أتعرف للواشين عندي مغارم — Ali Ghorab Sfaxien

أتُعرف للواشين عندي مغارم

فتطلب أم ثأرٌ لهم متقادم

Are there known debts I owe the slanderers,

that they demand—or some ancient blood claim of theirs?

سعوْا في جفا من مرهفات لحاظه

حروفٌ لأفعال السلوّ جوازم

They worked to estrange one whose keen-edged glances

are particles that cut short the verbs of forgetting love.

يُفتر عزم الصبر مني فُتورها

وينصرها جيش من الشوق هازم

Their languor weakens the resolve of patience in me,

and a conquering army of longing comes to their aid.

إذا لمست في العزم الفؤاد يقول لي

على قدر أهل العزم تأتي العزائم

When I search my heart for resolve, it tells me:

Great resolves come in proportion to the people of resolve.

عظيمٌ بلائي فيه يصغر عنده

وتصغر في عين العظيم العظائم

Great is my trial through him; beside it, other things dwindle,

and great things dwindle in the eyes of the great.

ومن لي به يرضى لو عُمر ساعة

وتسخط إن شاءت عليّ العوالم

Who will secure his pleasure for me, if only for an hour,

though all the worlds be angry with me, if they wish?

على ورد خديه العذار كمائم

ومن سحر لحظيه عليه تمائم

Around the roses of his cheeks, his down forms calyces,

and upon him are amulets against the magic of his glances.

فليس لصب منه في الوصل نافع

وليس له من صارم اللحظ عاصم

No helper can grant the lovesick union with him,

nor any protector shield him from that swordlike glance.

رشا قوَّم الرحمان نير خلقه

بأحسن تقويم فعز المقاوم

A gazelle whose radiant form the All-Merciful fashioned

in the fairest proportion—so a rival is hard to find.

معدَّل قد يبهت الشمس حسنه

وللشمس بالتعديل بهتٌ مصادم

A well-proportioned one whose beauty dazzles the sun,

while the sun, through correction, has an opposing motion.

ترى للداردي حيرة من طلوعه

لذاك لها وصفٌ التحير لازم

The bright stars [reading uncertain] are bewildered by his rising;

thus bewilderment remains their defining trait.

تحكم عبد الخال في مصر حسنه

وكافور عبدُ وهو في مصر حاكم

His slave-like mole rules the Egypt of his beauty,

and Kāfūr is a slave, yet rules in Egypt.

إلا أرغم الله الوشاة فإنهم

سعاة للأنف المغرمين رواغم

Ah, may God humble the slanderers, for they are

runners who rub lovers' noses in the dust.

أذا همَّ من أهوى بعطف تصدّه

بنعت به الإبدال للعطف حاتم

Whenever my beloved inclines to tenderness, they turn him away

with a description that decrees affection's replacement.

الا ما لدهري لسم يحل عن إساءتي

وما ريء يوما وهو للغيظ كاتم

Alas, what ails my age? [Unclear wording] from wronging me.

Never has it been seen concealing its fury.

كأن له عندي عظيم جناية

فلم تنس أو خوف البواد رواهم

As though I had committed some great offense against it,

never forgotten—or fear of ruin [unclear wording].

أن بين دهر في الحقيقة أهله

أفاع وفي رؤيا العيون أوادم

[Unclear opening] amid an age whose people, in truth,

are vipers, though to the eyes they are human beings.

هُم حاولوا إنزال قدري إلى الثرى

ومنزل قدري للثريا مُتاخم

They tried to lower my standing to the dust,

though the station of my worth borders the Pleiades.

أتُنزلني الأعداء في غير منزلي

ولم تُلف إلا بالرؤوس العمائم

Would enemies place me somewhere other than my proper station,

when turbans are found only upon heads?

تُرى جهلوا قدر العلى أم تجاهلوا

وهل يجهل الشمس المنيرة عالم

Did they not know the worth of loftiness, or pretend not to know?

Can anyone who knows fail to recognize the radiant sun?

كأني دربين عمي بظلمة

بدا أو سراج ما له شام شائم

I am like a pearl among blind people in darkness,

appearing—or a lamp no observer has glimpsed.

كأني عبيق الطيب يعبق نشره

لدى فاقدي الشمّ والطيب فاغم

I am like fragrant perfume whose scent spreads

among those without smell, though its fragrance is overwhelming.

كأني بليغ القول في منطق امريء

وقد خُوطبت عجما به أو أعاجم

I am like eloquent speech upon a person's tongue,

with which mute creatures or foreign speakers have been addressed.

كأني بين الصم ألحان مطرب

تميد له صُمّ الجبال العواصم

I am like a singer's melodies among the deaf,

to which even solid, sheltering mountains sway.

إلى كم أزين الدهر وهو يشينني

وأطريء في أمداحه وهو ذامم

How long shall I adorn my age while it disgraces me,

and lavish praise upon it while it censures me?

مديحي لأهل الدهر والذم منهم

كلانا بإفك المدح والذمّ آثم

My praise is for the people of this age; their censure is for me:

both of us sin through false praise and false censure.

وما كلّ مدح للفضائل مُثبت

وما كلّ ذمّ بالنقائص واسم

Not every praise establishes virtues,

nor does every censure brand someone with defects.

فربّ مديح كان بالقدح مُغريا

وربة ذمّ وهو بالمدح ئاقم

Many a panegyric has encouraged disparagement,

and many a censure stands as praise [reading uncertain].

أنا من إذا أثنى على فضله امرؤٌ

عليه غدا يُثني الثنا وهو باسم

I am one whose merit, when a person praises it,

praise itself turns to praise him, smiling.

لئن كان بالأسوار يزدان بعضهم

فربّ سوار زينته المعاصم

If some are adorned by bracelets,

many a bracelet is adorned by the wrists.

ولا غرو أن يخفى الجهول فضائلي

فكلّ تراب للذّخائر كاتم

It is no wonder that the ignorant overlook my virtues:

all earth conceals treasures.

وإن نم بي واش حسودٌ فإنما

بإحراق عود الطيب تذكو شمائم

If an envious slanderer speaks against me, it is only

by burning fragrant wood that its scents grow stronger.

وقد ضاق رحب الأرض إذ صح أن لي

مقاما على الجوزاء فيه نعائم

The wide earth has grown narrow, since it is certain I have

a station above al-Jawzāʾ, with delights therein.

ألا ليت شعري هل خطوبي تنتهي

إلى غاية أم هكذا الدهر دائم

Ah, if only I knew whether my troubles would reach

an end, or whether time will remain like this forever.

غريب ديار حيث حل لأنه

له موطنٌ للفرقدين مُزاحم

A stranger in every land where he settles, because

his homeland rivals the Farqadain.

له ظلّ يرثي كلّ قاس فؤاده

وأعدى العدى يغدو له وهو راحم

He remains one whom every hard-hearted soul pities,

and even his fiercest enemy comes to show him mercy.

له رحمة يذري الغمام دمُوعه

وما نحبت إلا عليه الحمائم

For pity of him, the cloud scatters its tears,

and the doves have mourned for none but him.

فمن دون ما يبغي عواد تعوقُه

ومن دون ما يهوى تحزّ الغلاصم

Obstacles prevent him from reaching what he seeks,

and before he reaches what he loves, throats are slit.

فأهون ما يلقاه أهوال حادث

وأطيب ما تحلو لديه العلاقم

The easiest things he encounters are the terrors of calamity,

and the sweetest things he tastes are bitter colocynth.

بشائره في كلّ يوم فجائع

تُعاقبها أضعافها وتُصادم

His glad tidings every day are tragedies,

followed by many times their number, crashing together.

لحى الله دهرا لا تزال صُروفُه

تحاربني طُول المدى وأسالم

May God curse an age whose reversals never cease

to wage war on me, while I remain peaceful.

كمن أنفه نحو السماء وأسته

إلى الماء غمّ وهو للأنف راغم

Like one whose nose points skyward, while his backside

is plunged in water, yet he seeks to humble the nose.

يراني أدنى ما جنيت كأنما

جنته من الأحشاء منه صوارم

It regards the least thing I have gained as though

sharp swords had reaped it from its own entrails.

ويرشد من دوني إلى طُرق العلى

ومثلي سار في الضلالة هائم

It guides those below me toward the paths of loftiness,

while one like me wanders astray, bewildered.

وقد سدّ باب النفع دوني وانثنى

يفتح باب الضرّ لي وهو حازم

It has barred the door of benefit against me, then turned

to open the door of harm for me, resolutely.

ومن لي برزق في سدّ لخلتي

ومن دونه أسد الثرى والأراقم

Who will obtain for me sustenance to fill my need,

when earthly lions and venomous serpents bar the way to it?

كأني أرى الأرزاق يوم تقسمت

توزع رزقي بينهن المقاسم

It is as though I see livelihoods, on the day they were apportioned,

the allotted shares dividing my livelihood among themselves.

قضيت زماني بالتأسف والمنى

ولم أحظ من دهري بما أنا رائم

I have spent my life in regret and wishes,

and gained from my age none of what I seek.

وما ساءني خل فلذت بغيره

وما بتّ عما قيل والقلب نادم

No friend wronged me so that I sought refuge with another,

nor have I spent the night over what was said with a regretful heart.

متى همّ بالإكرام دهري عاقه

لئيم لأركان المكارم هادم

Whenever my age intends to honor me, it is obstructed

by a base man who demolishes the pillars of generosity.

ولم أر من إكرامه لي وسيلة

سوى مدح من تُعزى إليه المكارم

I have seen no means by which it might honor me

except praising the one to whom noble deeds are ascribed:

أبي الحسن المولى الزكي عليّ من

به الدهر أعياد لنا ومواسم

Abū al-Ḥasan, the pure-hearted lord ʿAlī, through whom

our age becomes festivals and seasons of celebration.

مليك إذا الأملاك أبدت مفاخرا

ففخر عُلاه بالسماكين راسم

A king: when other kings display their glories,

the glory of his eminence leaves its trace beside the two Simāks.

مليك إذا الامال منك توجهت

إليه فثق أن الإياب مغانم

A king: when your hopes turn

toward him, trust that you will return with bounty.

ولم يثنه قول النصيح بغشه

بأن صلات المادحين مغارم

Nor does the adviser, with his deceit, deter him by saying

that gifts to panegyrists are mere expenses.

يرى المدح يُحيي ربه وهو ميت

ويبقى مدى الدنيا وتفنى العوالم

He sees that praise revives its master even when he is dead,

and endures throughout the world while other worlds perish.

بحلم وعدل خص هذا لمن جنى

وهذا لجرح النائبات مراهم

With forbearance and justice—this last reserved for offenders,

and the former a balm for the wounds of calamity.

ومورد أوراد بذكر إلهه

له عذبت ما حولها حام حائم

His wellspring of litanies in remembrance of his God

has grown sweet for him; no wanderer has circled it.

وأضحت دروس العلم بعد دروسها

رسُوم لها تُحيا به ومعالم

The teachings of knowledge, after their effacement,

have become traces and landmarks revived through him.

بليغ جواد منه سحبان باقلا

يروح ويغدو ما درى منه حاتم

So eloquent and generous that beside him Saḥbān is Bāqil,

while Ḥātim, coming and going, knows nothing of such giving.

مليك ليالي النحس منه بواكيا

تولت وأيام السعود بواسم

A king from whom the nights of ill fortune, weeping,

have fled, while days of good fortune smile.

له وثبات في وغى الحرب تنثني

وتجبن عنهنّ الكماة الضراغم

He makes charges amid the battle's din before which

even lionlike champions draw back in fear.

له عفة لو أنها في الورى سرت

لما علقت بالعالمين ماثم

His integrity, if it spread through humankind,

would leave no sins attached to anyone.

وبشر مُحيا لم يزل مُتهللا

به يهتدي السارون والليل فاحم

The brightness of his countenance, ever radiant,

guides night travelers while the night is coal-black.

تقلد سيف الحق حتى أغدت

على كل مظلوم تردّ المظالم

He girded on the sword of truth, until

wrongs came to be redressed for every person wronged.

إذا انبسجت مُزن السماء وكفه

فذاك له كفّ وذلك ساجم

When the clouds of heaven and his hand pour forth,

the former holds back, while the latter pours down.

نعمنا بها في ظل عيش كأنما

بنا من جنان الخلد حفت نعائم

Through it we thrive in the shade of a life, as though

delights from the gardens of eternity surrounded us.

له رأفة بالمسلمين وغيرة

عليهم كأن المسلمين محارم

He has compassion for Muslims and protective jealousy

over them, as though all Muslims were his inviolable kin.

لهُ النّصر عبد والرشادُ مُصاحب

لهُ وأخُوهُ الصّبر والسعدّ خادمٌ

Victory is his slave, and right guidance his companion;

patience is his brother, and good fortune his servant.

تحصّن من ربّ العلى فوثُوقهُ

به من عدوّ كيدُهُ مُتعاظمُ

He seeks protection from the Lord of loftiness; his trust

in Him shields him from an enemy whose malice swells.

أمولاي يا من فضلهُ شمل الورى

ولم يُثنه عن فعل ذلك لائمُ

O my lord, whose bounty encompasses all humankind,

and whom no reproacher has turned from doing so,

فديتك ما ذنبُ الّذي لم يكن لهُ

سوى مدحك الأسنى خليل منادمُ

may I be your ransom! What is the fault of one who has

no intimate companion but your most exalted praise?

يُهانُ بطرد وانقطاع وحُسّد

هُ شامت فيهم وآخرُ شاتمُ

He is humiliated by expulsion and abandonment; his enviers—

one among them gloats, another reviles.

ولو مُذنب غيري جنى الذّنب كلّه

ما مسّهُ بعض الّذي بي قائمُ

Even if another sinner committed every sin,

not a fraction of what afflicts me would touch him.

لئن كان ذنبي حُبّكم ومديحكم

فإنّي على تلك الذُّنوب مُلازمُ

If my sin is loving you and praising you,

then I shall persist in those sins.

وهب أنّ لي ذنبا فقد عمّ نفعكم

جميع العدى كيف الودُود الملازمُ

And suppose I had sinned: your beneficence embraces

all enemies—what then of a steadfast loving friend?

على أنّني من كلّ عيب مُبرأ

وعرضي من كلّ المثالب سالمُ

Besides, I am cleared of every fault,

and my honor is free from every blemish.

ولولا مديحي فيك لم تكُ جُرّدت

بحضرتكم للذّمّ فيّ صوارمُ

Were it not for my praise of you, no swords would have been drawn

in your presence to vilify me.

ولكن قصرتُ المدح فيكم فطوّلت

وُشاتي في ذمّي وما أنا جارمُ

But I shortened my praise of you, so my slanderers prolonged

their vilification of me, though I have done no wrong.

ولو أنّني لم أقتصر عن مديحكم

لفزتُ ولم يُوجد لقدري هاضمُ

Had I not held back from praising you,

I would have prospered, and none would have diminished my worth.

ولو وصفوني بالّذي فيّ قادح

لهان وما حيّ من القدح سالمُ

Had they described a fault truly present in me,

it would have been bearable; no living person is free from blame.

ولكن بما فيهم وُصفتُ وطالما

تردّتْ بأوصاف اللّئام الأكارم

But I was described by faults of theirs, and many a time

the noble have been clothed in the attributes of the base.

وما نسب الحسّادُ لي من تشاؤُم

وما انتسبت يوما إليّ مشائمُ

As for the ill omen my enviers attribute to me—

though ill omens have never attached themselves to me—

فإنّي أرى عُذرا لهم فيه بيننا

وما أنا فيما أسندُوا لي لائمُ

I find them an excuse for it between ourselves,

and do not blame them for what they ascribed to me.

دروا أنّني بعض الدّراري فأثبتوا

لي البعض من أحوالها ليلائموا

They knew I was one of the brilliant stars, so assigned

me some of their conditions, to make the likeness fit.

ولو قيل حظّي وافرُ النّحس منهمُ

لصدّق فيما يدّعيه مُخاصم

Had it been said that my lot from them is richly unlucky,

an adversary would have spoken truly in that claim.

نعم لي هجو وافرُ النّحس في العدى

وللخلّ مدح كاملُ السّعد دائمُ

Yes, I have satire full of ill fortune for my foes,

and lasting praise, wholly auspicious, for my friend.

لئن يُعزى للأسماء يمن وطيرة

وفي اسمي لمولانا الأمير مواهمٌ

If good fortune and evil omens are ascribed to names,

and in my name our lord the emir finds misgivings,

فماذا على المولى بقلب مُلقّبي

بما شاء ممّا فيه يُمن مُلائمُ

what harm to my lord in changing my sobriquet

to whatever suitable, auspicious name he wishes?

على أنّني قبلا دُعيتُ ببارع

وفي عقد إشهادي ليلي قائمُ

Besides, I was previously called Bāriʿ,

and in my attestation deed, [unclear wording] stands.

بعيشك أيّ المنحسين أشدّ ما

رموني به أو ما به أسمي واهمُ

By your life, which of the two unlucky things is worse:

what they accuse me of, or the omen imagined in my name?

ولكن عُلا فضلي أساءت لهم ولي

فكلّ به وصفُ الإساءة قائم

But the height of my merit has harmed both them and me,

so the description of harm applies to each of us.

ومُذ عجزُوا عن مثل نظمي أحرقُوا

بشهب معان للقلوب وراجمُ

Since they could not match my verse, they were burned

by meteors of meaning, pelting the hearts.

هم نسبوا التّأثير لاسمي وما دروا

بنسبته للنّجم كفّر عالم

They ascribed an influence to my name, unaware

that a scholar deems it unbelief to ascribe such influence to a star.

أما يتّقي الرّحمان قوم بجهلهم

رموني بما لم يرمه قطّ رائم

Do they not fear the All-Merciful, these people who in ignorance

charged me with what no accuser has ever charged?

أم جاء في التّنزيل لا تنابزُوا

بالألقاب نهي فيه عن ذاك جازمُ

Has Revelation not said, 'Do not insult one another'

'by nicknames'—a categorical prohibition of that?

ألم يُرو لا عدوى ولا طيرة كما

أتى عن نبي للنّبيين خاتم

Has it not been transmitted, 'No contagion and no evil omen,'

as reported from the prophet who seals the prophets?

أما فيه كسرٌ للقلوب وكسرُها

مُخلّ بفضل المرء والمرءُ آثمُ

Is this not a breaking of hearts—and breaking them

diminishes a person's merit and makes him sinful?

يقولون أعلى منه زيد وخالد

وكم منهُ خير وهو للشّعر ناظمُ

They say, 'Zayd and Khālid are superior to him,'

'and many a better man composes poetry.'

وما فضلُ شخص يستوي الدُّرُّ والحصا

لديه ومنطيقُ اللّسان وباكمُ

What merit has a person for whom pearls and pebbles

are equal, as are an eloquent tongue and a mute?

عجبت لقوم في الورى يحسدونني

على غير ما عندي من الرّزق ناجمُ

I marvel at people in this world who envy me

for livelihood that has never come my way.

ولو كان لي رزق كشعري تركتهُ

لهم باعترافي إنّ شعري ساقمُ

If I had a livelihood to match my poetry, I would leave it

to them, admitting that my poetry is unsound.

وما أنا يا مولاي أوّل نآظم

رموهُ بإجرام وما هُو جارمُ

Nor am I, my lord, the first poet

they have accused of wrongdoing when he did no wrong.

ولو أنت لي وجّهت بعض توجّه

لكان لأمداحي لديك تزاحُم

Were you to direct even a little attention toward me,

my praises would throng before you.

رضاكم على المذمُوم مدح وسُخطكم

على كلّ ممدُوح لهُ الذّمُّ دائمُ

Your favor is praise for the censured; your displeasure

makes censure cling forever to every praised man.

لئن حجبتني عن عُلاك أسافل

فذاك دليلُ الخير عندي قائم

If base men have screened me from your eminence,

that, to me, is a present sign of good.

ففي إثر حجب الأفق بالغيم يبتدي

نُزُولُ الحيا بالأرض والبرق باسمُ

For after clouds screen the horizon, there begins

the rain's descent upon the earth, while lightning smiles.

وليس على حال تدُومُ غمامةٌ

إذا حجبت شمس النّهار غمائمُ

No cloud remains forever in one state,

when clouds veil the daytime sun.

تقولُ العدى قد ضاع جيّدُ شعره

وخاطر في ذمّ العدى وهو عاشمُ

The foes say, 'His excellent poetry has been wasted,'

'and he risked censuring his foes while still hoping.'

فقلتُ لهم ما ضاع مدحي وإنّما

جوائزُهُ تأتي لهنّ تراكمُ

I told them, 'My praise has not been wasted; rather,'

'its rewards are coming, piling upon one another.'

ولم أر لي في النّاس ذنبا جنيتهُ

سوى طُول فضل وهو للسرّ زق حارمُ

I see no wrong I have done among people,

except abundant merit, which bars livelihood [corrupt wording].

أمولاي إنّي قد خدمتُ جنابكم

بدُرّ مديح ما به الغيرُ خادمُ

O my lord, I have served your noble presence

with pearls of praise no other has offered in service.

ولو كان لي في العيش أدنى كفاية

غدا فيك مدحي موجُه مُتلاطمُ

If I had even the least sufficiency in life,

my praise of you would swell with crashing waves.

فهب لي ما يبقى به نشرُ ذكركم

مدى الدّهر شُكرا ما لهُ قطّ صارمُ

Grant me what will sustain the spreading of your renown

throughout time, in gratitude that nothing ever severs.

وإني من جدواك مازلت آمناً

بمنزلة علياً لها الدهر خادم

And through your bounty I have remained secure

in a lofty station that time itself serves.

وإنّي على مقدار فضلك طالبٌ

من النّفع لا مقدار مدحي رائمُ

I seek in proportion to the measure of your bounty,

benefit—not merely in proportion to my praise.

ولستُ بما أسديت لي أنا قانعٌ

ومنك لمن دُوني العطايا العظائمُ

I am not content with what you have bestowed on me,

while those below me receive immense gifts from you,

ويرتعُ في خصب بغيث نوالكم

وزهرُ مديحي فيك بالطّيب ناسمُ

and graze in fertile pasture under the rain of your generosity,

while the blossom of my praise of you breathes perfume.

ولم يكُ مدحي في عُلاك مُفخّما

لذكرك بل مدحي بذكرك فاخمُ

My praise of your loftiness has not magnified

your renown; rather, my praise is magnified by naming you.

أمولاي خُذ منّي بُيوت قصيدة

بهنّ خريداتُ المعاني نواعمُ

O my lord, take from me the verses of a poem

whose virgin meanings are tender maidens.

ولا ثمنٌ فيهنّ منكم سوى الرّضى

ومرتبة من دُونها النّسرُ حائمُ

I ask no price from you for them but your favor,

and a station beneath which the Eagle circles.

أطلتُ ولكن في عُلاك وجيزة

فعلياك لم يستوفها قط ناظمُ

I have spoken long, yet it is brief beside your loftiness,

for no poet has ever fully encompassed your eminence.

فلا زلت منصور الجناب مُؤيّدا

وأنت لهذا الملك والدّهر حاكمُ

May your noble person ever be victorious and upheld,

as ruler over this kingdom and over time.

ويهنيك عيد النّحر مولاي إنّه

لكم فيه فتحٌ بالمسرّة خاتمُ

May the Feast of Sacrifice bring you joy, my lord; indeed,

in it you have a victory crowned with happiness.