1. We drank to the memory of the beloved a wine
By which we were intoxicated before the vine was created

2. The full moon is its cup, and it is a sun turned
By a crescent, and how it shines when mixed with a star!

3. Had it not been for its bouquet I would not have found my way to its tavern
Had it not been for its flash I would not have imagined it

4. And nothing remains of it but furtiveness
As if its flagon lies hidden in the breasts of prohibitions

5. So if it is mentioned among the living, its people
Become joyous, and for them neither shame nor sin

6. And from between the viscera of the vats it emanated
And nothing remained of it in truth but the name

7. And if it occurs to the mind of someone
It makes joys arise and sorrows depart

8. And if the soused were to look upon the seal of its vessel
It would intoxicate them without it, that seal

9. And if they were to sprinkle from it the soil of a dead man’s grave
The spirit would return to him and the body revive

10. And if they were to cast into the corner of its vineyard
A sick man, it would cure him and sickness leave him

11. And if they were to bring near its tavern a paralyzed man
He would walk and the mute speak from the memory of its taste

12. And if the scent of its perfume were to drift in the east
While ambergris lies piled in the west, it would regain its odor

13. And if the palm of one touching were dyed from its cup
He would not go astray at night, a star in his hand

14. And if its secret were disclosed to a blind man in the morning
He would become seeing, and the deaf hear from its fermentation

15. And if a caravan were determined to cross its earth
And poisoned among the riders, he would not be harmed

16. And if the healer were to trace its name’s letters on
The brow of one possessed, the inscription would cure him

17. And if its name were embroidered above the flag of the army
It would intoxicate those under the banner, that embroidery

18. It refines the morals of the repentant, so they are guided
By it to the path of resolve, those without resolve

19. And one who does not know generosity, his palm
Becomes generous, and he who lacks forbearance, forbearing when enraged

20. And if the blood of the people were to kiss its goblet
It would clothe it in the attributes of its kiss

21. They say describe it, but you are
Skilled in describing it, yes I have knowledge of describing it

22. Purity, and not water, charm and not air
Light, and not fire, spirit and not body

23. News of it preceded all creation
Anciently, and no form was there, nor image

24. And by it things arose, then for wisdom’s sake
It was veiled from all who do not comprehend

25. And my spirit swooned for it until they mingled, joined
In unity, and no sin came between them

26. So wine and vineyard, and Adam is my father
And vineyard and no wine, and she is my mother

27. The charm of vessels in truth follows
The charm of meanings, and meanings by it grow

28. And separation occurred though all is one
So our spirits are wine and our forms the vineyard

29. And before it no before and after it no after
For the priority of dimensions, it is obliged to it

30. And the age before it was its era
And our father’s time after it, orphaned by it

31. Charms that guide the eulogists in describing it
So among them prose and verse are well-composed about it

32. And one unaware of it is ravished when it is recalled
Like one longing for joys whenever joys are recalled

33. And they said you drank sin, no! indeed
I drank that whose abandonment for me would be sin

34. Congratulations to the monastery’s monks, how intoxicated by it they were
And they did not drink it, but only yearned for it

35. And I have from it intoxication before my creation
Ever with me it remains though the bones waste away

36. Take from it undiluted, and if you wish mix it
For your turning from wronging the beloved would be wrong

37. So put it to song and reveal it through
Melodious tunes, for with it they are profitable

38. For never has despair resided wherever it settled
Just so, grief has not settled with melody

39. And in an intoxication from it, even if for an hour’s life
You will see fate a submissive slave, and yours is the decree

40. So there is no life in the world for one who lives sober
And he who does not die drunk on it lacks resolve

41. Let him weep for himself who wastes his life
And has no share of it or portion or lot