رعَى الله أيامَ السُّرورِ بحاجرٍ

رعَى الله أيامَ السُّرورِ بحاجرٍ

وعَهْدَ صَبابتي به وغرامي

وعَهْدَ صَبابتي به وغرامي

May God preserve the days of joy at Ḥājir,

May God preserve the days of joy at Hajir,

and the season of my passionate yearning there, and my love—

And the time of my yearning there and my passion.

بحيثُ الهوى عذبُ المجاني بقربه

بحيثُ الهوى عذبُ المجاني بقربه

ولا عهدَ لي من عادلٍ بملام

ولا عهدَ لي من عادلٍ بملام

where love’s fruits were sweet to gather in his nearness,

Where love’s fruits are sweet in his presence,

and I had known no reproach from any fair-minded man.

Nor have I known reproach from a just man.

وقد جَمَعتْنا لِلّذائذ ساعةٌ

وقد جَمَعتْنا لِلّذائذ ساعةٌ

أحلَّتْ لنا بالسكر كلَّ حرام

أحلَّتْ لنا بالسكر كلَّ حرام

An hour brought us together for delight

And once an hour gathered us for pleasure,

and, through intoxication, made every forbidden thing lawful to us.

Making every forbidden thing lawful for us through drunkenness.

وما العيش إلاَّ كأس راح رويّه

وما العيش إلاَّ كأس راح رويّه

تُدارُ ولكنْ في أَكُفّ غلام

تُدارُ ولكنْ في أَكُفّ غلام

Life is nothing but a cup of thirst-quenching wine,

And life is but a thirst-quenching cup of wine,

passed around—but in the palms of a youth.

Passed round—but in a youth’s hands.

إذا رمتُ منه الوصل كانَ مرامه

إذا رمتُ منه الوصل كانَ مرامه

من الوصل أقصى بغيتي ومرامي

من الوصل أقصى بغيتي ومرامي

Whenever I sought union from him, his desire

Whenever I sought union with him, his desire

for union was the utmost of my longing and aim.

For union matched my utmost wish and aim.

وإنْ رابه منِّي أوامٌ أَبَلَّه

وإنْ رابه منِّي أوامٌ أَبَلَّه

وكمْ بلَّ يوماً غُلَّتي وأوامي

وكمْ بلَّ يوماً غُلَّتي وأوامي

And if my thirst alarmed him, he quenched it;

And if my burning thirst troubled him, he quenched it;

how often he quenched, on many a day, my burning thirst and craving!

And many a day he quenched my inner burning and thirst.

شرِبْتُ حميّا كأْسِه ورضابهِ

شرِبْتُ حميّا كأْسِه ورضابهِ

وكلتاهُما يا صلحِ كأسُ مدام

وكلتاهُما يا صلحِ كأسُ مدام

I drank the heady wine of his cup and his saliva,

I drank the headiness of his cup and of his lips’ moisture;

and each of them, O Ṣulḥ, was a cup of vintage wine.

And each, O Sulh, is a cup of wine.

ولذَّ بسَمْعي فيه نظمٌ شدا به

ولذَّ بسَمْعي فيه نظمٌ شدا به

على نغم السَّاعِينَ شَدْوَ حمام

على نغم السَّاعِينَ شَدْوَ حمام

And verse he sang there delighted my hearing,

And verse about him delighted my ear as he sang it,

to the seekers’ melody, with the warbling of a dove.

To the strivers’ tunes, like the cooing of doves.