Sol 6

  1. أشارَتْ غَداةَ البيْنِ منْ خلَلِ السّجْفِ

    بناظِرَتَيْ ريمٍ وسالِفَتَي خِشْفِ

    At the hour of parting, she gestured through a gap in the curtain,

    With the eyes of a gazelle and the slender neck of a fawn.

  2. وأبْصَرَتِ التّوْديعَ حقّاً فلَمْ تُطِقْ

    غَداتَئِذٍ كتْماً لبَعْضِ الذي تُخْفي

    She saw that the farewell was real and could not

    That morning conceal some of what she hid within.

  3. أماطَتْ عن الخَدِّ اللّئَامَ فأطْلَعَتْ

    هِلالاً علَى غُصْنٍ وغُصْناً علَى حِقْفِ

    She swept the veil away from her cheek and revealed

    A crescent on a branch, and a branch above a sand dune.

  4. وقالَتْ لأتْرابٍ لَها قُمْنَ دونَها

    فقائِلةٍ سِحّي وقائِلَةٍ كُفّي

    She said to her companions, who had risen before her,

    While one said, “Let your tears flow,” and another, “Hold them back.”

  5. أخِلاّيَ هلْ طعْمٌ أمَرُّ منَ النّوَى

    وأفْظَعُ خَطْباً منْ مُفارقَةِ الإلْفِ

    My friends, is any taste more bitter than separation,

    Or any ordeal more dreadful than leaving a loved one?

  6. ولمْ تَكُ إلاّ ساعَةٌ وتسنّمَتْ

    ظُهورَ المَطايا كلُّ فانِيةِ الطّرْفِ

    Only an hour passed before they mounted

    The backs of the riding beasts, each woman with a languid gaze.

  7. ودارَتْ علَى الرّكْبِ الصّوارِمُ والقَنا

    وجُرْدُ المَذاكي منْ أمامٍ ومِنْ خلْفِ

    Around the caravan moved sharp swords and lances,

    And sleek, spirited horses, before it and behind.

  8. أمالُوا السُّرَى قصْدَ العِراقِ وأزْمَعوا

    على مهْمَهٍ تسْفي بهِ الرّيحُ ما تسْفي

    They turned their night journey toward Iraq, resolved

    To cross a vast waste where the wind blows what it will.

  9. ودلَّ علَيْهِمْ مَنْ تخلّفَ منْهُمُ

    بمَا أودِعُوا طيبُ النّسيمِ منَ العَرْفِ

    Those left behind pointed the way to them

    By the fragrance they had entrusted to the gentle breeze.

  10. فَلا عَهْدَ إلاّ بالخَيالِ وبالمُنى

    ولا وصْلَ إلاّ بالرّسائِلِ والصُّحْفِ

    Now there is no keeping faith except through dreams and wishes,

    And no contact except through letters and written pages.

  11. بكَيْتُ دَماً حتّى توهّمَ صاحِبي

    بأنّي غَداةَ البيْنِ أرْعَفُ منْ طَرْفي

    I wept blood until my companion imagined

    That, on the morning of parting, my eyes were bleeding.

  12. وكمْ رُمْتُ أنْ يُجْدي البُكاءُ فلَمْ يكُنْ

    ليُجْدي ورجّعْتُ الحَنينَ فلَمْ يشْفِ

    How often I hoped that weeping would help, but it

    Did me no good; I repeated my lament, but it brought no cure.

  13. أيا قاتَلَ اللهُ الغَوانِي فإنّما

    طِلابُ الرّدى وقْفٌ على ربّةِ الوَقْفِ

    Ah, may God confound these beauties, for

    To seek ruin is the preserve of the lady who holds us captive.

  14. تُغادِرُ ذا الجأشَ القَويَّ جُفونُها

    ضَعيفَ انتصارِ وهْيَ بيّنةُ الضّعْفِ

    Her eyelids leave a man of stout heart

    Too weak to defend himself, though their own weakness is plain.

  15. إذا ما غرَسْنَ الوعْدَ في روضَةِ الهَوى

    جَنَيْتُ علَى أغْصانِهِ ثمَرَ الخُلْفِ

    Whenever they plant a promise in the garden of love,

    I gather from its branches the fruit of broken promises.

  16. تُرَى منْ أحَلّ الغَدْرَ وهْوَ محرَّمٌ

    وحرّمَ غُصْنَ الأقْحُوانِ على الرّشْفِ

    Who, I wonder, made betrayal lawful though it is forbidden,

    And forbade the sipping of the daisy's stem?

  17. سأصْرِفُ عنْ قلْبي مُساعَدَةَ الهَوى

    فقدْ كانَ في حوْلَيْنِ منْ ذاكَ ما يكْفي

    I shall turn my heart away from aiding love;

    Two years of that have been quite enough.

  18. وأذْهَبُ منْ صَبْري الى كلِّ مذْهَب

    وكُلُّ كريمٍ لا يُقيمُ علَى خسْفِ

    I shall go wherever my patience can take me,

    For no noble soul endures humiliation.

  19. وأفْزَعُ منْ دهْري الى ظِلّ يُوسُفٍ

    فلِلّهِ منْ رُكْنٍ مَنيع ومِنْ كهْفِ

    From the blows of fate I shall seek refuge in Yusuf's shade:

    What a mighty support and shelter he is!

  20. زجَرْتُ القَوافي والمَطايا شَوارِداً

    الى واحِدٍ في الرّوعِ يُغْني عنِ الألْفِ

    I drove my wandering verses and mounts

    Toward one man who, in battle, is worth a thousand.

  21. وَقورٌ إذا الأبْطالُ طاشَتْ حُلومُها

    وأقْدَمُ في الهَيْجاءِ صَفّاً الى صَفِّ

    He is composed when heroes lose their heads,

    And foremost in battle, rank against rank.

  22. إذا ذُكِرَ الأمْلاكُ يوْماً فيوسُفٌ

    لِما شِئْتَ منْ جُودٍ وما شِئْتَ منْ عطْفِ

    Whenever kings are named, Yusuf is there

    For all the generosity and kindness one could wish.

  23. هُوَ الدّهْرُ لكِنْ عدْلُهُ وسَماحُهُ

    يرُدُّ صُروفَ الدّهْرِ راغِمَةَ الأنْفِ

    He is like time itself, yet his justice and generosity

    Turn back the turns of time in humiliation.

  24. هوَ البَدْرُ إلا أنّهُ الدّهْرَ كامِلٌ

    إذا عِيبَ نُورُ البَدْرِ بالنّقْصِ والخَسْفِ

    He is the full moon, except that he remains full forever,

    While the moon's light is faulted for waning and eclipse.

  25. منَ العرَبِ الشُّمِّ الأنوفِ إذا احْتَبوا

    تبوّأتَ في جارٍ مُجيرٍ وفي حِلْفِ

    He comes from proud, high-born Arabs; when they gather,

    You find shelter with a protecting neighbor and an ally.

  26. كِرامٌ إذا ما الغيْثُ في الأرْضِ لمْ يكْفِ

    بصَوْبِ حَيا كانَتْ أكُفُّهُمْ تكْفي

    They are generous: when the rain does not suffice

    To water the earth, their hands suffice.

  27. فإنْ حمَلوا أفْنَوْا أو استُصْرِخوا حمَوْا

    وإنْ بذَلُوا أغْنَوا عنِ الدِّيمِ الوَطْفِ

    If they attack, they destroy; if called for help, they defend;

    And if they give, they make heavy rain unnecessary.

  28. وإنْ مُدِحوا اهتَزّوا كَما هبّتِ الصَّبا

    على كُلِّ ممْطورٍ منَ البانِ مُلْتَفِّ

    When praised, they sway as the east wind blows

    Across every rain-wet, thickly leafed moringa tree.

  29. وإنْ سَمِعوا العَوْراءَ فرّوا بأنْفُسٍ

    كِرامِ السّجايا لا تفِرُّ منَ الزّحْفِ

    When they hear an ugly word, they withdraw with souls

    Noble in character, though they never flee a battle line.

  30. لَعَمْري لَئِنْ هاجَتْ عَزائِمَكَ العِدَى

    كما بحثَتْ عنْ حتْفِها ربّةُ الظِّلْفِ

    By my life, if the enemy has stirred your resolve,

    They are like a hoofed creature digging toward its own death.

  31. وغرّتْهُمُ الحرْبُ السِّجالُ وقلّما

    يدُلُّ غُرورُ القوْمِ إلا على الحتْفِ

    The changing fortunes of war have deceived them, though seldom

    Does such confidence point to anything but death.

  32. فقَدْ آنَ أخْذُ الدّينِ منْهُمْ بِثأرِه

    وما كانَ جفْنُ الدّهْرِ في مثلِها يُعْفِي

    The time has come for the faith to exact its vengeance from them,

    And in such a case the eye of time has never overlooked a thing.

  33. ودونَ مهَبِّ العزْمِ كلُّ مهنَّدٍ

    وخطّيّةٍ سُمْرٍ وفَضْفاضَةٍ زَغْفِ

    Before your resolve can rush forth stand Indian-forged swords,

    Dark spears from Khatt, and ample coats of mail.

  34. وأُسْدٍ غِضابٍ إنْ تذكّرْنَ يومَها

    عضَضْنَ بأطْرافِ البَنانِ منَ اللّهْفِ

    And angry lions who, when they recall their day,

    Bite their fingertips in longing.

  35. أمَوْلايَ زارَتْكَ القَوافِي كأنّها

    هدِيٌّ تَهادَتْها القِيانُ الى الزَّفِّ

    My lord, these verses have come to visit you as though

    They were a bridal gift borne by singing women to the procession.

  36. علَيْها عُقودٌ منْ ثَنائِكَ نُظِّمَتْ

    مُناسِبَةَ التّأليفِ مُحْكَمَةَ الرّصْفِ

    They wear necklaces strung from your praises,

    Harmoniously composed and firmly set together.

  37. أتاكَ بِها النَّوْروزُ معْتَرِفاً بِما

    لمُلْكِكَ فيهِ منْ نَوالٍ ومِنْ عُرْفِ

    Nowruz has brought them to you, acknowledging

    The gifts and kindness your reign bestows on that day.

  38. فهُنّيتَهُ والدّهْرُ طوْعُكَ والمُنى

    تُوافِي بما تهْواهُ ضِعْفاً علَى ضِعْفِ

    So may it bring you joy, while time obeys you and your wishes

    Arrive with all you desire, doubled again and again.

  39. تمهّدَتِ الدُنْيا بمُلْكِكَ بعْدَما

    أقامَتْ زَماناً لا تَقَرُّ منَ الرّجْفِ

    The world has grown peaceful under your rule after

    Long trembling without rest.

  40. ورُضْتَ صِعابَ الدّهْرِ وهْيَ شَوامِسٌ

    فذلّلْتَها منْ غيرِ جُهْدٍ ولا عُنفِ

    You trained the unruly forces of time while they still resisted,

    And tamed them without strain or force.

  41. وكمْ صَرَفَ التّأميلَ نحوَكَ آمِلٌ

    فصيّرْتَهُ بالعدْلِ ممْتَنِعَ الصَّرْفِ

    How many a hopeful person has directed his hopes toward you,

    Whom you made, through justice, beyond the reach of change.

  42. وكمْ منْ يَدٍ أوْلَيْتَنيها كَريمَةٍ

    يقِلُّ لَها نظْمي ويعْيَى بِها وصْفي

    How many generous favors you have granted me:

    My verse is too slight for them, and my words fail to describe them.

  43. فأسْبابُكَ الوُثْقَى وصلْتُ بِها يَدي

    ونِعْمَتُك الكُبْرى ملأتُ بِها كفّي

    I have bound my hand to your firm bonds of support,

    And filled my palm with your great bounty.

  44. فإنْ أنا لمْ أمْحَضْكَ منّي بخالِصٍ

    منَ الوُدِّ صافٍ في قَرارتِه صِرْفِ

    If I do not offer you, from myself, sincere

    Affection, pure and unmixed in its depths,

  45. ولمْ آتِ بحْرَ المَدْحِ فيكَ لِغايةٍ

    تُرى دونَها الأبْصارُ حاسِرةَ الطّرْفِ

    And if I do not sail the sea of praise for you to a far shore

    Beyond which eyes can see only with exhausted sight,

  46. فَلا صاغَ معْنىً يُسْتَضاءُ لنورِه

    جَناني ولا خطّتْ بَناني في حرْفِ

    Then may my heart shape no thought that sheds light,

    And may my fingers write no letter.