جاءت بحسن مطمئن — Ibn Sanaa Almalk

جاءَت بحسنٍ مطمئِنِّ

جاءَتْكَ مِنْهُ بكل فَنِّ

She came with beauty at ease.

She brought you every form of it.

ما حُسْنُها مِمَّا يُرَوَّ

عُ بالعِذار المرجَحنّ

Her beauty is not of a kind frightened

by a heavy, drooping beard.

كلاَّ ولا تَخْشى انحنا

ءَ الغُصْنِ من قَدٍّ كَغُصْن

No indeed; nor does she fear the bending

of the bough, with a figure like a bough.

ليسَتْ مزوَّرَةَ الدَّلاَ

ل ولا مُمَوَّهَةَ التَّثَنِّي

Her coquetry is not counterfeit,

nor her swaying feigned.

وتَرُوحُ لا بِعَوارِضٍ

ملطومةٍ بالشَّعْرِ خَشْنِ

She goes forth without cheeks

slapped by coarse hair.

فرَّت من الفردوس إِمّا

من مَلالٍ أَو تَجَنِّ

She fled Paradise, either

from weariness or caprice.

يشتاقُها مثلي كما

تَشتاقُها جناتُ عدن

One like me longs for her, just as

the gardens of Eden long for her.

كَحْلاءُ صورةُ كُحْلها

في جفنها سَيْفٌ بجفن

Dark-eyed, the shape of her kohl

in her eyelid is a sword in its sheath.

لَمْياءُ مبسمها كصبـ

ـح قَدْ أُحيط بِيَوْمِ دَجْنِ

Dark-lipped, her smile is like dawn

encircled by a cloudy day.

أَنْفَاسُها كَنسيمِ نَدٍّ

خاض فيه نَسيمُ دَنِّ

Her breaths are like a waft of nadd perfume

through which a waft from a wine-jar has passed.

يا عاذلي فيها أَعِنِّـ

ـي أَو إِليكَ إِليكَ عَنِّي

O you who blame me for her, help

me—or away, away from me!

دخل الغرام بغير

أَمري في الحشا وبغير إِذني

Passion entered, without

my command, into my breast, and without my leave.

تدعو ملاحتُها الغرا

مَ فيستجيبُ بلا تأَن

Her loveliness summons passion,

and it answers without delay.

ويُريكَ وجْهَ إِساءَةٍ

وجهٌ يَجيءُ بِكُلِّ حُسْنِ

And a countenance of cruelty is shown to you

by a face that brings every beauty.

يا من رآها البدْرُ في

وهَنٍ فَرَاحَ بِكُلِّ وهْن

O you whom the full moon saw in

the dead of night, then departed utterly weakened.

الغصنُ يُجْنى مِنْك لـ

ـكنْ أَنْتَ مِنْكَ الغصنُ يَجْنِي

The bough is plucked from you, but

as for you, the bough itself gathers from you.

أَنت الَّتي لوْلاَكَ ما

غلَبتْ مَلاَئِكَتي لِجِنِّي

You are she without whom

my angels would not have succumbed to my jinn.

وأَكادُ أَفْنَى من هوا

ك وإِنَّما أَفْنَى لأَقْني

I nearly perish from love

of you, yet I perish only to gain.

ولو استطعتُ قَرَعْتُ قلـ

ـبي لا قرعتُ عليك سِنِّي

If I could, I would strike my heart,

not gnash my teeth over you.

يا قلبُ كَمْ أَمحو الغرا

مَ وكم أَهُدُّ وأَنْتَ تَبني

O heart, how often I erase passion,

and how often I demolish while you build!

أَرْهَنْتَ عَقْلي بالولَو

عِ ففُكَّ بالسُّلْوانِ رَهْنِي

You have pawned my reason to infatuation;

so redeem my pledge with forgetfulness.

لو كُنْتَ قَلبي كُنْتَ قَدْ

فَارقْتَها وقَبِلت منِّي

If you were my heart, you would have

left her and heeded me.

قد غرَّني ذا العشقُ حتَّـ

ـى بِعتُه جَذَلِي بِحُزْني

This love deceived me until

I sold it my joy for my sorrow.

إِنِّي لفي شُغلٍ يُغَنِّـ

ـي النَّفْسَ عما ليْسَ يَعْني

I am indeed occupied with a concern that frees

the soul from what does not concern it.

هذا الزَّمانُ عَليَّ يَحْـ

ـني بل أَراه عليَّ يَجْني

This age bends over me—

no, I see it doing me wrong.

ويرى فيُسْمِعُني فيُقْذِي

ناظِري ويُصِمُّ أُذْني

It sees, then makes me hear, then irritates

my eye and deafens my ear.

وأَتى إِليَّ مُبارزاً

حسبي بأَنَّ الدَّهْرَ قرْني

It came to challenge me to a duel;

enough that Time is my adversary.

يا دَهْرُ جُرْ وتجرَّ واشـ

ـنن غارةً واضرب وَثَنِّ

O Time, oppress, grow bold, and launch

a raid; strike, and strike again.

ما إِن أُرَى متطامِناً

لك أَو إِليكَ بمُطْمَئِنِّ

Never shall I be seen bowing

to you, or at ease with you.

إِن قلتَ إِنَّك في غِنىً

عنِّي فما أَدْرَاك أَنِّي

If you say you have no need

of me, how do you know that I—

إِني سأَستغني بمو

لى لم يَزَل يُغْني فيُقنِي

I shall be free of need through a patron

who never ceases enriching and granting possessions.

الفاضِلُ المأَمونُ والـ

ـمأْمولُ والمُسْني المُسِنِّ

Al-Fadil, the trusted and

hoped-for, the lavish giver, the venerable elder.

الواهِبُ الآلافِ مَنّـ

ـا لم يكدّرْهَا بِمَنّ

The giver of thousands in bounty,

unclouded by reminders of his favor.

ويُنيلها أَحمالَ تِبْـ

ـرٍ خِلتُها أَحمالَ تِبْن

He bestows them in loads of raw gold,

which I thought were loads of straw.

يُغْنِي فَيُبْقى الصالحا

تِ له فيُبْقي حين يُفْنِي

He enriches, so good deeds endure

to his credit: he preserves while he spends away.

متعودٌ نَحْرَ البدو

رِ لضيفِه لا نحرَ بُدْن

Accustomed to slaughtering full moons

for his guest, not sacrificial camels.

إِن الكريمَ تُرى عَطا

ياه كِراماً غيرَ هُجْن

Indeed, the noble man's gifts are seen

as noble, not of mongrel stock.

لبَّاسُ ثَوْبِ المجْدِ جرّا

رٌ له سَحَّابُ رُدْن

He wears glory's robe, ever trailing

it and dragging its sleeve.

ومُمَلَّكُ الأَمْلاَكِ بالـ

ـبَطْشِ الشَّديدِ وبالتَّأَنّي

He grants kings their dominions through

fierce force and deliberation.

وَلَهَا بحسن الرأَي مُدْ

نِي مُلْكَ أَقطارٍ ومُدْنِ

And for them, through sound judgment, he brings within reach

dominion over regions and cities.

وتَراه إِجلالاً له

كأَبٍ وحُبّاً فيه كَابْنِ

You see him, in reverence for him,

as a father, and in love for him, as a son.

وهو المتوِّج والمُسَوِّ

رُ والملقِّب والمكَنّى

He bestows crowns and bracelets,

titles and honorific bynames.

يأْوِي إِلى تَدْبيرِه الـ

ـإِسلامُ وهو أَشدُّ رُكْنِ

His governance gives refuge

to Islam, and he is its strongest pillar.

وكذلك الإِيمانُ منـ

ـه قد استَقَرَّ بدارِ أَمْن

Likewise faith, through

him, has settled in an abode of safety.

وله البلاغةُ نار جز

لٍ إِن أَرادَ وماءُ مُزْنِ

His eloquence is a blaze of dry logs,

if he wishes, and water from rainclouds.

لَسِنٌ يُعيد المرْهَفَا

تِ بأَلْسُنٍ في الحَرْب لُكْنِ

Eloquent, he leaves sharpened blades

with faltering tongues in war.

وذكاً يردُّ أَشدَّ سهـ

ـم لِلْعِدَى بأَسَدِّ ذِهْن

His keen intelligence repels the fiercest arrow

of the enemy with the surest mind.

ويَرى العواقِبَ بالمغيـ

ـبِ وبالتَّوهُّمِ والتَّظنِّي

He sees the outcomes in the unseen,

and through inference and conjecture.

نُثْنِي عَلَيْه ثَانياً

بالجُهدِ نَعجِزُ حِينَ نُثْنِي

We praise him yet again,

with all our effort falling short when we praise.

وإِذا مَدحنا غيرَه

فهو الَّذِي بالمدح نَعْنِي

When we praise someone else,

he is the one our praise intends.

يَفْديكَ مَنْ فيه السِّيا

دَةُ طائراً من غير وكِن

May one who holds lordship ransom you,

flying without a nest.

وله على المعروف بع

ضُ شجاعةٍ بل كلُّ جُبْنِ

When it comes to generosity, he has

some courage—rather, nothing but cowardice.

قالت له العلياءُ لمّا

لامَس العلياءَ دَعْنِي

Exalted glory said to him when

he touched exalted glory: "Leave me alone."

ويَداه لا اليُسرى ليُسْـ

ـرٍ لا ولا اليُمْنى ليمنِ

His hands: the left is not for ease,

no, nor the right for good fortune.

وبلاغةٌ كفهاهةٍ

فيه وإِعرابٌ كلَحْنِ

And eloquence is like inarticulacy

in him, and correct speech like faulty grammar.

وتهيمُ بالفعلِ الأَغَرِّ

وهامَ بالظَّبي الأَغَّنِّ

You are enamored of splendid deeds,

while he is enamored of the nasal-voiced gazelle.

يا من أَعوذُ بمجْدِه

إِني اسْتَغَثْتُ فلم يُغْثِني

O you in whose glory I take refuge,

I cried for aid, but he did not aid me.

ثقُلَ الزَّمانُ عليَّ حتَّى

خفَّ بين الناسِ وزْنِي

Time weighed heavily on me until

my weight among people grew light.

وسُقيتُ منه مكارها

حتَّى امتلأتُ وقلت قَطْنِي

I was made to drink hardships from it,

until I was full and said, "Enough for me!"

وأَراهُ جارَ فكيف جا

رَ وأَنت مِنْه لم تُجِرني

I see it has wronged me—how could it wrong me

and yet you have not sheltered me from it?

وانفَلَّ عَزْمِي واسْتُبيـ

ـحَت قلْعتي وانهدَّ رُكني

My resolve broke, and plunder befell

my fortress, and my pillar collapsed.

وغَدا عَلى رأَسِي الَّذي

قد كانَ ذُلاًّ تحتَ ظَنِّي

And over my head now stands the one

who once lay abject beneath my estimation.

أَلْقى الصديقَ بِلا ثَرا

ءٍ والعدوَّ بلا مِجَن

I meet my friend without wealth,

and my enemy without a shield.

وأَظُنُّ بالدّهر الظنو

نَ وإِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ يُضْنِي

I harbor suspicions about Time,

and some suspicion indeed wears one down.

ومضى أَبٌ يَحْنُو عليَّ

فليت أُمِّي لَمْ تَلدْنِي

A father who cared for me has passed away;

would that my mother had not borne me.

وأَراك لا تَحْنُو وتُشـ

ـبعُ حاسِدي وتُجيعُ بَطني

I see you show no tenderness, and feed

my envier while leaving my belly hungry.

أُفنِي زماني بالتشوُّ

فِ والتَّشَهِّي والتَمنِّي

I use up my lifetime in expectant longing,

and craving and wishing.

وَيَعِزُّ سَعْيي بالتأَخُّـ

ـر والتخلف والتَّعنِّي

My striving is hampered by delay,

by falling behind and wearisome toil.

أَنتَ الذي تُنْئِي أَوا

مِرُه عن العَليَا وتُدْني

It is you whose commands carry one far

from the heights, or bring one near.

وتعيدُ من تَهْوى كَأُحْـ

ـدٍ والذي تُثْنِي كَعِهْن

You make the one you favor like Uhud,

and the one you bend like wool.

أَسْجِحْ فإِنَّكَ قَدْ مَلكْـ

ـتَ وحُزْتَ دونَ الْخَلقِ قنِّي

Be gentle: you have taken possession,

and claimed my bondage to the exclusion of all others.

وقد اشتريتَ فلا تَبِع

ومَنِ اشْتَرانِي لا يَبعْني

You have bought me, so do not sell;

let whoever bought me not sell me.

وسِّع عليَّ مجال شَخْ

صي إِنَّ بيْتي لم يَسَعْني

Give my person a wider space,

for my house has no room for me.

وأَرى هَوانِي في الخمُو

لِ وقد كَرمْتَ فلا تَهِنِّي

I see my dishonor in obscurity;

you are noble, so do not humiliate me.

ونظمتُها في يومِ عَا

شُوراءَ من هَمِّي وَحُزْني

I composed it on the day of Ashura,

out of my distress and sorrow.

يومٌ يناسبُ غَبْنَ من

قتلوه ظُلماً مثْل غَبْني

A day befitting the wrong done to one

they killed unjustly, a wrong like mine.

يومٌ يُساءُ بِه وفيـ

ـه كُلُّ شيعيٍّ وسُنِّي

A day that brings grief, and on which

every Shiite and Sunni is grieved.

إِن ل أُعَزِّ المسلميـ

ـنَ به فإِنِّي لا أُهَنِّي

If I do not console the Muslims

over it, I certainly do not congratulate them.

أَو كنتُ ممن لا يَنُو

ح به فإِنِّي لا أُغَنِّي

Or if I am among those who do not lament

over it, I certainly do not sing.

قُتِل الْحُسَينُ بِكُلِّ ضر

بٍ للبُغَاةِ وكلِّ طَعْن

Al-Husayn was slain with every blow

of the rebels, and every thrust.

شَنُّوا عليْه وما سقو

ه قطرةً من ماءِ شَنِّ

They attacked him and did not give

him a drop of water from a worn waterskin.

أَنتَ الوَليُّ له تصرّ

حُ بالولاءِ ولستَ تَكْنِي

You are his ally; you proclaim

your allegiance openly, not obliquely.

ولأَنْت أَولى من يُبَا

كِر قَاتِليه بكُلِّ لَعْن

You are surely most entitled to greet

his killers at dawn with every curse.

وهو الشَّفِيعُ لِحَاجَتي

لِيَزِيدَني من لم يُرِدْني

He is the intercessor for my need,

so that one who did not want me may grant me more.

وقَصيدَتِي أَطلَقْتُها

بالبثِّ من صدرٍ كسِجْنِ

And my poem—I set it free

through lament, from a breast like a prison.

جاءَتْك بالمَثل الشرو

دِ وبَيْتُه بالحسن مَبْني

It came to you bearing the far-roaming proverb,

its verse built upon beauty.

ورأَيتُ ذا الجودِ الفتيِّ

فجئتُ بالاَمَل المُسِنّ

I saw this youthful bounty,

so I came with aged hope.

ظنِّي بكَ الْحُسْنى وظنّـ

ـي أَنْ سيصدُقُ فيك ظَنِّي

I expect the best of you, and I believe

that my expectation of you will prove true.