يا أَيُّها المَغرورُ لَبَّ مِنَ الحِجى

وَإِذا دَعاكَ إِلى التُقى داعٍ فَلَب

O you who are deluded, abstain from sinful ways

And when one calls you to piety, respond to his plea

إِنَّ الشُرورَ لَكَالسَحابَةِ أَثجَمَت

لاكِ السُرورُ كَأَنَّهُ بَرقٌ خَلَب

Evil is like a gloomy cloud that has gathered

While good fortune is like a twinkling star

وَأَبُرُّ مِن شُربِ المَدامَةِ صُفِّنَت

في عَسجَدٍ شُربُ الرَثيئَةِ في العُلَب

Drinking pure wine in a goblet is better

Than drinking fermented date juice in flasks

جاءَتكَ مِثلَ دَمِ الغَزالِ بِكَأسِها

مَقتولَةً قَتَلَتكَ فالَهُ عَنِ السَلب

It comes to you like the blood of a gazelle in a cup

Slain, though you are spared from plunder

حَلَبِيَّةٌ في النِسبَتَينِ لِأَنَّها

حَلَبُ الكُرومِ وَأَنَّ مَوطِنَها حَلَب

A woman from Aleppo in lineage and in name

For Aleppo is known for its vineyards and its grapes

وَالعَقلُ أَنفَسُ ما حُبيتَ وَإِن يُضَع

يَوماً يَضَع فَغوى الشَرابِ وَما حَلَب

Reason is the most precious thing you are endowed with

Though one day, it fails before drink and fermented grapes

وَالنَفسُ تَعلَمُ أَنَّها مَطلوبَةٌ

بِالحادِثاتِ فَما تُراعُ مِنَ الطَلَب

The soul knows it is answerable

For occurrences, so it no longer seeks

وَالدَهرُ أَرقَمُ بِالصَباحِ وَبِالدُجى

كَالصِلِّ يَفتُكُ بِاللَديغِ إِذا اِنقَلَب

Fate is fickle, in dusk and dawn

Like a serpent, it fatally strikes when least expected

وَأَرى المُلوكَ ذَوي المَراتِبِ غالَبوا

أَيّامَهُم فَاِنظُر بِعَيشِكَ مِن غَلَب

I see kings of high rank, they spent

Their days, so look to your life and what it yields

سِيّانَ عِندي مادِحٌ مُتَخَرِّصٌ

في قَولِهِ وَأَخو الهِجاءِ إِذا ثَلَب

Flatterers and critics are equal to me

In their words, though one adorns and one maligns