لا تجرّدْ عليّ مرهفَ جَفْني

كَ فعندي عليكَ قلبُ جبانِ

Do not bare your blade against me,

For I have a faint heart towards you.

أنا إمّا حيٌّ ينفخ المزامي

رَ وإما ميْتٌ يجس المثاني

Whether I am alive, blowing the flutes,

Or dead, searching the guts,

وإذا حُثَّتِ الكؤوسُ وجالَتْ

كنتَ لا شكّ فارسَ المَيْدانِ

And when the cups are passed around and circulating,

You are, no doubt, the knight of the arena.

ما لِقَلبي على قِراعِكَ صبرٌ

لا ولو كان في حِمى رضْوانِ

My heart has no patience for your trouble,

No, even if it were in the safekeeping of the Merciful.

ملكٌ شاعرُ السماحِ تَراهُ

فيه يُبدي لنا دقيقَ المَعاني

A king, the poet of generosity, you see him

Displaying to us the most delicate of meanings.