ما أن ذكرت الزمن الأولا — Mohammed Al Hamdani

ما أن ذكرت الزمنَ الأولا

وعصر ليلى والصِّبَا المقبلا

Never do I recall the days of old,

and Layla's days, and youth as it came,

إلاَّ جرى دمعي حتى يُرى

في كل خد واحدٍ جَدْولا

but my tears flow until one sees

a stream upon each single cheek.

قد كنت أغليه فارخصْتُهُ

والدهر قد يُرْخِصُ مَا قد غَلا

I once held my tears dear, but have cheapened them;

and time may cheapen what was once dear.

ياذا الذي ترنو بعين المها

كمثل مَا تعطو بجيد الطلاَ

O you who gaze with an oryx's eye,

as you reach upward with a fawn's neck,

حُسْبُكِ يكفيكِ حُلَيَّاً فَلِمْ

دَمْلَجك الصائغ بل خلْخلاَ

What you have suffices you as jewelry; why, then,

did the goldsmith give you armlets—indeed, anklets?

وشَعْرُك الفَينانُ يا تلك لَمْ

عشكله الماشطُ بل رجلا

And your luxuriant hair, O you there—why

has the hairdresser braided it, or rather, combed it?

وثغرك السِّلْسالُ لِمْ حرّمُوا

عليَّ ذاك الباردَ السَلسلاَ

And your sweet-flowing mouth—why have they forbidden

me that cool, sweet-flowing water?

قالوا هويتَ العيشَ من أجلهم

نعم قصدت الهودجَ الأولا

They said, "You love life for their sake."

Yes, I made for the foremost howdah,

لأنّ فيه غادةً طَفْلَةً

ترمي فتُصْمِي منّي المَقْتَلاَ

for in it is a graceful, tender-skinned maiden,

who shoots and strikes my vital spot, killing outright.

مَا اتعب العَذَالِ يَلْحُونني

فيكم ومَنْ ذا يسمعُ العُذَّلاَ

How weary the reproachers grow, rebuking me

about you! And who ever listens to reproachers?

لم تشرعي نهْدَك ألاَّ أنثنى

يشابه العَسَّالةَ الذبَّلا

You never level your breast without its swaying,

like the slender, quivering spears.

وسيف ألحاظكِ لا يُنْتضَى

ألاّ فافني السيفَ والصَّيقلاَ

And the sword of your glances is never drawn

but it annihilates both sword and sword-polisher.

آه على عيشٍ برملِ الحِمَى

وهل مُفيدي قولُ آه على

Ah, for life upon the sands of the protected pasture!

But does saying "Ah, for..." bring me any benefit?

يا صاحبي رحلي كم ذا الكرَى

مَا تسمعان الديك قد حيعلا

O you two companions of my journey, how long this slumber?

Do you not hear the cock sound its summons?

في عيْدانّ الكرم صَهْبَاؤهُ

قد مَلئت عنقودَه فامْتلا

Within the vine's stems, its tawny wine

has filled its cluster, till it brims.

فباكرا تَرضَعُ من دَرّهَا

حتى تُرى أعناقَنا مُيّلا

So go early, you two, and suckle from its milk,

until our necks are seen tilting.

وهاتِ في حوجيّة الرَّكب مَا

أغذي ومَا أعْذَبها مَنْهَلا

And bring, in the caravan's flask [reading uncertain], what

nourishes me—how sweet a drinking-place it is!

كل كريمٍ قد سَمِعْنا به

أما كعونٍ بن حسينٍ فلاَ

We have heard of every generous man,

but of one like Awn ibn Husayn—no.

أن الزميلي أبا أحمد

له أياد قد مَلأنَ الملاَ

Indeed, al-Zumayli, Abu Ahmad,

has benefactions that have filled the land.

إن هزّ رُمحاً فَلِطعْنَ الكُلا

أو سلَّ سيفا فلِضرب الطُلا

If he brandishes a spear, it is to pierce kidneys;

or draws a sword, it is to strike necks.

مُذلاثَ عونٌ بردَه أنَه

يوشي ويكسو المُعْلمَ المثقلاَ

Since Awn wrapped his cloak about him, he

adorns and clothes others in patterned, heavy robes.

لو قلّلَ اللهُ على خلقه

رزقا وجئت الشيخ ما قلّلاَ

Were God to lessen for His creatures

their provision, and I came to the shaykh, he would not stint.

أَثره الله بهذا السَّخا

حَمّلَه مِنْ فوق مَنْ حَمَّلا

God has favored him with this generosity,

and laid it upon him above all others entrusted with it.

يا عونُ مَنْ مثلكض مشبِةٌ

أباك بل جدَّك باني العُلا

O Awn, who like you resembles

your father—indeed, your grandfather, the builder of glory?

ما الأنجمُ الزهرُ كمثل الحَصَا

ما الصِّفرُ مثل التِبْر كلاّ ولا

The radiant stars are not like pebbles;

brass is not like unworked gold—no, never.

ألَّفْتَ شْملَ الركب حتى هُمُ

جيشُ يَطمُّ السهَلَ والأجْبُلا

You brought the caravan together until they are

an army engulfing the plain and the mountains.

كلّ قبيلٍ نفرٌ قِلّةٌ

وأنت ما أعرض ما أطولا

Every tribe is but a small handful,

while you—how broad, how tall!

المدحُ والمُدّاح إنْ قصَّروا

عنك فَفي حِلْمك أن تَقْبلاَ

If praise and praisers fall short

of your worth, it is in your forbearance to accept them.

لولاك مَا جاوزتعن بلدتي

بَيْداء تُكلُّ القلُّصُ البُزّلا

But for you, I would not have crossed beyond my town

a desert that exhausts fully grown riding she-camels.

وخُضْتُ من دربي زبيد دُجى

وجزت من عرضِ سِهَام الفَلاَ

And I plunged into darkness through Zabid's two gateways,

and crossed the wilderness through Siham's expanse.

وحيس بل نخلة بي رَحبَت

ألفاً فلم أخط بها محملا

And Hays—indeed, Nakhla—welcomed me

a thousandfold; I lacked no camel-litter there.

وجزت من شرقي شمير إلي

حَدْبَلةٍ تحْسِبُوني أجدلا

And I passed from the east of Shamir to

Hadbala—you would think me a falcon.

فمالَ بين التوفيق عن غربها

إليك أهدي القول والمقولا

Then good fortune turned me from its western side [text unclear],

to you; I dedicate my words and my tongue.

لا أتبْعُ الأوشالَ من بعدما

رأيتُ هذا العَارضَ المُسْبلا

I do not pursue scant trickles after

seeing this rain-cloud pour its showers.

ولا ببرق غامض أهتدي

ووجْهُكَ الصبح إذَا شاء أنْجلا

Nor do I follow faint lightning as my guide,

when your face is dawn, shining forth whenever it wills.

يا موقدَ النار ويا مانعَ الجارويا

ابنَ المُحِبّين العُلاَ

O kindler of the fire, and O protector of the neighbor, and O

son of those who love lofty glory,

عِش في سعودٍ وَابْقَ في نعمةٍ

ما عَسَفتْ مُهْريّة مَجهُلاَ

live in good fortune, and remain in prosperity,

as long as a Mahri she-camel roams an unknown waste.