أَعاذِلَ لا أَموتُ بِكَفِّ ساقِ

أَعاذِلَ لا أَموتُ بِكَفِّ ساقِ

وَلا آبى عَلى مَلِكِ العِراقِ

وَلا آبى عَلى مَلِكِ العِراقِ

O reproacher, I shall not die at a cupbearer's hand,

I reproach not, nor fear to die by the palm,

O blamer, I shall not die by a cupbearer's hand,

Nor shall I defy the king of Iraq.

Nor refuse obedience to Iraq's king.

Nor do I refuse the command of Iraq's King.

هَجَرتُ لَهُ الَّتي عَنها نَهاني

هَجَرتُ لَهُ الَّتي عَنها نَهاني

وَكانَت لي كَمُمسِكَةِ الرِماقِ

وَكانَت لي كَمُمسِكَةِ الرِماقِ

For his sake I forsook the wine he forbade me,

I abandoned her from whom he banned me,

For his sake, I forsook the very thing he forbade,

And to me it had been like a sustainer of life's last breath.

Though she was to me like the last water-skin.

Though it was to me the sustenance of life itself.

وَقَد يَغدو إِلى الحانوتِ زِقّي

وَقَد يَغدو إِلى الحانوتِ زِقّي

فَيَأخُذُ عَفوَهُ قَبلَ الزُقاقِ

فَيَأخُذُ عَفوَهُ قَبلَ الزُقاقِ

And my wineskin would go early to the wine shop,

He may go at dawn to beg in the street,

Time was when my wineskin would hasten to the tavern,

Taking its choicest wine before the other wineskins.

And get pardon before the lane is filled.

Seizing the finest pour before the others arrived.

وَكُنَّ إِذا نَزَعنَ إِلى مَداهُ

وَكُنَّ إِذا نَزَعنَ إِلى مَداهُ

حَوى قُدّامَها قَصَبَ السِباقِ

حَوى قُدّامَها قَصَبَ السِباقِ

And whenever they strove to reach its goal,

Whenever they moved to their camp,

And when the racers strove toward their limit,

It seized the victor's reed ahead of them.

Their chieftain marched ahead with the racers.

It snatched the winner's prize before them all.

نَتيجَةُ مُزنَةٍ مِن عودِ كَرمٍ

نَتيجَةُ مُزنَةٍ مِن عودِ كَرمٍ

تُضيءُ اللَيلَ مَضروبَ الرُواقِ

تُضيءُ اللَيلَ مَضروبَ الرُواقِ

A rain cloud's offspring, from a vine's stem,

The product of a polished Karm wood,

The daughter of rain clouds, born from the vine's wood,

It lights the night, its canopy spread,

Lighting the night in the peopled porch,

Illuminating the night when the curtains are drawn.

بِلَونٍ رَقَّ حَتّى كادَ يَخفى

بِلَونٍ رَقَّ حَتّى كادَ يَخفى

عَلى عَيني وَطابَ عَلى المَذاقِ

عَلى عَيني وَطابَ عَلى المَذاقِ

With a hue so delicate it almost escaped

Of a hue so soft it almost disappears

With a hue so subtle it nearly vanishes from sight,

My eye, and was pleasing to the taste.

Before my eye, and sweet to the taste,

Eluding the eye, yet delightful to the taste.

فَتَجري ما يُحَسُّ لَها حَسيسٌ

فَتَجري ما يُحَسُّ لَها حَسيسٌ

إِذا مَرَّت بِمُزدَرَدِ البُصاقِ

إِذا مَرَّت بِمُزدَرَدِ البُصاقِ

So it flows without the faintest sound being heard,

There ran what her creation had sensed

It flows down with no sound to betray its path,

When it passes through the throat that swallows spittle.

When she passed the spittle of the disdainful.

As it glides past the passage where spittle is swallowed.

أَتَت مِن دونِها الأَيّامُ حَتّى

أَتَت مِن دونِها الأَيّامُ حَتّى

تَعادَمَ جِسمُها وَالروحُ باقِ

تَعادَمَ جِسمُها وَالروحُ باقِ

The days passed over it until

The days brought her to decay

The days have passed over it until, at last,

Its body vanished, while its spirit remained.

Till her body failed, but the soul remains.

Its body has perished, and only the spirit remains.

سَبَقتُ بِشُربِها لَومَ الأَداني

سَبَقتُ بِشُربِها لَومَ الأَداني

مَعَ الوُصَفاءِ في السُلُبِ الرِقاقِ

مَعَ الوُصَفاءِ في السُلُبِ الرِقاقِ

I drank it before those near me could reproach me,

I outdrank the blamers in drinking her

I outstripped the censure of baser men by drinking it,

With young serving boys in thin garments,

With the slender-waisted in the fine garments.

Amidst pages clad in garments of sheerest weave.

وَأَحوَرَ لا تُجاوِزُهُ الأَماني

وَأَحوَرَ لا تُجاوِزُهُ الأَماني

حَلَبتُ لِوُدِّهِ ماءَ المَآقي

حَلَبتُ لِوُدِّهِ ماءَ المَآقي

And a dark-eyed youth beyond whom no wish could go.

I have a she-camel I push to the limit,

And a fawn-eyed beauty—desire seeks nothing beyond him—

For love of him, I milked tears from the corners of my eyes.

Milking for his love the water of the waterholes.

For whose love I have milked the tears from my eyes.

دَعَتني عَينُهُ دونَ النَدامى

دَعَتني عَينُهُ دونَ النَدامى

وَآذَنَني مَتى مِنّا التَلاقي

وَآذَنَني مَتى مِنّا التَلاقي

His eye beckoned to me apart from the drinking companions,

His eye beckoned me, beyond regret,

His glance beckoned me, unseen by our drinking companions,

And he told me when we were to meet.

And told me when there would be a meeting.

And signaled the moment when our union would be.

فَبِتُّ عَلى شَفا المَوعودِ أَلقى

فَبِتُّ عَلى شَفا المَوعودِ أَلقى

جَوىً لِلِقائِهِ كَجَوى الفِراقِ

جَوىً لِلِقائِهِ كَجَوى الفِراقِ

So I spent the night on the brink of the promised meeting, suffering

I spend the night in the promise of union,

So I spent the night on the brink of the promise, enduring

An ache to meet him like the ache of parting.

Yearning for it as for the pain of separation.

A burning for our meeting like the burning of farewell.

فَأَصبَحتُ اِعتَجَرتُ عَلى مَشيبٍ

فَأَصبَحتُ اِعتَجَرتُ عَلى مَشيبٍ

وَوَقَّرَني الخَليفَةُ عَن نِزاقي

وَوَقَّرَني الخَليفَةُ عَن نِزاقي

So by morning I had wrapped a turban over gray hair,

I have grown old, repenting of a grey hair,

But morning found me turbaned in the white of age,

And the caliph made me dignified, curbing my recklessness.

While the caliph has granted me immunity from hostility.

And the Caliph has restrained me from my youthful folly.