1. When the cupbearer began with one and two and three,
And poured for us delicious wine, one and two and three,

2. He offered us wine that told of the vine branch's nape,
Repeating a silent glance that speaks,

3. A brother to vitality, his words masculine in eloquence
Yet feminine in their gentle murmuring,

4. His glance or voice, remaining devoted,
With a magic unknown to us who has cast the spell,

5. Then he recites for me tender quintets of verse
And sips from my wine the gentle triplets,

6. And mixes for me in the cup fresh and aged
Their aromas from the combs of bees renewing,

7. When it smiles away cares, they depart grieving,
And when it journeys to sorrow, they come whispering,

8. So leave me not, if I wander drunk and lost,
Gazing up at the folds of stars clinging,

9. Nor when you see me lost of mind, crazed,
Taking madness as the sanity in me raving,

10. Nor make me turn from a state and then renew it,
Vowing never to return to it betraying,

11. For life is but like the swoop of a bird on the wing,
Passing quickly, unable to resist delaying.

12. For that, I seize life decisively,
Plucking the fruits of wishes till I die and rise reborn.