, he apportioned wealth with a just man's apportionment:

    a young man who is wealth's arbiter and judge.

  37. فأَمّا لمالٍ قد حَماهُ فمُنْصِفٌ

    وأَمّا لمالٍ قد حَواهُ فظالِم

    Toward wealth he has safeguarded, he is just;

    but toward wealth he has possessed, he is an oppressor.

  38. أخو كَرمٍ ما زالَ يَهْدِمُ مالَهُ

    ويَبْني المَعالي فَهْو بانٍ وهادِم

    A man of generosity, he never ceases demolishing his wealth

    and building lofty honors: he is builder and demolisher.

  39. له قَلَمٌ أَقلامُ كُتّابِ عَصْرِه

    عَبيدٌ له وهْو المَليكُ القُماقِم

    He has a pen; the pens of his age's scribes

    are its slaves, while it is the mighty king.

  40. فهُنَّ سُجودٌ في الطُّروسِ لمالكٍ

    إلى شُغْلهِ تَعْدو بهِنَّ الجَماجِم

    They bow upon the pages before their master;

    heads hurry them to his work.

  41. لمَنْ كفُّهُ والجودُ عَيْنٌ ومَحْجِرٌ

    ومَنْ رأْيُهُ والمُلْكُ سيْفٌ وقائم

    For one whose hand and generosity are an eye and its socket,

    and whose judgment and sovereignty are a sword and its hilt,

  42. ومَنْ يَقْطَعُ المِحْجاجَ يومَ خِصامِه

    جِدالاً وكم يَقْوَى على البَحْرِ عائم

    and who silences the relentless disputant when they contend

    in debate—how many swimmers can prevail against the sea?

  43. عليُّ ْبَن نَصْرٍ ما يزالُ مِنَ الوَرى

    ثَناءٌ تَهاداهُ إليكَ المَواسِم

    Ali ibn Nasr, from mankind there never ceases

    praise that the festive seasons bear as gifts to you.

  44. تَخيَّركَ السُّلطانُ نُصْحاً لمُلْكِه

    فأَرضاهُ مَيْمونُ النّقيبةِ حازم

    The sultan chose you for loyal counsel to his kingdom;

    a resolute man of auspicious character pleased him.

  45. ولم أَر أَبْهَى منكَ في العينِ منْظَراً

    وقد سارَ ذاكَ الموكِبُ المُتَزاحِم

    I have seen no sight more splendid than you

    when that thronging procession moved.

  46. طلَعْتَ بسَعْدٍ طلعةَ البَدْرِ في الدُّجَى

    ولا ليلَ إلاّ ما تُثيرُ الصّلادِم

    You rose auspiciously, like the full moon in darkness,

    with no night but the darkness raised by the sturdy steeds.

  47. على مَتْنِ طِرْفٍ سارَ واليومُ شامِسٌ

    بَوجْهكَ إشْراقاً وبالنّقْعِ غائم

    Upon the back of a noble steed you rode, the day sunny

    with your face's radiance, yet clouded with dust.

  48. أَغرَّ من القُبِّ العِتاقِ مُجَجَّلٍ

    قَوائمهُ يومَ الرِّهانِ قَوادم

    A white-blazed, white-stockinged horse among lean thoroughbreds,

    his legs are flight-feathers on the day of racing.

  49. وقد سبَقَ البْرقَ المُجاريهِ بَعْدَ ما

    تَشكَّلَ منه بالضِّياءِ القَوادم

    He outstripped the lightning racing him, after

    his flight-feathers had taken their luminous form from it.

  50. فلو كان ليلاً ما قَضيْتُ تَعجُّباً

    وقلتُ على أَطْرافهِ الصُّبْحُ هاجِم

    Had he been night, I would never have exhausted my wonder,

    and would have said: Dawn assaults his extremities.

  51. ولكنّه من حُمْرةِ الشَّفَقِ اكْتَسَى

    إِهاباً فمِنْ أَنَّى له الصُّبْحُ لاطِم

    But from the redness of twilight he has put on

    a hide; whence, then, comes dawn to strike him?

  52. وفي جيدِهِ ما صِيغَ من مثْلِ لَوْنِه

    قلائدُ والَى نَظْمَها فيهِ ناظِم

    About his neck are things wrought in his own hue:

    necklaces whose stringing a stringer arranged in succession upon him.

  53. وقد شرَّفَ التّشْريفَ أَنّكَ لابِسٌ

    وأَنَّ حَسوداً لا يُواليكَ راغِم

    The robe of honor has been honored by your wearing it,

    and an envious man disloyal to you is humbled.

  54. كأنَّ على الأعطافِ منْكَ مُنَوِّراً

    من الرَّوضِ في حافاتهِ الطَّرْفُ سائم

    It is as though upon your shoulders lies a flowering expanse

    of garden, along whose borders the gaze grazes.

  55. وقبلَك ما جِيدَتْ سماءٌ وروَّضَستْ

    إذا ما نُجودٌ روَّضَتْ أَو تَهائم

    Before you, no sky had been watered and made to bloom

    when uplands or lowlands blossomed.

  56. ولكنْ غَمامٌ جادَ عِطْفَكَ صَوْبُهُ

    غَمامٌ بما يَأْتِي من الجودِ غانِم

    But a cloud whose downpour watered your shoulder

    is a cloud that gains from the bounty it brings.

  57. وما كنتُ أَدرِي قبلَها أَنَّ حُلّةً

    تَسرْبَل ثَوبَيْها العُلا والمَكارم

    Before it, I had not known of a robe

    whose two garments eminence and noble virtues could don;

  58. ولا أَنَّ من أَسماءِ فَخْرٍ وسُؤْدَدٍ

    تُعَدُّ ثيابٌ طُرِّزَتْ وعَمائم

    nor that among the names of glory and lordship

    embroidered clothes and turbans could be counted.

  59. وشُرّفْتَ بالسّيْفِ المُهَنّدِ فالْتقَتْ

    صَوارمُ في نَصْرِ الهُدى وصَرائم

    You were honored with the Indian-steel sword, and there met

    sharp blades and firm resolves in defense of true guidance.

  60. وأَقبلَ في كفِّ الغُلامِ مُهَنَّدٌ

    على رأْسِه من طاعةٍ لك قائم

    An Indian-steel sword came forward in the servant's hand,

    standing on its head in obedience to you.

  61. وطَبْعُ شُواظِ النّارِ أَنْ يَطْلُبَ العُلا

    إذا هزَّه في ظُلْمَةِ اللّيْلِ جاحم

    The nature of fire's flames is to seek the heights

    when a stoker shakes them in the darkness of night.

  62. فلم يك يَغْدو وهْو ناكسُ رأْسِه

    إلى الأَرْضِ لولا أَنّه لكَ خادم

    It would not go forth with its head bent down

    toward the earth, were it not your servant.

  63. إِلى أُفُقِيَّ الشَكلِ رَصَّعَ لَيلَهُ

    كَواكِبُ فَذّ عاضَدَتهُ لَوائِم

    Alongside a horizon-shaped form whose night is inlaid

    with stars—a unique one supported by matching companions,

  64. كَبَدرِ تَمامٍ لُفَّ في قِطعِ لَيلَةٍ

    وَقَد طَلَعَت في المَتنِ مِنهُ النَعائِم

    like a full moon wrapped in a stretch of night,

    while the Ostriches have risen upon its back.

  65. وَزَوجا رِماحٍ خَلفَ فَردٍ مِنَ الوَرى

    فَكُلُّ لِكُلِّ حَيثٍ سارَ مُلازِم

    And two pairs of spears behind one unique man:

    each accompanies each wherever he goes.

  66. حَوى زُرقَةً في لُبسِهِ وَسِنانِهِ

    فَسِيّانِ لَوناً مَتنُهُ وَاللَهاذِم

    He bore a blue hue in his attire and his spearhead,

    so his back and the spearheads were alike in color.

  67. وَأَعجَبُ ما في الأَمرِ أَنَّ نَفائِساً

    لِأَمثالِها لَم يَغنَمِ الدَهرَ غانِم

    The strangest thing is that these precious things,

    whose like no winner has ever won,

  68. جَلائِلُ في الأَقدارِ وَهيَ كَأَنَّما

    قِياساً إِلى سامي عُلاكَ تَمائِم

    great in worth, seem nevertheless

    mere amulets beside your lofty eminence.

  69. بَهَرنَ فَمِن قَومٍ عُقِدنَ خَناصِرٌ

    عَلَيها وَمِن قَومٍ عُضِضن أَباهِم

    They dazzled: some people folded their little fingers

    over them, while others bit their thumbs.

  70. وَكانَ بِتَتويجٍ جَبينُكَ عِندَهُم

    خَليقاً كَما اِعتادَ المُلوكُ الأَعاجِم

    In their view, your brow was worthy of coronation,

    as non-Arab kings were accustomed to.

  71. فَتَوَّجتَ تيجانَ الأَعاريبِ أَن غَدَت

    إِلى العَرَبِ العَرباءِ تَنميكَ سالِم

    But you crowned the crowns of the Arabs, for

    Salim traces your descent to the pure Arabs.

  72. أَبا القاسِمِ الحاوي وَلائي كُلِّهِ

    وَقَلبي لَم يَقسِمهما لَكَ قاسِم

    O Abu al-Qasim, possessor of all my allegiance

    and my heart: no divider has divided the two for you.

  73. شُهودي عَلى عَيني دَليلُكَ وَالفَتى

    بِحُبِّ وَبُغضٍ بَينَ عَينَيهِ وَاِسمِ

    My witnesses are on my eye to guide you; a man

    bears love and hatred marked between his eyes.

  74. فَشَرِّف كِتابَ الوَجهِ مَنّي بِنَظرَةٍ

    لِتَقرَأَ أَنّي في السُرورِ مُساهِم

    Honor the book of my face with a glance,

    so you may read that I share in the joy.

  75. فواللَهِ لا أَنسى صَنائِعَكَ اللتي

    سَبَقتَ بِها ما دامَ في الدَهرِ دائِم

    By God, I shall not forget the kindnesses with which you

    led the way, as long as anything endures in time.

  76. وَإِنَّ اللَيالي ما بَقيتَ بِغَبطَةٍ

    لَمُغتَفَرٌ عِندّي لَهُنَّ الجَرائِم

    As long as you remain in felicity, the nights

    have their crimes forgiven by me.

  77. وَلا أَشتَكي دَهراً وَإِن جارَ ما غَدا

    لِيَ السالِمِيُّ المُرتَجى وَهوَ سالِم

    I shall not complain of Time, though it act unjustly, as long as

    my hoped-for al-Salimi remains safe.

  78. فَدونَكَ دُرّاً مِن بِحارِكَ حُزتُها

    وَأَهدَيتُ إِلّا أَنَّهُنَّ نَظائِم

    Here, then, are pearls I gathered from your seas

    and offered you—except that they are strung verses.

  79. سَجعتُ بِما أَولَيتَ شُكراً كَأَنَّما

    أَياديكَ أَطواقٌ وَنَحنُ الحَمائِم

    I cooed in thanks for what you bestowed, as though

    your favors were collars, and we were doves.

  80. فَهُنَّئتَ ما أوتيتَهُ وَتَضاعَفَت

    لَدَيكَ مِنَ اللَهِ العَطايا الجَسائِم

    May you be blessed in what you have been given, and may

    God's mighty gifts to you be multiplied.

  81. فَلا زِلتَ مَحمِيَّ البَقاءِ وَلا اِنبَرى

    لِعُروَتِكَ الوُثقى مِنَ المُلكِ فاصِم

    May your continued life always be protected, and may none arise

    to sever your firmest bond with sovereignty.

  82. جَنابُكَ مَقصودٌ وَجَدُّكَ صاعِدٌ

    وَمُلكُكَ مَحسودٌ وَعَيشُكَ ناعِم

    Your presence is sought, and your fortune ascends;

    your kingdom is envied, and your life is easeful.