أَما تَرى الشَمسَ حَلَّتِ الحَمَلا

وَقامَ وَزنُ الزَمانِ فَاِعتَدَلا

Behold the sun descending, bearing night's pall,

Do you not see that the sun has entered the sign of the Ram,

And the scales of time now poised and equal.

And the scales of time have risen to find their balance?

وَغَنَّتِ الطَيرُ بَعدَ عُجمَتِها

وَاِستَوفَتِ الخَمرُ حَولَها كَمَلا

The birds twitter their end to silence's fall,

The birds have broken into song after their silence,

The wine fulfills itself, pure, crystal.

And the wine has fulfilled its cycle, completing a full year.

وَاِكتَسَتِ الأَرضُ مِن زَخارِفِها

وَشيَ نَباتٍ تَخالُهُ حُلَلا

Earth arrays herself in fabric bejeweled;

The earth has clothed itself in its finest ornaments,

All April's progeny don gay apparel.

An embroidery of flora you would mistake for woven robes.

فَاِشرَب عَلى جِدَّةِ الزَمانِ فَقَد

أَصبَحَ وَجهُ الزَمانِ مُقتَبِلا

Then drink in morning's prime, drink deep and well,

So drink to the freshness of the season, for behold,

When dawn's face beams, a sunbeam parallel.

The face of Time has turned to greet us with a smile.

كَرخِيَّةٌ تَترُكُ الطَويلَ مِنَ ال

عَيشِ قَصيراً وَتَبسُطُ الأَمَلا

Like the Gazelle grazing on Life's fresh fill,

A vintage of Karkh that renders the long span of life

Then bounding far to Hope's wide perimeter.

Brief and fleeting, while unfurling the wings of hope;

تَلعَبُ لِعبَ السَرابِ في قَدَحِ ال

قَومِ إِذا ما حَبابُها اِتَّصَلا

A mirage playing in the wine-filled bowl

It plays the trick of a mirage within the revelers' cup

When the drinker's fancy joins its images.

Whenever the ring of its bubbles links together.

يَقولُ صَرِّف إِذا مَزَجتَ لَهُ

مَن لَم يَكُن لِلكَثيرِ مُحتَمِلا

"Blend well," advises the Cup-bearer, "for one

He says, "Temper it well," when you mix the draft for him—

Who lacks capacity spills the brimming cup."

The one who possesses no strength for the potent flow.

عُجنا بِثِنتَينِ مِن طَبائِعِها

حُسناً وَطيباً تَرى بِهِ المَثَلا

Let two natures blend: beauty and excellence.

We have turned to two of its essential natures:

Behold in each its paragon and symbol.

A beauty and a fragrance that set the proverb for perfection.