حَصَلَت في حُسنِ ذا غِلظَةٌ

حَصَلَت في حُسنِ ذا غِلظَةٌ

كَأَنَّها مُشطُ اِبنِ مَنصورِ

كَأَنَّها مُشطُ اِبنِ مَنصورِ

A coarseness has settled upon this fellow’s beauty,

A roughness has appeared in this man's beauty,

as though it were Ibn Manṣūr’s comb.

as though it were Ibn Mansur's comb.

يا لِحيَةً هَتَّكَ أَستارَها

يا لِحيَةً هَتَّكَ أَستارَها

بِأُصبَعٍ مِنهُ وَأُظفورِ

بِأُصبَعٍ مِنهُ وَأُظفورِ

What a beard—he has torn away its curtains

O beard, whose veils he tore apart

with one of his fingers and a fingernail!

with a finger of his and a fingernail!

فَخَدُّهُ مِن سَلَحٍ تارَةً

فَخَدُّهُ مِن سَلَحٍ تارَةً

وَتارَةً مِن قِشرِ بِلَّورِ

وَتارَةً مِن قِشرِ بِلَّورِ

Thus his cheek is now made of dung,

So his cheek is sometimes made of dung,

and now of a shell of crystal;

and sometimes of crystal's rind.

فَتارَةً كَالمِسكِ في لَونِهِ

فَتارَةً كَالمِسكِ في لَونِهِ

وَتارَةً في لَونِ كافورِ

وَتارَةً في لَونِ كافورِ

now it is musk-like in color,

At times, then, it is like musk in color,

and now the color of camphor.

and at others, the color of camphor.

يُعجِبُهُ المَردُ فَيَحكيهُمُ

يُعجِبُهُ المَردُ فَيَحكيهُمُ

حِكايَةَ زُوَرٍ مِنَ الزُوَرِ

حِكايَةَ زُوَرٍ مِنَ الزُوَرِ

He admires beardless youths and imitates them—

Beardless youths please him, so he imitates them,

a counterfeit likeness among counterfeits.

with the mimicry of a sham among shams.

يَقولُ ما أَحسَنَ رَبَّ الوَرى

يَقولُ ما أَحسَنَ رَبَّ الوَرى

إِذ غَرَسَ الظُلمَةَ في النورِ

إِذ غَرَسَ الظُلمَةَ في النورِ

He says, “How beautiful is the Lord of all creation,

He says, 'How splendid is the Lord of creation,

who planted darkness within the light!”

when He planted darkness in light!'