أنكرته إذ رأيته وجنته

أنكرته إذ رأيته وجنته

وحسنه قد محته لحيته

وحسنه قد محته لحيته

I did not recognize him when I saw him; his cheek

and his beauty had been effaced by his beard.

فما بدا من نبات لحيته

فما بدا من نبات لحيته

أنكره شيخه وإخوته

أنكره شيخه وإخوته

So whatever appeared of his beard’s growth,

his father and his brothers found strange.

ما اطرد الشعر للجمال وما

ما اطرد الشعر للجمال وما

أقبح ملكا تزول نعمته

أقبح ملكا تزول نعمته

How hair drives beauty away! And how

ugly is a king whose bounty fades!