أحببته كالغصن كم شاعرٍ

أحببته كالغصن كم شاعرٍ

له عليه نوح ورقاءِ

له عليه نوح ورقاءِ

I loved him, like a bough; how many a poet

I loved him like a branch, how many a poet

has a gray dove’s lament over him!

for him has wept with copious tears

وثغره الصادي من حسنه

وثغره الصادي من حسنه

يحارُ في تشبيهه الطائي

يحارُ في تشبيهه الطائي

And his thirsty mouth, because of its beauty,

And his eloquent mouth, from its beauty

leaves al-Ta’i at a loss for a simile.

the ingenious metaphorist is perplexed in likening it