لكل محب في الزمان حبيب — Ibn Nabata Al Saadi

لكلِّ محبٍ في الزّمانِ حبيبُ

وزيرُ العُلا في العاشقينَ نَجيبُ

Every lover in this age has a beloved;

the vizier of high glory is noble among lovers.

وإنّ التي ضَرّاتُها البيضُ غادةٌ

لها السيفُ واشٍ والحِمامُ رقيبُ

And she whose co-wives are fair women is a maiden;

the sword is her tale-bearer, and death her watchman.

رأينَ بجسمي فعلَها فنكرنني

كأني في أصداغِهنّ مَشيبُ

They saw her effects upon my body and rejected me,

as though I were gray hair at their temples.

وما غَشِيَتْني يا ابنةَ القومِ طربةٌ

لبينكِ والعُذريُّ ثَمَّ طروبُ

And no pang of passion overcame me, daughter of the tribe,

at your parting, though the ʿUdhrite there is deeply moved.

تركتُ عليلاتِ النطافِ لوالهٍ

يحومُ على غُدْرانِها ويلوبُ

I left the women with trembling pearl earrings to a lovesick man

who circles their pools and wanders thirstily.

وكنتُ كروعاءِ الفؤادِ نحيبةٍ

بِغارِبِها والصفحتينِ نُدوبُ

And I was like a wailing she-camel, fearful at heart,

with scars upon her withers and both flanks.

يُوقّرُ بُعدَ الناعجات حنينُها

بأسمرَ يدعو حلمَها فيُجيبُ

Far from the swift she-camels, her yearning is subdued

by a brown spear that summons her patience, and it answers.

ألا حبّذا ليلُ الكثيبِ وفائحٌ

من الروضِ مهجورُ الفِناءِ خَصيبُ

Ah, how lovely the night at the dune, and a fragrant stretch

of meadow, its grounds deserted, its growth luxuriant.

تنفضُ منظومَ النّدى عن فروعِه

يمانيةٌ تَنْدى بهِ وتَطيبُ

The strung beads of dew are shaken from its branches

by a Yemeni breeze, made moist and fragrant by it.

إذا ما نسيمُ الفجرِ باشرَ نشرَهُ

تنبّه منه سائقٌ وجنيبُ

Whenever dawn's breeze touches its fragrance,

a driver and a led mount awaken at it.

متى نشرَ الوسمي بردةَ منعجٍ

وهل زالَ من وادي الأراكِ قَضيبُ

When did the autumn rain unfurl Munʿij's mantle?

And has a branch vanished from Wadi al-Arak?

قِفا فاقضِياني لذةً من حديثهِ

علانيةً إنّ السِّرارَ مريبُ

Halt, you two, and grant me the delight of talk about it,

openly, for whispering arouses suspicion.

ولا تُنكِرا صَبري إذا ما جزعتُما

فشوقي وإنْ هيّجتماه أديبُ

And do not find my patience strange when you two lose heart;

for my longing, even when you stir it, is well-mannered.

عَجِبْتُ من الأقدارِ كيفَ تضيمني

وكنتُ ولا شيءٌ إليّ عجيبُ

I marveled at fate: how could it wrong me,

when once nothing struck me as strange?

وكيفَ تصورتُ الثّوابَ عنيمةً

لممعتضٍ في حاجبيه قُطوبُ

And how did I imagine reward as booty

for a resentful man with a scowl upon his brows?

ومذ زَعموا أنّ الحياةَ عطيةٌ

أُعرِّضُها للموتِ وهي هُبوبُ

And ever since they claimed that life was a gift,

I have exposed it to death, though it is only a gust.

ولكنّ مطبوعَ البشاشةِ صادَني

برُقيتهِ والفاعلونَ ضروبُ

Yet one naturally cheerful captured me

with his spell; those who act are of many kinds.

رأى ورقَ الأيّامِ ليس يَروقُني

فحاولَ وُدّي والنجيبُ نَجيبُ

He saw that the leaves of time did not delight me;

so he sought my affection—and a noble man is noble.

جلا ثَغرَه عبدُ العَزيزِ بنُ يوسفٍ

عليْنا وبشر اليوسفي خَلوبُ

ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn Yusuf unveiled his smiling mouth

to us; al-Yusufi's cheerfulness is beguiling.

أغرُّ كأنّ الشمسَ حينَ تَزوره

تضمّنها عندَ الشّروقِ غُروبُ

Radiant, as though the sun, when it visits him,

were engulfed by sunset at sunrise.

حديثُ شَبابِ السنِّ وهو مُدَرَّبٌ

بعيدُ منالِ القَدرِ وهو قريبُ

Young in years, yet seasoned;

his rank is beyond reach, yet he is approachable.

فإن غرّكُم لينٌ ينازعُ عِطفَه

فإنّ القَنا يهتزُّ وهو صَليبُ

If the suppleness that sways his frame deceives you,

the spear-shaft sways, yet it is hard.

فتى لا يَحُلُّ الدّهْرُ عقدةَ عزمِه

إذا اعترضتْ دون الخطوبِ خُطوبُ

A youth whose knot of resolve time cannot untie,

when troubles stand in the way of troubles.

يصمم في عشواءِ كلّ كَريهةٍ

بِها لفؤادِ المستميتِ وجيبُ

He presses on through the blind tumult of every ordeal,

where the heart of one courting death pounds.

إذا طلبَ الأعداءَ لم يُفنِ صَبرَهُ

كلالٌ ولم يَنقض قُواه لُغوبُ

When he pursues his enemies, his endurance is not exhausted

by weariness, nor his powers undone by fatigue,

ولا حافر هش المُشاشِ مثلّم

ولا مِنسِمٌ دامي الأظَلِّ نكيبُ

nor by a hoof, brittle-jointed and chipped,

nor by a camel's foot, its sole bloodied and bruised.

ورجمٍ من المقدورِ صدّقَ ظنهُ

عشيةَ أغراضُ الرّجالِ غُيوبُ

And many a surmise about fate confirmed his judgment

on an evening when men's aims lay hidden.

يَقيسونَ أشباهَ الخُطوبِ وكلّهم

رفيقٌ بتفريجِ الكُروبِ طبيبُ

They compare similar troubles, and each of them

is a deft physician at relieving distress.

فَشاورهم ثمّ استبدّ برأْيِهِ

فتىً همّتُه بينَ الهمومِ غَريبُ

So he consulted them, then followed his own judgment—

a youth whose ambition is a stranger among cares.

تشُبُّ مع الظّلماءِ بينَ جُفونِهِ

وبينَ غِلالاتِ الرُّقادِ حُروبُ

Wars flare up in darkness between his eyelids

and amid the gauzy veils of sleep.

حَظِيتَ بآمالِ الكرامِ غُلُبّةً

وغيرُكَ يحظى مرةً ويَخيبُ

You captured the hopes of noble men through triumph,

while others win favor once and fail.

إذا جَمَعتْهُمْ في المكارمِ غايةٌ

فأنتَ لما لا يطلبونَ طلوبُ

When one goal brings them together in noble deeds,

you eagerly seek what they do not seek.

وقد عاينوا سُحبَ البلاغةِ ثَرَّةً

عليكَ وأنواءُ السَّحابِ تَصوبُ

And they have seen the clouds of eloquence pouring abundantly

upon you, while the clouds' rainstorms stream down,

براعيةٍ سَرحِ العقولِ كأنّها

إذا سمِعوها في القلوبِ قُلوبُ

with speech that shepherds the flock of minds, as though,

when they hear it, it were hearts within their hearts.

بها تُخدعُ الأروى وتستطلَقُ الجَنى

وتجمُدُ أكبادُ العِدى وتَذوبُ

By it mountain goats are beguiled and fruit is coaxed forth,

and the livers of enemies freeze and melt.

وما كنتَ إلا الليلَ صُبَّ عليهمُ

تَغيبُ النّجومُ الزُّهرُ حينَ تَغيبُ

And you were but the night poured over them;

the bright stars disappear when you disappear.

وسافرةٍ لا تقنص العينُ وجهَها

إلى كلّ أرضٍ تَغتدي وتَؤوبُ

And an unveiled one whose face the eye cannot ensnare,

who goes out at dawn to every land and returns,

ملكتُ ولم أملُك تميمةَ حاسدٍ

له بمعاريضِ الحديثِ دَبيبُ

I have possessed—yet no amulet against an envier

who creeps along through the insinuations of speech.

توهّمَ بُعدي عن بلادكَ رغبةً

وما أنا عن كسبِ العَلاءِ رَغوبُ

He thought my distance from your lands meant turning away,

yet I do not turn away from winning high renown.

عَتودٌ إذا ما اليأسُ خفّضَ جأشَهُ

وعندَ مَخيلاتِ المَطامعِ ذيبُ

He is a young he-goat whenever despair quiets his heart,

and, at the promising signs of gain, a wolf.

وإنّي وإنْ لم أدنُ في النَّيلِ منكمُ

لأبعَدُ عمّا ساءكم وأغِيبُ

And I, though I have not drawn near to gain from you,

keep still farther from what displeases you, and stay away.

وأذكركم ذِكرَ المُحِبِّ حبيبَه

على النأي ما هبتْ صَباً وجَنوبُ

And I remember you as a lover remembers his beloved,

despite the distance, as long as east and south winds blow.

وقد يلتقي الأقوامُ بينَ جُسومِهم

وبينَ مُلاقاةِ القُلوبِ شُهوبُ

People may meet, while between their bodies

and the meeting of their hearts stand blazing meteors.

ودونَ مصافاةِ الحليمين محنةٌ

يكونُ لها بعدَ الفتورِ لهيبُ

And an ordeal blocks true friendship between two forbearing men;

after a lull, its flame flares up.

عَسى مَرُّ يومٍ بعدَ يومٍ وليلةٍ

يَنالُ بهِ من راحتيكَ نَصيبُ

Perhaps, with the passing of day after day and night,

a share may thereby be gained from your two palms.

فإنّ سِنانَ السّمْهَري ترادفَتْ

أنابيبَ حتى نِلنَه وكُعوبُ

For toward the point of the Samhari lance came, one after another,

shaft-segments and nodes, until they reached it.