مناهل أنس صافيات ورود — Salah Magdy

مَناهل أُنسٍ صافِياتُ وَرودِ

وَأَنقى خُدُود زاهيات وُرودِ

Springs of fellowship, pure to drink from,

And the purest cheeks, whose roses are radiant,

وَصَوت أَغان قَد حلت باتحادها

تَلاحين قانونٍ وَنَغمة عُودِ

And the sound of songs, whose mingling has sweetened

The melodies of a qanun and the note of an oud.

فَهاتِ اسقها لكن إِذا رُمت مزَجَها

فَمن ريق مَيّاسٍ كَثير صُدود

So bring it, pour it; but if you wish to blend it,

Then use the saliva of a swaying beloved, often aloof.

وَإلا فصرفاً مِن عَتيقٍ حَديثُهُ

عَلى الناس يُتلى قَبل خَلق ثَمود

Otherwise, unmixed, from an aged wine whose tale

Was recited to people before Thamud's creation.

وَخُذ مَهرَها رُوحي وَعَقلي وَمُهجَتي

فَفيها فَنائي شاهد بِوجودي

And take my soul, my mind, and my life's blood as its bridal price;

For in it, my annihilation bears witness to my existence.

وَما لذة الدُنيا سِوى في مُدامة

وَفي بَعد وَاشٍ وَاِقتِراب وَدود

And this world's only delight is in wine,

And in a slanderer's distance and a loving friend's nearness.

فَطف بي عَلى الحانات في كُلِّ لَحظة

وَدَعني لِتَقبيلٍ وَضَمِّ قُدود

So take me round the taverns at every moment,

And leave me to kissing and embracing slender forms.

وَخلِّ سُلوك الناسِكين وَلا تَقف

بِنا أَنتَ في اللَذات عِندَ حُدود

And abandon the ascetics' path; do not confine

Us to any limits in pleasure.

وَإِن لاحَ ظَبي فادنُ بي مِن كناسه

وَلَو كانَ في أَقصى جِبال زَرود

And if a gazelle appears, draw me near his covert,

Even if he were in the remotest mountains of Zarud.

وَلا تَنهني بِاللَه عَن عشق خُرّدٍ

بِدَيعات حُسن كاعِبات نُهود

And, by God, do not forbid me to love shy maidens,

Marvels of beauty, with budding breasts.

لَهُنَّ مَواضٍ مِن مِراضٍ فَواتكٍ

تَصول عَلى مُغرىً بِلَثم خُدود

Theirs are keen blades from languid, deadly eyes,

Assailing one enthralled by the kissing of cheeks.

لَهُن ثُغور مِن عَقيق يَزينها

ثَمين لآلٍ في سُموط عُقود

They have mouths of agate, adorned

With precious pearls in necklace strands.

فَعندي هَواني في هَواهنَّ عزةٌ

يَخف بِها عَني ثَقيل قُيود

For me, my abasement in loving them is honor,

Through it, heavy chains grow light upon me.

فَلا تطمعوا في سلوة مِن متيم

لَهُ حَظ مَسعود بِحفظ عُهود

So do not expect a lovestruck man to forget his beloved,

Whose fortunate lot is to keep his pledges.

وَكُفّوا عَن اللَوم الَّذي قَد شغفتم

بِهِ فَهوَ مِن محض اِعتِداء حَسود

And cease the reproach you have grown so fond

Of: it is nothing but a jealous man's aggression.

وَلَولا سهاد دائم وَكآبة

وَفَرط سقام وَاِزدِياد خمود

And were it not for constant sleeplessness and gloom,

And excessive sickness and growing languor,

لَما ظَهرت بَعد الخَفاء صَبابة

لَظى نارها في القَلب ذات وُقود

Longing would not have emerged from concealment,

Its fire blazing within the heart, well-fueled.

وَلا ظفر اللاهي بِإِغراء شادنٍ

بِهِ همت وَجداً وَهوَ غَير شرود

Nor would the heedless one have succeeded in enticing a young gazelle

For whom I am mad with longing, though he does not flee.

وَكَيفَ أُداري ما طَويت ضَمائِري

عَلَيهِ وَدَمعي مِن أَجل شُهودي

And how can I hide what I have folded my innermost thoughts

Around, when my tears are among my foremost witnesses?

فَيا لَيل طل إِني صَبور عَلى الجَفا

عَساه يفي لي في الهَوى بِوُعود

O night, grow long; I am patient with his coldness,

Perhaps he will keep his promises to me in love.

وَيا ناظِري لا تَكتحل وَهوَ مُعرضٌ

بِجانبه قَبل الرضا بِهجود

And, my eye, do not line yourself—while he turns

His side away—with sleep before he is appeased.

فَأَنتَ الَّذي أَوقَعتَني في حِباله

وَغادَرتَني فيهِ حَليفَ سُهود

For you are the one who cast me into his snares,

And left me in his thrall, allied to sleeplessness.

وَأَنتَ الَّذي مِني بِأَوّل نَظرة

سَفحت دِماءً مِن قَريح كبود

And you are the one who, from me, at the first glance,

Spilled blood from wounded livers.

فَما تَبتَغيه الآن مني وَإِنَّني

بِنعمته لِلوَصل غَير كَنود

So what is it you seek from me now, when I

Am not ungrateful for his gift of union?

تَفرّدتُ بِالإِخلاص في عشقه كَما

تَفرّد إسماعيل مصر بِجُود

I alone am sincere in loving him, just as

Egypt's Ismail stands alone in generosity.

مَليكٌ أَثيلُ المَجد سادَ بِحكمة

يَمانية أَحيت فَحارَ جُدود

A king of deep-rooted glory, who ruled through wisdom

Of Yemen, life-giving, so that forefathers marveled.

لَهمَّته في دَفع كُل مُلمة

بُروقُ سُيوفٍ مِن خِلال غُمود

His resolve to repel every calamity has

The lightning flashes of swords from within their sheaths.

لَهُ في سَما أَوج المَعارف نَهضةٌ

بِها الجَهل أَمسى في حَضيض همود

His is a resurgence at the sky-high summit of learning,

Through which ignorance has sunk to the depths of lifelessness.

لَهُ في مَيادين السِياسة سابق

يَهيم بِأَغوار لَهُ وَنُجود

In the arenas of statecraft he has a racing steed

That ranges through his lowlands and uplands.

لَهُ بِعباد اللَه رَأفةُ وَالدٍ

وَعَذب نَوال سائغ لِوُفود

For God's servants he has a father's compassion,

And sweet bounty, welcome to visiting delegations.

فَيا أَيُّها العام الجَديد لَكَ الهَنا

بِوافر خصب لِلغِناء ولود

O new year, may joy be yours

With abundant fertility, ever breeding prosperity.

فَإِن مَليك العَصر أَجرى بِمَصره

مِن الصَخر ماءَ اليُمن بَعد جُمود

For the king of this age has made flow through his Egypt

From rock, the water of good fortune after stagnation.

فَأَحيا بِهِ مِن كُل أَرض مَواتها

وَلَم يَحتَبس تَياره بِسُدود

Thus he revived with it the dead ground of every land,

And its current was not held back by dams.

وَلا عاقَهُ عَن سُرعة السَير عائقٌ

وَلا طرقته حادِثات رُكود

No obstacle hindered its swift progress,

Nor did bouts of stagnation befall it.

وَكَم لِلخِديوي مِن أَيادٍ نسمُيها

بِهِ تكثرُ الخَيراتُ غبَّ مرود

And how many favors of the Khedive we recount:

Through him, blessings multiply after rebellion.

وَمِن راحَتي علياه عَشرةُ أَبحرٍ

تَفيض فَتَروي قاصِياتِ هُنود

And from the two palms of his exalted self, ten seas

Overflow, quenching the thirst of faraway Indians.

وَبِالعَدل لِلتَوفيق في حُكمه اِهتَدى

لإنصاف مَظلوم وَمَحو حَقود

Through justice he found the path to success in his rule,

To give the wronged their due and efface the spiteful.

وَمِن نُوره صُبح التَمَدُّن قَد بَدا

لَنا مِنهُ في الأَسحار ضُوء عَمود

From his light the dawn of civilization has appeared;

From him, a pillar of light shines for us before dawn.

وَأَوطانه لِلعلم في كُل حقبة

بِنَص رواة الصَدق خَيرُ مهود

His lands, in every age, have been for learning

The finest cradles, by the testimony of truthful narrators.

وَلا سِيَّما في ظل دَولته الَّتي

مَع النَصر فازَت باِنتِشار بُنود

And especially in the shade of his reign, which

Has triumphed with victory and banners unfurled.

وَأَعداؤُه تصلى بِنار مَدافع

حَليفات فَتح هائِلات رُعود

His enemies burn in the fire of cannons,

Allies of conquest, awesome in their thunder.

وَيَأخذهم مِن كُلِّ فَجّ بَنادقٌ

وَبيض وسُمر في أَكُف جُنود

From every mountain pass, rifles seize them,

And bright swords and brown spears in soldiers' hands.

وَيَسطو عَلى مَن هَمَّ بِالغَدر مِنهُمُ

بِبَأس شَديد ضارِياتُ أُسود

And any of them who contemplate treachery are assailed

With mighty force by ravening lions.

فَنُودي بِهُم قَبل التَبدد عُنوة

إِلى سُوء حال في قَرار لحود

So, before they scattered, they were forcibly summoned

To misery in the depths of graves.

وَلَكن أَناة في العَزيز وَرَحمة

وَعَفو عَن الجاني وَحَسم جرود

Yet in the mighty ruler are forbearance and mercy,

And pardon for offenders, and the curbing of raids.

بِها أَصبَحت كُل القُلوب خَزائِناً

مِن الحُب بِالإِخلاص دُون عنود

Through these, every heart has become a treasury

Of love, in sincerity, without obstinate resistance.

فَلا زالَ تَخت الملك في مَصر آخِذاً

بِهِ كُل وَقت في اِزدِياد صعود

May the royal throne in Egypt ever gain

Through him, at every moment, ever greater heights.

وَلا اِنفكت الأَملاك في جُملة الوَرى

تَشير إِلى عَليائه بِسُجود

And may kings among all mankind never cease

To acknowledge his loftiness by bowing down.

وَلا بَرح الأَنجال مَعهُ بِمُلكه

عَلى ثِقَة مِن دَهرِهِ بِخُلود

And may his offspring ever remain with him in his kingdom,

Assured by his age of everlasting continuance.

وَلا زالَ مَجدي في التَهاني مُؤرِّخاً

أَضاءَ بِكَ اِسماعيل عام سُعود

And may Majdi ever mark the date in congratulations:

Through you, Ismail, a year of good fortune shone.