هبيه لمنهل الدموع السواكب — Albohtry

هَبيهِ لِمُنهَلِّ الدُموعِ السَواكِبِ

وَهَبّاتِ شَوقٍ في حَشاهُ لَواعِبِ

Spare him for the downpour of streaming tears,

And gusts of longing playing in his breast.

وَإِلّا فَرُدّي نَظرَةً فيهِ تَعجَبي

لِما فيهِ أَو لا تَحفِلي لِلعَجائِبِ

And if not, turn a glance toward him: you will marvel

At what is in him—or pay no heed to marvels.

صَدَدتِ وَلَم يَرمِ الهَوى كَشحُ كاشِحٍ

وَبِنتِ وَلَم يَدعُ النَوى نَعبُ ناعِبِ

You turned away, though no foe's rancor had assailed love,

And departed, though no croaking raven had summoned separation.

فَلا عارَ إِن أَجزَع فَهَجرُكِ آلِ بي

جَزوعاً وَإِن أُغلَب فَحُبُّكِ غالِبي

So no shame if I despair: your abandonment has left me

Distraught; and if I am overcome, your love overcomes me.

وَما كُنتُ أَخشى أَن تَكونَ مَنِيَّتي

نَواكَ وَلا جَدواكِ إِحدى مَطالِبي

I had not feared that my death would be

Your separation, nor was your bounty among my desires.

أَما وَوُجوهِ الخَيلِ وَهيَ سَواهِمٌ

تُهَلهِلُ نَقعاً في وُجوهِ الكَتائِبِ

Now, by the faces of the horses, gaunt,

Stirring fine dust in the faces of battalions;

وَغَدوَةِ تِنّينِ المَشارِقِ إِذ غَدا

فَبَثَّ حَريقاً في أَقاصي المَغارِبِ

And by the dawn march of the dragon of the eastern lands, when he set out

And spread fire through the farthest western lands;

وَهَدَّةِ يَومٍ لِاِبنِ يوسُفَ أَسمَعَت

مِنَ الرومِ ما بَينَ الصَفا وَالأَخاشِبِ

And by the crash of Ibn Yusuf's day, which resounded

From the Byzantines to all between al-Safa and al-Akhashib:

لَقَد كانَ ذاكَ الجَأشُ جَأشَ مُسالِمٍ

عَلى أَنَّ ذاكَ الزَيَّ زِيُّ مُحارِبِ

That heart was indeed the heart of a man at peace,

Though that garb was the garb of a warrior.

مَفازَةُ صَدرٍ لَو تُطَرَّقُ لَم يَكُن

لَيَسلِكَها فَرداً سُلَيكُ المَقانِبِ

A breast like a desert: were a passage opened through it, not even

Sulayk of the raiding bands could traverse it alone.

تَسَرَّعَ حَتّى قالَ مَن شَهِدَ الوَغى

لِقاءُ أَعادٍ أَم لِقاءُ حَبائِبِ

He rushed forward until one who witnessed the battle asked:

“A meeting with enemies, or a meeting with loved ones?”

ظَلِلنا نُهَدّيهِ وَقَد لَفَّ عَزمُهُ

مَدينَةَ قَسطَنطينَ مِن كُلِّ جانِبِ

We kept calming him, though his resolve had encircled

The city of Constantine on every side.

تَلَبَّث فَما الدَربُ الأُصَمُّ بِمُسهِلٍ

إِلَيها وَلا ماءُ الخَليجِ بِناضِبِ

Wait a while: the Deaf Pass is no easy route

To it, nor have the waters of the gulf dried up.

وَصاعِقَةٍ في كَفِّهِ يَنكَفي بِها

عَلى أَرؤُسِ الأَقرانِ خَمسُ سَحائِبِ

And by a thunderbolt in his palm, with which pour down

Five clouds upon the heads of his opponents;

يَكادُ النَدى مِنها يَفيضُ عَلى العِدى

مَعَ السَيفِ في ثِنيَي قَناً وَقَواضِبِ

Bounty from them almost overflows upon the foes,

With the sword, between two folds of spears and keen blades.

أَما وَاِبنِهِ يَومَ اِبنِ عَمرٍو لَقَد نَهى

عَنِ الدينِ يَوماً مُكفَهِرَّ الحَواجِبِ

Now, by his son on the day of Ibn Amr, he indeed warded

From the faith a day with grimly frowning brows.

لَوى عُنُقَ السَيلِ الَّذي اِنحَطَّ مُجلِباً

لِيَصدَعَ كَهفاً في لُؤَيِّ بنِ غالِبِ

He twisted the neck of the torrent that descended clamoring,

To split a cavern among Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib's people.

وَقَد سارَ في عَمرِو بنِ غَنمِ بنِ تَغلِبٍ

مَسيرَ اِبنِ وَهبٍ في عَجاجَةِ راسِبِ

He had marched against Amr ibn Ghanm ibn Taghlib,

As Ibn Wahb marched through the dust-cloud of Rasib.

سَقَيتُهُمُ كَأساً سَقاهُم ذُعافَها

كَنِيُّكَ في أُولى السِنينَ الذَواهِبِ

I gave them a cup whose deadly draught had been served to them

By the one sharing your byname, in the earliest years gone by.

وَنَفَّستَ عَن نَفسِ الظَلومِ وَقَد رَأَت

مَنِيَّتَها بَينَ السُيوفِ اللَواعِبِ

And you relieved the soul of the oppressor, when it had seen

Its death among the dancing swords.

مَنَنتَ عَلَيهِ إِذ تَقَلَّبَتِ الظُبا

عَلَيهِ وَزَيدٌ مِن قَتيلٍ وَهارِبِ

You showed him mercy when the sword-edges swung

Over him, with Zayd divided between slain and fugitives.

وَتَعتَعتَ عَنهُ السَيفَ فَاِرتَدَّ نَصلُهُ

كَليلَ الشَذا عَنهُ حَرونَ المَضارِبِ

And you held the sword back from him; its blade recoiled,

Blunted in its sting against him, its striking edges balking.

أَتَغلِبُ ما أَنتُم لَنا مِثلَنا لَكُم

وَلا الأَمرُ فيما بَينَنا بِمُقارِبِ

O Taghlib, you are not to us what we are to you,

Nor are matters between us at all comparable.

تَهُبّونَ نَكباءً لَنا وَرِياحُنا

لَكُم أَرَجٌ مِن شَمأَلٍ وَجَنائِبِ

You blow as a crosswind against us, while our winds

Bring you fragrance from the north wind and southern breezes.

وَكائِن جَحَدتُم مِن أَيادي مُحَمَّدٍ

كَواكِبَ دَجنٍ مِن لُهىً وَمَواهِبِ

And how many of Muhammad's favors have you denied—

Stars in clouded darkness, of lavish gifts and bounties!

وَمِن نائِلٍ ما تَدَّعي مِثلَ صَوبِهِ

إِذا جادَ أَكبادُ الغَمامِ الصَوائِبِ

And bounty whose downpour none claim to rival—

When he gives, not even the hearts of pouring clouds.

أَلَم تَسكُنوا في ظِلِّهِ فَتُصادِفوا

إِجازَةَ مَطلوبٍ وَرَغبَةَ طالِبِ

Did you not dwell in his shade and find

A request granted and a seeker's wish fulfilled?

أَلَم تَرِدوهُ وَهوَ جَمٌّ فَلَم تَكُن

غُروبُكُمُ في بَحرِهِ بِغَرائِبِ

Did you not come to him when he was brimming full, so that

Your buckets in his sea were nothing strange?

وَيُحجَبُ عَنكُم عَبدُهُ وَهوَ بارِزٌ

تُناجونَهُ بِالعَينِ مِن غَيرِ حاجِبِ

And his servant is screened from you, while he himself stands forth,

You commune with him eye to eye, with no chamberlain.

وَيَغدو عَلَيكُم وَهوَ كاتِبُ نَفسِهِ

وَنِعمَتُهُ تَغدو عَلى أَلفِ كاتِبِ

And he visits you at dawn, acting as his own scribe,

While his bounty goes at dawn to a thousand scribes.

لَأَقشَعَ عَن تِلكَ الوُجوهِ سَوادَها

وَأَمطَرَ في تِلكَ الأَكُفِّ الشَواحِبِ

He surely cleared the blackness from those faces,

And poured rain into those pallid palms.

بَلى ثَمَّ سَيفٌ ما يُجاوِزُ حَدَّهُ

ظُلامَةُ ظَلّامٍ وَلا غَصبُ غاصِبِ

Yes, there is a sword whose edge no

Tyrant's injustice or usurper's seizure can overstep.

لَهُ سُخطُكُم وَالأَمرُ مِن دونِهِ الرِضا

وَرَغبَتُكُم في فَقدِ هَذي الرَغائِبِ

Your anger is for it; beyond it, all is contentment,

And your desire is to lose these desirable blessings.

يَدُ اللَهِ كانَت فَوقَ أَيديكُمُ الَّتي

أَرَدنَ بِهِ ما في الظُنونِ الكَواذِبِ

God's hand was above your hands, which

Intended against him what lay in false conjectures.

فَجاءَ مَجيءَ الصُبحِ يَجلو ضَبابَةً

مِنَ البَغيِ عَن وَجهٍ رَقيقِ الجَوانِبِ

So he came like dawn, clearing away a mist

Of tyranny from a face of delicate contours.

يُزَجّي التُقى مِن هَديِهِ وَاِعتِلائِهِ

سَكينَةُ مَغلوبٍ وَأَوبَةُ غالِبِ

Piety is ushered forth from his bearing and his ascendancy by

The calm of one vanquished and a victor's return.

أَسالَ لَكُم عَفواً رَأَيتُم ذُنوبَكُم

غُثاءً عَلَيهِ وَهوَ مِلءُ المَذانِبِ

He let pardon flow for you; you saw your sins

As flotsam upon it, while it filled the watercourses.

وَلَم يَفتَرِض مِنكُم فَرائِصَ أَهدَفَت

لِبَطشَةِ أَظفارٍ لَهُ وَمَخالِبِ

Nor did he rend from you the flank-flesh exposed

To the assault of his nails and claws.

وَقَد كانَ فيما كانَ سُخطاً لِساخِطٍ

وَهَيجاً لِمُهتاجٍ وَعَتباً لِعاتِبِ

And what occurred did hold anger for the angry,

And agitation for the agitated, and reproach for the reproachful.

وَفي عَفوِهِ لَو تَعلَمونَ عُقوبَةٌ

تُقَعقِعُ في الأَعراضِ إِن لَم يُعاقِبِ

And in his pardon, if you but knew, lies a punishment

That rattles reputations, even if he does not punish.

وَلَو داسَكُم بِالخَيلِ دَوسَةَ مُغضَبٍ

لَطِرتُم غُباراً فَوقَ خُرسِ الكَتائِبِ

And had he trampled you with horses, the trampling of an angry man,

You would have flown as dust above the mute battalions.

نَصَحتُكُمُ لَو كانَ لِلنُصحِ مَوضِعٌ

لَدى سامِعٍ عَن مَوضِعِ الفَهمِ غائِبِ

I counseled you—if counsel had any place

With a listener absent from the place of understanding—

نَذيراً لَكُم مِنهُ بَشيراً لَكُم بِهِ

وَما لِيَ في هاتَينِ قَولَةُ كاذِبِ

Warning you against him, bringing you glad tidings of him;

And in these two things I speak no liar's word.

فَإِن تَسأَلوهُ الحَربَ يَسمَح لَكُم بِها

جَوادٌ يَعُدُّ الحَربَ إِحدى المَكاسِبِ

So if you ask him for war, he will grant it freely to you:

A generous giver who counts war among his gains.

رَكوبٌ لِأَعناقِ الأُمورِ فَإِن يَمِل

بِكُم مَذهَبٌ يُصبِح كَثيرَ المَذاهِبِ

A rider on the necks of affairs: if one road leads

You aside, he will have many roads.

مَشى لَكُمُ مَشيَ العَفَرنى وَأَنتُمُ

تَدِبّونَ مِن جَهلٍ دَبيبَ العَقارِبِ

He advanced toward you with the stride of a mighty lion, while you

Creep in ignorance as scorpions creep,

إِلى صامِتِيِّ الكَيدِ لَو لَم يَكُن لَهُ

قَريحَةُ كَيدٍ لَاِكتَفى بِالتَجارِبِ

Toward one silent in his plotting; had he no

Innate gift for scheming, experience would suffice him.

عَليمٌ بِما خَلفَ العَواقِبِ إِن سَرَت

رَوِيَّتُهُ فَضلاً بِما في العَواقِبِ

He knows what lies beyond consequences, if

His deliberation travels—let alone what lies within consequences.

وَصَيقَلُ آراءٍ يَبيتُ يَكُدُّها

وَيَشحَذُها شَحذَ المُدى لِلنَوائِبِ

And a polisher of judgments, he spends the night laboring over them,

And sharpens them as knives are sharpened for calamities.

يُحَرِّقُ تَحريقَ الصَواعِقِ أُلهِبَت

بِرَعدٍ وَيَنقَضُّ اِنقِضاضَ الكَواكِبِ

He scorches like thunderbolts set ablaze

By thunder, and swoops like falling stars.

لَقينا هِلالَ البَطحِ سَعداً لَدى أَبي

سَعيدٍ وَرَيبُ الدَهرِ لَيسَ بِرائِبِ

We found the crescent of the flatlands auspicious, with Abu

Sa'id, and time's vicissitudes caused no unease.

شَدَدنا عُرى آمالِنا وَظُنونِنا

بِأَجوَدِ مَصحوبٍ وَأَنجَدِ صاحِبِ

We fastened the bonds of our hopes and expectations

To the most generous companion and the bravest friend.

تَدارَكَ شَملَ الشِعرِ وَالشِعرُ شارِدُ ال

شَوارِدِ مَرذولٌ غَريبُ الغَرائِبِ

He restored poetry's unity, while poetry was the most wayward of

Wayward things, rejected, the strangest of strange things.

فَضَمَّ قَواصيهِ إِلَيهِ تَيَقُّناً

بِأَنَّ قَوافيهِ سُلوكُ المَناقِبِ

So he gathered its far-flung reaches to himself, certain

That its rhymes are threads for noble deeds.