هَويْتُ مَنْ رِيقَتُهُ قَرْقَفٌ

هَويْتُ مَنْ رِيقَتُهُ قَرْقَفٌ

وَما لَهُ في ذَاكَ مِنْ شَارِبِ

وَما لَهُ في ذَاكَ مِنْ شَارِبِ

I loved one whose saliva is wine,

I fell for one whose saliva is bitter

yet he has no drinker for it.

And he has no interest in drinking it

قَلنْدَرِيّاً حَلَقُوا حَاجِباً

قَلنْدَرِيّاً حَلَقُوا حَاجِباً

مِنْهُ كَنُونِ الخَطِّ مِنْ كاتِبِ

مِنْهُ كَنُونِ الخَطِّ مِنْ كاتِبِ

He was a Qalandari; they shaved off an eyebrow

With scissors, they shaved his eyebrow

from him, like the nūn in a scribe’s writing.

From him sprouted calligraphy lines from a writer

سُلْطَانُ حُسْنٍ زَادَ في عَدْلِهِ

سُلْطَانُ حُسْنٍ زَادَ في عَدْلِهِ

وَاخْتَارَ أَنْ يَبْقَى بِلاَ حَاجِبِ

وَاخْتَارَ أَنْ يَبْقَى بِلاَ حَاجِبِ

A sultan of beauty, he grew more just

The sultan of beauty increased his justice

and chose to remain without a chamberlain.

And chose to remain without eyebrow