وَدارِ نَدامى عَطَّلوها وَأَدلَجوا

بِها أَثَرٌ مِنهُم جَديدٌ وَدارِسُ

And many a house of drinking companions, left void as they journeyed by night,

Bearing traces of them, some still fresh and others effaced;

مَساحِبُ مِن جَرِّ الزَقاقِ عَلى الثَرى

وَأَضغاثُ ريحانٍ جَنِيٌّ وَيابِسُ

Tracks where heavy wine-skins were dragged across the dust,

And handfuls of sweet basil, some freshly plucked, others withered.

حَبَستُ بِها صَحبي فَجَدَّدتُ عَهدَهُم

وَإِنّي عَلى أَمثالِ تِلكَ لَحابِسُ

I halted my comrades there, renewing the memory of those who left,

For indeed, at sites like these, I am bound to linger.

وَلَم أَدرِ مَن هُم غَيرَ ماشَهِدَت بِهِ

بِشَرقَيِّ ساباطَ الدِيارُ البَسابِسُ

I knew not who they were, save for what was witnessed

By the desolate dwellings lying to the east of Sabat.

أَقَمنا بِها يَوماً وَيَوماً وَثالِثاً

وَيَوماً لَهُ يَومُ التَرَحُّلِ خامِسُ

We stayed there a day, and a day, and a third,

And a day making four, followed by a fifth for departure.

تُدارُ عَلَينا الراحُ في عَسجَدِيَّةٍ

حَبَتها بِأَلوانِ التَصاويرِ فارِسُ

The wine was passed among us in a golden vessel

Which Persia had endowed with images of many hues;

قَرارَتُها كِسرى وَفي جَنَباتِها

مَهاً تَدَّريها بِالقِسِيِّ الفَوارِسُ

In its hollow sits Khosrow, while upon its flanks

Are wild oryx that horsemen are stalking with bows.

فَلِلخَمرِ مازُرَّت عَلَيهِ جُيوبُها

وَلِلماءِ مادارَت عَلَيهِ القَلانِسُ

So the wine covers what lies beneath their buttoned collars,

While the water rises to where the tall caps circle.