قلدت جيد المعالي حلية الغزل — Mahmoud Samial Baroudi

قَلَّدْتُ جِيدَ الْمَعَالِي حِلْيَةَ الْغَزَلِ

وَقُلْتُ فِي الْجِدِّ مَا أَغْنَى عَنِ الْهَزَلِ

I adorned the neck of greatness with the jewel of love poetry,

And spoke in earnest words that left no need for jest.

يَأْبَى لِيَ الْغَيَّ قَلْبٌ لا يَمِيلُ بِهِ

عَنْ شَرْعَةِ الْمَجْدِ سِحْرُ الأَعْيُنِ النُجُلِ

My heart refuses me waywardness; it cannot be swayed

From glory's path by the enchantment of wide eyes.

أَهِيمُ بِالْبِيضِ فِي الأَغْمَادِ بَاسِمَةً

عَنْ غُرَّةِ النَّصْرِ لا بِالْبِيضِ فِي الْكِلَلِ

I am enamored of bright blades in their sheaths, smiling

To reveal victory's radiant brow—not fair women beneath bed-canopies.

لَمْ تُلْهِنِي عَنْ طِلابِ الْمَجْدِ غَانِيَةٌ

فِي لَذَّةِ الصَّحْوِ مَا يُغْنِي عَنِ الثَّمَلِ

No beautiful woman has distracted me from pursuing glory;

The pleasure of sobriety leaves no need for drunkenness.

كَمْ بَيْنَ مُنْتَدِبٍ يَدْعُو لِمَكْرُمَةٍ

وَبَيْنَ مُعْتَكِفٍ يَبْكِي عَلَى طَلَلِ

How great the gulf between one who rises to call for a noble deed

And one secluded, weeping over ruined dwellings.

لَوَلا التَّفَاوُتُ بَيْنَ الْخَلْقِ مَا ظَهَرَتْ

مَزِيَّةُ الْفَرْقِ بَيْنَ الْحَلْيِ وَالْعَطَلِ

Were it not for differences among people, there would not appear

The distinction in merit between adornment and bareness.

فَانْهَضْ إِلَى صَهَوَاتِ الْمَجْدِ مُعْتَلِياً

فَالْبَازُ لَمْ يَأْوِ إِلَّا عَالِيَ الْقُلَلِ

So rise, ascending to the saddle-heights of glory;

The falcon shelters only on the loftiest peaks.

وَدَعْ مِنَ الأَمْرِ أَدْنَاهُ لأَبْعَدِهِ

فِي لُجَّةِ الْبَحْرِ مَا يُغْنِي عَنِ الْوَشَلِ

And leave the nearer goal for the more distant;

The ocean's depths leave no need for a trickle.

قَدْ يَظْفَرُ الْفَاتِكُ الأَلْوَى بِحَاجَتِهِ

وَيَقْعُدُ الْعَجْزُ بِالْهَيَّابَةِ الْوَكَلِ

The daring, unyielding man may attain his desire,

While incapacity holds back the fearful, helpless man.

وَكُنْ عَلَى حَذَرٍ تَسْلَمْ فَرُبَّ فَتىً

أَلْقَى بِهِ الأَمْنُ بَيْنَ الْيَأْسِ وَالْوَجَلِ

Be watchful and you will be safe; many a youth

Has been cast by a sense of safety between despair and dread.

وَلا يَغُرَّنْكَ بِشْرٌ مِنْ أَخِي مَلَقٍ

فَرَوْنَقُ الآلِ لا يَشْفِي مِنَ الْغَلَلِ

Let no smile from a flatterer deceive you;

The mirage's gleam does not quench burning thirst.

لَوْ يَعْلَمُ الْمَرْءُ مَا فِي النَّاسِ مِنْ دَخَنٍ

لَبَاتَ مِنْ وُدِّ ذِي الْقُرْبَى عَلَى دَخَلِ

If a man knew the hidden corruption in people,

He would pass the night doubting a kinsman's affection.

فَلا تَثِقْ بِوَدَادٍ قَبْلَ مَعْرِفَةٍ

فَالْكُحْلُ أَشْبَهُ فِي الْعَيْنَيْنِ بِالْكَحَلِ

So trust no affection before acquaintance;

For applied kohl resembles the eyes' naturally dark rims.

وَاخْشَ النَّمِيمَةَ وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ قَائِلَهَا

يُصْلِيكَ مِنْ حَرِّهَا نَاراً بِلا شُعَلِ

Beware of tale-bearing, and know that its speaker

Roasts you in its heat with a flameless fire.

كَمْ فِرْيَةٍ صَدَعَتْ أَرْكَانَ مَمْلَكَةٍ

وَمَزَّقَتْ شَمْلَ وُدٍّ غَيْرِ مُنْفَصِلِ

How many a lie has shattered a kingdom's pillars

And torn apart the unity of an unbroken friendship!

فَاقْبَلْ وَصَاتِي وَلا تَصْرِفْكَ لاغِيَةٌ

عَنِّي فَمَا كُلُّ رَامٍ مِنْ بَنِي ثُعَلِ

Accept my counsel, and let no idle talk turn you

Away from me, for not every archer belongs to Banu Thu'al.

إِنِّي امْرُؤٌ كَفَّنِي حِلْمِي وَأَدَّبَنِي

كَرُّ الْجَدِيدَيْنِ مِنْ مَاضٍ وَمُقْتَبَلِ

I am a man restrained by my forbearance, and schooled by

The succession of day and night, past and to come.

فَمَا سَرَيْتُ قِنَاعَ الْحِلْمِ عَنْ سَفَهٍ

وَلا مَسَحْتُ جَبِينَ الْعِزِّ مِنْ خَجَلِ

I have never stripped off forbearance's veil through folly,

Nor wiped the brow of honor out of shame.

حَلَبْتُ أَشْطُرَ هَذَا الدَّهْرِ تَجْرِبَةً

وَذُقْتُ مَا فِيهِ مِنْ صَابٍ وَمِنْ عَسَلِ

I have milked this age's teats for experience,

And tasted the bitter sap and honey within it.

فَمَا وَجَدْتُ عَلَى الأَيَّامِ بَاقِيَةً

أَشْهَى إِلَى النَّفْسِ مِنْ حُرِّيَّةِ الْعَمَلِ

I have found nothing enduring through the days

More pleasing to the soul than freedom of action.

لَكِنَّنَا غَرَضٌ لِلشَّرِّ فِي زَمَنٍ

أَهْلُ الْعُقُولِ بِهِ فِي طَاعَةِ الْخَمَلِ

Yet we are targets for evil in an age

Whose men of reason live in obedience to the ignoble.

قَامَتْ بِهِ مِنْ رِجَالِ السُّوءِ طَائِفَةٌ

أَدْهَى عَلَى الْنَّفْسِ مِنْ بِؤْسٍ عَلَى ثَكَلِ

In it a faction of wicked men has risen,

More grievous to the soul than misery piled upon bereavement.

مِنْ كُلِّ وَغْدٍ يَكَادُ الدَّسْتُ يَدْفَعُهُ

بُغْضاً وَيَلْفِظُهُ الدِّيوانُ مِنْ مَلَلِ

Each one a scoundrel whom the seat of power almost repels

In hatred, and the council spits out from weariness.

ذَلَّتْ بِهِمْ مِصْرُ بَعْدَ الْعِزِّ وَاضْطَرَبَتْ

قَوَاعِدُ الْمُلْكِ حَتَّى ظَلَّ فِي خَلَلِ

Through them Egypt was humbled after honor, and shaken were

The foundations of rule, until it remained in disarray.

وَأَصْبَحَتْ دَوْلَةُ الْفُسْطَاطِ خَاضِعَةً

بَعْدَ الإِبَاءِ وَكَانَتْ زَهْرَةَ الدُّوَلِ

The state of al-Fustat has become submissive

After proud defiance, though it was the flower of states.

قَوْمٌ إِذَا أَبْصَرُونِي مُقْبِلاً وَجَمُوا

غَيْظاً وَأَكْبَادُهُمْ تَنْقَدُّ مِنْ دَغَلِ

They are people who, when they see me approaching, fall silent

With rage, their livers splitting with rancor.

فَإِنْ يَكُنْ سَاءَهُمْ فَضْلِي فَلا عَجَبٌ

فَالشَّمْسُ وَهيَ ضِيَاءٌ آفَةُ الْمُقَلِ

If my excellence has displeased them, no wonder:

The sun, though light itself, afflicts the eyes.

نَزَّهْتُ نَفْسِيَ عَمَّا يَدْنَسُونَ بِهِ

وَنَخْلَةُ الرَّوْضِ تَأْبَى شِيمَةَ الْجُعَلِ

I have kept my soul clear of what defiles them;

The garden's palm rejects the dung beetle's ways.

بِئْسَ الْعَشِيرُ وَبِئْسَتْ مِصْرُ مِنْ بَلَدٍ

أَضْحَتْ مُنَاخاً لأَهْلِ الزُّورِ وَالْخَطَلِ

Wretched is the companion, and wretched is Egypt as a land,

Now a camping ground for people of falsehood and folly.

أَرْضٌ تَأَثَّلَ فِيهَا الظُّلْمُ وَانْقَذَفَتْ

صَوَاعِقُ الْغَدْرِ بَيْنَ السَّهْلِ وَالْجَبَلِ

A land where tyranny has taken root, and hurled are

The thunderbolts of treachery across plain and mountain.

وَأَصْبَحَ النَّاسُ فِي عَمْيَاءَ مُظْلِمَةٍ

لَمْ يَخْطُ فِيهَا امْرُؤٌ إِلَّا عَلَى زَلَلِ

The people have fallen into blind, dark confusion;

No one steps there without stumbling.

لَمْ أَدْرِ مَا حَلَّ بِالأَبْطَالِ مِنْ خَوَرٍ

بَعْدَ الْمِرَاسِ وَبِالأَسْيَافِ مِنْ فَلَلِ

I know not what weakness has befallen the champions

After their battle-hardening, nor what nicks have befallen the swords.

أَصَوَّحَتْ شَجَرَاتُ الْمَجْدِ أَمْ نَضَبَتْ

غُدْرُ الْحَمِيَّةِ حَتَّى لَيْسَ مِنْ رَجُلِ

Have the trees of glory withered, or have run dry

The pools of proud zeal, until no man remains?

لا يَدْفَعُونَ يَداً عَنْهُمْ وَلَوْ بَلَغَتْ

مَسَّ الْعَفَافَةِ مِنْ جُبْنٍ وَمِنْ خَزَلِ

They fend off no hand from themselves, even if it reaches

To violate their chastity, out of cowardice and feebleness.

خَافُوا الْمَنِيَّةَ فَاحْتَالُوا وَمَا عَلِمُوا

أَنَّ الْمَنِيَّةَ لا تَرْتَدُّ بِالْحِيَلِ

They feared death and devised stratagems, not knowing

That death cannot be turned back by stratagems.

فَفِيمَ يَتَّهِمُ الإِنْسَانُ خَالِقَهُ

وَكُلُّ نَفْسٍ لَهَا قَيْدٌ مِنَ الأَجَلِ

Then why does man accuse his Creator,

When every soul is bound by its appointed term?

هَيْهَاتَ يَلْقَى الْفَتَى أَمْناً يَلَذُّ بِهِ

مَا لَمْ يَخُضْ نَحْوَهُ بَحْراً مِنَ الْوَهَلِ

Never will a youth find safety to delight in

Unless he wades toward it through a sea of terror.

فَمَا لَكُمْ لا تَعَافُ الضَّيْمَ أَنْفُسُكُمْ

وَلا تَزُولُ غَوَاشِيكُمُ مِنَ الْكَسَلِ

What is wrong with you, that your souls do not spurn oppression,

And the shrouds of sloth over you do not lift?

وَتِلْكَ مِصْرُ الَّتِي أَفْنَى الْجِلادُ بِهَا

لَفِيفَ أَسْلافِكُمْ فِي الأَعْصُرِ الأُوَلِ

And that is Egypt, where combat consumed

The host of your forefathers in the earliest ages:

قَوْمٌ أَقَرُّوا عِمَادَ الْحَقِّ وَامْتَلَكُوا

أَزِمَّةَ الْخَلْقِ مِنْ حَافٍ وَمُنْتَعِلِ

Men who set firm the pillar of right and took hold of

The reins of humankind, barefoot and shod.

جَنَوْا ثِمَارَ الْعُلا بِالْبِيضِ وَاقْتَطَفُوا

مِنْ بَيْنِ شَوْكِ الْعَوَالِي زَهْرَةَ الأَمَلِ

With bright blades they reaped the fruits of eminence and plucked

The flower of hope from among the thorns of tall spears.

فَأَصْبَحَتْ مِصْرُ تَزْهُو بَعْدَ كُدْرَتِهَا

فِي يَانِعٍ مِنْ أَسَاكِيبِ النَّدَى خَضِلِ

Then Egypt bloomed proudly after her murkiness,

Amid lush growth drenched by streams of dew.

لَمْ تَنْبُتِ الأَرْضُ إِلَّا بَعْدَمَا اخْتَمَرَتْ

أَقْطَارُهَا بِدَمِ الأَعْنَاقِ وَالْقُلَلِ

The earth bore no growth until it was steeped—

Its regions—in the blood of necks and heads.

شَنُّوا بِهَا غَارَةً أَلْقَتْ بِرَوْعَتِهَا

أَمْناً يُؤَلِّفُ بَيْنَ الذِّئْبِ وَالْحَمَلِ

They launched a raid there whose terror brought

A peace that united wolf and lamb.

حَتَّى إِذَا أَصْبَحَتْ فِي مَعْقِلٍ أَشِبٍ

يَرُدُّ عَنْهَا يَدَ الْعَادِي مِنَ الْمِلَلِ

Until, when she stood within a thickly wooded stronghold

That repelled from her the hand of aggressors among the nations,

أَخْنَى الزَّمَانُ عَلَى فُرْسَانِها فَغَدَتْ

مِنْ بَعْدِ مَنْعَتِهَا مَطْرُوقَةَ السُّبُلِ

Time destroyed her horsemen, and she became,

After her invulnerability, open to all along her roads.

فَأَيَّ عَارٍ جَلَبْتُمْ بِالْخُمُولِ عَلَى

مَا شَادَهُ السَّيْفُ مِنْ فَخْرٍ عَلَى زُحَلِ

What disgrace you have brought through inactivity upon

The glory the sword built high upon Saturn!

إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْفَتَى عَقْلٌ يَعِيشُ بِهِ

فَإِنَّمَا هُوَ مَعْدُودٌ مِنَ الْهَمَلِ

If a youth has no reason to live by,

He is counted only among the untended herd.

فَبَادِرُوا الأَمْرَ قَبْلَ الْفَوْتِ وَانْتَزِعُوا

شِكَالَةَ الرَّيْثِ فَالدُّنْيَا مَعَ الْعَجَلِ

Hasten to the task before the chance is lost, and cast off

The fetter of delay, for the world favors haste.

وَقَلِّدُوا أَمْرَكُمْ شَهْماً أَخَا ثِقَةٍ

يَكُونُ رِدْءاً لَكُمْ فِي الْحَادِثِ الْجَلَلِ

Entrust your affairs to a valiant, trustworthy man,

Who will support you in grave calamity.

مَاضِي الْبَصِيرَةِ غَلَّابٌ إِذَا اشْتَبَهَتْ

مَسَالِكُ الرَّأْيِ صَادَ الْبَازَ بِالْحَجَلِ

Keen of insight and ever prevailing, when tangled are

The paths of judgment, he snares the falcon with a partridge.

إِنْ قَالَ بَرَّ وَإِنْ نَادَاهُ مُنْتَصِرٌ

لَبَّى وَإِنْ هَمَّ لَمْ يَرْجِعْ بِلا نَفَلِ

If he speaks, he keeps his word; if one seeking aid calls him,

He answers; if he resolves, he returns not without spoils.

يَجْلُو الْبَدِيهَةَ بِاللَّفْظِ الْوَجِيزِ إِذَا

عَزَّ الْخِطَابُ وَطَاشَتْ أَسْهُمُ الْجَدَلِ

He illuminates the sudden insight with concise words when

Speech proves difficult and the arrows of debate stray.

وَلا تَلجُّوا إِذَا مَا الرَّأْيُ لاحَ لَكُمْ

إِنَّ اللَّجَاجَةَ مَدْعَاةٌ إِلَى الْفَشَلِ

Do not persist in stubbornness when sound judgment becomes clear to you;

Stubbornness is an invitation to failure.

قَدْ يُدْرِكُ الْمَرْءُ بِالتَّدْبِيرِ مَا عَجَزَتْ

عَنْهُ الْكُمَاةُ وَلَمْ يَحْمِلْ عَلَى بَطَلِ

A man may attain through planning what proved beyond

The armored champions, without ever charging a warrior.

هَيْهَاتَ مَا النَّصْرُ فِي حَدِّ الأَسِنَّةِ بَلْ

بِقُوَّةِ الرَّأْيِ تَمْضِي شَوْكَةُ الأَسَلِ

Far from it! Victory lies not in the point of spearheads; rather,

By strength of judgment the might of spears prevails.

وَطَالِبُوا بِحُقُوقٍ أَصْبَحَتْ غَرَضاً

لِكُلِّ مُنْتَزِعٍ سَهْماً وَمُخْتَتِلِ

Demand rights that have become a target

For everyone drawing an arrow and everyone lying in ambush.

وَلا تَخَافُوا نَكَالاً فِيهِ مَنْشَؤُكُمْ

فَالْحُوتُ فِي الْيَمِّ لا يَخْشَى مِنَ الْبَلَلِ

Do not fear punishment: in it you were reared;

The fish in the sea does not fear wetness.

عَيْشُ الْفَتَى فِي فَنَاءِ الذُّلِّ مَنْقَصَةٌ

وَالْمَوْتُ فِي الْعِزِّ فَخْرُ السَّادَةِ النَّبَلِ

A youth's life in humiliation's courtyard is a disgrace;

Death in honor is the pride of noble lords.

لا تَتْرُكُوا الْجِدَّ أَوْ يَبْدُو الْيَقِينُ لَكُمْ

فَالْجِدُّ مِفْتَاحُ بَابِ الْمَطْلَبِ الْعَضِلِ

Do not abandon earnest effort until certainty appears to you;

Earnest effort is the key to the door of a difficult goal.

طَوْراً عِرَاكاً وَأَحْيَاناً مُيَاسَرَةً

رِيَاضَةُ الْمُهْرِ بَيْنَ الْعُنْفِ وَالْمَهَلِ

At times struggling, and at others handling gently:

A colt is trained between force and patience.

حَتَّى تَعُودَ سَمَاءُ الأَمْنِ ضَاحِيَةً

وَيَرْفُلَ الْعَدْلُ فِي ضَافٍ مِنَ الْحُلَلِ

Until the sky of safety becomes clear again

And justice walks proudly in flowing robes.

هَذِي نَصِيحَةُ مَنْ لا يَبْتَغِي بَدَلاً

بِكُمْ وَهَلْ بَعْدَ قَوْمِ الْمَرْءِ مِنْ بَدَلِ

This is the counsel of one who seeks no substitute

For you—and is there any substitute for a man's own people?

أَسْهَرْتُ جَفْنِي لَكُمْ فِي نَظْمِ قَافِيَةٍ

مَا إِنْ لَهَا فِي قَدِيمِ الشِّعْرِ مِنْ مَثَلِ

I kept my eyelid sleepless for you, composing a rhymed poem

That has no equal in ancient poetry:

كَالْبَرْقِ فِي عَجَلٍ وَالرَّعْدِ فِي زَجَلٍ

وَالْغَيْثِ فِي هَلَلٍ وَالسَّيْلِ فِي هَمَلِ

Like lightning in speed, and thunder in its roar,

Like rain in its downpour, and a torrent in its rush.

غَرَّاءُ تَعْلَقُهَا الأَسْمَاع مِنْ طَرَبٍ

وَتَسْتَطِيرُ بِهَا الأَلْبَابُ مِنْ جَذَلِ

Radiant, the ears cling to it in delight,

And minds soar with it in joy.

حَوْلِيَّةٌ صَاغَهَا فِكْرٌ أَقَرَّ لَهُ

بِالْمُعْجِزَاتِ قَبِيلُ الإِنْسِ وَالْخَبَلِ

A year-wrought poem, fashioned by a mind acknowledged

For its marvels by the tribes of humankind and jinn.

تَلُوحُ أَبْيَاتُهَا شَطْرَيْنِ فِي نَسَقٍ

كَالْمَشْرَفِيَّةِ قَدْ سُلَّتْ مِنَ الْخِلَلِ

Its verses gleam in paired halves, in ordered ranks,

Like Mashrafi swords drawn from their sheaths.

إِنْ أَخْلَقَتْ جِدَّةُ الأَشْعَارِ أَثَّلَهَا

لَفْظٌ أَصِيلٌ وَمَعْنىً غَيْرُ مُنْتَحَلِ

If the freshness of poems wears out, it is made enduring by

Authentic diction and meaning that is not borrowed.

تَفْنَى النُّفُوسُ وَتَبْقَى وَهْيَ نَاضِرَةٌ

عَلَى الدُّهُورِ بَقَاءَ السَّبْعَةِ الطُوَلِ

Souls perish, but it remains fresh,

Through the ages, enduring like the Seven Long Odes.