وساقيَةٍ تَسْقي النّدَامَى بمدّها

كُؤوساً مِنَ الصَّهباءِ طاغِيَةَ السُّكرِ

A jug that quenches the thirst of revelers

With goblets of sparkling wine intoxicating with drunkenness

يُعَوَّمُ فيها كُلُّ جامٍ كَأَنَّما

تَضَمّنَ رُوحُ الشَّمسِ في جَسَدِ البَدرِ

In each cup floats as though

The spirit of the sun embraced the body of the full moon

إِذا قَصَدتْ مِنَّا نَديماً زجاجةٌ

تَناوَلَها رِفقاً بِأَنمُلِهِ العَشرِ

When a bottle comes to one of us

He takes it gently in his ten fingers

فَيَشرَبُ مِنها سَكرَةً عِنَبِيَّةً

تُنَّوِمُ عَيْنَ الصَّحوِ مِنهُ وما يَدري

And drinks from it a grape drunkenness

That puts to sleep wakeful eyes without him knowing

وَيُرْسِلُهَا في مائِها فيُعِيدُهَا

إِلى رَاحَتي ساقٍ على حُكمِهِ تَجري

And he sends it back in its water and returns it

To the stillness of my leg upon whose rule it flows

جَعَلنا عَلى شُرْبِ العُقَار سَمَاعَنَا

لُحوناً تُغَنّيها الطُّيورُ بِلا شعرِ

We have made our hearing upon drinking wine

Melodies sung by birds without poetry

وساقيَنَا ماءً ينيلُ بلا يدٍ

وَمَشروبَنَا ناراً تُضيءُ بِلا جَمرِ

And our cupbearer is water that pours without hands

And our drink is fire that illuminates without embers

سَقانا مَسَرّاتٍ فَكَانَ جَزاؤهُ

عَلَيها لَدَينا أنْ سَقَيناهُ لِلبَحرِ

He gave us pleasures, so his reward from us

Is that we gave him to drink from the sea

كَأَنَّا على شَطِّ الخَليجِ مَدائِنٌ

تُسافِرُ فيما بَينَنا سُفُنُ الخَمرِ

As though we on the shore of the gulf are cities

Ships of wine travel between us

وما العَيشُ إلّا في تَطَرُّفِ لَذَّةٍ

وَخَلْعِ عِذَارٍ فيه مُسْتَحْسَنُ العذر

Life is but in the extremity of pleasure

And defiance of chastity in which excuse is seemly