نعم هي سعدي وهي لي قمر سعد — Ibn Sanaa Almalk

نَعم هِي سُعدي وهْيَ لِي قَمرٌ سَعْدُ

وِصَالٌ ولا صدُّ وقُرْبٌ ولا بُعْدُ

Yes, she is Su'da, and for me an auspicious moon.

Union without rejection, nearness without distance.

وما غَدَرتْ ما أَخْلفَت ما تشَبَّهت

بِغَانيةٍ مَا كُلُّ غَانية هِنْدُ

She has not betrayed, not broken her promise, not resembled

another beauty—not every beautiful woman is Hind.

يُعانقها مِن دُونِيَ العِقْدُ وحْده

فيا عَجَباً يا قومِ لِمْ يَلْتَق العِقْد

The necklace alone embraces her instead of me.

How strange, my people—why should the necklace clasp together?

هي البدْرُ إِلاَّ أَنَّه كلَّه سَنىً

هِي الغُصْنُ إِلا أَنَّه كُلَّه وَرْدُ

She is the full moon, but one made wholly of radiance.

She is the bough, but one made wholly of roses.

ولو أَبْصرَ النَّظَّامُ جوهَر ثَغْرِها

لما شَكَّ فيه أَنَّه الجوهَرُ الفَرْد

Had al-Nazzam seen the jewel of her mouth,

he would not have doubted that it was the indivisible atom.

توطَّن ذاكَ الثَّغْرَ عِشْقِي ولم يزل

على باب ذَاكَ الثَّغرِ من قلبي الرِّفدُ

My love settled in that mouth, and ever since,

supplies from my heart have stood at that mouth's gate.

وبُرْدُ يزيدِ بن المفرَّغِ فارغٌ

وتلكَ الَّتي مِنْ حُسنها مُلِئَ البُردُ

Yazid ibn al-Mufarragh's Burd is empty,

while she is the one whose beauty fills the mantle.

مشت قِبَلي غَوراً ونَجْداً بِحُسنها

فَغَوْرٌ ونجدٌ سُرَّةٌ فوقَها نَهْدُ

She walked toward me, her beauty lowland and highland:

lowland and highland—a navel with a breast above it.

ومِنْ قال إِنّ الخيزرانةَ قَدَّها

فقولوا لَه إِيَّاك أَنْ يَسْمَع القَدُّ

Whoever says her figure is a bamboo stem,

tell him, 'Beware lest her figure hear!'

على فَمِها خالٌ من النَّدِّ سَاكِنٌ

وما كُلُّ خالٍ من مَساكِنه الخَدُّ

On her mouth rests a beauty-mark of nadd perfume.

Not every beauty-mark makes its dwelling on the cheek.

رسولٌ من المِسكِ احتذَى الفمُ طيبَه

وفيه يزيدُ المسكُ يُستخدَم النَّدُّ

A messenger of musk, whose fragrance her mouth has copied;

within it musk grows stronger, and nadd is employed.

وليلٍ كَساه شعرُها ثوبَ لَوْنِه

فلا نُورُه يَخْفَى ولا شُهْبُه تَبْدُو

And a night her hair clothed in a robe of its own hue:

its light is not hidden, and its stars do not appear.

رأَيت عليَّ الشَّمسَ رُدّت فآمِنوا

بِعشقِي فَهذا مُعجِزٌ مَا لَه رَدّ

I saw the sun returned to me—so believe

in my love: this is a miracle that admits no denial.

ونهرٍ بظلِّ الكرم أَسودَ فاحِم

كشَعْرِك حَتَّى أَنَّه مِثْلُه جَعْد

And a river, coal-black beneath the vines' shade,

like your hair, even as curly as it is.

بكيت عليه دُرَّ دَمعي كأَنَّما

تعلَّق مِنِّي في ضَفائرِه عِقدُ

I wept upon it pearls of tears, as though

a necklace from me had caught in its braids.

بكيتُ لبينٍ مَا أَتى ولِهجرة

ستأْتي وأُخرى ما أَتى وقتُها بَعْد

I wept for a parting not yet come, and an abandonment

yet to come, and another whose time has not yet arrived.

ولابدَّ مِنْ أَن يدخلَ البينُ بينَنا

فليسَ له مِنْ بيننِا أَبداً بُدُّ

Parting must come between us,

for it can never do without coming between us.

وفاءُ اللَّيالِي أَن تَخونَ وعَهْدُهَا

كما عُهِدَتْ أَلاَّ يدومَ لها عَهْدُ

The nights' fidelity is to betray; their pledge,

as they are known, is that no pledge of theirs endures.

رَمانِي زَمانِي بالمكارِه والأَذى

ومَا زال يُؤْذِي الحُرَّ ذا الزَّمنُ الوغْدُ

My time assailed me with afflictions and harm.

This base age has always harmed the freeborn.

وإِني أَكيلٌ للزَّمانِ بصرفِه

ومن عَجبٍ أن يأكل الصارم الغمد

I am prey to Time and its vicissitudes;

how strange that the scabbard should devour the sharp sword!

ولا عجباً إن قلت إني صارم

فرب حسام ليسَ تَطْبَعه الهِنْدُ

Do not wonder if I say I am a sharp sword:

many a blade is not forged in India.

وإِنِّي على وعْدٍ من الله في الَّذي

أُريدُ وعنْدِ الله لا يُخْلَفُ الوَعْد

I hold a promise from God concerning what

I desire; with God, a promise is never broken.

وجَهْدُ الفَتى شَكْوى اللَّيالي وذَمُّها

وهَذَا لَعمْري جَهْد من لا لَهُ جُهدُ

A young man's exertion is to complain of the nights and blame them;

and this, by my life, is the effort of one without strength.

وسَعْدُ الفَتى مَدْحُ الأَجلِّ وحَمْدُه

وإِنْ جلَّ عما قَاله المدحُ والحَمْدُ

A young man's good fortune is to praise the most exalted and extol him,

though he transcends all that praise and gratitude can say.

وماذا يقولُ المادحون وإنَّما

مدائِحهم جزْرٌ ومعروفُه مدُّ

What can the praisers say, when

their praises are an ebb, and his beneficence a flood?

له العِزَّة القعساءُ والحسبُ العِدُّ

له الفضْل يعْيا أَنْ يُحيط بِه العدُّ

His are unassailable might and enduring lineage.

His excellence exhausts any attempt to count it.

له المجْدُ حقاًّ بالأُخُوَّةِ إِنَّما

إِلى ابنِ أَبي المجْدِ انْتمى صِنْوهُ المجْدُ

Glory is truly his by brotherhood: indeed,

his twin, Glory, traces its lineage to Ibn Abi al-Majd.

له الدّهْرُ عبدٌ ما عصى قطُّ أَمْرَه

ويا رُبَّ موْلىً لم يُطع أَمرَه العْبدُ

Time is his slave and has never disobeyed his command.

How many a master has had his command disobeyed by his slave!

له آيةٌ والخلقُ فانٍ مُخلَّد

أَلم يعلمُوا أَنَّ الَّثناءَ هو الخُلْدُ

His is a wonder: while creation perishes, he endures forever.

Do they not know that praise is immortality?

له آيةٌ ما لا تُحدّ جلالةً

وأُبَّهةً ما كُلُّ شيءٍ له حدُّ

His is a wonder: majesty beyond all bounds,

and splendor—not everything has a limit.

وزيرٌ ولكن في السَّماءِ سريرُه

أَميرٌ ولكنَّ القضاءَ له جُند

A minister, yet his throne is in heaven;

a commander, yet fate is his army.

سنحْيا لنُقْبِل واردين جنابه

لقد كرُك المثْوى وقدْ عذُبَ الوِرْدُ

We shall live to draw near, arriving at his court.

The lodging is indeed [unclear], and the water has grown sweet.

فأَيْسرُ ما يُهدي لوفدِهمُ الهُدى

وأَيْسر ما يُسرِي سُراتهم الجِدُّ

The least of what he gives their delegation is guidance;

the least that sends their nobles forth by night is earnest effort.

إِذا أَجْدبتْ آراؤهم من سُعودِها

فمِنه ومِنْ آرائِه ينْبُتُ السَّعْدُ

When their counsels grow barren of good fortune,

from him and his counsels good fortune springs.

يُعيدون أَو يُبدون قبْل حضوره

فإِنْ كان فيهمْ لم يُعيدُوا ولم يُبْدوا

They reiterate or put forth words before his arrival;

once he is among them, they neither reiterate nor put forth a word.

فمِنْ خوفهِ يستغفِر الدَّهرُ ذنْبه

ومِنْ بأْسِه يسْتذْئِب الأَسدُ الوَرْدُ

From fear of him, Time seeks pardon for its sin;

at his might, the tawny lion becomes wolf-like.

به يستوي المعوج من بعد قولهم

متى يسْتوي هل يسْتوي الصَّابُ والشَّهدُ

Through him the crooked becomes straight, after their saying,

'When will it straighten? Can bitter sap and honey be equal?'

يهونُ عليه الأَمْرُ والأَمرُ مُعْضِلٌ

ويشْرقُ عنه الدَّهرُ والدَّهْر مُزْبِد

The matter is easy for him, though the matter is intractable.

From him Time draws brightness, though Time is foaming.

تأَلَّفت الأَضدادُ فيه كرامةً

فدُنْيا وأُخرى والوزارةُ والزُّهْدُ

Opposites have come together in him as an honor:

this world and the hereafter, ministry and asceticism.

فينظرُ للدُّنيا بعينِ بصيرة

يرى مُلْكها هزْلاً فيملكه الجدُّ

He regards this world with a discerning eye;

he sees its dominion as a jest, so earnestness masters him.

رأَيت عيون الشُّهْبِ مِنْ نُورِ وجْههِ

فأَكثرُها عُمْيٌ وسائِرُها رُمْدُ

I saw the stars' eyes, from the radiance of his face:

most of them blind, and the rest sore-eyed.

متى نشَّأَتْ مِنه سحائِب كُفِّه

فلا وعْدُه برْقٌ ولا منُّه رعْدُ

Whenever the clouds of his palm rise from him,

his promise is not lightning, nor his benefaction thunder.

وأَنْضمت عطاياه السُّرى لِعُفاتِه

فتِلْك العطايا لا يجِفُّ لها لبدُ

His gifts have [unclear verb] the night-travel of his suppliants;

those gifts never let a saddle-felt dry.

فأَيُّ كبيرٍ ما جداك مِهادُه

وأَيُّ وليدٍ ما نداك له مهْدُ

What elder does not have your bounty as his bedding?

What newborn does not have your generosity as his cradle?

ملكت البرايا هيبةً ومحبَّةً

فباعِثُ ذِي التَّقْوى وباعِثُ ذِي الرِّفْد

You have ruled all creatures through awe and love,

inspiring the pious and inspiring the man of bounty.

إِذا قُلتُ قَولاً أَعجز الخلق قولُه

ففي مسمعِي نارٌ وفي كبدي برْدُ

When I utter words that others cannot utter,

there is fire in my hearing, and coolness in my liver.

أُحِبُّك للفضلِ الذي أَنْت أَهْلُه

وللجودِ حتَّى ليس عندي له عبْدُ

I love you for the excellence of which you are worthy,

and for generosity, till I have no slave left for it.

وأَشْكو إِليك الحاسدين عليك لِي

وإِنْ كان يبدو مِنْهمُ الحُبُّ والوُدُّ

I complain to you of those who envy me for you,

although love and affection appear from them.

وما كلَّمونِي باللِّسانِ وإِنَّما

تكلَّم منهم في وُجوهِهمُ الحِقْدُ

They did not speak to me with their tongues;

rather, rancor spoke from them through their faces.

وما جاهروني بالنَّصالِ وإِنَّما

عقاربهم في السِّر تسْرى وتحْتدُّ

They did not openly confront me with blades;

rather, their scorpions creep in secret and grow fierce.

وجوهُهم كالزَّند برداً وظُلْمةً

وإِن أَضمروا لي مثلي ما يُضمر الزَّنْد

Their faces are like a fire-stick, cold and dark,

though they harbor against me twice what the fire-stick harbors.

وأَلوانُهم تبْيضُّ إِن كنتُ غائِباً

وإِن كنتُ فيهم حاضِراً فهي تسودُّ

Their complexions grow white when I am absent;

when I am present among them, they turn black.

وما منهمُ إِلاَّ أَسيرُ كآبةٍ

وربَّ أَسيرٍ ليس في عُنْقِه القيْدُ

Every one of them is a prisoner of gloom;

many a prisoner has no fetter around his neck.

يموتُون غيظاً كلَّما عشتُ غِبْطةً

فقد ضمَّنِي قصْرٌ وقد ضمَّهم لحْدُ

They die of rage whenever I live in bliss:

a palace has sheltered me, while a grave has sheltered them.

بنقصِهمُ قّدْ بان فضْلي ورُبَّما

شكرتُهمُ والضِّدُّ يُظهرُه الضِّدُّ

Through their shortcomings my excellence has become clear; perhaps

I have thanked them—one opposite reveals the other.

أَغبَّ مديحي هيبةً ثم زاره

ولابُدَّ ببورقاءِ بالطَّبعِ أَنْ تشْدو

My praise stayed away awhile in awe, then visited him.

A gray dove must, by nature, sing.

يصُدُّ دلالاً كي يطيبَ مزارُه

وأَطيبُ وصْل كان من قبله صدُّ

It withdraws coyly, so that its visit may be sweeter;

the sweetest union is one preceded by rejection.

ولمَّا التقيْنا كان فينا تجاذُبٌ

كما يلْتقي في المقْلةِ النَّومُ والسُّهدُ

When we met, there was a tug between us,

as sleep and sleeplessness meet within the eye.

ولو رشَدُوا كانُوا رَضوا بالَّذي قَضَى

به الله لكن رُبَّما خفِي الرُّشْدُ

Had they been wise, they would have accepted what was decreed

by God; but sound judgment is sometimes hidden.

وإِني لفِي شُغْلٍ بنعْماك عنْهُم

فلا يشْتغِلْ بي لا سعيدٌ ولا سْعدُ

Your favors keep me too occupied to attend to them;

let neither Sa'id nor Sa'd concern himself with me.

حَسودِي بك الحيرانُ حالي بِك الرِّضا

زمانِي بك النَّشوانُ عيْشِي بك الرَّغْدُ

Through you my envier is bewildered; through you my state is contentment.

Through you my time is intoxicated; through you my life is ease.

ومالِي على أَلاَّ أُحبَّك قدرةٌ

ومِنْك دمِي واللَّحمُ والعظْمُ والجِلْدُ

I have no power not to love you:

from you are my blood, flesh, bone, and skin.

جهلتُ ملوكَ الأَرْضِ لمَّا عرفْتُه

فما لِي إِليْهم لا قصيدٌ ولا قصْدُ

I knew nothing of the kings of the earth once I knew him;

so I have for them neither poem nor purpose.