عَدِمتُ أَبا الذَيّالِ مِن ذي نَوالَةٍ

لَهُ في بُيوتِ العاهِراتِ طَريقُ

I blamed Abu Dhiyāl, a frequenter of brothels,

He who travels the road to houses of harlots.

أَبا الخَمرِ عَيَّرتَ اِمرَأً لَيسَ مُقلِعاً

وَذَلِكَ رَأيٌ لَو عَلِمتَ وَثيقُ

Abu al-Khamr, you reproached a man who isn’t a teetotaler -

That’s an opinion which, had you known better, you wouldn’t keep.

سَأَشرَبُها ما دُمتُ حَيّاً فَإِن أَمُت

فَفي النَفسِ مِنها زَفرَةٌ وَشَهيقُ

I’ll drink it as long as I live, and if I die,

My soul will exhale and inhale it one final time.