أذاع بذي العهد عرفانه — Alsharif Alradi

أَذاعَ بِذي العَهدِ عِرفانُهُ

وَعاوَدَ لِلقَلبِ أَديانُهُ

His recognition gave the keeper of the pledge away,

and the heart's old ways returned.

وَأُضرَبَ سَمعٌ عَنِ العاذِلاتِ

لَها شانُها وَلَهُ شانُهُ

And an ear was turned away from the reproaching women:

she has her concern, and he has his.

وَماطَلَ قَلباً بِإِبلالِهِ

مِطالُ الغَريمِ وَلَيّانُهُ

And the heart was kept waiting for recovery,

with a debtor's stalling and evasion.

أَهاجَكَ ذا الحَيُّ مِن وائِلٍ

تُحَمَّلُ لِلبَينِ أَظعانُهُ

Did this clan of Wāʾil stir you,

its litters being loaded for departure?

نَأى السِربُ عَنكَ وَعَهدي بِهِ

تَكَنَّسُ في القَلبِ غِزلانُهُ

The herd has gone far from you; I remember it

with its gazelles sheltering in the heart.

لَئِن أَوحَشَ الرَبعَ حُلّالُه

لَقَد عَمَرَ القَلبَ سُكّانُهُ

Though its dwellers have left the camp desolate,

its inhabitants have surely filled the heart.

مَرَرنَ غُدوّاً بِرَوضِ الصَري

مِ راقَ مِنَ النَورِ ظُهرانُهُ

They passed at daybreak through al-Ṣarīm's meadow,

its upper reaches lovely with blossoms.

فَحَنَّ لِإِلمامِهِم أَثلُهُ

وَمالَ إِلى قُربِهِم بانُهُ

Its tamarisks yearned at their brief visit,

and its bān trees leaned toward their nearness.

وَما حَمَلَت مِثلَ تِلكَ البُدو

رِ بَينَ الذَوائِبِ أَغصانُهُ

Never were the like of those full moons

borne by its branches amid the tresses.

وَلي ناظِرٌ بَعدَ بَينَ الخَلي

طِ ماتَ مِنَ الدَمعِ إِنسانُهُ

And since the companions parted, I have an eye

whose pupil has died of tears.

رِواءٌ مِنَ الماءِ آماقُهُ

ظِماءٌ مِنَ النَومِ أَجفانُهُ

Its corners are sated with water,

its lids thirsty for sleep.

يَروحُ بِهِم ساهِراً طَرفُه

وَيَغدو لَهُم دامِعاً شانُهُ

Its gaze spends the evening wakeful over them,

and it greets the morning in tears for them.

يُراخي الهَوى فَأُريغُ السَلُوَّ

قَليلاً وَتَجذَبُ أَشطانُهُ

Love slackens, and I seek forgetfulness

a little—then its tethers pull.

فَأَينَ مِنَ الداءِ إِفراقُهُ

وَأَينَ مِنَ القَلبِ سُلوانُهُ

Where, then, is remission from the malady?

And where is the heart's consolation?

فَيا ظالِماً طَيِّباً ظُلمُهُ

كَثيراً عَلى القَلبِ أَعوانُهُ

O wrongdoer whose wrong is sweet,

whose allies against the heart are many!

تَبِعتُ فُؤادي إِلى حُبِّهِ

مُطيعاً وَإِن لَجَّ عِصيانُهُ

I followed my heart into loving him,

obedient, though its rebellion persisted.

يُباعُ بِسَومِكَ حَبُّ القُلوبِ

وَتَغلَقُ عِندَكَ أَثمانُهُ

The cores of hearts are sold at your bidding,

and their price remains locked away with you.

وَشَرُّ الإِساءَةِ مِن مالِكٍ

أَساءَ وَما نيلَ إِحسانُهُ

The worst wrong comes from a master

who harms, though his kindness has never been received.

وَقَد كُنتُ أُشفِقُ مِن ذا الصُدو

دِ مُذ أَودَعَ القَلبَ خُوّانُهُ

I had feared this turning away

ever since the heart was entrusted to its betrayer.

وَيا راكِباً لَجلَجَت نِضوَهُ

ثَنايا الغُوَيرِ وَنَجرانُهُ

O rider whose worn mount has been shaken

by the passes of al-Ghuwayr and Najrān:

يُرَوِّعُهُ الصُبحُ إِسفارُهُ

وَيُؤنِسُهُ اللَيلُ إِدجانُهُ

morning frightens him with its brightness,

and night comforts him with its darkness.

إِذا مَنزِلٌ آنَ تَعريسُهُ

طَواهُ عَلى الأَينِ ظُعّانُهُ

Whenever a campsite is due for a night's halt,

its travelers pass it by despite exhaustion.

تَحَمَّل أَلوكَةَ حامي الضُلو

عِ طالَ مِنَ البَينِ إِرنانُهُ

Carry the message of one whose ribs burn,

whose lament has lasted long through separation,

إِلى الحَيِّ مِن يَمتُنٍ إِنَّهُمُ

وَدائِعُ قَلبي وَخُلصانُهُ

to the clan from Yamtun, for they are

my heart's treasures and its closest friends.

لَنالوا مِنَ القَلبِ ما لَم يَنَل

زَعازِعُ حَيٍّ وَشَيحانُهُ

They have indeed won from the heart what was never won

by a clan's storming warriors or its stalwart.

لَأَنتُم أَسِنَّةُ يَومِ الطِعانِ

إِذا أَسلَمَ السَرحَ فُرسانُهُ

You are indeed the spearheads on the day of thrusting,

when the grazing herd is forsaken by its horsemen.

كَأَنَّ الجِيادَ تَسامى بِكُم

قِنانُ الشَريفِ وَعُقبانُهُ

As though the steeds that rise aloft with you

were al-Sharīf's peaks and its eagles.

وَهَل زانَ تيجانُهُ أُسرَةً

جِباهُهُمُ الغُرُّ تيجانُهُ

And could its crowns adorn a house

whose radiant brows are themselves its crowns?

وَإِنَّ رِباطَ بَني مالِكٍ

تُقادُ إِلى المَوتِ أَرسانُهُ

And the war-steeds of Banū Mālik—

their halters are led toward death.

إِذا الفَيلَقُ المَجرُ أَدلى لَهُ

إِلى قُلُبِ الذِمرِ مُرّانُهُ

When the vast host extends toward him

its ashwood lances, against the truest of the brave,

يَكونُ سِواكُم عَقابيلَهُ

وَأَنتُم إِلى الطَعنِ سَرعانُهُ

others make up its rear ranks,

while you are its swiftest to the spear-thrust.

وَما كُلُّ أَصلٍ كَريمِ العُرو

قِ تَأبى عَلى الغَمزِ عَيدانُهُ

Not every stock of noble roots

has stems that withstand pressure.

لَكُم كُلَّ جَمعٍ كَما أَقبَلَت

تَمَوَّجُ بِالنَحلِ غيرانُهُ

Yours to face is every host as it advances,

its caves surging with bees.

كَأَنَّ أَسِنَّتَهُ في القَنا

شَرارٌ ظُبى البيضِ نيرانُهُ

Its spearheads upon the lances seem

sparks, with bright sword-edges for their fires.

هَلِ المَوتُ إِلّا إِذا اِستَجمَعَت

كُعوبُ القَنيَّ وَأَيمانُهُ

What is death but the meeting

of lance-joints and the right hands that wield them?

إِذا دَبَّرَ الطَعنَ أوهِمتُهُ

تَنِمُّ إِلى النَجمِ خِرصانُهُ

When it plans the thrust, I picture it—

its spearpoints whispering to the stars.

لَقَد ضَلَّ عَهدُكُمُ بِاللَوى

وَطالَ بِدَمعِيَ نِشدانُهُ

Your pledge at al-Liwā has gone astray,

and long have I sought it with my tears.

أَناقِشُكُم وَوَراءَ النِقا

شِ أَنفُ العَلوقِ وَرِئمانُهُ

I call you to account, yet behind the reckoning

are the foster-camel's nose and her fondness.

وَأَهجُرُكُم هَجرَ مُستَعتِبٍ

وَكَم وامِقٍ طالَ هِجرانُهُ

I shun you as one who seeks amends,

and many a lover's estrangement has been long.

فَأَنأى وَأَقرَبُ أوبِ الظَلي

مِ يَنتَظِرُ الطُعمَ رِئلانُهُ

So I go far and draw near, like a returning male ostrich,

whose chicks await their food.

سَيَبعَدُ عَنكُم عَلى حَسرَةٍ

طَويلُ جَوى القَلبِ أَسوانُهُ

There will depart from you, in regret,

one long heart-sick and sorrowful.

تَبَدَّلُ بِالمَرءِ أَحبابُهُ

وَتَنبو عَلى المَرءِ أَوطانُهُ

A man's loved ones take others in his stead,

and his homelands turn against him.

إِذا مَنزِلٌ رابَ سُكّانَهُ

مِنَ الأَرضِ حُرِّمَ إيطانُهُ

If a dwelling disquiets its people,

that place on earth is forbidden as a home.

إِذا كانَ صَعباً تَناسى الحَنينَ

إِلَيكُم فَهَيهاتَ نِسيانُهُ

If it is hard even to feign forgetting the longing

for you, how far beyond reach is forgetting it!

وَشَيَّبَني وَالصِبا وارِقٌ

عَلَيَّ وَما اِنجابَ رَيعانُهُ

I was turned gray while youth was still in leaf

over me, its freshness not yet departed,

حَميمٌ تَقَلَّبُ أَخلاقُهُ

وَمَولىً تَلَوَّنُ أَلوانُهُ

by an intimate whose nature keeps changing,

and a patron whose colors keep shifting.