أَدِرِ الْكَاسَاتِ مِنْ خَمْرِ اللّعَسْ

يَا لَهَا مِنْ رَاحْ

Turn the cups with the wine of joy,

Pass around the cups of wine from those dark-crimson lips,

Oh what a wonderful scent,

Oh, what exquisite wine it is,

تَحْكِي الْجُلَّنَارْ

وَاسْقِنِيهَا خَمْرَةً تَجْلُو النَّفَسْ

Telling of our nights together,

Resembling the blossom of the pomegranate.

Pour me some wine to soothe my soul,

And pour it for me, a wine that clears the soul,

عَلَّنِي أَرْتَاحْ

مِنْ حَرِّ الأُوَارْ

Let me find some rest,

So that I might find relief

From the heat of passions,

From the heat of this blazing fire.

بَأَبِي ظَبْيٌ رَمَانِي بِسِهَامْ

رِيشُهَا الأَهْدَابْ

By my father a gazelle has shot me with arrows,

I would give my father for a gazelle who struck me with arrows,

Her eyelashes as feathers,

Whose fletchings are his eyelashes,

تَبْرِي الأَفْئِدَهْ

مَزَّقَ الْقَلْبَ الْكَئِيبَ الْمُسْتَهَامْ

Piercing hearts,

Piercing deeply through hearts.

She tore apart my sad, bewildered heart,

He tore apart my sorrowful, infatuated heart,

إِذْ رَنَا وَانْسَابْ

سَيْفٌ جَرَّدَهْ

When she glanced and slipped away,

When he cast a glance, gliding smoothly,

A sword she unsheathed,

Like a sword he had unsheathed.

عَنْبَرِيُّ الْخَالِ مِسْكِيُّ الْخِتَامْ

يُذْهِلُ الأَلْبَابْ

Ambergris is her mole, musk is her seal,

His mole is like ambergris, and his seal is of musk,

Bewitching all minds,

Bewildering to the minds,

دُرٌّ نَضَّدَهْ

هِمْتُ وَجْداً مِنْ سَنَاهُ الْمُقْتَبَسْ

A pearl she has adorned,

Like pearls he has perfectly arranged.

I craved her radiance from the rising dawn,

I wandered madly in love from his radiance, borrowed

مِنْ سَنَا الإِصْبَاحْ

أَوْ بَدْرٍ أَنَارْ

Or a moon lighting up the dark,

From the glow of the morning dawn,

When her blossoming mouth opened like embers,

Or an illuminating full moon.

لاَحَ حِينَ افْتَرَّ ثَغْرٌ كَالْقَبَسْ

أَزْهَرٌ وَضَّاحْ

A flower in full bloom,

It gleamed when a mouth like a firebrand smiled,

More brilliant than fiery coals,

Luminous and brilliant,

أَذْكَى زَنْدَ نَارْ

نَرْجِسِيُّ اللَّحْظِ وَرْدِيُّ الْوَجْنَتَيْنْ

A narcissus is her glancing eye, a rose her two cheeks,

Kindling the sparks of a fire.

Dyed with hearts’ blood,

Narcissus-like in his glance, rosy in his cheeks,

بِدَمِ الأَكْبَادْ

أَزْرَتْ بِالشَّقِيقْ

Adorned with anemones,

Tinted with the blood of yearning hearts,

A full moon of beauty above a branch of two curves,

Putting the red anemones to shame.

بَدْرُ حُسْنٍ فَوْقَ غُصْنٍ مِنْ لُجَيْنْ

مَائِلٌ مَيَّادْ

Inclined gently swaying,

A full moon of beauty atop a branch of silver,

For the radiant crescent,

Swaying gracefully,

لِلْبَانِ شَقِيقْ

مُذْ نَضَا نَحْوِي سَيْفَ الْمُقْلَتَيْنْ

Since she raised towards me the sword of her eyes,

A true brother to the ban tree.

My bones have weakened,

Ever since he drew the sword of his eyes toward me,

أَوْهَنَ الأَعْضَادْ

وَاشْتَدَّ الْحَرِيقْ

And the fires grow stronger,

He has weakened my strength,

My patience is spent craving the gazelle of delight,

And the inferno has grown fierce.

عِيلَ صَبْرِي فِي هَوَى ظَبْيِ الأَنَسْ

وَالْحِجَا قَدْ رَاحْ

As passion has triumphed,

My patience is exhausted in love for this gentle gazelle,

Since she traveled from her homeland,

And reason has completely departed,

مُذْ شَطَّ الْمَزَارْ

وَرَذَاذُ الدَّمْعِ مِنْ عَيْنِي انْبَجَسْ

And tears rain from my eyes unceasingly,

Ever since the place of our meeting grew distant.

As love exposes all,

And a drizzle of tears has gushed from my eye,

وَالَْهَوَى فَضَّاحْ

لاَ يُخْفِي اسْتِتَارْ

Laying all feelings bare.

For passion is a betrayer of secrets,

And no concealment can hide it.