حيا الندامى بشمس الراح مصطبحا — Omar Onsi

حَيّا النَدامى بِشَمس الراح مُصطَبِحا

بَدر الهَنا أَم بِمَعسول اللَمى سَمحا

Did he greet the boon companions with wine's sun, drinking at dawn,

That full moon of bliss—or freely offer his honeyed, dusky lips?

وَطاف ذاكَ الطَلا يَسعى بِكَأس طِلاً

أَم راحَ يَلوي الطُلا مِن جيدهِ مرحا

And did that fawn go round, hurrying with a cup of wine,

Or go merrily, his own neck making others turn?

وَباتَ يَجلو محيّاه لَنا قَدحاً

مِن السلافة أَم زِند الجَوى قَدحا

And did his face spend the night brightening a goblet for us

Of the finest wine—or did he strike passion's fire-stick?

شَجت بِماء الحَيا ظُلماً وَلَو مُزجت

بِالظلم لاحَت بِنجم الكاس شَمس ضُحى

It was unjustly diluted with rainwater; had it been mixed

With saliva, a morning sun would have shone in the cup's star.

رَقَّت فَلَولا شباك الدُرِّ تُمسكها

كادَت تَطير بِها أَقداحنا فَرَحا

It grew so delicate that, had nets of pearls not held it,

Our goblets would almost have flown with it for joy.

يُديرها بَينَ أَرباب النُهى قَمَرٌ

لَو رامَ بَدر الدُجا يَحكيهِ لاِفتضحا

A moon passes it round among men of understanding;

Had the full moon of darkness tried to resemble him, it would have been shamed.

إِذا سَجا لَيل فرع مِن غَدائرهِ

أراكَ صُبح الهَنا مِن وَجهِهِ اِتَّضَحا

When the night of a lock from his tresses settles,

He shows you the dawn of bliss shining clear from his face.

يَفترّ عَن حَببٍ في ثَغر ذي شَنَبٍ

لَو شامَ مِنهُ الثَنايا البَرقُ ما لَمحا

He smiles, revealing bubbles in a mouth with cool, lustrous teeth;

Had lightning beheld his front teeth, it would not have flashed.

وَقامَ يَخطر مِن عجبٍ بِذي هَيفٍ

لَو عادَلوه بِبانات اللِوى رَجحا

And he rose, strutting proudly with his slender figure;

Had they weighed him against al-Liwa's ban trees, he would outweigh them.

وَهَزَّ قامة عَسّالٍ يَذود بِهِ

عَن رَشف مَعسوله إِن جَدَّ أَو مَزَحا

And he swayed his quivering, spear-like stature, using it to bar

A sip of his honeyed sweetness, in earnest or in jest.

وَباتَ يَشحذ مِن جفنيهِ ذا دَعَجٍ

فَكَم أَراقَ دَم القَتلى وَكَم سَفحا

And all night he sharpened the dark blade of his eyelids;

How much blood of the slain he spilled, how much he shed!

مَن لي بِأَغيدَ وَسنان فتنت بِهِ

لحا الهَوى مَن لِأَرباب الغَرام لحا

Who can bring me the supple, drowsy one who has bewitched me?

May love curse whoever censures the devotees of passion.

إن يَجرح اللَحظ وَهماً خَدّه فَلَكم

مِن مُهجَةٍ لَحظهُ بِالعَمد قَد جرحا

If a gaze wounds his cheek only in fancy, how many

Hearts has his gaze deliberately wounded!

تِلكَ الجُروح قَصاصٌ وَالهَوى حكمٌ

وَفي القَصاص حياة للذي اِجتَرَحا

Those wounds are retribution, and love is the judge;

And in retribution lies life for the offender.

لا تعتباني عَلى حَمل الأَسى فَلَقَد

عَرّضت نَفسي للبلواء مُجترحا

Do not, you two, reproach me for bearing grief, for I have

Exposed myself to affliction through my own transgression.

لي نَفس مُضنىً بِغَير السقم ما طَمعت

وَطَرف صَبٍّ لِغَير السُهد ما طَمحا

I have a wasted soul that has desired nothing but sickness,

And a lover's eye that has aspired to nothing but sleeplessness.

لا تُنكرا دَمعيَ المَسفوح مِن شَكلٍ

فَإِنّ طَير الكَرى في مُقلَتي ذبحا

Do not, you two, question my tears, poured out as blood,

For the bird of sleep was slaughtered within my eye.

ماذا عَلَيك فَدتك الروح من رشأٍ

لَو أَنّ طَيفك لي جنح الدُجا جنحا

What would it cost you, O fawn—may my soul ransom you—

If your phantom inclined toward me in the wing of night?

أَو بيع وَصلك لِلعاني بِمهجتهِ

فَإِنَّهُ بِالِّذي يُرضيك قَد سَمَحا

Or if union with you were sold to your captive for his lifeblood?

For he has freely offered whatever pleases you.

أَو لا فَعَذّب بِما تَهوى أَخا شَجَنٍ

يعدّ من محن الشَكوى لَكُم منَحا

Or else torment, as you wish, a man of sorrow,

Who counts the trials of lamenting to you as gifts.

لا أَتّقي مِنكَ غَير الصَدّ مُنتَبِذاً

عَهد الهَوى وَزِمامَ الودّ مطّرحا

I fear only your rejection: your casting aside

Love's covenant, your throwing away affection's reins.

وَيا خَليليَّ صَفحاً عَن ملامكما

وَخلّيا عَتب هَذا الدَهر وَاِنشَرحا

And, my two friends, spare me your reproaches;

Leave off rebuking this age, and be of good cheer.

إِنّ الزَمان الَّذي عمَّ الفَساد بِهِ

بِصالح الدَولة العَلياء قَد صَلُحا

For the age in which corruption had spread

Has been set right by the exalted state's Salih.

سميّ أَشرَف مَخلوق عَلى خُلق

عَلَيهِ أَثنى إلهُ العَرش وَاِمتَدَحا

Namesake of the noblest creature, endowed with a character

That the God of the Throne praised and extolled.

مُحمّد قَد تَسمّى صالِحاً فَسما

باِسمَي نَبيّين كُلٌّ طيبهُ نَفحا

Muhammad was also named Salih, and thus rose high

Through the names of two prophets, each wafting his fragrance.

ما زالَ تَكسوه تَقواه حلى شَرف

حَتّى اِرتَدى بِكَمالِ الفَضل وَاِتّشحا

His piety kept clothing him in ornaments of honor,

Until he donned the fullness of excellence and wrapped himself in it.

مَن لي بِتعداد أَوصاف إِذا ذكرت

قالت ليَ اِستبح الصَهباء وَاِصطَبحا

Who will help me enumerate qualities which, whenever mentioned,

Say to me, 'Freely enjoy the tawny wine, and drink at dawn'?

لِلّه آيات حلم مِنهُ قَد ظَهَرت

بِنورِها ظُلمة الجَهل الذَميم مَحا

How wondrous the signs of forbearance that have appeared in him!

With their light he erased the darkness of shameful ignorance.

كَم سَدّ مِن باب عدوان وَمظلمة

عَدلاً وَكَم باب حَقٍّ لِلمَلا فَتَحا

How many doors of aggression and injustice he closed

In justice, and how many doors of right he opened to all!

يَجزي البغاةَ بِسَيف الزَجر مُنتَقِماً

حَتّى إِذا رَجَعَت عَن غيِّها صَفحا

He requites rebels with the sword of deterrence, taking vengeance,

Then, once they turn back from their error, he pardons.

لا يَمتَطي صَهوات الرأي غَير فَتى

يولي العَواقب زِنداً مِنهُ مُقتَدحا

None rides the saddle-heights of judgment but a youth

Who brings his own spark-struck fire-stick to the consequences.

تَرعى الرَعيّة عَيناه وَقَد هَجعت

في ظلّ أَمن إِذا قرح الرَدى قرحا

His eyes watch over the subjects as they sleep

In safety's shade, even when death inflicts a wound.

أَعظم بِبأس مشيرٍ لَو أَشار إلى

مُطهّمِ الفلك الدوّار ما جمَحا

How mighty the valor of a marshal who, if he signaled to

The splendid steed of the circling heavens, it would not bolt!

ماضٍ عَلى حَزمه لا يَستَشير سِوى

ماضٍ إِذا ما اِستشارته العلى نَصَحا

Steadfast in his resolve, he consults none but

A keen blade that gives sound counsel when glory consults it.

إِذا اِنتَضى مِنهُ مَصقول الفرند غدا

كَأَنّه مُجّ بِالفرصاد أَو نضحا

When he draws his blade of polished damask, it becomes

As though mulberry juice had been spat or sprinkled upon it.

يَسقي الكماة كُؤوس الحتف مترعة

حَتّى إِذا أَسكَر القرن العَتيد صحا

He gives armored champions brimming cups of death,

Until, having made his ready adversary drunk, he sobers.

لِلّه سُمر العَوالي في يَدَي بَطل

إِنسان عَين المَعالي نَحوَهُ كَدحا

How wondrous the brown, lofty spears in the two hands of a hero

Toward whom the pupil of glory's eye has striven!

تَخاله حَيث أَعطاف القَنا رَقصت

لَهُ خلاعة ذي وَجدٍ إِذا شَطحا

You imagine him, where the curves of the spears dance,

In the abandon of one enraptured, dancing in ecstasy.

ما خَطَّ بِالخَطِّ يَوماً طرس مَعركةٍ

إِلّا وَعَن حَظِّهِ سَطر العُلى شَرحا

Never did he inscribe a battlefield's page with a Khatt spear

Without a line of glory setting forth his fortune.

كلّا وَلا راضَ متناً مِن مسوَّمة

يَوم الكَريهة إِلّا صَدرَها شرحا

No, nor did he master the back of a marked steed

On the day of battle without bringing ease to its breast.

بِسابحٍ لَو تَراه حينَ خاضَ بِهِ

بَحر العَجاج لَشمت البَرق قَد سبحا

On a swimming steed: had you seen him plunge upon it

Into the sea of dust, you would have beheld lightning swimming.

وَهمّة يَدفَع الخطب الجَسيم بِها

غَداة دارَت بأَيدي المُزعِجات رحى

And with a resolve by which he repels immense calamity

On the morning a millstone turns in the hands of terrors.

مَن يُخبر الغَيث أَنّ اليمّ نائله

أو يُنذر اللَيث مِن خَطب بِهِ فَدحا

Who will tell the rain-cloud that his bounty is the sea,

Or warn the lion of a calamity that weighs heavily upon it?

تُرجى وَتُخشى أَياديهِ وَسَطوته

لَكن لَديهِ دَليل الفَوز قَد رجحا

His favors are hoped for, and his might is feared;

Yet with him the sign of success has carried greater weight.

كَالبَحر كَم مِن أُناس فيهِ قَد خَسرت

وَكَم فَتىً بِاِلتقاط الدُرّ قَد رَبِحا

Like the sea: how many people have suffered loss in it,

And how many youths have profited by gathering pearls!

كَفى بِدَمع الغَوادي عبرة فَلَكم

مِن صيّبٍ بِنَدى كَفّيهِ قَد فضحا

The tears of morning clouds suffice as a lesson: how many

Downpours he has shamed with the dew of his two palms!

لا بدع لَو أَنكَر الأَعدا مَناقبهُ

فَطالَما أَنكر الخفّاش شمس ضُحى

No wonder if his enemies deny his virtues,

For often has the bat denied the morning sun.

لَكنَّها بِمَزيد الفَضل قَد شَهدت

لِأَنّ صبح علاهُ لِلمَلا اِتَّضحا

Yet they have testified to his surpassing excellence,

For the dawn of his greatness has shone clear to all.

أَضحت بِدَولته الأَوقات مُشرِقَةً

وَطالَما كانَ وَجه الدَهر قَد كلحا

Under his rule, the times have become radiant,

Though the face of the age had so often scowled.

سَقى الهَنا ثَغر بَيروت بِهِ فَغَدا

يَفترّ عَن رَغدة العَيش الذي اِنفسحا

Bliss watered Beirut's mouth through him, and it began

To smile with the ease of a life grown spacious.

فَلا اِنبَرَت نَسمات اليمنِ عاطرة

فَتيقة النَشر بِالبشر الَّذي سَنَحا

So may the fragrant breezes of good fortune never wane,

Their perfume spreading with the gladness that has appeared.

مُشيرنا لا برحتَ الدَهر ذا هِمَمٍ

تَسمو السماك وَحلمٍ بحره طَفحا

Our marshal, may you ever remain a man of high resolves

That rise above al-Simak, and of forbearance whose sea overflows.

إِن تَنصروا اللَه يَنصركم وَمن قرنت

بِالنَصر دَولته العليا فَقَد نَجَحا

If you aid God, He will aid you; and whoever has had

His exalted rule joined to victory has indeed succeeded.

يا وامق الحلم وَالمَولى الَّذي اِنطَلَقَت

لَدَيهِ ألسن حَمدي تنظمُ المدحا

O lover of forbearance, lord before whom have been loosed

The tongues of my praise, weaving encomiums,

إِلَيكها مِن بَديع النظم جارية

رقّت فَراقَت فَجاءَت تَنثَني مَرَحا

Here she is for you, a maiden of exquisite verse,

Delicate and delightful, arriving with a merry sway.

أَمَّت مَديد ثَنا شهم عليّ بِها

مِن البَسيط لعلياه قَد اِقتَرَحا

She sought a noble man's prolonged praise; from me he

Had requested her in al-Basit for his exalted rank.

وَهَل تَفي بِعُلاه ألسن قصرت

عَن مَدحه وَثَناه أعجز الفصحا

And can tongues do justice to his greatness when they fall short

Of praising him, and his praise has baffled the eloquent?

لا زال كَعبة آمال لَنا حَرَماً

أَمناً يَطوف بِها الراجي وَلا بَرحا

May he ever remain our hopes' Kaaba, a sanctuary

Of safety, which the hopeful circles—may he never cease to be so.

ما رنّحت نَسمات الفضل غصن ذرى

مَجد عَلَيهِ حَمام الشكر قَد صَدحا

As long as breezes of excellence sway a bough on the heights

Of glory, where the doves of gratitude have sung,

أَو ما صَفا وَقت أنسي وَهوَ يُنشدنا

حيا النَدامى بِشَمس الراح مُصطبحا

Or as long as Unsi's hours are serene, as he recites to us:

“Did he greet the boon companions with wine's sun, drinking at dawn?”