دع عنك يا عاذلي لومي وتعنيفي

وكف عما به تعني وتعني في

Leave off, my reproacher, your blame and rebukes of me,

And stop concerning yourself with it and wearying yourself over me.

ويح العذول افي من قد شغلت به

يظن اصغى الى مال وتحريف

Alas for the reproacher! Concerning the one who has absorbed me,

Does he think I would heed wealth and distortion?

اهواه للعطف واو الصدغ منه اتت

واللام من عارضيه لام تعريف

I love him: his temple-lock's wāw has come for union,

And the lām of his cheek-locks is the lām of the definite article.

حلو التثني لنحوي مال منعطفا

افديه من عاطف وافى ومعطوف

Sweet in his swaying, he leaned toward me, bending;

I would ransom him—loving as he came, and loved.

رشيق قد رقيق الخصر ذو هيف

لدن القوام بدا من غير تثقيف

Graceful of stature, slender-waisted, slim,

Supple of form, he appeared without any straightening.

بديع حسن رقيق الخد وجنته

كالروض ما بين تدبيج وتفويف

Wondrously beautiful, tender-cheeked; his cheek

Is like a garden, between embroidery and variegated stripes.

كثير وعد قليل في الوفاء لقد

فتنت منه بتنوين وتسويف

Rich in promises, poor in fulfillment: indeed,

I was captivated by his nunation and procrastination.

شغلت وجدا به لما شغلت به

واحيرتا بين مشغول ومشغوف

I was consumed with longing for him when I became absorbed in him;

Ah, my bewilderment, between being preoccupied and being love-struck!

قالوا أبدر الدجا يحكي فقلت لهم

يحكيه من غير نقصان وتكليف

They asked, 'Does he resemble the full moon in the dark?' I told them,

'He resembles it, without waning or contrivance.'

ولو رأى البدر ليلا حسن طلعته

تجلى لولى بلون منه مكسوف

And if the full moon saw, one night, the beauty of his face

Shine forth, it would turn away, its color eclipsed by him.

قالوا عذولك غيظا مات قلت وكم

عليّ لله من فضل وتخفيف

They said, 'Your reproacher died of rage.' I said, 'And how much

Grace and relief I owe to God!'

الفت من شعر شعري فجاء به

في الحسن كالدر في نظم وتأليف

I fashioned my verse from hair, and thus it emerged,

In beauty like pearls, strung and arranged.

تغزلي قد حلا لي في هواه كما

نظمي حلا في ابن فرفور وتصنيفي

My love poetry has grown sweet to me in loving him, just as

My verse and writings grew sweet in praise of Ibn Farfur,

قاضي القضاة ومن مصر به شرفت

على الممالك فخرا أي تشريف

Chief of judges, and he through whom Egypt has been honored

Above the kingdoms in glory—what an honor!

حبر اذا جاد في جد وفي جدل

بحرٌ اذا جاد في عرف ومعروف

A scholar when he excels in serious matters and debate,

A sea when he bestows bounty and kindness.

تبدي المعاني لنا من نجو منطقه

وكم له من حديث حسن تصريف

Meanings are disclosed to us from his whispered speech,

And how many sayings of his are beautifully phrased!

تروي أياديه عن بشر حديث عطا

معنعنا صح نقلا غير موقوف

His favors narrate, on Bishr's authority, a report of Ata,

With a chain of 'froms,' soundly transmitted, not stopped at a Companion.