خليلي كم قد جد في الناس شاعر

ولبس له بيت من الشعر عامر

My two friends, how many a poet has arisen among men,

Yet has no flourishing house of verse!

وأحسن شعر ما تراه مهذباً

بليغاً به يلتذ بادٍ وحاضر

And the finest poetry is what you find refined,

Eloquent, delighting desert-dweller and townsman alike.

به تطرب الأسماع من كل منشدٍ

وتجري به الأمثال وهي سوائر

Through it, the ears thrill to every reciter,

And its sayings pass as proverbs, traveling far and wide.

كديوان من في العصر اصبح نظمه

يضاهي نجوم الليل وهي زواهر

Like the collection of one whose verse, in this age, has come

To rival the stars of night as they shine:

أبي الحسن الكستي من شهدت له

عدول ذوي الألباب والأمر ظاهر

Abu al-Hasan al-Kasti, for whom testimony has been given

By the upright among men of understanding—and the matter is plain.

هو الفاضل المشهور في كل موطن

وكلٌ له في ذلك الفضل شاكر

He is the man of merit, renowned in every land,

And all are grateful to him for that excellence.

له تحضر الآداب حين يريدها

وتخضع طوعاً عنده وهو آمر

The literary arts attend him whenever he desires them,

And submit willingly before him, while he commands.

فينشئ منها ما يريد ويصطفي

من اللفظ ما تصبو اليه الخواطر

So he fashions from them what he wishes, and selects

From words what the mind yearns for.

فكم غاص في بحر البلاغة فاهتدى

لحسن معان كلهن جواهر

And how often he has dived into eloquence's sea and found his way

To beautiful meanings, all of them jewels!

وعند ذوي الألباب جل مقاله

وقد عقدت منهم عليه الخناصر

And among men of understanding, his words are held high,

And their little fingers have been bent to count him among the foremost.

فدونك ديواناً له تم طبعه

رقيقاً به الألفاظ غر حرائر

So take a collection of his, its printing now complete,

Delicate, its words radiant and freeborn.

ولم ير غبناً من شراه بماله

وفيه بلا شك تسر السرائر

And whoever bought it with his money suffered no loss,

And in it, without a doubt, the heart's depths find joy.