1. ثغرٌ عليه من الملاحة سكّر

    يحلو الحديثُ عليه وهو مكرر

    A mouth upon which beauty has laid sugar;

    Speech is sweet upon it, even when repeated.

  2. عرف الذي قد رام عنه تصبري

    أني قتيلٌ في هواه مصبر

    He who sought my patient withdrawal from him has learned

    That I am slain in love for him, embalmed.

  3. ويحق لي فيه التغزل باهراً

    وثنا تقيّ الدّين عندي أبهر

    And rightly may I sing of him in dazzling love-verse;

    Yet praise of Taqi al-Din is, to me, more dazzling.

  4. ذو العلم والفضل الذين هُما هُما

    شهبٌ بأفاقِ السيادة تزهر

    Possessed of learning and merit—those two are what they are—

    Stars shining across the horizons of eminence.

  5. نظروا فكان أحق بالنظر الذي

    كتقيه وأمينه لم ينظروا

    They looked, and most deserving of regard was the one

    Whose Taqi and Amin they had never seen equaled.

  6. ولئن شكوت لماله ولجاهه

    حصري فإن ثناهما لا يحصر

    And though I complain to his wealth and standing

    Of my limits, praise of both knows no bounds.

  7. طيرُ الثناءِ محلقٌ في أفقه

    أبدَ الزمان وأنني لمقصر

    The bird of praise soars in his sky

    For all time—and I am surely falling short.