1. يطولُ لحيتهُ كالحبال

    فيا ليتَ عمري من طولها

    He lets his beard grow long as ropes.

    Oh, would that my life had some of its length!

  2. كمروحة الخيشِ في العارضينِ

    نطري الهواءَ بتبليلها

    Like a burlap fan upon his cheeks,

    By wetting it, we freshen the air.

  3. وقد لقبوها بستِّ اللحى

    لتعظيمها ولتبجيلها

    And they have dubbed it the Lady of Beards,

    To exalt it and revere it.

  4. ألستَ تراها تجرُّ الذيولَ

    فيحظى الصغارُ بتقبيلها

    Do you not see it trailing its skirts,

    So the little ones have the honor of kissing it?

  5. وكم بحثَ الناسُ في أصلها

    وأي الوبا كانَ في جيلها

    And how often people have investigated its origin,

    And what plague existed in its generation!

  6. وكم حكموا انها علةٌ

    وما علةُ غيري تعليلها

    And how often they have pronounced it an ailment,

    Yet explaining it is an affliction for me alone.