أصبحتُ جذلانَ طيّبَ العَرَبَهْ

والكأسُ تهدي إلى الفتى طربَهْ

I have become gentle, with a pure Arabian steed,

And the cup gives delight to the young man,

وذي دلالٍ كأنّ وَجْنَتَهُ

من خَجَلٍ بالشّقيقِِ مُنْتَقِبَهْ

With a guide as if his cheeks

Were picked with anemones out of shyness,

في حِجْرِهِ أجوفٌ له عُنُقٌ

نِيطَتْ بظهرٍ تخالُهُ حَدَبَه

In his lap an empty hollow flute

That is tied on a back vying with it in hump,

يمُدّ كفّاً إليه ضاربةً

أعناقَ أحزانِنا إذا ضرَبَه

He extends a palm to it hitting

The necks of our sorrows when it hits them.

تحسبُ لفظاً بأختها نغَماً

ويودعُ المسمعينَ ما حسبَه

You think its pronunciation with its sister is a tune

And it bids farewell to the listeners whatever it deemed,

قلتُ ألا فانظروا إلى عجبٍ

جاءَ بِسِحرٍ فأَنْطقَ الخَشَبَه

I said look at this wonder

That came with magic so it gave speech to wood

وقهوَةٍ في الزّجاجِ تحسبُها

شُعْلَةَ برقٍ في الغيم ملتهبَه

And coffee in a bottle you think it

A flame of lightning in the laden cloud,

كأنّما الدهرُ من تَقادمِها

أوْدَعَ في طول عمرها حِقبَه

As if time from its elapse

Deposited in the length of its age epochs,

ماءُ عقيقٍ إذا ارتدى زبداً

حَسِبتَ دُرّاً مجُوّفاً حَبَبَه

Carnelian water when it wears foam

You think it a hollow pearl it gathered,

يُسْكِرُ من شَمّهُ بسَوْرَتِهِ

فكيف بالمنتشي إذا شربَه

It intoxicates whoever smells it with its nectar

So what about the one who drinks it being saturated

وذي حنينٍ تحنّ أنفُسُنا

إليه مُنقادةً ومنجذبَه

With a musical yearning our souls

Crave, docilely drawn to it,

يُفْشِيهِ ذو حكمةٍ أناملُهُ

منَغّماتٌ بِزَمْرِهِ ثُقَبَه

Made tuneful by its player’s touch

With its pierced zither,

يرسلُ عن منخريه من فمِهِ

ريحاً لها نغمةٌ من القصَبَه

It sends from its mouth through its nostrils

A breeze that has a tune like a reed flute

كأنّ ألحانَهُ الفصيحةَ منْ

صريرِ بابِ الجنانِ مُكْتَسَبَه

As if its eloquent melodies were

From the creaking of the gate of paradise acquired,