أَديرا عَلَيَّ الكَأسَ يَنقَشِّعُ الغَمُّ

وَلا تَحبِسا كَأسي فَفي حَبسِها إِثمُ

Pour me a cup, my worries melt away

Pass round the cup to me, so grief may vanish and depart,

Do not withhold my cup, for in withholding is sin

And do not hoard the wine from me; 'tis sin to keep it from my heart.

وَلا تَسقِياني بِنتَ عَشرٍ فَإِنَّها

كَما عُصِرَت لَم يَنسَ فُرقَتَها الكَرمُ

Do not give me wine less than ten years old

Pour not the daughter of ten years, for she is far too young,

For even when pressed, its separation was not forgotten by the generous vine

Fresh from the press, the vine still mourns the moment she was wrung.

وَلَكِن عَجوزاً بِنتَ كِسرى قَديمَةً

مُعَتَّقَةً قَد دَبَّ في طَيِّها الحِلمُ

Rather, an old lady, daughter of ancient kings

But serve a crone of Kisra's line, ancient and dignified,

Aged, in whose clay wisdom has crept

Matured by time, until deep wisdom creeps within her tide.

إِذا ذاقَها شُرّابُها بَجَّلوا لَها

بِأَلسُنِهِم شُكراً فَهُم عَرَبٌ عُجمُ

When her pourers taste her they praise her

And when her drinkers taste of her, they glorify her sway,

In their tongues with gratitude, though Arabs or foreigners

With thankful tongues, both Arab lords and strangers far away.

وَكَأسانِ قَد دارا عَلَيَّ مُؤَمَّرٌ

وَمُنتَخَبٌ هَذا فَصيلٌ وَذا قَرمُ

And two cups circulated unto me, pure

Two cups have circulated round: a prince of high degree,

Carefully selected, this a stallion, that a bay

And one a choice selection—like the colt and stallion free.

كَأَنّي وَقَد عَلَّقتُ كَفِّيَ مِنهُما

وَما فيهِما مِن حَربَةٍ لِلفَتى سِلمُ

As if I hung my hand from them

As though, when I had curled my hand around the curving brim,

And neither had a flaw for the excellent young man

And found the sharpness of a spear bringing but peace to him,

مُؤَلَّفُ شاهينٍ بِيُسرى بَنانِهِ

وَفي كَفِّهِ اليُمنى لِشاهينِهِ طُعمُ

The composer brings the goshawks gently

I were a falconer with bird perched on his left hand's tip,

In his right hand is a tidbit for his goshawk

While in his right he holds the lure to feed the falcon's grip.

يُديرُهُما دَعجاءُ رَودٌ وَأَدعَجٌ

أَخٌ وَاختُهُ في القَومِ وَاسمُهُما إِسمُ

They are turned by a frisky, playful, dark-eyed gazelle

They are passed by dark-eyed maiden and a dark-eyed youth of fame,

A sister and brother among the tribe, their name one

A brother and a sister here, who share a single name.

يُقالُ لَهُ مَعنٌ فَإِمّا نَكَستَهُ

لَتَدعو اختَهُ يَوماً فَمَنكوسَهُ نُعمُ

It is said to mean bliss, though if you deny it

For he is known as Ma'n to all, but if you turn it round,

You would one day call his sister denied bliss

You call his sister; in reverse, the name of Nu'm is found.