Another beautiful pair of Arabic poems; the first by the Yemeni Sufi poet ‘abd al-Hādī al-Sūdī (d. 1526) has an opening similar to the two poems in the previous post (by al-Nabulusi and al-Tilimsani), and show signs of being modeled on al-Tilimsani’s; the latter poem is by al-Tilimsani’s son, al-Shābb al-Ẓarīf (“The Cool Kid”) and begins with the same lovely punning anithesis (ḥadīth–qadīm) found near the end of al-Sūdī’s poem. This phrase has precedent in Ibn al-Fāriḍ’s profound and lovely verse from his lāmiyya:
ححديثي قديمٌ في هواها وما له
كما عَلِمَتْ بَعْدٌ وليس له قبلُ
My tale of loving her is ancient, and, as she knows well,
it has neither an “after” nor “before.”
al-Sūdī
Translation:
Anything but your beauty is forbidden to my gaze
and any speech but yours, is a wound to me
The lifetime of the old eagle with you is just part of a day
and an hour without you is year after year
Waiting for you is an impossible thing
and the only thing that can kill me is being cut off from you
If I saw you, my worries would cease
and if you’re absent, then death draws near
So with union, heal the illness of an abandoned lover
enraptured in love for you whenever the doves coo
The story of his longing for you is ancient
he’s clothed in wasting lovesickness
For you are a cause more sublime than all causes
Whenever you wish, you can fulfill all my desires
With you, the hardest matters become easy
so with lovely excellence, be generous, dear noble
For none but you are worthy of such generosity
so how can a guest of your court embrace you?
Original:
لغير جمالكم نظري حرامُ
وغير كلامكم عندي كلامُ
وعمر النسر منكم بعض يومٍ
وساعة غيركم عام فعامُ
وصبري عنكُم شيء محال
وما لي قاتل إلا الفطامُ
إذا عاينتكم زالت همومي
وإن غبتم دنا مني الحِمامُ
فداووا بالوصال مريض هجرٍ
يهيم بكم إذا سجع الحمامُ
حديث غرامه فيكم قديمٌ
وملبسهُ من الحب السقامُ
فأنتم للأصول أجلُّ أصلٍ
إذا شئتم تحصَّلَ لي المرامُ
بكم صعب الأمور يعود سهلاً
فبالإحسانِ جودوا يا كرامُ
وليس سواكُم للجود أهلاً
فكيف نزيلُ سوحكمُ يضامُ
al-Shābb al-Ẓarīf
Translation:
The tale of my passion in loving you is ancient
and the excess of my torment in loving you is bliss
Torture me with whatever you wish, save your anger
and trust my faithfulness in loving you, for it is painful
Longings make you appear to my mind’s imagination
and so I was overcome by fear and dumbfounded
The spirit is satisfied by even an imaginary glance from you
my limbs live by it even while they languish
Congrats to a glance at you that doesn’t know hate
and cursed is a heart that is not madly in love with you
When my thought revealed you, o my utmost desire
it lodged in my heart, residing there permanently
The universe is but a form and you are its spirit
and how can a body without a spirit stand?
My friend imagined that I touched paradise
while the one who feels my state denies this, for it is the boiling water of Hell
I revealed what came from you openly
discretion did not grant the sweetness of passion
The dune sprouted a branch, and I am jealous if tomorrow
a breeze plays with your elegant body
When a fire appeared on the mountain of your cheek
And shone on my heart, it revived, as if it were Moses
Torments delight my heart in loving you
and why not? for you are aware of my condition
Blessed with the voices of the pilgrims going to Minna
accompanied by the tweeting of birds in the valleys
For if you become stingy with union with me
out of disdain for me, I’ll consider that nobility
O my honor, when you left in the morning, love
left its traces upon my wasted, emaciated body
You who drive the mounts to exhaustion
in the desolate tracks, they have a stream*
When your eyes see a flash of lightning
they gleam like the stars twinkling on the horizon
And the dawn breeze reveals the secrets of the sandhills
and perfumes the barren plains with fragrance
When you see a rift, halt and ask of my beloveds
for this is what I have become to you, longing
Look, there is a deer, my longing for him is excruciating
and the doe of my heart will not leave him
I speak deceptively about him in company
while in my heart, recalling anyone but him is a wound
He has pacts with the innermost core of the heart
and between the black of the eyes there are marks/customs*
Say, “You who are unique in beauty, have pity on a refugee,
a stranger whose heart has taken up residence with you”
It took off away from him, fleeing, when you took off
so there is no return for it until you return
Peace be upon you from a broken-hearted lover
may you remain safe and sound for he is safe and sound through you
Original:
حَدِيثُ غَرامِي فِي هَواكَ قَديمُ
وَفَرْطُ عَذابِي في هَواكَ نَعيمُ
بِمَا شِئْتَ عَذِّبْ غَيْرَ سُخْطِكَ إِنَّهُ
وَصدِّق ولائي في هَواكَ أليمُ
تُمَثِّلُكَ الأَشْواقُ وَهْماً لِخاطِري
فَيُدْرِكني بالخَوْفِ مِنْكَ وُجُومُ
وَتَقْنَعُ مِنْكَ الرُّوحُ لَمْحَ تَوَهُّمٍ
فَتَحْيا بِهَا الأَعضَاءُ وَهْيَ رَمِيمُ
هَنِيئاً لِطَرْفٍ فِيكَ لا يَعْرِفُ الكَرَى
وَتَبّاً لِقَلْبٍ فِيكَ لَيْسَ يَهيمُ
وَلمَّا جَلاكَ الفِكْرُ يا غَايةَ المُنَى
فَظلَّ بِقَلْبِي مُقْعِدٌ ومُقيمُ
وَمَا الكَوْنُ إلّا صُورةً أنْتَ رُوحُهَا
وَجِسْمٌ بِغَيْرِ الرُّوحِ كَيْفَ يَقُومُ
تَوَّهَم صَحْبي أَنَّ بي مَسُّ جِنَّةٍ
وأَنْكَرَ حَالي صَاحِبٌ وَحَميمُ
فَبُحْتُ بِما ألقاهُ مِنْكَ مُصَرِّحاً
وَمَا نالَ لَذّاتِ الغَرامِ كَتُومُ
أَغُصْنَ النَّقا إنّي أَغارُ إِذَا غَدَا
يُلاعِبُ عِطْفيْكَ الرّشاقَ نَسِيمُ
وَلَمّا بَدَتْ في طَوْرِ خَدِّكَ جَذْوَةٌ
وَلاحتْ لِقلبي عادَ وهُوَ كَليمُ
يَلذُّ لِقلْبي في هَوَاكَ عَذابُهُ
وَلِمْ لا وَبِالأحْوالِ أَنْتَ عَليمُ
يَميناً بِأَصْواتِ الحَجيجِ على مِنىً
وَصَحْبٍ لَهُمْ بِالمَأْزمينِ زَميمُ
لأَنْتَ وَإنْ أَصْبَحْتَ بِالوَصْلِ باخِلاً
عَليَّ احْتِقاراً بِي لَديَّ كَرِيمُ
وَيَا شَرَفي لَمَّا غَدَوْتَ وَلِلْهَوى
عَلى جَسَدِي المُضْنى النَّحيل رُسُومُ
وَيَا سائِقاً يُضْنِي الرّكائِبَ طُلَّحاً
لَهَا في الرُّسوم المُقْفراتِ رَسيمُ
إِذَا عايَنَتْ عَيْنَاكَ بَارِقَ أَبْرَقٍ
يَلوحُ كما في الأُفقِ لاح نُجومُ
وَباحتْ بأسْرارِ الرُّبا نَسْمَةُ الصَّبا
وَعطَّر أَقْطارَ القفارِ شَميمُ
وَعايَنْتَ سَلْعاً قِفْ وَسائِلْ أَحِبَّتِي
فَهَذا الّذي أَصْبَحْتُ مِنْكَ أَرومُ
فَثمَّ رَشاً شَوْقي إليه مُبَرِّحٌ
وَريم فُؤادي عَنْهُ لَيْسَ يَريمُ
أُغالِطُ عَنْهُ بِالكَلام مُجالِسي
وَفِي القَلْبِ مِنْ ذِكْري سِواه كُلُومُ
لَهُ مِنْ سُوَيْداءِ الفُؤادِ مَعاهِدٌ
وَبَيْنَ سَوادِ المُقْلَتَيْنِ رُسُومُ
وَقُلْ يا غَرِيبَ الحُسْنِ رِقّ لِنازِحٍ
غَريبٍ لَهُ قَلْبٌ لَدَيْكَ مُقيمُ
تَرحَّلَ عَنْهُ مُذْ تَرَحَّلْتَ نافِراً
فَلَيْس لَهُ حَتّى القُدوم قُدومُ
عَلَيْكَ سَلامٌ مِنْ كَئيبٍ مُتيَّمٍ
تَظَلُّ سليماً وَهْوَ مِنْكَ سَلِيمُ