نظرات وزفرات: أبو فراس الحمداني
ترجمة: محمود عباس مسعود
Insights and Deep Sighs
Abu Firas Al-Hamadani
Translated by: Mahmoud Abbas Masoud
أما لِجَميلٍ عِنْدكُنَّ ثَوابُ
ولا لِمُسيءٍ عِنْدَكُنّ مَتَابُ
Have you no appreciation, dear ladies, for a good deed?
Have you no forgiveness for someone
Who has wrongly behaved
لقد ضلَّ من تحوي هواهُ خريدة ٌ
وقد ذلَّ من تقضي عليه كعابُ
Whosoever places his love in the hands
Of a pretty damsel, has gone astray;
Anyone who surrenders his will to young ladies
Will surely be humiliated
ولكنني والحمدُ للهِ حازمٌ
أعِزُّ إذا ذلـّت لهنَّ رقابُ
As for me, thanks God, I am firm and unyielding;
I remain strong and maintain self-respect,
Even when heads bow down to them, in utter surrender
ولا تملكُ الحسناءُ قلبيَّ كلـَّهُ
وإن شَمَلتـْـها رقة ٌ وشبابُ
No beautiful woman can be in full possession of my heart,
Even if exuding youth, breathing delicate charm
وأجري فلا أعطي الهوى فضلَ مِقودي
وأهفو ولا يخفى عليَّ صوابُ
I run and flit, without allowing passion
To dominate and lead me;
I eagerly desire, yet I remain sober and serene
إذا الخِلُّ لَمْ يَهْجُركَ إلا مَلالةً
فَلَيْسَ لهُ ، إلا الفِرَاقَ ، عِتابُ
Should a friend lose interest in you, and abandon you,
You need not remonstrate with him;
Bid him a permanent farewell instead
إذا لم أجد من خُلَّةٍ ما أُرِيدُهُ
فعندي لأُخْرى عَزْمَةٌ وَرِكابُ
When my needs are not met in one place,
I seek another, more accommodating
وليس فِراقٌ ما استطعتُ فإن يَكُنْ
فِراقٌ على حَالٍ فليس إيابُ
I do my utmost not to part company and leave,
Yet, when inevitable, I go my way and never return
صَبورٌ ولو لم يبقَ مني بقيةٌ
قَؤُولٌ وَلوْ أنَّ السيوفَ جَوابُ
I am infinitely patient, to the very end
I speak my mind, even when swords raised in my face
وَقُورٌ وأحداثُ الزمانِ تَنوشني
وَلِلموتِ حولي جِيئةٌ وَذَهَابُ
Unperturbed when life’s problems
Crowd in on me,
And death struts roundabout
وألحظُ أحوالَ الزمانِ بمقلةٍ
بها الصدقُ صدقُ والكِذابُ كِذابُ
I unerringly read life’s situations,
With an eye that accurately discerns
Between truth and falsehood
بِمنْ يَثِقُ الإنسانُ فيما يَنُوبهُ
ومِنْ أينَ لِلحُرِّ الكَريم صِحابُ
Who shall one trust when disaster strikes?
How can there be friends to a noble-hearted man
وقدْ صَارَ هذا الناسُ إلا أقَلَّهُمْ
ذِئابٌ على أجْسَادِهنَّ ثِيابُ
People, save only a few, have all become human wolves;
With bodies covered with clothes
تَغَابيتُ عن قومٍ فَظَنوا غَباوةً
بِمَفْرِقِ أغبانا حصًى وَتُرابُ!
I intentionally pretend to be unaware
Of what goes on around me;
Others think I am ignorant!
Let pebbles and dirt cover and smother
The head of the more ignorant among us
ولو عَرفوني بَعْضَ مَعرِفَتي بِهمْ
إذاً عَلِموا أني شَهِدتُ وغابوا
If they know me as I know them,
They would realize that I am fully aware
While they are absentminded
وما كلّ فعّالٍ يُجازى بفعلهِ
ولا كلّ قوالٍ لديّ يُجابُ
Not every doer is rewarded for his actions;
Nor every speaker, in my presence, deserves my answer
ورُبَّ كلامٍ مرّ فوقَ مسامعي
كما طنّ في لوح الهجير ذبابُ
Many words fly by my ears,
Like flies whizzing on a hot summer day
تَمُرُّ الليالي لَيْسَ لِلنَّفعِ مَوْضِعٌ
لَديَّ ولا لِلمُعْتَفِين جَنَابُ
Nights roll, yet my fortune is no where to be found,
No more do I see bounty seekers at my door
ولا شُدَّ لي سَرْجٌ على مَتنِ سابحٍ
ولا ضُرِبتْ لي بِالعراءِ قِبابُ
No more a saddle for me, on back of a swift steed
No more a pavilion pitched for me in open spaces
ولكنني راضٍ على كلِّ حالةٍ
ليُعْلَمَ أيَّ الحالتينِ سَرابُ
Yet in any case, I am at ease with myself;
Truth will finally be revealed, delusion exposed
وما زِلتُ أرضى بالقليلِ محبةً
لَدَيْهِ ، ومادون الكثير حِجابُ
I continue to be satisfied with even a little portion
Of love from him, knowing that the greater measure
I desire lies hidden behind a veil
كذاكَ الوِداد المحضُ لا يرتجى لهُ
ثوابٌ ، ولا يُخشى عَليهِ عقابُ
Pure love is freely given,
With no hope of reward
Nor fear of punishment
وقدْ كُنتُ أخشى الهجرَ والشمْلُ جَامِعٌ
وفي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ لُقْيَةٌ وخِطَابُ
I used to fear separation even when we were together;
When daily met, and intimately conversed
فكيف وفيما بيننا مُلْكُ قَيْصَرٍ
ولِلْبَحْرِ حولي زَخْرَةٌ وَعُبَابُ ؟
More so I now entertain apprehension,
With Caesar’s land standing between us
And the sea with its tumultuous waves roars about me
أَمِنْ بَعْدِ بَذْلِ النفس فيما تُرِيدُهُ
أثابُ بِمُرِّ العَتبِ حِينَ أُثابُ
Must my reward,
After sacrificing myself for your sake,
Be severe chiding and bitter reprimand
فليتك تحلو والحياةُ مريرةٌ
وليتك ترضى والأنامُ غِضابُ
I care not if life is full of bitterness,
As long as I enjoy the sweetness of your affection;
Nor do I care if everyone else is angry with me,
So long as I revel in your pleasure
وليتَ الذي بيني وبينك عَامرٌ
وبيني وبين العالمين خَرابُ
O how I wish we were on intimate terms,
Even if my ties to the whole world
Were irreparably severed and utterly spoiled
إذا صحَّ مِنكَ الوِدُّ فالكُلُّ هَيّنٌ
وكُلُّ الذي فوقَ التُّرابِ تُرابُ
If I have your genuine affection,
Nothing else whatsoever matters;
Nor do I deem anything on the face of this earth valuable,
When compared with your true love and friendship
المفضلات