قَوامٌ كَما شاءَ المَشيبُ مُعَوَّجُ

وَوَجهٌ كَما لا تَشتَهيهِ مُشَنَّجُ

A frame as decrepit as aging wished it to be,

And a face as unsightly as one could imagine,

وَفَرعٌ جَلاهُ الشَيبُ حَتّى كَأَنَّما

تَغَشّاهُ مَعروفٌ مِنَ الصُبحِ أَبلَجُ

And a branch bleached by time, as though

A white dawn had cloaked it in a mantle of snow.

وَعَهدي بِهِ بِالأَمسِ جَوناً كَأَنَّما

تَجَلَّلَهُ عُرفٌ مِنَ اللَيلِ أَبلَجُ

Yet only yesterday, so it seems, this form

Was draped in the dark of the night like a glorious norm.

لَيالِيَ جاءَتكَ اللَيالي عَرائِساً

تَروقُ وَتَصبي أَو تَضوعُ وَتَأرُجُ

O nights that have come to him, maidens in grace

In beauty so fine, or in sorrow's embrace.

حِسانُ الوُجوهِ كَالرِياضِ أَنيقَةً

تَخيطُ لَها كَفُّ الغَمامِ وَتَنسُجُ

A garden it was, this cheer of his face,

With rainfall of clouds embroidering lace.

رِقاقُ جَلابيبَ النَسيمِ أَريجَةً

لَها نَكهَةً كَالمِسكِ إِبّانَ يُمزَجُ

The soft silken robes of the breeze left a trace

Of scent, like musk when it's freshly distilled into place.