1. My friend, sit in the morn and do not say,
"Stand, let us weep at the memory of a beloved and abode."

2. O Lord, do not let the serpent shed its skin or fall,
At the falling of the banners between going in and pregnancy.

3. Do not settle, like the settlement of Imru’ al-Qais, a drop
Of rain from the clouds, and stone its residents with hailstones.

4. My share of it is for ostriches and foxes,
The wolves howling like frightened beasts.

5. But the lands of revelry, O Lord, water them,
And pour upon their greenery every stream—

6. Beautiful, suffering, date palms and chamomile,
And clovewhose scent is pungent—

7. Upon every disabled person extend
A generous horse with an unstinting hoard.

8. The worries of the heart are few, except for pleasure
That gives comfort to a soul inclined to amusement.

9. If you seek it, you will find it in a tavern,
Like a lamp shining in the night.

10. You will not see him asking about a creature,
Or saying, “Who should be brought near and who kept away?”

11. Nor clamoring on a day of joy like a camel train,
Looking into the preference of ‘Othman or ‘Ali.

12. Nor wearing the precedence of a sun or planet
To know the revival of the highest from lowest.

13. He stands at midday leaning over,
Turning in the lines of his tears an awl-like eye.

14. But in what he cares about and his secret,
And in other than his concerns, he is aloof.