خليليَ أقعد للصبوح ولا تقل

قفا نبكِ من ذكرى حبيب ومنزلِ

My friend, sit in the morn and do not say,

Sit for the morning cup, my friend, and do not say to me:

"Stand, let us weep at the memory of a beloved and abode."

'Halt, let us weep over the memory of a beloved and an encampment,'

ويا ربّ لا تُنبت ولا تُسقط الحيا

بسقطِ اللوى بين الدخول فحومل

O Lord, do not let the serpent shed its skin or fall,

And O Lord, let no grass grow nor refreshing rain fall

At the falling of the banners between going in and pregnancy.

Upon Saqt al-Liwa, between al-Dakhul and Hawmal.

ولا تقرِ مقراةَ امرىء القيس قطرةً

من المزن وارجم ساكنيها بجندل

Do not settle, like the settlement of Imru’ al-Qais, a drop

Grant not a single drop to the pool of Imru' al-Qais

Of rain from the clouds, and stone its residents with hailstones.

From the rain-clouds, but stone its dwellers with gravel.

نصيبيَ منها للنعام وللمَها

واللذئبِ يعوي كالطريد المؤلولِ

My share of it is for ostriches and foxes,

Let the ostriches and the wild oryx take my share of it,

The wolves howling like frightened beasts.

And the wolf that howls like an outcast, hunted and wailing.

ولكن ديار اللهوِ يا ربّ فاسقِها

ودرّ على خضرائِها كل جدوَل

But the lands of revelry, O Lord, water them,

But the abodes of revelry, O Lord, send rain upon them,

And pour upon their greenery every stream—

And let every stream flow freely through their verdant grounds.

بهيتٍ وعاناتٍ وبنّي ودسكر

وقطربل ذات الرحيق المُفَلفَلِ

Beautiful, suffering, date palms and chamomile,

In Hit, and 'Anat, and Binni, and Daskar,

And clovewhose scent is pungent—

And Qutrabbul, home of the biting, peppered vintage.

على كلّ محسورِ الذراع سمَيذَعِ

جوادٍ بما يحويه غير مبخّلِ

Upon every disabled person extend

Pour for every noble youth with bared arm, generous of spirit,

A generous horse with an unstinting hoard.

Open-handed with all he possesses, never holding back.

قليل هموم القلبِ إلّا للذّة

ينعّمُ نفساً آذنت بتنقّل

The worries of the heart are few, except for pleasure

His heart bears few burdens, save the pursuit of pleasure,

That gives comfort to a soul inclined to amusement.

Indulging a soul that knows its departure is nigh.

فإن تطلبيهِ تقتضيهِ بحانةٍ

كمثل سراج لاحَ في الليل مشعَل

If you seek it, you will find it in a tavern,

Should you seek him, you will find him within a tavern,

Like a lamp shining in the night.

Glowing like a lamp that shines bright in the night.

ولستَ تراهُ سائلاً عن خليقةٍ

ولا قائلاً من يُعزلونَ ومَن يلي

You will not see him asking about a creature,

You will not see him inquiring about the nature of men,

Or saying, “Who should be brought near and who kept away?”

Nor discussing who has been deposed and who now rules.

ولا صائحاً كالعَير في يوم لذةٍ

يناظرُ في تفضيل عثمان أو علي

Nor clamoring on a day of joy like a camel train,

Nor braying loud as a wild ass on a day of joy,

Looking into the preference of ‘Othman or ‘Ali.

Debating the merits of 'Uthman versus 'Ali.

ولا لابساً تقديمَ شمسٍ وكوكب

ليعرفَ إحياءَ العلوّ من أسفل

Nor wearing the precedence of a sun or planet

Nor wearying himself with the positions of sun and star,

To know the revival of the highest from lowest.

To discern the ascendant signs from the descendant.

يقومُ بأوقاتِ الظهيرة مائلاً

يقلب في أسطر لابه عينَ أحوَل

He stands at midday leaning over,

Standing at the hour of noon, bending and leaning,

Turning in the lines of his tears an awl-like eye.

Scanning the lines of his astrolabe with a squinting eye.

ولكنّهُ فيما عناهُ وسرَّهُ

وفي غير ما يعنيه فهو بمعزَل

But in what he cares about and his secret,

Nay, he is absorbed only in what concerns and delights him,

And in other than his concerns, he is aloof.

And from all that concerns him not, he stands apart.