وَحَمراءَ كَالياقوتِ بِتُّ أَشُجُّها

وَكادَت بِكَفّي في الزُجاجَةِ أَن تُدمي

Red like ruby, her branches nearly bled my palms,

And a red wine like a ruby, which I spent the night tempering,

As I placed her in the glass.

That nearly seemed to bleed within the glass in my palm.

فَأَحسِن بِها شَيخوخَةً في إِنائِها

وَأَلطِف بِها بَينَ المَفاصِلِ وَالعَظمِ

Let her age gracefully in her vessel,

How excellent is its aging within its vessel,

And move gently between joints and bones.

And how subtle its coursing between the joints and the bone.

تُغازِلُ عَقلَ المَرءِ قَبلَ ابتِسامِهِ

وَتَخدَعُهُ عَن لُبِّهِ وَعَنِ الحِلمِ

She teases the mind before bringing a smile,

It flirts with a man's intellect before he even smiles,

And distracts it from essence and wisdom,

And beguiles him of his core reason and his restraint.

وَعَنهُ يَسيلُ الهَمَّ أَوَّلَ أَوَّلاً

وَإِن كانَ مَسجورَ الجَوانِحِ بِالهَمِّ

The worries pour from it at first sip,

From him it drains away sorrow, bit by bit,

Even if grief has cast spells on its life,

Even if his ribs were stoked with the fire of anguish.

وَيَنساقُ لِلجَدوى وَإِن كانَ مُمسِكاً

وَيُظهِرُ إِكثاراً وَإِن كانَ ذا عُدمِ

And it rushes to futility though self-restrained,

He yields to generosity, even if he were a miser,

Feigning excess though needy,

And displays abundance, though he be destitute.

كَذاكَ عَلِمتُ الراحَ ما الغَيثُ في الظَما

بِأَنفَعَ مِنها في الطَبيعَةِ وَالجِسمِ

Thus I learned, drought knows rain's greater blessing,

Thus have I known wine; the rain in times of thirst

To nature and the body it brings.

Is not more beneficial to the spirit and body than she.