لَقِبلةُ الراحِ إذ تُصلّي

لَقِبلةُ الراحِ إذ تُصلّي

له الأباريقُ بالسجودِ

له الأباريقُ بالسجودِ

Indeed, wine's qibla, when prayer is offered

The kiss of the wind when it prays

Verily, the direction of prayer is Wine, when the vessels pray

to it by pitchers bowed in prostration,

To it the jugs bow in prostration

With pitchers bowing low in holy prostration,

في بيتِ لهوٍ وشِربِ صفوٍ

في بيتِ لهوٍ وشِربِ صفوٍ

وصوتِ ناي وضربِ عودِ

وصوتِ ناي وضربِ عودِ

in a house of revelry and drinking clear wine,

In a house of play and pure drink

Inside a house of pleasure where pure drafts flow

and flute music and the strumming of a lute,

To the sound of flute and guitar strum

To the sound of the flute and the strumming of the lute,

وأخذُ صبّينِ في عِتابٍ

وأخذُ صبّينِ في عِتابٍ

يشكو عميدٌ إلى عميدِ

يشكو عميدٌ إلى عميدِ

and two lovesick lovers falling to reproaches,

Two boys reproach each other

Where two lovers engage in soft reproach,

one stricken heart complaining to another,

A leader complains to another leader

One lovesick soul complaining to another,

وشمُّ أترجّةٍ بمسكٍ

وشمُّ أترجّةٍ بمسكٍ

وشُربُ راح بكفِّ غيدِ

وشُربُ راح بكفِّ غيدِ

and smelling a citron scented with musk,

The smell of perfume with musk

Inhaling the scent of citron laced with musk,

and drinking wine from graceful beauties' hands,

And the taste of wine from a chalice

Drinking wine from the hand of a graceful youth,

ووجهُ حِبٍّ بجنبِ حبّ

ووجهُ حِبٍّ بجنبِ حبّ

قد استراحا من الصدودِ

قد استراحا من الصدودِ

and a beloved's face beside another beloved,

A face of love next to love

Cheek against cheek, a lover beside a lover,

both now relieved of estrangement,

Having rested from rejection

Finding their rest from avoidance and disdain,

وقرصُ فخذٍ وغمزُ ردفٍ

وقرصُ فخذٍ وغمزُ ردفٍ

وعضّ خدّ وشمُّ جيدِ

وعضّ خدّ وشمُّ جيدِ

and pinching a thigh and squeezing a rump,

A thigh's circle and a wink of the eye

A pinch of the thigh, a squeeze of the hip,

and biting a cheek and sniffing a neck,

A cheek bite and kiss of the forehead

A bite on the cheek, a kiss on the neck,

ولمسُ كفٍّ ولمحُ طرفٍ

ولمسُ كفٍّ ولمحُ طرفٍ

ولثمُ مستعذبٍ برودِ

ولثمُ مستعذبٍ برودِ

and touching a palm and glimpsing an eye,

A hand's touch and glance of an eye

The touch of a palm, the glance of an eye,

and kissing a sweet, cool mouth,

Sweet kiss of coolness

And kissing a mouth that tastes sweet and cool,

ونيكُ ظبي من النصارى

ونيكُ ظبي من النصارى

يزورني كلّ يومِ عيدِ

يزورني كلّ يومِ عيدِ

and fucking a gazelle from among the Christians,

A Christian young man visits me

And bedding a young gazelle of the Christians

who visits me every feast day—

Every feast day

Who comes to visit me on every feast day.

يسقط نثرُ الكلامِ منه

يسقط نثرُ الكلامِ منه

تساقطَ الدرّ من عُقودِ

تساقطَ الدرّ من عُقودِ

his spoken prose falls from him

His words fall like pearls

The scattered words fall from his lips

like pearls tumbling from necklaces;

From a necklace

Like pearls cascading from a broken necklace,

زنارهُ فوق غصنِ بانٍ

زنارهُ فوق غصنِ بانٍ

يهتز في نعمةٍ ميودِ

يهتز في نعمةٍ ميودِ

his girdle lies upon a moringa bough,

His belt over a bending branch

His sash tied round a waist like a willow branch

swaying in soft, supple ease—

Sways in gentle bliss

That sways in luxury, bending and lithe.

أحسنُ عندي من الفيافي

أحسنُ عندي من الفيافي

وذكرِ ربعٍ ونعتِ بيدِ

وذكرِ ربعٍ ونعتِ بيدِ

are lovelier to me than desert wastes,

Better to me than battles

All this is fairer to me than the barren deserts,

and recalling a campsite and describing deserts,

And mention of heroism

Than recalling campsites or describing the waste,

ومن وقوف على قلوصٍ

ومن وقوف على قلوصٍ

وسيرِ ليلِ على قعود

وسيرِ ليلِ على قعود

and than halting on a young she-camel,

Than standing over barren land

Better than halting a she-camel in the tracks,

and traveling by night on a young male camel.

Walking the night sitting

Or a night-journey upon a riding beast.

مَن كان مستسقياً سحاباً

مَن كان مستسقياً سحاباً

بعُجمةِ الرمل والصعيدِ

بعُجمةِ الرمل والصعيدِ

Whoever has been asking clouds for rain

Whoever sought rain clouds

Let him who seeks rain from the passing clouds

at the sand-mound and on the bare ground,

With foreign sand and dust

Upon the foreign sands and the highland dust,

أو مستهاماً بدارِ قومٍ

أو مستهاماً بدارِ قومٍ

بادوا كما بادَ قومُ هودِ

بادوا كما بادَ قومُ هودِ

or pining for the home of a people

Or inspiration in a people's abode

Or he who is mad for the dwelling of a tribe

who perished as the people of Hud perished,

Who perished like Hud's folk

Who perished long ago as the people of Hud perished—

فقد سقاها ريقُ الغوادي

فقد سقاها ريقُ الغوادي

بالغربِ من مكّة البريدِ

بالغربِ من مكّة البريدِ

then the morning clouds' spittle has already watered it,

The spittle of love quenched him

Let the morning showers water that land

a postal stage west of Mecca.

From the west of blessed Mecca

To the west of Mecca, along the courier's road,

ولا سقى ربعَ دارِميّ

ولا سقى ربعَ دارِميّ

وساكنيه سوى الصديد

وساكنيه سوى الصديد

And may nothing water a Darimi's dwelling

It did not water Darim's land

But may no rain water the Darimi’s ruins,

and its inhabitants but pus.

Except with lightning flashes

Nor give its dwellers drink, save boiling pus.