بَدرانِ مُنكَسِفانِ مِن ضَوءِ السُها

لا ذاكَ مَودودٌ وَلا هَذا حَسَن

Two full moons, eclipsed by the light of al-Suhā—

neither that one Maḥmūd—praiseworthy—nor this one Ḥasan—handsome.

اِثنانِ قَد تَرَكَتهُما عِرساهُما

ذا أَيَّلاً سامي القُرونِ وَذا رَسَن

Two men whom their own wives have abandoned:

one a stag with lofty antlers, the other a halter.

خانا فَلَو حَكَما عَلى عَينِ اِمريءٍ

سَرَقا بِمَكرِهِما مِنَ الجفنِ الوَسَن

They acted treacherously; were they to sit in judgment over a man’s eye,

with their cunning they would steal drowsiness from its lid.

فَسَأَلتُ هَل لَكُما قَرينٌ ثالِثٌ

قالا نَعَم عَرّج عَلى قاضي اليَمَن

So I asked, “Have you two a third companion?”

They said, “Yes—call upon the judge of Yemen.”