صاحِ ما لي وَلِلرُسومِ القِفارِ

وَلِنَعتِ المَطِيِّ وَالأَكوارِ

O friend! I care not for the desert's drawings

My friend, what use have I for desolate ruins,

Nor the camel driver's songs and tambourines

Or for the description of mounts and saddles?

شَغَلَتني المُدامُ وَالقَصفُ عَنها

وَقِراعُ الطُنبورِ وَالأَوتارِ

Wine and the morning cup have kept me from them

Aged wine and revelry have diverted me from them,

And the strumming tunes of strings and mandolines

Along with the strumming of the tanbur and the strings,

وَاِستِماعي الغِناءَ مِن كُلِّ خَودٍ

ذاتِ دَلٍّ بِطَرفِها السَحّارِ

Hearing the singing of a tender-glanced beauty

And listening to the song of every tender maiden

With a charm in her eyes that captivates and means

Possessed of coquetry and a bewitching gaze.

فَدَعوني فَذاكَ أَشهى وَأَحلى

مِن سُؤالِ التُرابِ وَالأَحجارِ

So leave me be, for that is far more pleasing

So leave me be, for this is more savory and sweet

Than asking the earth, the rocks and terrains

Than questioning the scattered dust and stones.