لما شكا قلبي هوى نوار — Alarjani

لمّا شَكا قلبي هَوَى نَوارِ

وعارِضي كالصُّبحِ في الإسفارِ

When my heart lamented its love for Nawar,

and my beard was like dawn in its brightness,

والشَّعْرُ منها أَسودُ الشِّعار

كجُنْحِ ليلٍ جَدّ في اعْتِكار

while her hair wore a black mantle,

like the wing of a night thickening into darkness,

مالتْ من الإنْسِ إلى النِّفار

وأصبحَتْ قاطعةَ المَزار

she turned from intimacy to aversion,

and broke off her visits.

ولم تكد تَقرُبُ من دِياري

إلاّ طُروقاً بخيالٍ سار

She scarcely came near my dwelling,

except by night, through a wandering phantom.

وزادَهَمَّ قلبِها المُطار

إعسارُ شَيخٍ رافعِ الأستار

And her fluttering heart's distress was increased

by the poverty of an old man who lifts the veils.

والجمْعُ بينَ الشّيبِ والإعسار

عند الدُّمَى ذَنْبٌ بلا اغْتِفار

And combining gray hair with poverty

is, to doll-like beauties, a sin without forgiveness,

ولا له يُصْغَي إلى اعتِذار

فكلّما لَطّفْتُ لاسْتِهْتاري

nor is an apology for it given a hearing.

So whenever, for my infatuation, I softened

عُذْري غدَتْ تومي إلى عِذاري

فعندَ ذاك عَظُمَ افتِكاري

my excuse, she would point to my cheek-beard.

Then my brooding grew intense,

وشَبَّ في قلبي شُواظُ نار

وغلَبتْ حَيْرتِي اصْطِباري

and a flame of fire blazed in my heart,

and my bewilderment overcame my patient endurance.

لكنْ لمكْتومٍ منَ الأسْرار

وقَدَرٍ سَعْدٍ منَ الأقْدار

But through something hidden among the mysteries,

and a fortunate decree among decrees,

أقبلَ وفْدُ المِهْرجانِ الطّاري

مُعدِّلاً عند ذوي الأبصار

the approaching delegation of Mihrajan arrived,

equalizing, in the eyes of the discerning,

للَّيل والنّهارِ في المِقْدار

فَتَّم صُلْحٌ لا على إنكار

the lengths of night and day.

Thus a peace was sealed, without objection,

ما بين خَصَمْينِ ذَوَيْ أشجار

من ظُلَمٍ تَجْنى على أنوار

between two adversaries embroiled in quarrels:

darknesses doing wrong to lights.

وحَكَم النّاسُ على استبْصار

أنّ استواءَ اللّيلِ والنّهار

And people judged, with clear insight,

that the equality of night and day

قد كانَ بَعدَ ذلك الضِرّار

يَطرَحُ كَفَّ الفَلَكِ الدَّوّار

had followed that strife,

as the hand of the revolving heavens cast

للشّمسِ في الميزانِ كالدّيِنار

فنَبّهتْني نظرةُ اعْتِبار

the sun into the Balance like a dinar.

Then a reflective glance awakened me

وعلَّمتْني شيمةَ المُدار

وهل فتىً في زمَنِ اضْطِرار

and taught me the habit of accommodation.

Should a young man in a time of constraint

بعَجْزِه يَجْرِي ولا يُداري

إلى رُجوعِ زمَنِ اخْتِيار

go on in helplessness without adapting

until a time of choice returns?

فقُمْتُ مثلَ الأسَدِ المُثار

ولم أَزلْ بكَثْرةِ التَّدوار

So I rose like a roused lion,

and never ceased, through much traveling,

والطّوفِ في الأنجادِ والأغْوار

والقَطْعِ للمَهامِهِ القِفار

and roaming highlands and lowlands,

and crossing desolate wastelands,

مُستَبْضِعاً غُرّاً منَ الأشعار

وحامِلاً دُرّاً إلى بِحار

taking brilliant poems as merchandise,

and carrying pearls to seas:

من خلفاء اللّهِ في الأمصار

أو السّلاطينِ ذَوي الأقطار

God's caliphs in the cities,

or rulers possessing the regions,

أو صاحبٍ قُدّمَ لاسْتِيزار

من كُلِّ نَهّاء الوَرى أمّار

or a dignitary appointed to the vizierate,

any forbider and commander of humankind,

حتّى رجَعْتُ ظاهرَ اليَسار

مُمتِليءَ اليمينِ واليَسار

until I returned visibly wealthy,

my right hand and left filled full.

فكم غَدوتُ وازِنَ النُّضار

ورُحْتُ منه قاضيَ الأوطار

How often I went out in the morning weighing gold,

and returned in the evening with it, fulfilling my desires!

ونلتُ وَصْلَ الكاعِبِ المِعطار

ومَفْرِقي منَ السّوادِ عار

And I won union with the perfumed, budding-breasted maiden,

though my hair's parting was bare of black.

والذّهَبُ المُذهِبُ للأفكار

فالحمدُ للهِ العزيزِ الجار

And gold is the dispeller of cares.

So praise be to God, the mighty Protector,

مُبدّلِ الإقلالِ بالأكثار

ثُمّ الصّلاةُ دائمُ الأدوار

who replaces scarcity with abundance.

Then blessings, enduring through all cycles,

منّا على نَبيِّه المُختار

مُحمدٍّ وآلِه الأخيار

from us upon His chosen Prophet,

Muhammad, and his virtuous family.

هذا حديثُ قَطْعِيَ البراري

وجَرْيِ أحوالي على المَجاري

This is the tale of my crossing the wildernesses

and my circumstances running their course,

حتّى حطَطْتُ الفَقْرَ عن فَقاري

وسفَرتْ عنِ الغِنى أسفاري

until I lifted poverty from my spine,

and my travels unveiled wealth.

فَكَرّ صَرْفُ دَهْريَ الكَرّار

وصار طَعْمُ العيشِ ذي الأطوار

Then the vicissitude of my ever-turning time returned,

and the taste of life, with all its changes, turned

من بَعْدِ إحلاءٍ إلى إمراء

ظِلُّ غنىً آذَنَ بانحسار

from sweetness to bitterness.

The shade of wealth announced its withdrawal.

فاليوم عاد عائدُ الإقْتار

وما أظُنُّ جابِرَ انكساري

So today the visitor of poverty has returned,

and I expect none to mend my broken state,

بعد رجائي نَفحاتِ الباري

سوى كريمِ النفْسِ والنِّجار

after my hope for the Creator's gracious breaths,

except one noble in soul and lineage,

حَلاّلُ أعلَى قُلَلِ الفَخار

بَنانُه كالدّيمةِ المِدْرار

dwelling on the loftiest peaks of glory.

His fingertips are like steady, copious rain,

وشأنُه مَعونةُ الأحرار

مثْلُ رشيدِ الدّين في الكِبار

and his concern is aiding the freeborn.

Like Rashid al-Din among the great—

وقولُ مِثْلُ مُوجِبُ استِغْفاري

فما لَه مِثْلٌ ولا مُجار

yet saying 'like' obliges me to ask forgiveness,

for he has no equal, nor anyone who can keep pace,

وما لَهُ في فَضْلِه مُمار

طَوْدٌ من الأطوادِ ذو وَقار

and none disputes his excellence.

A mountain among mountains, full of dignity,

مُسدَّدُ الإيرادِ والأصدار

عَزْمَتُه كالصّارمِ البَتّار

unerring in bringing in and sending forth,

his resolve is like a sharp, severing sword,

ورأْيُه زَنْدُ النّجاحِ الواري

إذا انتدَى للحَمِدِ في أيسار

and his judgment a fire-stick kindling success.

When he acts generously for praise among arrow-players,

يَضْرِبُ بالسَهْمَيْنِ في الأعشار

أخبارُه عظيمةُ الإكبار

he casts both arrows for the ten shares.

Reports of him command great reverence,

وخَيْرُه مُصغَّر الأخبار

فبَحْرُهُ مُلتَطِمُ التّيّار

yet his bounty is understated in those reports.

For his sea has clashing currents,

وقَطْرُه ما انفَكَّ في انْهِمار

قد زارَنا نَفْديهِ مِن زَوّار

and his rain has never ceased pouring.

He has visited us—may we be his ransom, such a visitor!

وما قَرأْنا قَطُّ في الأسفار

وما سَمِعْنا قَطُّ في الأسمار

Never have we read in books,

nor ever heard in evening conversations,

بكعبةٍ سارَتْ إلى الزُّوّار

ولم يَشُدّوا العِيسَ بالأكوار

of a Kaaba traveling to its visitors,

without their saddling the pale camels.

يا مُحسِناً حمايةَ الذِّمار

اُذكُرْ مقُامي وهْو ذو اشْتِهار

O you who excel at safeguarding honor,

remember my station, well known as it is,

يا غيْرَ محتاج إلى الإذْكار

بمِدَحِ جلَوْتُها أبكار

O you who need no reminder,

through praises I unveiled as virgins,

في مِعصَمْ العلياء كالسِّوار

كَدُرَرٍ يُصَنَّ أو دَرار

like a bracelet on the wrist of high glory,

like pearls kept safe, or radiant stars.

فقلْ لعاً إن ذلَّ ذو عِثار

ظامٍ يَعافُ الوِرْدَ للإسْآر

Say, 'Recover!' if one who stumbles is brought low:

a thirsty man who shuns the watering-place for its leftovers.

كم ذا أُواري هكذا أُواري

وأَطلُبُ الصّفْوَ منَ الأكدار

How long must I conceal my burning thirst like this,

and seek the clear from the turbid,

في قُرْبِ شَرٍّ طائرِ الشَّرار

وتُرْبِ أرضٍ مُنْبِتِ الأشرار

near an evil whose sparks fly,

and in the soil of a land that sprouts the wicked?

شُكْري لبَحْرِ جُودِكَ الزَخّار

إذ لا يزالُ طافِحَ الغِمار

My thanks are to the surging sea of your generosity,

for its deep waters never cease overflowing,

وَقْفاً على الغُيّابِ والحُضّار

فأَجْرِ إدْراريَ وهْو جار

dedicated to the absent and the present.

So keep my stipend flowing, as it flows,

مادام حُسْنُ الرّأيِ منكَ جار

واسْمَعْ بديعَ مَدْحِيَ السّيّار

as long as your kindly regard keeps flowing,

and hear my wondrous, widely traveling praise,

فالدُّرُّ منّى ثَمَنُ الإدرار

أَرْبِحْ بها من صَفْقةٍ للشّاري

for my pearls are the price of the stipend.

How profitable a bargain it is for the buyer!

يا طالعاً سَعْداً على الدِّيار

طُلوعَ غيثٍ مُسْبِلِ القِطار

O you who rise auspiciously over the dwellings,

like a raincloud rising with streaming drops,

قِطارُه تَهمى على الأقطار

وساعياً للنّفع لا الإضرار

whose drops pour over the regions,

and who strive for benefit, not harm!

وبَثُّ عَدْلٍ عامرُ الأمصار

عيونُها إليه في انتِظار

And the spreading of justice makes the cities flourish,

their eyes turned toward him in expectation.

لا زلتَ نجماً عاليَ التَّسيار

وَحْدتُه تُغْنِي بلا أنصار

May you remain a star of lofty course,

whose solitude suffices, without supporters,

غَناءَ ألفِ عسكرٍ جَرّار

يَغدو غُدُوَّ الضّيغَم الهصّار

for the strength of a thousand vast armies.

He goes forth as the crushing lion goes:

ما غاب عن غابٍ طَلوبُ ثار

إلاّ وعادَ ظافرَ الأظفار

never does a seeker of vengeance leave a thicket

without returning with victorious claws.

عشْتَ لمُلْكٍ ثابتٍ القَرار

طويلَ عُمْرٍ طالَ في اقْتِدار

May you live for a kingdom with a firm foundation,

long-lived, with a life prolonged in power,

قصيرِ أيّامٍ مِن استِبشار

حتّى تَرى عُمْرَك في الأعمار

with days made short by gladness,

until you see your lifetime, among lifetimes,

يُسمونَهُ الطّويلَ بالقِصار

دُمتَ تَزينُ المُلكَ بالآثار

called 'the long' beside the short ones.

May you ever adorn the realm with your deeds,

ما زِينَتِ الرّياضُ بالأزهار

as long as gardens are adorned with flowers.