وأَغَيَدلا تحكي الأَسِنَّةُ لَحْظَه

وأَغَيَدلا تحكي الأَسِنَّةُ لَحْظَه

ولا يَمْلِكُ الَخطِّيُّ لِيناً بِقَدِّهِ

ولا يَمْلِكُ الَخطِّيُّ لِيناً بِقَدِّهِ

And a graceful youth—spearheads cannot match his glance,

The blinking eyelids tell of a fleeting moment,

Nor can a Khatti spear match the suppleness of his figure.

And the calligrapher cannot soften with his hand.

تألفَّنَي قُرْبُ السَّقام لبُعْدِه

تألفَّنَي قُرْبُ السَّقام لبُعْدِه

وحالفني وَصْلُ الغَرام لصِدَهَّ

وحالفني وَصْلُ الغَرام لصِدَهَّ

The nearness of illness befriended me because of his distance,

The nearness of illness has made me love separation,

And union with passion became my ally because of his rejection.

And the union of passion has allied me to his rejection.

صباحي إذا ما زارني فيه مثلهُ

صباحي إذا ما زارني فيه مثلهُ

وعَيْشي إِذا ما صدَّ عني بِضِدِّه

وعَيْشي إِذا ما صدَّ عني بِضِدِّه

My morning, whenever he visits me, is like him,

My morning, if one like him visits me in it,

And my life, whenever he turns away from me, is his opposite.

And my life, if he turns from me in his contrary manner.