«أَحَدُهُمَا قَدْ ذَهَبَ مِنْهُ الْأَطْيَبَانِ، وَالْآخَرُ كَأَنَّهُ قَضِيبُ الْبَانِ»
One had lost two pleasures of life, while the other was like a slender branch of the bān tree.
Al-aṭyabān is glossed as the pleasures of eating and marital intimacy, suggesting old age. The bān branch likens the young man to a straight, slender shoot. The pairing vividly establishes contrast before either speaker argues.
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The Maʿarran Maqāmah — The Needle Before the Judge
«أَحَدُهُمَا قَدْ ذَهَبَ مِنْهُ الْأَطْيَبَانِ، وَالْآخَرُ كَأَنَّهُ قَضِيبُ الْبَانِ»
One had lost two pleasures of life, while the other was like a slender branch of the bān tree.
Al-aṭyabān is glossed as the pleasures of eating and marital intimacy, suggesting old age. The bān branch likens the young man to a straight, slender shoot. The pairing vividly establishes contrast before either speaker argues.