دَمُ الكرمِ في الكاس أم عَنْدمُ

دَمُ الكرمِ في الكاس أم عَنْدمُ

به تُخْضَبُ الكفّ والمِعْصَمُ

به تُخْضَبُ الكفّ والمِعْصَمُ

Is that the grapevine’s blood in the cup—or dragon’s-blood dye?

Is it the vine's blood in the cup, or crimson dye

With it the palm and wrist are stained.

with which the palm and wrist are stained?

أصفراءُ يَبْيَضّ منها الحباب

أصفراءُ يَبْيَضّ منها الحباب

أمِ الشمسُ عن أنجمٍ تبسِمُ

أمِ الشمسُ عن أنجمٍ تبسِمُ

Is she golden, while her bubbles whiten,

Is it golden wine, its bubbles turning white,

or the sun smiling among stars?

or the sun smiling to reveal stars?

وتلك شقيقةُ روحِ الفتى

وتلك شقيقةُ روحِ الفتى

إذا وُجِدَتْ فالأسَى يُعْدَمُ

إذا وُجِدَتْ فالأسَى يُعْدَمُ

She is the kindred sister of the young man’s spirit;

And that is the sister of the young man's soul;

when she is found, sorrow ceases to be.

when it is found, sorrow disappears.

تُلامُ على شُرْبِ مشمولةٍ

تُلامُ على شُرْبِ مشمولةٍ

ولم يدرِ ما سرّها اللّوَّمُ

ولم يدرِ ما سرّها اللّوَّمُ

For drinking her—praiseworthy though she is—you are blamed,

You are reproached for drinking north-wind-cooled wine,

though even the inspired knows nothing of her secret.

yet the reproachers do not know what its secret is.

خبيئةُ دنّ سناها المنيرُ

خبيئةُ دنّ سناها المنيرُ

محيطٌ به قارها المظلمُ

محيطٌ به قارها المظلمُ

A treasure hidden in a jar—her luminous splendor

A treasure hidden in a wine-jar—its shining radiance

encircled by the jar’s dark pitch.

is surrounded by its dark pitch.

وَقَد كَثُر القولُ في عمرها

وَقَد كَثُر القولُ في عمرها

ولم يُدْرَ عاصرُها الأزلمُ

ولم يُدْرَ عاصرُها الأزلمُ

Much has been said about her age,

Much has indeed been said about its age,

yet the most ancient age knows nothing of her time.

yet its presser is unknown even to ageless Time.

يقهقهُ في الصبّ إبريقُها

يقهقهُ في الصبّ إبريقُها

كما هَدَرَ البازلُ المُقْرَمُ

كما هَدَرَ البازلُ المُقْرَمُ

Her ewer guffaws as it pours,

Its ewer guffaws as it pours,

as a full-grown camel bellows.

as a mature stud camel bellows.

إذا انبعثتْ منه قال النّديم

إذا انبعثتْ منه قال النّديم

أَيَنسابُ من فَمِهِ أَرقَمُ

أَيَنسابُ من فَمِهِ أَرقَمُ

When she streams from it, the boon companion cries,

When it gushes from the ewer, the drinking companion says:

“Is that a speckled serpent gliding from its mouth?”

Is a speckled serpent gliding from its mouth?

يبيتُ لها سَهَرٌ في العروقِ

يبيتُ لها سَهَرٌ في العروقِ

وأعينُ شُرّابِها نُوّمُ

وأعينُ شُرّابِها نُوّمُ

For her, wakefulness spends the night in the veins,

It keeps vigil all night within the veins,

while sleep fills the eyes of those who drink her.

while its drinkers' eyes are asleep.

كَأَنَّ لها فيْ خَفِيّ الدّبيبِ

كَأَنَّ لها فيْ خَفِيّ الدّبيبِ

نمالاً مساكِنُها الأعظُمُ

نمالاً مساكِنُها الأعظُمُ

It is as though, in her stealthy creeping,

As though, in its stealthy creeping, it had

ants had made their dwellings in the bones.

ants whose dwellings are the bones.

يطوفُ بها رشأ أحْوَرٌ

يطوفُ بها رشأ أحْوَرٌ

لمقلتهِ الليثُ مُستسلمُ

لمقلتهِ الليثُ مُستسلمُ

A dark-eyed fawn bears her round;

A dark-eyed young gazelle carries it round;

before his gaze, the lion submits.

the lion submits to his gaze.

وتلحظُ بالسحرِ منه الجفونُ

وتلحظُ بالسحرِ منه الجفونُ

ويلفظُ بالدّرّ منه الفمُ

ويلفظُ بالدّرّ منه الفمُ

His eyelids cast bewitching glances,

And his eyelids glance with enchantment,

and his mouth scatters pearls,

and his mouth speaks pearls.

بفَوّاحَةِ الزّهْرِ مُخْضَلّةٍ

بفَوّاحَةِ الزّهْرِ مُخْضَلّةٍ

تُجادُ معَ الصّبْحِ أو تُرْهُمُ

تُجادُ معَ الصّبْحِ أو تُرْهُمُ

amid fragrant blossoms drenched with moisture,

In a flower-fragrant, rain-soaked garden,

lavishly showered at dawn or softly drizzled upon.

drenched at dawn by downpours or fine rain,

كأنّ لها في طباقِ الثّرى

كأنّ لها في طباقِ الثّرى

بأيدي الحيا حُللاً تُرْقَمُ

بأيدي الحيا حُللاً تُرْقَمُ

As though beneath the earth’s layered folds they had

as though, in the layers of the earth, it had

robes embroidered by the hands of life-giving rain—

robes embroidered by the hands of rain.

على شدواتِ طيورٍ فصاحٍ

على شدواتِ طيورٍ فصاحٍ

على أنّ أفْصَحَها أعْجَمُ

على أنّ أفْصَحَها أعْجَمُ

all to the warblings of eloquent birds,

To the songs of eloquent birds,

though the most eloquent among them is inarticulate.

though the most eloquent of them is inarticulate.

لهنّ أعاريضُ عند الخليل

لهنّ أعاريضُ عند الخليل

مُهْمَلَةُ الوزنِ لا تُعْلَمُ

مُهْمَلَةُ الوزنِ لا تُعْلَمُ

In al-Khalil’s reckoning, their songs have metrical patterns,

They have metrical patterns that, to al-Khalil,

yet, heedless of meter, they know it not.

are unclassified in meter and remain unknown.

ترجِّعُ فيها ضروبَ اللحونِ

ترجِّعُ فيها ضروبَ اللحونِ

فَتُطْرِبُنا وَهْيَ لا تفهمُ

فَتُطْرِبُنا وَهْيَ لا تفهمُ

Within them they repeat the varied modes of melody

In them they trill many kinds of melody,

and enrapture us, though they understand nothing.

so they delight us, though they do not understand.