سري بألسنة الدموع يباح — Alshaghouri

سِرّي بِأَلسِنَةِ الدُموعِ يُباحُ

فَاِعجَب لَها صمتاً وَهُنَّ فِصاحُ

My secret is disclosed by the tongues of tears.

Marvel at them: silent, yet eloquent!

ما كانَ أَكتَمَني لِسِرِّ هَواكُمُ

لَكِنَّ دَمعَ أَخي الهَوى فَضّاحُ

How well I once concealed the secret of loving you!

But the tears of love's brother betray him.

عَن ناظِري سِرتُم إِلى قَلبي فَما

لَكُمُ وَلِلتَبريحِ عَنهُ بَراحُ

You journeyed from my eyes into my heart, and there is

no leaving it for you or for love's torment.

قَلبي يَئِنُّ كَما يَئِنُّ مِنَ الأَسى

بَينَ الأَسى مَن حَشاهُ جِراحُ

My heart moans in sorrow, as does

one amid sorrow whose innermost parts are wounds.

ذِكراكُمُ اِمتَزَجَت بِقَلبي مِثلَ ما اِم

تَزَجَ القَراحُ مُصَفّقاً وَالراحُ

Your remembrance mingled with my heart, just as

pure water and wine mingle when poured together.

خَطَبَت مَحاسِنُكُم ودادي رَغبَةً

فَأَجابَها قَبلَ النِكاحِ سِفاحُ

Your beauties eagerly courted my affection;

before marriage, illicit union answered them.

أَيفيقُ مِن سُكرِ الصَبابَةِ عاشِقٌ

دارَت عَلَيهِ مِنَ الهَوى أَقداحُ

Can a lover recover from longing's drunkenness

when cups of love have passed round to him?

هَيهاتَ أَن يُلفى لِمَن نَصَبَ الهَوى

شَرَكاً لَهُ فَاِنقَضَّ فيهِ بَراحُ

How far from escape is one for whom love set

a snare, and who plunged into it!

قَلبي حَبيبٌ مُصحِبٌ لِهَواكُمُ

وَلَهُ عَلى العُذّالِ فِيهِ جِماحُ

My heart is a loving friend, compliant in its love for you;

yet in that love it rebels against the reproachers.

أَفدِي أُناساً ذِكرُهُم رَوحٌ وَرَي

حانٌ لِقَلبي إِن غَدَوا أَو راحوا

I would ransom those whose memory is repose and sweet basil

for my heart, whether they go at dawn or at dusk.

أَرتاحُ أَن يَسري إِلَيَّ خَيالُهُم

لَيلاً وَكُلُّ مُتَيَّمٍ يَرتاحُ

I delight that their phantom should journey to me

by night—and every love-stricken lover delights.

قَد صِرتُ مِن حُبّي لَهُم شَبَحاً وَهَل

عارٌ بِأَن تَتَزاوَرَ الأَشباحُ

Love for them has made me a phantom; and is it

a disgrace for phantoms to visit one another?

أَتُرى يَهُبُّ لَنا بِقُربِ مَزارِكُم

مِنّا عَلى رَغمِ الرَقيبِ رِياحُ

Might there blow for us, near your dwelling,

winds from us, despite the watcher?

إِن تَسمَحوا بِوِصالِكُم لِيَ تَربَحوا

أَجراً كَبيراً وَالسَماحُ رَباحُ

If you grant me union with you, you will earn

a great reward: generosity is gain.

أَهوى الهَوى وَهوَ الَّذي بِعَنائِهِ

تَضنى الجُسومُ وَتَتعَبُ الأَرواحُ

I love love, though through its afflictions

bodies waste away and souls grow weary.

لَو أَن أَيسَرَ ما لَقيتُ مِنَ الهَوى

بِالوُرقِ لَم يَنهَض بِهِنَّ جَناحُ

If the lightest of what I have suffered from love

were laid upon gray doves, no wing could lift them.

أَفدي الّذي مِن لَحظِهِ وَقوامِهِ

سُلَّت عَلَيَّ صَوارِمٌ وَرِماحُ

I would ransom him from whose glance and stature

keen swords and spears are drawn against me.

لي مِن تَخَيُّلِ وَجهِهِ إِن غابَ عَن

عَينَيَّ في ظُلَمِ الدُّجى مِصباحُ

From imagining his face, when he is absent from

my eyes, I have a lamp in the depths of night.

هُوَ رَوضَةٌ لَكِنَّها عِندي حِمىً

وَسِوايَ أُهملَ فيهِ فَهوَ مُباحُ

He is a garden, but to me it is forbidden ground;

others are let roam within it, and for them it is free.

سَدِك الحَياءُ بِوَجهِهِ لَكِن لَهُ

وُجهٌ إِذا عَزَمَ الصُدودَ وَقاحُ

Modesty clings to his face; yet he has

a brazen face when he resolves to turn away.

يا قاتِلي عَمداً بِسحرِ جُفونِهِ

لا تَخشَ ناراً ما عَلَيكَ جُناحُ

O my deliberate slayer through the magic of his eyelids,

fear no fire: no sin lies upon you.

يا غُصنَ بانٍ مِنهُ يُجنَى الوَردُ وَال

رُمّانُ وَالرَيحانُ وَالتُفّاحُ

O branch of the ban-tree, from which are plucked roses and

pomegranates, sweet basil, and apples!

فَإِلَيكَ نَشكو مِنكَ ما فَعَلت بِنا

أَجفانُكَ المَرضى وَهُنَّ صِحاحُ

To you we complain of you—of what has been done to us

by your ailing eyelids, though they are sound.

وَإِلى الوَزيرِ الصاحِبِ الشَرَفِ الَّذي

في فَضلِهِ يَتَنافَسُ المُدّاحُ

And to the vizier, al-Sahib al-Sharaf, whose

excellence the panegyrists vie to praise.

لَمّا نَظَرتُ إِلى أَسِرَّةِ وَجهِهِ

بَرِقَت بِبِشرٍ لي فَلاحَ فَلاحُ

When I looked upon the lineaments of his face,

they flashed with welcome for me, and success shone forth.

طارَ الرَجاءُ إِلى مَكارِمِهِ الَّتي

مِنّي بِها راشَ الجناحَ نَجاحُ

Hope flew toward his generous deeds,

with which success feathered my wing.

وَهوَ الَّذي في المَجدِ أَصبَحَ بَيتُهُ

وَهوَ الرَفيعُ عِمادُهُ الفَيّاحُ

He is the one whose house has come to stand in glory,

lofty-pillared and spacious.

وَسِواهُ مُرتاحٌ إِذا سُئِلَ النَدى

وَهوَ اِمرُؤٌ لِسُؤالِهِ مُرتاحُ

Others are pleased when asked for bounty;

he is a man who delights in being asked.

منّاحُنا وَسواهُ منّاعٌ لَنا

هَل يَستَوي المَنّاعُ وَالمَنّاحُ

He is our lavish giver, while others withhold from us;

are the withholder and the lavish giver equal?

مُتَواضِعٌ وَمَحَلُّهُ يَعلو عَلى

أُفُقِ العُلا الأَعلى فَلَيسَ يُزاحُ

Humble, though his station rises above

the highest horizon of eminence, never to be displaced.

لَمّا تَواضَعَتِ الجُسومُ عَلى الثَرى

حَلَّت بِها مِن رَبِّها الأَرواحُ

When bodies humbled themselves upon the dust,

souls from their Lord came to dwell within them.

وَتَواضُعُ الصَهباءِ لِلإِبريقِ عِن

دَ المَزجِ مِنهُ تُشَعشَعُ الأَقداحُ

And through tawny wine's humility before the ewer, at

the mixing, the cups are made radiant.

وَكَذا الخُدودُ مِنَ الحِسانِ تَواضَعَت

فَبدا جَناها الوَردُ وَالتُفّاحُ

So too the cheeks of beauties lowered themselves,

and their fruit appeared: roses and apples.

وَكَذا السُهولُ عَنِ الحزونِ تَطامَنَت

فَسَقى البِطاحَ الماءُ وَهوَ قراحُ

So too the plains sank low beneath the rugged heights,

and pure water watered the lowlands.

أَنوارُ خَاطِرِهِ ثَواقِبُ دونها ال

مِشكاة حَلَّ زُجاجَها المِصباحُ

The lights of his mind are piercing; beneath them stands the

niche whose glass the lamp inhabits.

يُنشي فَيُنسِي من تَقَدَّمَ قَبلُ وَال

أَفراحُ تُنسَى عِندَها الأَتراحُ

He composes, making those who came before forgotten; and

in the presence of joys, sorrows are forgotten.

وَكَأَنَّما المِسكُ الذَكِيُّ مِدادُهُ

فَمِدادُهُ النَفّاعُ وَالنَفّاحُ

It is as though fragrant musk were his ink,

for his ink both benefits and breathes perfume.

وَبِكَفِّهِ قَلمٌ لَهُ مِن حَدِّهِ ال

أَمضى سُيوفٌ أُرهِفَت وَرِماحُ

In his palm is a pen, from whose edge—the

keenest—spring sharpened swords and spears.

يا أَيُّها البَحرُ الخِضَمُّ نَدىً فَفي

أَدنى نَداهُ يَغرَقُ السباحُ

O vast ocean of generosity! In

the least of its bounty, the swimmer drowns.

بَحرٌ بِهِ تَجري السَفينُ لَنا بِمَح

مودِ الرِياحِ فَيَفرَحُ المَلّاحُ

An ocean upon which our ships sail with

favorable winds, and the sailor rejoices.

بَحر طَمى بِنوالِهِ آذِيُّهُ

فَالنَيلُ عِندَ نَوالِهِ ضحضاحُ

An ocean whose waves overflow with his gifts;

beside his bounty, the Nile is shallow water.

أَأُراعِ في زَمَني بِإِعسارٍ وَلي

بابُ الإِلَهِ وَكَفُّكَ المِفتاحُ

Am I to be frightened by poverty in my time, when I have

the gate of God, and your palm is the key?

وَلّى شبابي وَاِستَشَنَّ أَديمُهُ

وَهريقَ ماءُ رُوائِهِ السَّفّاحُ

My youth has departed, and its hide has grown worn,

and the freely flowing water of its freshness has been poured away.

وَدَفَنتُ شَرخَ شَبيبَتي في شَيبَتي

دَفنَ الحَبيبِ فَلي عَلَيهِ نَواحُ

I buried the prime of my youth in my gray age,

as one buries a beloved, and I lament it.

فَشَبيبَتي عُوِّضتُ عَنها شَيبَةً

شَعَراتُها عِندَ المِلاحِ قِباحُ

In exchange for my youth, I was given gray hair,

whose strands are ugly in the eyes of beauties.

وَلَقَد ضَعُفتُ فَلَم أَزُركَ وَإِنَّ لي

قَلباً إِلَيكَ صَميمُهُ يَرتاحُ

I have grown weak and have not visited you, though I have

a heart whose very core yearns for you.

يا ناظِراً حَلَّ السَوادَ فَلَم يَكُن

طَرفٌ لِطَمّاعٍ بِهِ طَمّاحُ

O overseer who settled in al-Sawad, where no

greedy man's eye could rise covetously!

فَهُناكَ وُفِّقَت الوُقوفُ وَحَلَّتِ ال

بَرَكاتُ مِنهُ وَأَفلَحَ الفَلّاحُ

There the endowments were rightly ordered, and

blessings descended through him, and the farmer prospered.

وَأَطاحَ مُعتاصٌ وَأَصحَبَ شامِسٌ

وَاِنقادَ مُمتَنِعٌ وَزالَ جماحُ

The intractable yielded, and the restive became docile;

the resistant submitted, and unruliness ceased.

وَكَذا المَدارِسُ بانَ لَغوُ لُغاتِها

فأَعادَ مَنطِقَها بِهِ الإِصلاحُ

Likewise the schools: the babble of their tongues departed,

and reform through him restored their speech.

فارَقتَ جِلَّقَ فَاِنثَنى كُلٌّ بِها

وَفُؤادُهُ المُلتاعُ وَالمُلتاحُ

You left Jilliq, and everyone there turned back,

his heart anguished and parched.

وَدَخَلتَها فَأَضاءَتِ اللُّمَعُ الَّتي

أَبدى بِها جُمَلَ السَنا الإيضاحُ

You entered it, and those gleams shone forth

through which clarity revealed an abundance of radiance.

يَفديكَ مَن بِالسوءِ جازى مُحسِناً

فَكَأَنَّهُ في طَبعِهِ التِمساحُ

May he be your ransom who repaid a benefactor with evil,

for in his nature he is like a crocodile.

أَلفاكَ لَيثاً زائِراً فَمُزَمجِراً

لما أَتى بِهَريرِهِ النَبّاحُ

He found you a roaring lion, then a growling one,

when the barker came with his snarling.

لَكَ هَيبَةُ الحَجّاجِ لا فَتَكاتُهُ

قِدماً فَأَنتَ السيِّدُ الجَحجاحُ

Yours is al-Hajjaj's dread majesty, not his deadly violence

of old, for you are the great and noble lord.

مَن كانَ مِثلَكَ يَشتَرى بِنَوالِهِ

حُسنَ الثَناءِ زَكَت لَهُ الأَرباحُ

Whoever, like you, purchases with his giving

fair praise—his profits flourish.

يُعطي اللُهى جدّاً وَلَم يَفتَح لَهاً

بِسُؤالِهِ فَكَأَنَّهُ مَزّاحُ

He gives lavish gifts in earnest, though no mouth has opened

to ask him; it is as though he were jesting.

يَجلو غَيابَةَ كُلِّ خَطبٍ مُظلِمٍ

يَخشى أَذاهُ جَبينُكَ الوَضّاحُ

It dispels the hidden gloom of every dark calamity

whose harm is feared—your radiant brow.

وافَت رِكابُكَ وَالرَبيعُ جَنيبُها

فَلَنا مراحٌ مُمرِعٌ وَمَراحُ

Your camel-train arrived, with spring led at its side;

so we have a lush resting-ground and merriment.

أَنسى مَساوِئَ كُلِّ دَهرٍ غاشِمٍ

إِحسانُ عَبدِ المُحسِنِ السَحّاحُ

The wrongs of every tyrannous age have been made forgotten

by the ever-pouring kindness of Abd al-Muhsin.

هُوَ كَعبَةُ الجودِ الَّتي بِطَوافِها

يَستَعصِمُ المُحتاجُ وَالمُجتاحُ

He is the Kaaba of generosity; by circling it

the needy and the destitute seek refuge.

لا زالَ في عِزٍّ يَدومُ وَنِعمَةٍ

ما جَنَّ لَيلٌ أَو أَضاءَ صَباحُ

May he remain in enduring might and blessing,

as long as night darkens or morning shines.