1. من مجيري من قدّه السمهريّ

    أو عذيري بطرفه البابلي

    Who will protect me from his spear-like stature,

    Or excuse me on account of his Babylonian gaze?

  2. بدر تم يرنو بعيني غزال

    ويحيي بحاجب كسروي

    A full moon, gazing with a gazelle’s eyes,

    And greeting with a Khosrow-like eyebrow.

  3. عمُّهُ الحسن والهلال أخوه

    والتياعي من خاله العنبري

    Beauty is his paternal uncle, and the crescent his brother;

    And my anguish springs from his ambergris-like mole.

  4. شفتاه عن العذيب روتنا

    والثنايا تروي عن الجوهري

    His lips told us of al-ʿUdhayb,

    And his front teeth tell of al-Jawhari.

  5. اسكن الوجد في الحشاشة لما

    جرّ قلبي بلامهِ الذهبي

    He lodged longing in my heart when

    He drew my heart with his golden lām-shaped curl.

  6. قام يهتز والمعاطف تثني

    غصن بأن تحت القبا السندسيّ

    He rose, swaying, his supple limbs bending—

    A bān bough beneath a robe of fine silk.

  7. ورمانا من العيون بنبلٍ

    يا لنبل يرمى بغير قسيّ

    And from his eyes he shot arrows at us—

    Oh, what arrows, shot without bows!

  8. عربيُّ الألحاظ تركي ثغرٍ

    معجب في قوامه الفارسي

    Arab in his glances, Turkish in his mouth,

    Captivating in his Persian stature.

  9. اسكرتنا عيناه حتى كأنا

    قد رشفنا من ريقه الكوثريّ

    His eyes intoxicated us until it was as though

    We had sipped his Kawthar-like saliva.

  10. ما أزاح اللثام إلّا وبتنا

    في رياضٍ من وجهه القمري

    No sooner did he lift his veil than we spent the night

    In gardens of his moonlike face,

  11. بين وردٍ من الخدود وآسٍ

    من عذارٍ وناظرٍ نرجسيّ

    Among the roses of his cheeks and the myrtle

    Of his cheek-down, and a narcissus-like eye.

  12. شاكل الخمر خدّه حين وافا

    نا بكاسٍ كالمبسم الدريّ

    His cheek resembled wine when he came

    To us with a cup like his pearly smile.

  13. أترى خده تجلى عليها

    أم تجلت بخده الورديّ

    Did his cheek, I wonder, shine upon the wine,

    Or did the wine shine in his rosy cheek?

  14. عاطني الكاس يا مليك فؤادي

    واسقنيها من كفك العندميّ

    Hand me the cup, O sovereign of my heart,

    And let me drink it from your crimson palm.

  15. وأدرها صرفاً وان شئت فاسمح

    وامزجنها بريقك العسليّ

    And pass it round unmixed; and if you wish, be generous,

    And mix it with your honey-sweet saliva.

  16. أن صبح الجبين لاح وغنّت

    في رياض الجمال ورق الحلي

    Indeed, the dawn of his brow shone, and there sang

    In beauty’s gardens the gray doves of jewelry.

  17. يا جميلاً عذاره قيد قلبي

    فترفق بصبك العذري

    O beautiful one, whose cheek-down is my heart’s fetter,

    So be gentle with your chaste lover.

  18. أعذارٌ للحسن أم هو لامٌ

    حررتهُ يدُ الفتى البحري

    Is this beauty’s cheek-down, or a letter lām

    Penned by the hand of the young al-Bahri?

  19. هو ذو الفهم والنباهة يوحنا م

    المفدى مولى الحجى الألمعيّ

    He is endowed with understanding and discernment—Yuhanna,

    The cherished, keen-witted master of intellect.

  20. لوذعيٌّ مهذبٌ ذو خلال

    مثل عرف الرياض غب الولي

    Discerning and refined, possessed of virtues

    Like the fragrance of gardens after rain upon rain.

  21. كاتبٌ تحسد الدراري حروفاً

    برأتها بنانهُ من بريّ

    A scribe whose letters the bright stars envy,

    Fashioned by his fingertips from a trimmed reed-pen.

  22. اللفاتٌ تزري بقد الغواني

    حين تجلى بثوبها الحبريّ

    Alifs that put fair women’s stature to shame

    When they appear in their inky robe;

  23. وعيون من المداد يرشن ال

    سحر في مقلة الرشا الجؤذريّ

    And eyes of ink lend feathers to the

    Magic in the eye of the fawnlike gazelle.

  24. تتمنى سطوره الغيد حلياً

    فهي أجلى من سطعها اللؤلؤي

    Graceful women desire his lines as jewelry,

    For they outshine its pearly gleam.

  25. ما صديغٌ على خديدٍ بازهى

    من رقيمٍ بطرسه الفضي

    No little temple-lock on a dainty cheek is lovelier

    Than script on his silvery page.

  26. جرّ ذيلاً على ابن مقلة لما

    جرّ سطراً من المداد السجي

    He swept his robe’s train over Ibn Muqla when

    He drew a line of tranquil ink.

  27. وروى عنه ياقوت وابن هلالٍ

    خصهُ الفرد بالجمال البهي

    And Yaqut and Ibn Hilal transmitted from him;

    The One favored him with splendid beauty.

  28. اطلع الحبر في القراطيس دراً

    بين دري لفظٍ ومعنى جلي

    Ink brought forth pearls upon the pages,

    Between pearly wording and lucid meaning.

  29. وأتانا من البديع بنثر

    فاق نظم البديع والبحتري

    And he brought us prose of wondrous artistry

    Surpassing the verse of al-Badiʿ and al-Buhturi.

  30. يا لهُ مفرداً توشح مجداً

    نال منه طيب الثناءِ الذكي

    Oh, what a peerless man, mantled in glory,

    From which he gained sweet, fragrant praise.

  31. بسديد الآراء أخجل قيساً

    وإياساً أزرى بفكرٍ ذكي

    With sound judgments he put Qays to shame,

    And outshone Iyas with keen thought.

  32. رق لفظاً وراق أنساً ولطفاً

    يسترقان كل قلبٍ صفي

    Delicate in speech, delightful in companionship and grace—

    These two enslave every pure heart.

  33. فصحاء الأتراك تأخذ عنه

    وهو منشي فصاحة العربي

    Eloquent Turks take their learning from him,

    And he is the creator of Arabic eloquence.

  34. مانع النفس جامع الحمد سمحٌ

    مطلق الكف بالنوال الوفي

    Self-restrained, gathering praise, generous,

    Open-handed with ample bounty.

  35. زاده اللَه رفعةً وقبولاً

    ورعاه بعين لطفٍ خفي

    May God increase him in eminence and favor,

    And watch over him with an eye of hidden kindness.