إذا آنَسَ الناسَ ما يجمعونَ

أنِستُ بما يجمعُ الدفترُ

When people delight in what they gather,

I delight in what the notebook gathers.

له وطري وله لذَّتي

على الكأس والكأسُ لا تحضُرُ

It has my passion and my pleasure—

The cup, though the cup does not appear.

تدورُ على الشرب محمودةً

لها الموردُ الخرقُ والمَصدَرُ

It revolves around drinking, praised,

With supply, streaming, flowing.

يُغَنّيهِمُ ساحرُ المقلتينِ

كشمس الضحى طرفُهُ أحورُ

The charmer of the two curled mustaches sings to them

Like the morning sun, its glance languid.

وريحانُهُم طيبُ أخلاقهم

وعندَهُم الوردُ والعَبهَرُ

Their basil is the fragrance of their good morals,

And they have roses and perfumed dust.

على أنَّ هِمَّتَنا في الحروفِ

فتلكَ الصناعةُ والمتَجَرُ

Yet our ambition is in letters—

That is the craft and the merchandise.