إِذا ما الكَأسُ أَرعَشَتِ اليَدَينِ

صَحَوتُ فَلَم تَحُل بَيني وَبَيني

When the cup makes my hands tremble,

When the goblet made my hands begin to tremble,

I awake, and nothing comes between myself and I.

I sobered, lest it stand between me and myself.

هَجَرتُ الخَمرَ كَالذَهَبِ المُصَفّى

فَخَمري ماءُ مُزنٍ كَاللُجَينِ

I abandoned wine like purified gold,

I abandoned wine that gleamed like refined gold,

So my wine is clear water like melted pearls.

And now my vintage is cloud-water, clear as silver.

أَغارُ مِنَ الزُجاجَةِ وَهيَ تَجري

عَلى شَفَةِ الأَميرِ أَبي الحُسَينِ

I am jealous of the bottle as it flows

I am jealous of the glass as it flows freely

On the lips of Prince Abul Hussein.

Upon the lips of the Prince, Abu al-Husayn;

كَأَنَّ بَياضَها وَالراحُ فيها

بَياضٌ مُحدِقٌ بِسَوادِ عَينِ

As if its whiteness and the spirit within,

As if its crystal whiteness and the wine within

Are a shining whiteness staring into the blackness of an eye.

Were the white of an eye encircling the dark pupil.

أَتَيناهُ نُطالِبُهُ بِرِفدٍ

يُطالِبُ نَفسَهُ مِنهُ بِدَينِ

We came to him seeking aid,

We came to him to ask a boon of grace,

While he seeks from himself a debt.

And he demands it of himself as one repays a debt.