أَعاذِلَ ما عَلى وَجهي قُتومُ

وَلا عِرضي لِأَوَّلِ مَن يَسومُ

I am innocent of what appears on my cheek as a scar

O she who blames, no dust of shame obscures my face,

And my honor is not for the first slanderer

Nor is my honor cheap for the first who seeks to bid.

يُفَضِّلُني عَلى الفِتيانِ أَنّي

أَبيتُ فَلا أُلامُ وَلا أُليمُ

He prefers me over the youths for I have stayed up at night

What sets me high above the common youths is this:

So I am not blamed nor do I feel regret

I pass the night giving no cause for blame, nor casting it.

أَعاذِلَ إِن يَكُن بُردايَ رَثّا

فَلا يَعدِمكَ بَينَهُما كَريمُ

I am innocent, if my cloak is worn out

O blamer, though the cloak I wear is worn and thin,

A generous soul would not find fault between its threads

Yet wrapped within, you’ll find a spirit noble and true.

شُقِقتُ مِنَ الصِبا وَاِشتُقَّ مِنّي

كَما اِشتُقَّت مِنَ الكَرَمِ الكُرومُ

I have been weaned from youth and it has been weaned from me

I was hewn from youthful passion, and it from me,

As the berries have been weaned from the vines

As the generous vine is named for generosity.

فَلَستُ أُسَوِّفُ اللَذّاتِ نَفسي

مُياوَمَةً كَما دُفِعَ الغَريمُ

I do not procrastinate in enjoying life’s pleasures

I do not make my soul wait long for its delights,

Like one who pays off his enemy bit by bit

Deferring day by day, as debtors delay their dues.

وَلا بِمُدافِعٍ بِالكَأسِ حَتّى

يُهَيِّجَني عَلى الطَرَبِ النَديمُ

Nor with a drinking companion who inspires me to music

Nor do I push aside the cup, waiting until

And delight until the boon reveler arouses me

My boon companion stirs me to a state of bliss.

وَمُتَّصِلٍ بِأَسبابِ المَعالي

لَهُ في كُلِّ مَكرُمَةٍ قَديمُ

But with one well-connected in doing good deeds

I am allied with one tied to the cords of glory,

For every act of kindness, he has pedigree

Who holds an ancient claim to every noble deed.

رَفَعتُ لَهُ النِداءَ بِقُم فَخُذها

وَقَد أَخَذَت مَطالِعَها النُجومُ

I summoned him: “Arise and take it!”

I called aloud to him: "Arise and take the draught,"

For its auspicious times have risen like stars

While stars were climbing to their stations in the night.

بِتَفدِيَةٍ تُذالُ النَفسُ فيها

وَتُمتَهَنُ الخُؤولَةُ وَالعُمومُ

With a ransom that humbles the soul

With words of ransom, wherein the soul is freely spent,

And demeans the cowardly and commoners

And highest kin are pledged away in reckless oaths.

فَقامَ وَقُمتُ مِن أَخَوَينِ هاجا

عَلى طَرَبٍ وَلَيلُهُما بَهيمُ

So he arose and I arose, two passion-roused brothers

He rose, and I rose too—two brothers stirred to life,

In delight on a night made for them

By wine's delight, while yet the night was pitch and black.

أَجُرُّ الزِقَّ وَهوَ يَجُرُّ رِجلاً

يَجورُ بِها النُعاسُ وَيَستَقيمُ

I pull the train of my gown while he pulls my leg

I dragged the heavy wineskin; he dragged a weary foot,

Drowsiness makes it deviate then straightens

Which slumber caused to swerve, then again to straighten.

سَلِ النُدمانَ ما أَولَتهُ مِنها

وَسَلها ما اِحتَوى مِنها الكَريمُ

Ask the two repentants what she granted him

Ask the companions what the vintage wrought on him,

And ask her what she contained for the generous one

And ask the wine how much of it the noble held.

كِلا الشَخصَينِ مُنتَصِفٌ وَلَكِن

قَضَت وَطَراً وَذا مِنها سَقيمُ

The two persons share halfway but

Both rivals fought a balanced bout, but in the end,

Fate has granted one health and the other sickness

She took her fill of triumph, leaving him subdued.