معان من أحبتنا معان — Almaarri

مَعانٌ مِن أحِبّتِنَا مَعَانُ

تُجِيبُ الصاهِلاتِ به القِيانُ

Maʿan is an abode of our beloveds;

There the singing girls answer the neighing steeds.

وقفْتُ به لصَوْنِ الوُدّ حتى

أذَلْتُ دموعَ جَفْنٍ ما تُصانُ

I stood there to preserve affection, until

I lavished my eyelid's tears, with none held back.

ولاحَتْ مِن بُرُوجِ البَدرِ بُعْداً

بُدورُ مَهاً تَبَرّجُها اكْتِنانُ

And far off, from the full moon's towers, appeared

Oryx-like full moons, whose display was concealment.

فلو سمَحَ الزّمانُ بها لضَنّتْ

ولو سَمَحَتْ لضَنّ بها الزّمانُ

Had Time been generous with them, they would have withheld themselves;

And had they yielded, Time would have withheld them.

رُزِقْنَ تَمَكنّاً مِن كلّ قلْبٍ

فليسَ لغيرِهِنّ به مَكانُ

They were granted mastery over every heart,

Leaving no place in it for any others.

وفَيْتُ وقد جُزِيتُ بِمِثْلِ فِعْلي

فها أنا لا أخُونُ ولا أُخانُ

I kept faith, and was repaid with deeds like mine:

Here I am, neither betraying nor betrayed.

وعيشَتي الشّبابُ وليسَ منها

صِبايَ ولا ذَوائِبيَ الهِجانُ

My life is youth; no part of it are

My childhood or my snow-white locks.

وكالنّارِ الحَيَاةُ فمِنْ رَمادٍ

أواخِرُهَا وأوّلُها دُخانُ

And life is like fire: of ash are

Its final stages, while its beginning is smoke.

إلامَ وفيمَ تَنْقُلُنا رِكابٌ

وتأمُلُ أن يكُونَ لنا أوَان

Whither, and why, do riding camels carry us,

Hoping that a time will come for us

فنَجْزِيهَا على الحُسنى وأهْلٌ

لما ظَنّتْ خَلائقُك الحِسانُ

To repay their good service? And worthy

Of their expectations are your noble qualities.

وكانَتْ كالنّخِيلِ فظَلّ كلّ

ومُشْبِهُه من الضُّمْرِ الإهانُ

They had been like palms; now each one

Of the lean camels had palm fruit-stalks for its likeness.

تخَيّلتِ الصّبَاحَ مَعِينَ مَاءٍ

فما صَدَقَتْ ولا كذَبَ العِيانُ

They imagined morning a spring of water;

Their fancy was not true, yet sight did not lie.

فكاد الفَجْرُ تَشْرَبُه المَطَايا

وتُمْلأ منه أسْقِيهٌ شِنانُ

So the mounts almost drank the dawn,

And worn waterskins were almost filled from it.

وقد دَقّتْ هَوادِيهِنّ حتى

كأنّ رقابَهُنّ الخَيْزرانُ

Their necks had grown so slender

That they seemed to be bamboo.

إذا شربَتْ رأيْتَ الماءَ فِيها

أُزَيْرِقَ ليس يَسْتُرُهُ الجِرَانُ

When they drink, you see the water within them,

Pale blue, unconcealed by their throat-hide.

ستَرْجِعُ عنكَ وهْيَ أعَزّ إبْلٍ

إذا إبِلٌ أضَرّ بها امْتِهانُ

They will return from you the most prized of camels,

When other camels have been harmed by mistreatment.

لها فَرَحاً فُوَيْقَ الأرضِ أرْضٌ

ومِن تحْتِ اللُّجَينِ لها لِجانُ

For joy they tremble just above the ground,

And beneath the silver they have leafy fodder.

تَرَى ما نالت الأضْيافُ نَزْراً

ولو مُلِئَتْ من الذّهَبِ الجِفانُ

You deem what guests receive scant,

Even if the serving bowls are filled with gold.

ويُطلَبُ منكَ ما هوَ فيكَ طبْعٌ

ومَطْلُوبٌ من اللّسِنِ البَيانُ

What is sought from you is your innate nature,

As clear expression is sought from the eloquent.

ومُمْتحِنٍ لقاءكَ وهو موْتٌ

وهل يُنْبي عن المَوْتِ امْتِحانُ

Many a man tests an encounter with you, though it is death;

But can a trial reveal what death is?

ومُضْطَغِنٍ عليكَ وليس يُجْدي

ولا يُعْدي على الشمس اضْطِغانُ

Many a man bears a grudge against you, but it avails nothing:

Resentment gives no aid against the sun.

ورُبّ مُساتِرٍ بهَوَاكَ عَزّتْ

سَرائرُه وكُلُّ هوىً هَوَانُ

Many a man conceals his love for you; inviolate

Are his secrets, though all love is abasement.

أحَبّكَ في ضَمائِرِهِ ونادى

ليُعْلِنَها وقد فاتَ العِلانُ

He loved you in his inmost thoughts, then called out

To proclaim them, when the time for declaration had passed.

وَصَلّى ثُمّ أذّنَ مُسْتقِيلاً

وقَبْلَ صَلاتِهِ وَجَبَ الأذانُ

He prayed, then called to prayer, seeking pardon,

Though the call was required before his prayer.

تَضَمّنُ منْكَ ذي الدنيا مَليكاً

عليه لكلّ مَكْرُمَةٍ ضَمانُ

This world holds in you a king

Who stands guarantor for every noble deed.

كأنّ بحارَها الحيوانُ فيها

وقُرْبُكَ خُلْدُها وهْيَ الجِنانُ

As though its seas were the Water of Life within it,

And your nearness its immortality, while it is paradise.

وتُعْذَلُ حينَ لم تُجْنَنْ سُرُوراً

وتُعْذَرُ حيثُ ليس لها جَنَانُ

It is reproached for not going mad with joy,

Yet excused, since it has no heart.

ولو طَرِبَ الجَمادُ لكَانَ أوْلى

شُرُوبِ الرّاحِ بالطّرَبِ الدّنانُ

If lifeless things could feel rapture, most deserving

Of rapture among wine-drinkers would be the wine jars.

ولمّا دالَتِ العَرَبُ اغْتِصَاباً

وأضْحَتْ جُلُّ طاعتِها دِهانُ

And when the Arabs gained power by usurpation,

And most of their obedience became mere flattery,

وعادتْ جاهِلِيَتُها إليها

فصارتْ لا تَدينُ ولا تُدانُ

And their pagan ignorance returned to them,

So that they neither obeyed nor were ruled,

سَطَوْتَ ففي وَظيفِ الصّعْبِ قيْدٌ

بذاكَ وفي وَتيرَتِهِ عِرانُ

You struck: on the unruly beast's shank lies a shackle

Through that stroke, and in its nasal septum a nose-peg.

وقد يَنْمي كبيرٌ مِن صَغِيرٍ

ويَنْبُتُ من نَوَى القَسْبِ اللِّيانُ

Something great may grow from something small,

And palms sprout from the stones of dried dates.

وعَنّتْ في سَماءِ بَني عَدِيٍّ

نُجُومٌ ما يُغَبّيها عَنانُ

In the sky of Banū ʿAdī appeared

Stars that no clouds obscure.

فما عَبَدَتْ سِوَى الرّحمن رَبّاً

إذِ المعْبودُ نَسْرٌ والمُدانُ

They worshipped no lord but the All-Merciful,

When Nasr was the one worshipped and obeyed.

إذا البِرْجِيسُ والمِرّيخُ رامَا

سِوَى ما رُمتَ خانهُما الكِيانُ

If Jupiter and Mars should seek

Anything other than what you sought, Nature would betray them both.

هُما العَبْدانِ إنْ بَغَياكَ غَدْراً

فما فَعَلا إبَاقٌ أو دِفانُ

They are two slaves: if they seek to betray you,

Their deed is flight from servitude or furtive absconding.

تُقارِنُ بين أشْتاتِ المَنايا

بضَرْبٍ ليس يُحْسِنُه قِرانُ

You bring together diverse forms of death

With a stroke that Qirān cannot master.

ولولا قوْلُكَ الخَلاّقُ رَبّي

لكان لنَا بطَلْعَتكَ افْتِتَانُ

Were it not for your saying, “The Creator is my Lord,”

We would be beguiled by your countenance.

تَخُبّ بكَ الجيادُ كأنّ جَوْناً

على لَبّاتِهِنّ الأرْجُوانُ

The noble steeds trot with you, as though a dark hue

Upon their upper breasts were crimson.

مُضَمَّرَةً كأنّ الحِجْرَ منها

اذاما آنَسَتْ فَزَعاً حِصانُ

Trained lean, as though each mare among them,

Whenever she sensed alarm, were a stallion.

بَناتُ الخَيْلِ تَعْرِفُها دَلوكٌ

وصارخَةٌ وآلِسُ واللُّقانُ

Daughters of horses, known to Dalūk,

And Ṣārikhah, Ālis, and al-Luqān.

كأنّ قَطاةَ أعْجَزِهَا قَطاةٌ

أُديفَ بمَحْجِرَيها الزّعْفرانُ

As though the rounded bone of their rumps were a sandgrouse

With saffron blended into its eye-sockets.

كأنّ جَناحَها قلْبُ المُعادي

وَلِيَّكَ كلّما اعْتَكَرَ الجَنانُ

As though its wing were the heart of an enemy of

Your ally, whenever that heart grows turbulent.

مُعِيدٌ مُبْدِئٌ فالأمّ ممّا

فعَلْتَ البِكْرُ وابْنَتُها العَوانُ

You repeat and begin afresh: through what

You have done, the mother is a maiden, her daughter a matron.

وكائنْ قد وَرَدْتَ بها غَدِيراً

ولِلْمُهُجاتِ بالرّيّ ارْتِهَانُ

How many a pool you have reached with them,

With lives held in pledge for thirst's quenching.

به غَرْقَى النّجُومِ فبيْنَ طافٍ

ورَاسٍ يَسْتَسِرّ ويُسْتَبانُ

Drowned stars lie in it: some floating,

Others settled, now hidden, now revealed.

أجَدَّ به غَواني الجِنّ لَعْباً

فأعْجَلَها الصّبَاحُ وفيه جانُ

There the lovely jinn-maidens redoubled their play;

Dawn hurried them away, with a jinn still in it:

فَصِيمٌ نِصْفُهُ في الماء بادٍ

ونِصْفٌ في السّماء به تُزانُ

A severed one, half of him visible in the water,

And half in the sky, which he adorns.

كأنّ اللّيلَ حارَبَها ففِيهِ

هِلالٌ مِثْل ما انعَطَفَ السّنانُ

As though the night had battled them, for in it

Lies a crescent like a bent-back spearhead.

ومِن أُمّ النّجُومِ عليه دِرْعٌ

يُحاذِرُ أن يُمَزّقَها الطّعَانُ

And from the Mother of Stars it wears a coat of mail,

Fearing that spear-thrusts might tear it.

وقد بَسَطَتْ إلى الغَرْبِ الثرَيّا

يداً غُلقَتْ بأنْمُلِهَا الرّهانُ

The Pleiades have stretched toward the west

A hand, at whose fingertips the pledges were forfeited.

كأنّ يَمِينَها سَرَقَتْكَ شيئاً

ومَقْطوعٌ على السَّرَقِ البَنانُ

As though its right hand had stolen something from you,

And fingers are cut off for theft.

إذا ضُرِبَتْ خِيامُكَ في مَكانٍ

فذلك حيثُ يُلتَقَطُ الجُمانُ

When your tents are pitched in a place,

That is where pearls are gathered.

وتَدّخِرُ الكَواعِبُ من حَصاهُ

وحُقّ لها ادّخارٌ واخْتِزَانُ

Young maidens store away its pebbles,

And rightly do they save and treasure them.

كِلا كفّيْكَ في سَلْمٍ وحَرْبٍ

يكُونُ الخوْفُ مِنها والأمانُ

Both your hands, in peace and war,

Are sources of fear and security.

فليس بشاغِلِ اليُمْنى حُسامٌ

وليس بشاغِلِ اليُسْرَى عِنانُ

No sharp sword occupies your right hand,

Nor does a rein occupy your left.

فكُنْ في كلّ نائِبَةٍ جَريئاً

تُصِبْ في الرّأيِ إن خُطِئَ الهِدانُ

So be bold in every calamity:

You will judge rightly if the timid man is mistaken.

وَسائلْ من تَنَطّسَ في التّوَقّي

لأيّةِ عِلّةٍ ماتَ الجَبان

Ask whoever is scrupulous about taking precautions

From what cause the coward died.

فإنَّ تعاوُنَ الأمْلاكِ جَهْلٌ

على مَلِكٍ بخالِقِهِ يُعانُ

For kings to join forces is folly

Against a king aided by his Creator.

يُعَبِّرُ سَيْفُه لفْظَ المَنايا

كما شَرَحَ الكلامَ التّرْجُمانُ

His sword interprets the utterance of deaths,

As an interpreter explains speech.

ويَسْلُكُ رُمْحُه في كلّ باغٍ

كما سَلَكَ المَضِيقَ الأُفْعُوانُ

His spear threads through every aggressor,

As a serpent traverses a narrow passage.

ويُكْنَى باسْمِهِ عن كلّ مجْدٍ

وكلُّ اسْمٍ كِنايَتُهُ فُلانُ

His name is used to signify every glory,

While every name's placeholder is “So-and-so.”

ويُعْدَمُ عنْدَه في الجودِ مَطْلٌ

ومُعْدُومٌ مع العِتْقِ الحِرَانُ

With him no delay is found in generosity,

And with noble breeding no balking is found.

إذا سَمَيْتَهُ في أرْضِ جَدْبٍ

نَزَلْتَ وكلُّ رابيَةٍ خِوانُ

If you name him in a barren land,

You alight, and every knoll is a dining-table.

تَطاوَلَتِ الوِهادُ هوىً وشوْقاً

إليه كما تَقَاصَرَتِ الرِّعانُ

The lowlands rose high in love and longing

Toward him, just as the mountain peaks stooped.

ستَفْديكَ المكارِمُ راضِياتٍ

وما مِنها بفِدْيتِكَ امْتِنانُ

The virtues will willingly ransom you,

Claiming no favor for ransoming you.

إذا صَالَتْ فأنْتَ لها يَمِينٌ

وإنْ نَطَقَتْ فأنتَ لها لِسانُ

If they strike, you are their right hand;

And if they speak, you are their tongue.