لا تَبكِ بَعدَ تَفَرُّقِ الخُلَطاءِ

وَاِكسِر بِمائِكَ سَورَةَ الصَهباءِ

Do not weep after the parting of friends

Do not weep over the scattering of friends who depart,

And break the spell of sorrow with your tears

But break the reddish vintage's might with water's art.

فَإِذا رَأَيتَ خُضوعَها لِمِزاجِها

فَمُرَن يَدَيكَ بِعِفَّةٍ وَحَياءِ

When you see it submit to its constitution

And when you see her yield to the mixture's sway,

Restrain your hands with chastity and shyness

Direct your hands with grace and a modest way.

وَمُدامَةٍ سَجَدَ المُلوكَ لِذِكرِها

جَلَّت عَنِ التَصريحِ بِالأَسماءِ

With an intoxicant kings have bowed down before

A wine before whose mention kings bow down their heads,

Too exalted to be named explicitly

Too majestic to be named by what language spreads.

شَمطاءُ تَذكُرُ آدَماً مَع شيثِهِ

وَتُخَبِّرُ الأَخبارَ عَن حَوّاءِ

A brazen one who recalls Adam and his Seth

An ancient crone remembering Adam and his Seth,

And tells the tales of Eve unabashed

Who recounts the tales of Eve with every breath.

صاغَ المِزاجُ لَها مِثالَ زَبَرجَدٍ

مُتَأَلِّقٍ بِبَدائِعِ الأَضواءِ

Nature molded her in the form of aquamarine

The mixture molds a peridot form within the glass,

Dazzling with the wonders of lights

Sparkling with wonders of light that none surpass.

فَالخَمرُ فينا كَالبِجادي حُمرَةً

وَالكَأسُ مِن ياقوتَةٍ بَيضاءِ

So wine in us is like crimson silk

The wine among us glows like garnet, deep and red,

And the cup a white sapphire

Within a cup of white ruby, beautifully spread.

وَالكوبُ يَضحَكُ كَالغَزالِ مُسَبِّحاً

عِندَ الرُكوعِ بِلَثغَةِ الفَأفاءِ

The goblet laughs like a gazelle glorifying

The goblet laughs like a fawn in chanting prayer,

At the bow with a lisp of wonder

Bowing with a stuttering lisp upon the air.

وَكَأَنَّ أَقداحَ الزُجاجِ إِذا جَرَت

وَسطَ الظَلامِ كَواكِبُ الجَوزاءِ

And it's as if when the glass decanters flow

As though the crystal cups, as they circulate and run

Amid the darkness, they are stars in the Zodiac

Amidst the darkness, were the stars of Orion.

يَسعى بِها مَن وُلدِ يافِثِ أَحوَرٌ

كَقَضيبِ بانٍ فَوقَ دِعصِ نَقاءِ

They're brought by one born of limping Japheth

A wide-eyed son of Japheth bears the cup around,

Like a rod atop the udder of an immaculate she-camel

Like a willow branch above a dune of sandy ground.

وَفَتىً كَأَطوَعِ مَن رَأَيتَ إِذا اِنتَشى

غَنّى بِحُسنِ لَباقَةٍ وَحَياءِ

And a lad more docile than any you've seen

A youth most pliant to the will when wine takes hold,

When elated, sang of grace and propriety

He sings with fine elegance and modesty untold.

عَلِقَ الهَوى بِحَبائِلِ الشَعتاءِ

وَالمَوتُ بَعضُ حَبائِلِ الأَهواءِ

Passion clung to the ropes of the disheveled one

Passion clings to the snares of the disheveled fair,

While death clutched the ropes of desires

And death is but a part of passion’s fatal snare.