سل بالغوير السائق المغلسا — Mihyar Al Daylami

سل بالغُوير السائقَ المغلِّسا

هل يستطيع ساعةً أن يحبسا

Ask at al-Ghuwayr the driver departing before dawn

whether he can halt for an hour.

فإن في الدار رذايا لوعةٍ

نوقاً ضِعافاً وعيوناً نُعَّسَا

For in the dwelling are anguish-worn stragglers:

weak she-camels and drowsy eyes.

وثَملين ما أداروا بينهم

إلا السهادَ والدموعَ أكؤسا

And drunken ones who passed among themselves

only cups of sleeplessness and tears.

ما علِمتْ نفوسُهم أن الردى

ميقاتُه الصبحُ إذا تنفَّسا

Their souls did not know that death

has its appointed time at dawn, when it breathes.

راخِ لهم فإنهم وفدُ هوىً

يرضيه أن تُرْوِدَ أو أن تَسْلَسا

Ease your pace for them: they are love's delegation;

it pleases him that you go gently or yield.

تركتَ من خلفك أجسامَهُمُ

وسقتَ ما بين يديك الأنفُسا

You left their bodies behind you

and drove their souls along before you.

اِعطفْ لهم شيئاً فلو لم ينفِسوا

على الشموس في الخدور مَنفَسا

Show them a little kindness; were they not jealously guarding

a breathing space for the suns within the curtained chambers,

لأغرقوك دمعةً فدمعةً

وحرَّقوك نفَساً فنفَسا

they would have drowned you, tear upon tear,

and burned you, breath upon breath.

أين تريد عن حياض حاجر

أن تستجيز الخضمَ والتلسُّسا

Where do you mean to go, away from Hajir's pools,

to venture across the deep sea and wander stealthily?

وهل على ماء النخيلِ مطعنٌ

إذا وردتَ مثلِثاً أو مخمِسا

And can any fault be found with al-Nakhil's water,

when you come to drink on the third day or the fifth?

وفي الحمول سمحةٌ ضنينةٌ

تُبذَل وجهاً وتصانُ ملمَسا

Among the laden camels is one generous yet withholding:

her face is offered, but her touch is guarded.

شنَّتْ على الكناس حتى لم تدع

للريم إلاّ حَمَشاً أو خَنَسا

She raided the gazelles' lairs until she left

the gazelles only spindly legs or snub noses.

تبسِمُ عن أشنبَ في ضمانه

نطفةُ مزنٍ لقبوها اللعَسا

She smiles, revealing cool white teeth, within whose keeping

lies a raincloud's drop, which they have named 'dusky lip-color.'

سلسالةٌ إن لم أكن عرفتُها

رشفاً فقد عرفتُها تفرُّسا

Sweet-flowing—if I have not known it

by sipping, I have known it by discerning scrutiny.

يا هل إلى ذاك اللمى وسيلةٌ

تبلُّ لي هذا الغليلَ اليَبِسا

Ah, is there a means of reaching those dusky lips

that will moisten this parched thirst for me?

أم هل إلى ذاك الهلال نظرةٌ

إما بملءِ العينِ أو مختلسَا

Or is there a glance toward that crescent moon,

either filling the eye or stolen furtively?

بل كلّ ما بعد المشيبِ مسمِحٌ

ماكسَ أو منجذبٌ تشمَّسا

Rather, after gray hair, all that was yielding

has haggled, or what was drawn close has grown unruly.

ومن عناء اليد أن تبغي الجنا

والساقُ خاوٍ والقضيبُ قد عسا

And it is weary toil for the hand to seek fruit

when the trunk is hollow and the branch has hardened.

لامت على تعزُّلي إذ أبصرتَ

جحفلَ شيبٍ هاجماً ومُحمِسا

She reproached my withdrawal when you saw

an army of gray hair, attacking and stirring battle.

تنكّرته مذ رأته بُلجةً

ضاحيةً أن عرفته حِندِسا

She disowned it once she saw it as a radiance,

bright and clear, having known it as pitch-darkness.

بيضاء أعشت في السواد عينَها

فاشتبه الصبحُ عليها والمَسا

A fair woman who dimmed her eye in the blackness,

so morning and evening became confused to her.

إذا تلفعتُ بها مُنصِّعاً

ما كنتُ من صبغتها مورّسا

When I wrap myself in it, made bright white,

I am not saffron-dyed by its hue.

منتبَذاً نبذ الحصى يردّني

نقدُ العيون أخزرا وأشوسا

Cast aside like pebbles, I am turned away

by the eyes' judgment, with squinting looks and scowls.

فلم تكن أوّلَ حال غبطةٍ

أحسنَ فيها زمني ثم أسا

This was not the first state of happiness

in which my time treated me well, then wronged me.

هو الذي ما جاد أو ضنّ ولا

رقَّ عليَّ مرةً إلا قسا

It is that which never gave or withheld, nor

once softened toward me, without turning harsh.

وقد ألفتُ خُلْقَه تمرُّناً

به على لونيه أو تمرُّسا

I have grown accustomed to its nature, through training

with it in both its colors, or through hard experience.

حلفتُ بالحُلْق الطِّلاحِ صعُبتْ

على الوجَى سُوقاً ولانت أرؤسا

I swore by the hairless, weary camels, unyielding

in their shanks against sore feet, yet docile in their heads.

مثل القسيِّ كلُّ ظهر فوقه

ظهرٌ بإدمان السُّرى قد قُوّسا

Like bows: each back bears above it

a back bent bowlike by continual night travel.

من كلّ فتلاء تطيع المَرِسَ ال

مثْنى عليها أو تعودَ مَرِسا

Each sinewy she-camel obeys the rope

doubled upon her, or herself grows hardy.

تقامر الأخطار في نفوسها

على الطلاب إن زكا وإن خسا

She gambles against dangers, staking her life

on the quest, whether it prospers or fails.

يخبطن يطرحن الربى عجرفةً

في الوفد يطلبن العتيقَ الأملسا

They trample, tossing hills aside in proud haste,

among the delegation, seeking the smooth Ancient House.

إذا فرقن الموتَ لم يفرقَنْ ما

دُيِّثَ من أرضٍ وما توعَّسا

Though they fear death, they do not fear what

has been smoothed of the land, or has grown rugged and sandy.

حتى يؤدّين الشخوصَ بمنى

مكبّراً للّه أو مقدّسا

Until they bring the travelers to Mina,

proclaiming God's greatness or His holiness.

لا ضاع من يعتمد الحظُّ به

من قسمةٍ على عميد الرؤسا

May none be lost whom fortune brings to depend

for an allotted share upon the chief of chiefs.

أروعُ لا ترعَى الخطوبُ ما رعَى

ولا تشلُّ غارةٌ ما حرسا

A splendid man: calamities cannot ravage what he tends,

nor can a raid carry off what he guards.

أبلجُ بسّام العشيّ ما غدا

وجه الجدوبِ في الثرى معبِّسا

Bright-faced, smiling at evening, whenever

drought's face in the earth has turned grim.

مبارك الصفقة يهتزُّ الغنى

في كلّ ما صافح أو ما لمسا

Blessed in his dealings, prosperity stirs

in everything he has clasped or touched.

يفرِّجُ التقبيلُ عن أنامل

لو قارع الصخرَ بهنّ انبجسا

Kissing reveals fingers

that would make rock gush if he struck it with them.

جاد على اليُسر فلما أفلست

به عطايا اليسر جاد مفلسا

He gave in prosperity; when

prosperity's gifts were exhausted through him, he gave penniless.

لا يحسَب المالَ يغطِّي عورةً

عاريةً ما غطّت العُرىَ الكُسَا

He does not think wealth can cover a shame

laid bare, as garments cover nakedness.

أرهفَ للإعراض من عزمته

أصمعَ ما أنبلَ إلا قَرطسا

Against refusals he sharpened, from his resolve,

a keen arrow: whenever he shot, he hit the mark.

إذا رمى غايته بظنه

كفى يقين غيره ما حَدَسا

When he aims at his goal with conjecture,

his guess suffices for another's certainty.

قال فأعدى الخُرسَ بالنطق كما

حسَّنَ عند الناطقين الخَرَسا

He spoke, infecting the mute with speech, just as

he made silence seem beautiful to those who speak.

وقام يبغي حقَّه من العلا

حتى إذا جاز النجومَ جلسا

He rose to seek his rightful share of eminence,

and only after passing the stars did he sit.

موقَّر المجلس إما هو في ال

دست احتبى أو ركن ثهلان رسا

Dignified in his seat—whether he, upon the

dais, sits with knees drawn up, or Thahlan's flank stands firm.

إذا سُطَاه أوحشت جليسَه

فاض عليها بشرُه فأنَّسا

If his might intimidates his companion,

his cheer pours over it and brings comfort.

ذبَّ عن الخليفتين رأيُه ال

منصورُ ذؤبانَ الخلافِ الطُّلُسا

His counsel shielded the two caliphs—

victorious counsel—from dissent's dusky wolves.

أصحرَ في إثر العدوّ عنهما

أغلبُ ما واثب إلا فَرَسا

He went into the open, pursuing the enemy away from them,

a mighty lion who never pounced without tearing his prey.

خلافة اللّه رقى مشيّداً

منها الذي كان أبوه أسّسا

He elevated God's caliphate, strengthening

what his father had founded within it.

طهَّرها تدبيرُه فلم يدع

إزاءَها من العباد نجِسا

His governance purified it, leaving

no unclean one among the people before it.

رقَى من الأعداء كلَّ حيَّةٍ

أصمَّ لو لم يحوِهِ لنهَسَا

He charmed every serpent among the enemies,

every deaf one that would have bitten had he not contained it.

كم قد جلوت الحقَّ عن بصيرة

عمياءَ فيها وكشفتَ لَبَسا

How often you have revealed truth to an insight

blind to it, and dispelled confusion!

أنفقتَ ميراثك في طاعتها

جناه أيوبُ الذي قد غَرَسا

You spent your inheritance in obedience to it,

which Ayyub harvested, having planted it.

تمنع من قناتها من رامها

بالعَجْم أو أدردتَ عنها الأضرُسا

You keep from its spear-shaft whoever tries it

with a testing bite—or knock the teeth away from it.

أنت الذي أحيا الزمانَ راعياً

من سنن المجد به ما درسا

You are the one who revived the age, preserving

within it the ways of glory that had faded.

قومك كنتَ في اقتفاء سعيهم

زرارةٌ في الفخر تتلو عُدَسا

Your people—in following their endeavors, you were

Zurarah in glory, following 'Udas.

قد كبَّرتْ لك العلا وشكرتْ

نشرَك ذاك الكرَمَ المُرمَّسا

Eminence has acclaimed your greatness and thanked you

for reviving that buried generosity.

بك اعتلت ناري وهبّت عاصفاً

ريحيَ والتفّ قضيبي واكتسى

Through you my fire rose high, and blew tempestuously

my wind; my branch grew dense and clothed itself.

وطمعتْ في زمني فضائلي

وكنتُ من إنصافه مستيئسا

My virtues began to hope in my age,

though I had despaired of its fairness.

إن أجدبتْ أرضيَ صُبتَ مزنةً

أو أدجنتْ حاليَ لحتَ قَبَسا

If my land grew barren, you poured down as a raincloud;

or if my condition darkened, you shone as a flame.

ساهمتَني يسرَك والعسرَ ترى

بخسَ العلا وغَبنَها أن أُبخَسا

You shared your prosperity and hardship with me, seeing

my being shortchanged as glory's own loss and defrauding.

لا تذخر الأنزرَ تضطرّ له

ولا تَضنُّ ما وجدتَ الأنفَسا

You hoard no pittance, though you may need it,

nor withhold the most precious whenever you find it.

فلا تصبني فيك يدُ حادثٍ

أومضَ أو بارقُ خطبٍ أربَسا

May no hand of misfortune strike me through you,

whether flashing, or a calamity's lightning grown ominous.

ولا تزل تُلين لي من عُنُقِ ال

أيام فظّاً في مقادي شرسا

And keep taming for me the neck of

the days, coarse and unruly under my reins.

وعاودتني بادئاتُ نِعمٍ

منك إذا استوحشت كانت أَنَسا

And may fresh beginnings of blessings revisit me,

from you: when I feel lonely, they are companionship.

ضافية تفضُلُ عن ذلاذلي

لا أنزِع الحُلّةَ حتى أُلبَسا

Ample enough to extend beyond my trailing hems:

I take no robe off before I am clothed anew.

قد راعني العامَ افتقادُ رسمها

وأن أَرى مُطلَقه محتبَسا

This year, the absence of its customary grant alarmed me,

and seeing its freely given portion withheld.

حاشاك من تطيُّري على العدا

من سطرِها الثابتِ لي أن يُطمَسا

Far be it from you; may my ill foreboding fall on the foes—

that its line, firmly entered for me, should be erased.

دَيْني وفي الشتاء بعدُ فضلةٌ

يوضح منها المشكِلَ الملتبِسا

My debt, with some of winter still remaining,

makes plain what is obscure and tangled in it.

فاسمح بها واسمع لها قواطناً

شوارداً ملايناتٍ شُمُسا

So grant it freely, and hear verses for it, rooted at home,

yet wandering, gentle yet untamed.

تطوي الفجاج لم ترحِّل ناقةً

لها ولم تسرِج إليها فرسا

They cross the mountain passes; you have saddled no she-camel

for them, nor saddled any horse to reach them.

لا ترهب الجِنَّةَ في عزيفِها

إن أعتمت ولا تخاف العَسَسا

They fear no jinn amid their eerie cries,

if they travel after dark, nor do they fear the night watch.

عذائراً تكون ما شئتَ بها

كلَّ ضحَى تهنئةٍ معرِّسا

Virgin maidens, with whom you may, as you wish,

be a bridegroom each congratulatory morning.

قد أمنتْ بحسنها وصونها

عند الرجال كلَّ ما تخشى النِّسا

Through their beauty and chastity, they are safe

among men from everything women fear.

ما كُتبتْ أو قرئت لم تتَّرِك

لغيرها مخطَّةً أو مَدرَسا

Whenever they are written or read, they leave

no place for other writing or study.

تشفع للنيروز فيما جاء من

قبولكم مبتغياً ملتمسا

They intercede for Nowruz in what it has come

seeking and imploring of your acceptance.

ثم يعود مثلُها عليكُمُ

بألف عيدٍ عَرَباً وفُرُسا

Then may their like return upon you

with a thousand festivals, Arab and Persian,

في نِعمٍ يقينُها وحقُّها

يغني الليالي عن لعلَّ وعسى

amid blessings whose certainty and truth

leave the nights no need for 'perhaps' or 'maybe.'