ربَّ صفراء علَّلتني بصفرا

ء وجِنْح الظلام جَوْن الإزار

A blonde has made me lovesick with yellowness, and the wing of darkness the color of my robe,

Between water and garden and vineyards,

بين ماءٍ وروضةٍ وكُرومٍ

وقِبابٍ مِنيفةٍ وصحارى

And graceful domes and deserts,

Where the branches bend over us,

تتثنى بها الغصونُ علينا

وتجِيب القِيانَ فيها القمارى

And the gamblers are awakened there by the singing girls.

It is as if the darkness were the tresses of her hair,

وكأن الدجى غدائر شَعْرٍ

وكأن النجوم فيه مَدارِى

And the stars shining in it were her jewelry.

The clouds uncovered a crescent moon which appeared

وأنجلى الغيمُ عن هلالٍ تبدّى

في يد الأُفْق مثلَ نصف سِوارِ

In the hand of the horizon like half a bracelet,

So give me to drink, for I seek vengeance with drinking, and for events, vengeance.

فاسقِيانِي فإنني أطلب المج

د بثارٍ والحادثاتِ بثارِ

If they were not human, they would suit nothing but the moons.

I give them to drink while they give me the comfort, to the tune of the well-strung strings,

وندامى لو لم يكونوا من الإن

س لما ناسبوا سوى الأقمار

On a carpet the talk came into view,

Like clover plants among the blossoms.

بتُّ أسقِيهم ويسقونني الرا

ح على طِيب صحَّة الأوتار

We did not cease to sip the goblets until the night was buried in the heart of the day.

وبساطٍ من الحديث تبدّى

كنباتِ النِسْرين بين البَهَار

لم نزل نلثم الكؤوس إلى أن

دُفِن الليل في فؤاد النهار