سرت من برزخ ناء بعيد — Alkadawi

سَرت مِن برزخٍ ناءٍ بعيد

وَوجه الصبح متّصح العمودِ

She journeyed by night from a remote, far-off isthmus,

As dawn's face shone with a clear pillar of light.

وَأَهدت من تحيّتها سلاماً

أَعاد الروحَ في جسم العميدِ

And she offered a salutation of peace in greeting,

That restored the spirit to the love-stricken man's body.

أَلا ليتَ شعري هل لِما قد

عَهدت من البشاشةِ من معيدِ

Ah, would that I knew whether what I once

Knew of gladness might ever be restored.

ويا تلكَ اللئيلات المَواضي

أَلا عودي لنا بالوصلِ عودي

And O those little nights gone by,

Ah, return to us with union—return!

وَكم وطر قضيت بها وكم قد

لهوت بخرّد لدن القدودِ

How many desires I fulfilled in them, how often

I dallied with bashful maidens of supple figure!

لئيلاتٍ بها كم من غزالٍ

يَصيدُ الأسدَ أَضحى من مصيدِ

Little nights in which many a gazelle

That hunted the lion became prey.

وحاملة قضيباً مِن كثيبٍ

تهزّع في الغلائل والبرودِ

And a woman bearing a slender bough rising from a dune

Swayed in thin tunics and striped cloaks.

تَراءَت بين سجسجها فلاحَت

لنا كالشمسِ في درج السعودِ

She appeared amid their mild air and shone

To us like the sun in the degrees of auspicious stars.

فَتلكم نصب عيني في اِنتباهي

وَنومي أَو قِيامي أو قعودي

So she stands before my eyes when I am awake,

And when I sleep, or stand, or sit.

إِذا ما رمتُ أَسلوها تتالت

بي الزفرات مسعرة الوقودِ

Whenever I seek to forget her, there follow

Sighs within me, setting the fuel ablaze.

وَمن شَهدت مدامعهُ عليهِ

فَقد عدمتهُ حجّاب الجحودِ

And he whose tears bear witness against him

Has been deserted by denial's gatekeepers.

تصدّ تذلّلاً طوراً وطوراً

تَجود بِوصلها بعد الصدودِ

At times she turns away in meekness; at times

She generously grants her union after turning away.

وربّة وقفةٍ منّي ومنها

قَضَيناها على عهدٍ جديدِ

And many a meeting between me and her

We spent under a fresh pledge.

وَقَفنا مَوقفاً ما قطّ فيه

نُحاذرُ مِن رقيبٍ أَو حسودِ

We stood in a place where never

Did we fear a watcher or a jealous one.

فَقلتُ لها اِرحمي فتبسّمت لي

بِكشرٍ لاح كالسمطِ الفريدِ

So I said to her, 'Have mercy,' and she smiled at me

With bared teeth gleaming like a peerless necklace.

وَلاح لناظري وردٌ طريٌّ

عَلى الوجنات منها والخدودِ

And fresh roses shone before my gaze

Upon her cheekbones and cheeks.

وَقابلني لها نحرٌ صقيلٌ

يُدافِعُني برمّان النهودِ

And her gleaming upper chest confronted me,

Repelling me with the pomegranates of her breasts.

أَسائلتي وصدقُ القولِ ينفي الش

شكوك منَ اليقينِ سلي وزيدي

O you who question me—truthful speech dispels

Doubts from certainty; ask, and ask still more.

سَلي تَجدي المسولَ أخا بيانٍ

يُفيدك في السؤالِ فتستفيدي

Ask: you will find the one questioned a master of clear speech,

Who informs you as you question, so that you benefit.

وَهاكِ مقالةً منّي اِستقامت

شَواهدها بموقفها الشهيدِ

And take from me a statement, firmly upheld

By its proofs in a setting that bears witness.

خلود المجدِ والعليا نراهُ

مُقيماً في خلود أَبي الخلودِ

We see the immortality of glory and eminence

Abiding in the immortality of Abu al-Khulud.

حسامٌ من سيوفِ اللّه ما إِن

لَه غير المحامدِ من عمودِ

A keen blade among God's swords, with no

Pillar but praiseworthy deeds.

مخايلُ جودهِ للوفدِ ليست

بِمخلية البروقِ ولا الرعودِ

The rain clouds of his bounty to delegations are not

Barren in their lightning or their thunder.

مَديحٌ في فلاحٍ ما له من

مثيل في الأَنام ومن فريدِ

Praise of Falah, who has no

Equal among mankind, nor any exceptional peer.

متونُ الصاهلاتِ له مهودٌ

قَدِ اِستغنى بهنّ عن المهودِ

The backs of neighing steeds are his cradles;

With them he has no need of cradles.

أجدت المدحَ فيه مستجيداً

فَجاد على المجيدِ المستجيدِ

I excelled in praising him, seeking his bounty;

So he gave generously to the accomplished praiser seeking bounty.

وَآثرني بِما تحوي يداهُ

هَنالك مِن طريفٍ أَو تليدِ

And he favored me with what his hands held,

There, of newly acquired or inherited wealth.

وَيدفعُ كاد لي حسنات ما قد

تكسّب في الركوع وفي السجودِ

And he almost hands me the merits he has

Earned in bowing and in prostration.

لَقد أفلحتَ فينا يا فلاح

وَفُزت بمكسبِ الفعلِ الحميدِ

You have indeed prospered among us, O Falah,

And won the reward of praiseworthy action.

وَبالفخرِ اِفتخرتَ وبالمعالي

وَبالتوفيقِ والفأل السعيدِ

And in glory you have gloried, and in high attainments,

And in success and happy augury.

وَكَم مِن معشرٍ وقبيل قومٍ

طَغوا وهم أولو بأسٍ شديدِ

And many a band, and many a tribe of men,

Rebelled, possessed of fierce might.

بَعثت لهم جيوشاً في جيوشٍ

لَديها الأسد تقنص بالأسودِ

You sent against them armies upon armies,

With them, lions are hunted by lions.

فلمّا أن رَأوها مقبلات

مدجّجة بآلاتِ الحديدِ

So when they saw those armies advancing,

Fully armed with implements of iron,

رَأوا وَاِستيقنوا أَن لا مناص

هناكَ منَ العساكرِ والجنودِ

They saw and knew for certain there was no escape

There from the armies and soldiers.

وَقد خفقت قلوبهمُ جميعاً

مَخافات الردى خفق البنودِ

And all their hearts fluttered

In fear of death, like fluttering banners.

فَمِنهم مَن ثوى قتلاً ومنهم

أسير في السلاسل والقيودِ

So some of them lay slain, and some

Were captives in chains and fetters.

فَهذا ما اِستحقّوا من نكالٍ

وَمِن بطشٍ يكون ومن عتيدِ

So this is the chastisement they deserved,

And the violence that comes and that lies ready.

وقدرة من أذاقَ عزير كأسَ الر

ردى مائة سنيناً في العديدِ

And by the power of Him who made Uzayr taste the cup of

Death for a hundred years in the reckoning,

وَأَنشره وأَحياه اِقتداراً

فَأَمسى بعد ذلك في الوجودِ

And resurrected him and revived him by His power,

So afterward he was again in existence;

وَأَمسك سقفهُ المرفوعَ حتّى اِس

تقرّ ولَم يكن بالمستميدِ

And held His raised roof until it

Settled, and was not swaying,

مقيماً ليس يدنو لاِنحدارٍ

وَلا يعلو هناك الى صعودِ

Standing firm, not inclining toward descent,

Nor rising there into ascent;

وأَخرجَ يوسفاً من سجنهِ إذ

حظي في السجن بالعلم المُفيدِ

And brought Yusuf out of his prison, when

In prison he had been blessed with useful knowledge;

وَلقّاه أَباه بعد ما إن

رُمي واِبتيع بالثمن الزهيدِ

And reunited him with his father after

He had been cast away and bought for a paltry price;

وصيّر ذكرَ أهلِ الكهف منه

منَ الآياتِ في الزمن المديدِ

And made the story of the People of the Cave

One of His signs throughout the long ages;

همُ لَبثوا ثلاث مئين عاماً

وَتسعاً بعد فهي من المزيدِ

They remained three hundred years,

And nine afterward—an added span.

رقودٌ كلبهم في الكهفِ فاِعجب

بِرقدة هؤلاء من الرقودِ

They lay asleep, their dog in the cave—marvel

At the slumber of these sleepers!

وَكلبهمُ لديهم وهو ملقٍ

ذِراعيه بناحية الوصيدِ

And their dog was beside them, stretching

Its two forelegs by the side of the threshold.

لأنتَ أَجلّ ما في الأرض ماست

لَه قدرٌ على وجه الصعيدِ

Truly you are the noblest on earth whose

Rank has swayed proudly over the earth's surface.

وَرِثتَ المجدَ عن عون بن نبت

وَعن ماءِ السما وعنِ الخلودِ

You inherited glory from Awn ibn Nabt,

And from Ma' al-Sama, and from al-Khulud.

فَما لكَ في المفاخر من شكيلٍ

وَما لك في المحامد من نديدِ

So you have no equal in glorious achievements,

And no rival in praiseworthy deeds.