Sol 6.1

  1. The herald of the morning draught called us to tawny wine,

    And the hour was pleasant in the hall of al-Waʿsāʾ,

  2. Amid a rosy cheek where dew has wandered,

    And another rose the onlooker contemplates,

  3. And wine whose blend has tamed the temperament,

    So it began to stir longing in the inward depths,

  4. From the hand of a slender cupbearer with sweet, dusky lips,

    He gazes at you with an eye of striking black and white,

  5. Like the full moon on the night of its fullness, as though

    The Lord of creation had fashioned him from water.

  6. So answer your brother, and do not tarry,

    And seize life’s sweetness before parting.

Sol 6.1