1. Coffee of roasted beans, compared to the limpid wine
Of Gilad's vines, gushing between branches,

2. Served by the gentle girls of the tribe,
Who quench my thirst from their cups and glances,

3. In my retreat, O Sheikh, let me be,
Though I drank thousands of cups, I'd still be keen,

4. In the shade of my hut, its reeds so frail,
A shabby nest, like its folk, poor and mean,

5. You knew them not, they left no trace, no fame,
Their names went unsung and unwritten,

6. Rise, and let us revel in their company,
Postpone your worship awhile, listen,

7. Their sighs are magic, their talks pure poetry,
Their tunes, O Sheikh, stir and enliven me!

8. Let go of seriousness, playful are the days,
Life is ephemeral, do not hasten your pace,

9. Remember, Time has said in their words,
No life but madness can pleasure afford,

10. Enough of blessings, to lounge and relax,
And Mustafa, in the dog days of summer,

11. On meadows of Sahl Ubayn, grazes his flock,
O Hamza, people live in ease and bounty,

12. Yet nothing is secure, nothing is locked,
Beyond the fort, only four, with dark eyes,

13. Gazelles, nothing else in this lonely place,
Why should I care for prices in Allepo,

14. Or wealth of merchants in Palestine,
The feuding factions in Damascus,

15. With slogans more rotten than can be voiced,
Aren't Wadi Sha'ta's slopes evergreen?

16. The cheek of a Jordan girl ever smooth?
Isn't Wadi Houwar's thyme fragrant still?

17. And Akoub's precipice smelling of mint?
The valley remains verdant, and I

18. Among my folk, upright and fair minded,
In a land where only good faith prevails,

19. A creed, Sheikh, that makes me blessed and content,
By Allah, the tavern's wine is limpid,

20. Distilled from mirth, amiability and warmth.