حي الصباح إذا تبسم — Fahad Alaskar

حيّ الصباح إذا تبسم

وصغ العقود إذا تكلم

Hail the morning when he smiles,

and fashion necklaces when he speaks;

واعبد بمملكة الجمال

جلالة الملك المعظم

and worship, in the kingdom of beauty,

the majesty of the exalted king.

فالحسن حين يصان يعبد

فيه خالقهُ ويكرَم

For when beauty is safeguarded, worship is offered

within it to its Creator, who is honored.

وإذا سألت وجاد يوما

ما بوعد أو تكرّم

And if you ask, and someday he grants

a promise or shows generosity,

فاستقبل الدنيا بزينتها

ولا تشرك فتندم

then welcome the world in its finery,

and associate no partner with him, lest you regret it.

واستوحه واستلهمنه

فكم وكم أوحى وألهم

Seek revelation from him, and inspiration from him;

for how often, how often, he has revealed and inspired!

وإذا حسا الكأس اركعنّ

له وبالأخرى تقدّم

And when he sips from the cup, bow down

before him, and come forward with another.

وإذا استزادك زده واسجد

واقترب لا عاش من لم

And if he asks you for more, give him more, and prostrate yourself;

and draw near—may whoever fails to do so never live!

وعليه صلّ إذا انتشى

فاللَه قد صلى وسلم

And invoke blessings upon him when he is drunk,

for God has bestowed blessings and peace.

لا العود لا القيثار لا

المزمار إذ يشدو بأرخم

No lute, no lyre, no

flute is more melodious when he sings.

فاسمع لحون مخارق

والموصلي إذا ترنم

Then hear the melodies of Mukhariq

and al-Mawsili's when he sings.

واشرب على تصفيق قلبك

يا أخا الأشواق واغنم

And drink to the applause of your heart,

O brother of longing, and seize the chance!

وإذا تلعثم صوتهُ

وكبا اللسان وعربد الدم

And when his voice falters,

his tongue stumbles, and his blood runs riot,

هلل وكبر باسمه

فاللَه فضله وعظم

proclaim God's oneness and greatness in his name,

for God has favored and exalted him.

واشك الغرام لعله

بك يا هزار الحي مغرم

And complain of passion—perhaps

he is enamored of you, O nightingale of the quarter;

أو علّه يرثي فقد

أمسى بحالك منك أعلم

or perhaps he will take pity, for

he now knows your condition better than you.

ولعل بنت النخل تدنى

قلبه النائي فيرحم

And perhaps the date palm's daughter will draw

his distant heart close, and he will take pity;

ويجود إذ ذاك العظيم

بحسنه بالخد والفم

and that exalted one will then be generous

with his beauty, his cheek and his mouth.

فتبيت تحتضن المنى

سكران بين اللثم والضم

Then you will spend the night embracing your wishes,

drunk amid kissing and embracing,

تترشّف ابنة ثغره

متداويا والريق بلسم

sipping the daughter of his mouth,

seeking a cure—his saliva is a balm

ومدامة لا الهمّ يطرق

قلب راشفها ولا الغم

and wine: neither worry visits

the heart of its sipper, nor sorrow.

ظبيّ تحكّم بي ولا

تلُم الغزالَ إذا تحكّم

A gazelle has ruled me at will; do not

blame the gazelle when he rules at will.

فكم استعاذ ولاذ منه

به إذا ما صال ضيغم

For how often protection and refuge from him were sought

in him, whenever a lion charged!

قسما بردفيه وكم

من مدنفٍ بالردف أقسم

I swear by his buttocks—and how many

a lovesick soul has sworn by the rump!

لو عامر أو عمرو

شاهد بطش جفنيه لأحجم

Had Amir or Amr

seen his eyelids' onslaught, he would have recoiled;

أو أبصرت عينُ ابن أدهم

حسنهُ لغوى ابن أدهم

or had Ibn Adham's eye beheld

his beauty, Ibn Adham would have gone astray.

أو أنه نشر الشباك

لما رأيت بنا معمّم

Or had he spread his nets,

you would have seen no turbaned man among us.

أشكو القوام لخصره

متظلّما والخصر أظلم

I complain of his stature to his waist,

protesting injustice—yet the waist is more unjust.

أين القنا من فعل

ذاك فيا لمعوجٍّ مقوّم

What are spears beside the deeds

of that one? Ah, what a crooked straightener!

وكم استجرت بطرفه

من ردفه والطرف أغشم

And how often I sought refuge in his gaze

from his rump—yet his gaze is more ruthless!

للَه ما أودى وما

أصلى وما اصمى وأسقم

By God, how he has destroyed, and how

he has scorched, slain outright, and sickened!

أين الجآذر والدمى

ممن عليه اللَه أنعم

What are wild-cow calves and statues

beside one whom God has blessed?

أين الأقاحُ إذا تبسّم

واللآلىء حين تنظَم

What are daisies beside him when he smiles,

and pearls when they are strung?

رمزُ الفضيلةِ والعفاف فأ

ينَ يوسف أين مريَم

The symbol of virtue and chastity—so

where is Joseph, where is Mary?

أنا لا أقول هو الهلال

كما يقالُ إذا تلثّم

I do not say he is the crescent,

as people say when he veils his face,

أو حين يسفرُ قد تبدّت

أختُ يوشع فهو أعظم

or say, when he unveils, that there has appeared

Joshua's sister—for he is greater.

ركعت له فينوس حين

هوت وخرّت إذ تسنّم

Venus bowed before him when

she fell, and fell prostrate when he rose high.

مولايَ طوّح بي التدلّه

بعدَ أن أدمى وقلّم

My lord, love's delirium has hurled me away,

after making me bleed and pruning me.

وهوى بشيطاني القنوط

وأفق إلهامي تجهّم

And despair has brought my demon low,

and my inspiration's horizon has grown sullen.

وكبا جواد الحظ بي

وحسام بأسي قد تثلّم

And the steed of fortune stumbled with me,

and the sword of my valor has been chipped.

اللَه فيّ فإنّ كاسي

ملؤها بهواك علقَم

For God's sake, spare me, for my cup

is filled with bitter colocynth through love of you.

اللَه في قلبي الكليمِ

فجرحه الدامي تسمّم

For God's sake, spare my wounded heart,

for its bleeding wound has become poisoned.

وكتمتُ حبّك مرغما

والحبّ يقتل حين يكتم

And I concealed my love for you against my will,

and love kills when it is concealed.

كيف السبيلُ إلى الشكاة

وكل من في الحيّ لوّم

How can I find a way to complain,

when all who are in the quarter are quick to blame?

اللَه أكبر كيف تصلي

شاعراً مثلي جهنّم

God is greatest! How can you burn

a poet like me, O Hell?

هيمان أعمى في هواك

أصمّ لا يصغي وأبكَم

love-maddened, blind in loving you,

deaf, unheeding, and mute,

يطوي الليالي ذاهلاً

متحسّراً والناس نوّم

passing the nights in a daze,

sorrowing while people sleep,

متبرّم بنهارهِ

قلق إذا ما الليلُ خيّم

discontented with his day,

anxious whenever night pitches its tent;

قد جنّ بين فؤادهِ

الملتاع والأمل المحطّم

he has gone mad between his heart—

tormented—and his shattered hope.

فتعال بادله الوداع

وعش قرير العين واسلم

So come, exchange farewells with him,

and live with tranquil eyes, and be safe.