رد الصبا بعد شيب اللمة الغزل — Mahmoud Samial Baroudi

رَدَّ الْصِّبَا بَعْدَ شَيْبِ اللِّمَّةِ الْغَزَلُ

وَرَاحَ بِالْجِدِّ مَا يَأْتِي بِهِ الْهَزَلُ

Dalliance restored youth after my locks had grayed,

And what jest brings swept earnestness away.

وَعَادَ مَا كَانَ مِنْ صَبْرٍ إِلَى جَزَعٍ

بَعْدَ الإِبَاءِ وَأَيَّامُ الْفَتَى دُوَلُ

What had been patience turned to anguish

After proud resistance; a young man's days are turns of fortune.

فَلْيَصْرِفِ اللَّوْمَ عَنِّي مَنْ بَرِمْتُ بِهِ

فَلَيْسَ لِلْقَلْبِ فِي غَيْرِ الْهَوَى شُغُلُ

Let the one I have tired of turn blame away from me,

For the heart has no occupation apart from love.

وَكَيْفَ أَمْلِكُ نَفْسِي بَعْدَ مَا ذَهَبَتْ

يَوْمَ الْفِرَاقِ شَعَاعاً إِثْرَ مَنْ رَحَلُوا

And how can I master my soul, after it flew away

Scattered on parting-day, after those who departed?

تَقَسَّمَتْنِي النَّوَى مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ وَعَدَتْ

عَنْهُمْ عَوَادٍ فَلا كُتْبٌ وَلا رُسُلُ

Separation tore me apart after they left, and I was kept

From them by hindrances: no letters and no messengers.

فَالصَّبْرُ مُنْخَذِلٌ وَالدَّمْعُ مُنْهَمِلٌ

وَالعَقْلُ مُخْتَبِلٌ وَالْقَلْبُ مُشْتَغِلُ

Patience is defeated, and tears pour down;

Reason is deranged, and the heart engrossed.

أَرْتَاحُ إِنْ مَرَّ مِنْ تِلْقَائِهِمْ نَسَمٌ

تَسْرِي بِهِ فِي أَرِيجِ الْعَنْبَرِ الأُصُلُ

I am cheered if a breeze passes from their direction,

Which the late afternoons waft through ambergris's fragrance.

سَارُوا فَمَا اتَّخَذَتْ عَيْنِي بِهِمْ بَدَلاً

إِلا الْخَيَالَ وَحَسْبِي ذَلِكَ الْبَدَلُ

They departed; my eye found no substitute for them

Except the phantom, and that substitute suffices me.

فَخَلِّ عَنْكَ مَلامِي يَا عَذُولُ فَقَدْ

سَرَّتْ فُؤَادِي عَلَى ضَعْفٍ بِهِ الْعِلَلُ

So leave off reproaching me, O censurer, for

Ailments have gladdened my heart despite its weakness.

لا تَحْسَبَنَّ الْهَوَى سَهْلاً فَأَيْسَرُهُ

خَطْبٌ لَعَمْرُكَ لَوْ مَيَّزْتَهُ جَلَلُ

Do not think love easy; even its slightest part

Is, by your life, a grave ordeal, if you discern it.

يَسْتَنْزِلُ الْمَلْكَ مِنْ أَعْلَى مَنَابِرِهِ

وَيَسْتَوِي عِنْدَهُ الرِّعْدِيدُ وَالْبَطَلُ

It brings the king down from his highest pulpits,

And before it the coward and the hero are equal.

فَكَيْفَ أَدْرَأُ عَنْ نَفْسِي وَقَدْ عَلِمَتْ

أَنْ لَيْسَ لِي بِمُنَاوَاةِ الْهَوَى قِبَلُ

How can I fend it off from my soul, when it knows

That I have no strength to combat love?

فَلَوْ قَدَرْتُ عَلَى شَيءٍ هَمَمْتُ بِهِ

فِي الْحُبِّ لَكِنْ قَضَاءٌ خَطَّهُ الأَزَلُ

If only I could do something I intended

In love—but it is a decree that eternity inscribed.

وَلِلْمَحَبَّةِ قَبْلِي سُنَّةٌ سَلَفَتْ

فِي الذَّاهِبِينَ وَلِي فِيمَنْ مَضَى مَثَلُ

Love had a custom before me, long observed

Among those gone; in those who passed I have an example.

فَإِنْ تَكُنْ نَازَعَتْنِي النَّفْسُ بَاطِلَهَا

وَأَطْلَعَتْنِي عَلَى أَسْرَارِهَا الْكِلَلُ

If my soul has drawn me toward its vanities,

And canopies have disclosed their secrets to me,

فَقَدْ أَسِيرُ أَمَامَ الْقَوْمِ ضَاحِيَةً

وَالْجَوُّ بِالْبَاتِرَاتِ الْبِيضِ مُشْتَعِلُ

Yet I sometimes ride before the company in the open,

While the air is ablaze with bright, severing blades,

بِكُلِّ أَشْقَرَ قَدْ زَانَتْ قَوَائِمَهُ

حُجُولُهُ غَيْرَ يُمْنَى زَانَهَا الْعَطَلُ

Upon many a chestnut steed whose legs are adorned

By white stockings, save a right foreleg graced by its bareness.

كَأَنَّهُ خَاضَ نَهْرَ الصُّبْحِ فَانْتَبَذَتْ

يُمْنَاهُ وَانْبَثَّ فِي أَعْطَافِهِ الطَّفَلُ

As though it had waded through dawn's river, except for

Its right foreleg; and twilight's glow spread through its flanks.

زُرْقٌ حَوَافِرُهُ سُودٌ نَوَاظِرُهُ

خُضْرٌ جَحَافِلُهُ فِي خَلْقِهِ مَيَلُ

Blue are its hooves, black are its eyes;

Green are its lips; its build has a curve.

كَأَنَّ فِي حَلْقِهِ نَاقُوسَ رَاهِبَةٍ

بَاتَتْ تُحَرِّكُهُ أَوْ رَاعِدٌ زَجِلُ

As though in its throat were the bell of a nun

Who spent the night ringing it—or a resounding thundercloud.

يَمُرُّ بِالْوَحْشِ صَرْعَى فِي مَكَامِنِهَا

فَمَا تَبِينُ لَهُ شَدّاً فَتَنْخَذِلُ

It races past wild beasts, fallen in their lairs;

They show it no swift running, and so falter.

يَرَى الإِشَارَةَ فِي وَحْيٍ فَيَفْهَمُهَا

وَيَسْمَعُ الزَّجْرَ مِنْ بُعْدٍ فَيَمْتَثِلُ

It sees a gesture in a swift hint and understands it,

And hears the urging cry from afar and obeys.

لا يَمْلِكُ النَّظْرَةَ الْعَجْلاءَ صَاحِبُهَا

حَتَّى تَمُرَّ بِعِطْفَيْهِ فَتُحْتَبَلُ

No owner controls his fleeting glance

Until it passes along the horse's flanks and is ensnared.

إِنْ مَرَّ بِالْقَوْمِ حَلُّوا عَقْدَ حَبْوَتِهِمْ

وَاسْتَشْرَفَتْ نَحْوَهُ الأَلْبَابُ وَالْمُقَلُ

If it passes a company, they undo the knot of their knee-wraps,

And minds and eyes look eagerly up toward it.

تَقُودُهُ بِنْتُ خَمْسٍ فَهُوَ يَتْبَعُهَا

وَيَسْتَشِيطُ إِذَا هَاهَى بِهِ الرَّجُلُ

A girl of five leads it, and it follows her;

It flares up when a man cries 'ha, ha!' at it.

أُمْضِي بِهِ الْهَوْلَ مِقْدَامَاً وَيَصْحَبُنِي

مَاضِي الْغِرَارِ إِذَا مَا اسْتَفْحَلَ الْوَهَلُ

I ride it boldly through terror, and I am accompanied by

A keen-edged blade whenever dread grows fierce.

يَمُرُّ بِالْهَامِ مَرَّ الْبَرْقِ فِي عَجَلٍ

وَقْتَ الضِّرَابِ وَلَمْ يَعْلَقْ بِهِ بَلَلُ

It sweeps through heads like lightning in haste

At the time of swordplay, with no wetness clinging to it.

تَرَى الرِّجَال وُقُوفَاً بَعْدَ فَتْكَتِهِ

بِهِمْ يُظَنُّونَ أَحْيَاءً وَقَدْ قُتِلُوا

You see men standing after its deadly stroke

Against them, thought alive, though they have been slain.

كَأَنَّهُ شُعْلَةٌ فِي الْكَفِّ قَائِمَةٌ

تَهْفُو بِهَا الرِّيحُ أَحْياناً وَتَعْتَدِلُ

As though it were a flame standing upright in the hand,

Which the wind sways at times, and which straightens again.

لَوْلا الدِّمَاءُ الَّتِي يُسْقَى بِهَا نَهَلاً

لَكَادَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ اللأْلاءِ يَشْتَعِلُ

Were it not for the blood it is given to drink in draughts,

It would almost blaze from the intensity of its brilliance.

يَفُلُّ مَا بَقِيَتْ فِي الْكَفِّ قَبْضَتُهُ

كُلَّ الْحَدِيدِ وَلَمْ يَثْأَرْ بِهِ فَلَلُ

It nicks, as long as its hilt remains in the hand,

All iron, yet no notch has taken revenge upon it.

بَلْ رُبَّ سَارِيَةٍ هَطْلاءَ دَانِيَةٍ

تَنْمُو السَّوَامُ بِهَا وَالنَّبْتُ يَكْتَهِلُ

Indeed, many a low-hanging night-cloud, pouring rain,

By which grazing herds grow and plants mature,

كَأَنَّ آثَارَهَا فِي كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ

رَيْطٌ مُنَشَّرَةٌ فِي الأَرْضِ أَوْ حُلَلُ

As though its traces on every side

Were cloths spread over the earth, or robes,

يَمَّمْتُهَا بِرِفَاقٍ إِنْ دَعَوْتُ بِهِمْ

لَبُّوا سِرَاعَا وَإِنْ أَنْزِلْ بِهِمْ نَزَلُوا

I have sought out with companions who, if I call for them,

Answer swiftly, and if I dismount with them, dismount too,

قَصْداً إِلَى الصَّيْدِ لا نَبْغِي بِهِ بَدَلاً

وَكُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَهَا فِي شَأْنِهَا عَمَلُ

Intent on hunting, wishing for no substitute,

And every soul has work in its own concerns.

حَتَّى إِذَا أَلْمَعَ الرُّوَّادُ مِنْ بعْد

وَجَاءَ فَارِطُهُمْ يَعْلُو وَيَسْتَفِلُ

Until, when the scouts signaled from afar

And their advance scout came, climbing and descending,

تَغَاوَتِ الْخَيْلُ حَتَّى كِدْنَ مِنْ مَرَحٍ

يَذْهَبْنَ فِي الأَرْضِ لَوْلا اللُّجْمُ وَالشُّكُلُ

The horses roused one another till, in their exuberance, they nearly

Raced away across the land, but for the bridles and fetters.

فَمَا مَضَتْ سَاعَةٌ أَوْ بَعْضُ ثَانِيَةٍ

إِلا وَلِلصَّيْدِ فِي سَاحَاتِنَا نُزُلُ

An hour, or part of another, had scarcely passed

Before the quarry found lodging in our courtyards.

فَكَانَ يَوْماً قَضَيْنا فِيهِ لَذَّتَنَا

كَمَا اشْتَهَيْنَا فَلا غِشٌّ وَلا دَغَلُ

So it was a day on which we had our fill of pleasure,

As we desired, with neither deceit nor rancor.

هَذَا هُوَ الْعَيْشُ لا لَغْوُ الْحَدِيثِ وَلا

مَا يَسْتَغِيرُ بِهِ ذو الإِفْكَةِ النَّمِلُ

This is life—not idle talk, nor

What a lying tale-bearer uses to incite hostility.

إِنَّ النَّمِيمَةَ وَالأَفْوَاهُ تُضْرِمُهَا

نَارٌ مُحَرِّقَةٌ لَيْسَتْ لَهَا شُعَلُ

Indeed, tale-bearing, which mouths kindle,

Is a consuming fire that has no flames.

فَاتْبَعْ هَوَاكَ وَدَعْ مَا يُسْتَرَابُ بِهِ

فَأَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ إِنْ جَرَّبْتَهُمْ هَمَلُ

So follow your desire, and leave whatever arouses suspicion,

For most people, if you test them, are untended cattle.

وَاحْذَرْ عَدُوَّكَ تَسْلَمْ مِنْ خَدِيعَتِهِ

إِنَّ الْعَدَاوَةَ جُرْحٌ لَيْسَ يَنْدَمِلُ

Beware your enemy, and you will be safe from his deceit:

Enmity is a wound that does not heal.

وَعَالِجِ السِّرَّ بِالْكِتْمَانِ تَحْمَدُهُ

فَرُبَّمَا كَانَ فِي إِفْشَائِهِ الزَّلَلُ

Guard your secret with concealment; you will be glad of it,

For a slip may lie in disclosing it.

وَلا تَكُنْ مُسْرِفَاً غِرّاً وَلا بَخِلاً

فَبِئْسَتِ الْخَلَّةُ الإِسْرَافُ وَالْبَخَلُ

Be neither a foolish spendthrift nor a miser,

For extravagance and stinginess are vile traits.

وَلا يَهُمَّنْكَ بَعْضُ الأَمْرِ تَسْأَمُهُ

لا يَنْتَهِي الشُّغْلُ حَتَّى يَنْتَهِي الأَجَلُ

Do not let a task you tire of trouble you:

Work does not end until life ends.

وَاعْرِفْ مَوَاضِعَ مَا تَأْتِيهِ مِنْ عَمَلٍ

فَلَيْسَ فِي كُلِّ حِينٍ يَحْسُنُ الْعَمَلُ

Know the proper occasions for the work you undertake,

For work is not fitting at every time.

فَالرَّيْثُ يُحْمَدُ فِي بَعْضِ الأُمُورِ كَمَا

فِي بَعْضِ حَالاتِهِ يُسْتَحْسَنُ الْعَجَلُ

Taking one's time is praised in some affairs, just as

Haste is favored in some of its circumstances.

هَذَا هُوَ الأَدَبُ الْمَأْثُورُ فَارْضَ بِهِ

عِلْماً لِنَفْسِكَ فَالأَخْلاقُ تَنْتَقِلُ

This is handed-down wisdom; accept it

As knowledge for yourself, for morals travel

مِنْ كُلِّ بَيْتٍ إِذَا الإِنْشَادُ سَيَّرَهُ

فَلَيْسَ يَمْنَعُهُ سَهْلٌ وَلا جَبَلُ

From every verse, when recitation sends it forth;

Neither plain nor mountain can hold it back.

لَمْ تُبْنَ قَافِيَةٌ فِيهِ عَلَى خَلَلٍ

كَلَّا وَلَمْ تَخْتَلِفْ فِي رَصْفِهَا الْجُمَلُ

No rhyme in it is built upon a flaw,

No indeed; its clauses have not clashed in their arrangement.

فَلا سِنَادٌ وَلا حَشْوٌ وَلا قَلَقٌ

وَلا سُقُوطٌ وَلا سَهْوٌ وَلا عِلَلُ

There is no rhyme inconsistency, no padding, no awkwardness,

No weakness, no oversight, no defects.

تَغَايَرَتْ فِيهِ أَسْمَاعٌ وَأَفْئِدَةٌ

فَكُلُّ نَادٍ عُكَاظٌ حِينَ يُرْتَجَلُ

Ears and hearts have vied jealously for it,

So every gathering is Ukaz when it is improvised.

لا تُنْكِرُ الْكَاعِبُ الْحَسْنَاءُ مَنْطِقَهُ

وَلا يُعَادُ عَلَى قَوْمٍ فَيُبْتَذَلُ

The beautiful, budding-breasted maiden does not reject its words,

Nor is it repeated to a company until it becomes trite.