1. ما الشوقُ إلا زنادْ

    يُوري بقلبي كلِّ حينْ نيرانا

    Longing is nothing but a flint,

    kindling fires in my heart at every moment.

  2. ومَنْ بُلِيْ بالفراقْ

    ينتابه ليلُ السليم حيرانا

    And whoever is afflicted by separation

    is beset, bewildered, by the snake-bitten sufferer's night.

  3. يا ليتَ شعريَ هلْ

    تنوي وقد ولَّتْ إياب

    Would that I knew whether

    they intend, though gone, to return—

  4. أيامُ حبّي الأول

    إذْ ملبسي ثوبُ الشباب

    the days of my first love,

    when my clothing was the robe of youth,

  5. مُطَرَّزاً بالعَذَلْ

    وإذْ أقولُ للصّحاب

    embroidered with reproach,

    and when I would say to my companions:

  6. سِيرُوا كَسَيْرِ الجيادْ

    وبادروا للمجونْ فُرْسانا

    “Go at the pace of noble steeds,

    and hasten to revelry as horsemen!

  7. ومَنْ أرادَ السّباقْ

    إلى كناسٍ وَرِيمْ فالآنا

    And whoever wishes to race

    to a gazelle's covert and a white gazelle—now is the time!”

  8. قلْ أَيّةً سَلَكا

    عهدُ الشبابِ المحيلْ

    Tell me: which path did it take,

    that vanished season of youth?

  9. أضلَّ أم هلكا

    أمْ لا إليه من سبيل

    Did it go astray, or perish,

    or is there no path back to it?

  10. لا تَلْحَني في البكا

    إن أخَذَتْ منّي الشّمول

    Do not blame me for weeping

    if wine has taken hold of me.

  11. وَْدي على الوجدِ زادْ

    ذكرتُ والذكرى شجونْ إخوانا

    My love has grown with longing;

    I recalled companions—and remembrance brings sorrows—

  12. ذوي حواشٍ رقاقْ

    عاطيتُهُمْ بنتَ الكروم أزمانا

    of gentle dispositions,

    with whom I shared the daughter of the vines for ages.

  13. وليلةٍ بالخليجْ

    والبدرُ قد ألقى شعاعْ

    And a night upon the inlet,

    when the full moon had cast its radiance,

  14. عليه ضوءٌ بهيجْ

    وَفُلْكنا تجري سراعْ

    a lovely light upon it,

    while our boats sped swiftly on—

  15. أحْسِنْ بها من سروجْ

    نركبها على اندفاعْ

    what splendid saddles they were,

    as we rode them in their headlong rush!

  16. بحرٌ إذا مدَّ كاد

    من كثرة الفيضِ يكونْ طوقانا

    A sea that, when it swells, nearly

    becomes a deluge from its abundant overflow.

  17. أحشاؤه في اصطفاقْ

    إن جُرِّدَتْ خيلُ النسيم فرهانا

    Its entrails churn

    when the breeze's fleet steeds are let loose.

  18. دنيا تجلّتْ عروسْ

    على بساطِ السُّنْدُسْ

    A world unveiled itself as a bride

    upon a carpet of fine silk.

  19. فاشربْ وهات الكؤوس

    فهْيَ حياةُ الأنفُسْ

    So drink, and bring the cups,

    for they are the life of souls.

  20. وإن أتيتَ الغُروس

    فاعْدِل إليها واجْلِسْ

    And if you come to the groves,

    turn aside toward them and sit,

  21. حيث الرياضُ نجادْ

    لصارمٍ راقَ العيون عُرْيانا

    where the gardens are a sword-belt

    for a keen blade that, unsheathed, delights the eyes,

  22. وللكمامِ انْشِقاقْ

    عنْ زاهراتٍ كالنجوم أَلوانا

    and the bud-sheaths split open

    to reveal radiant blossoms, star-like in their hues.

  23. وصاحبٍ صَلُحا

    للأنْسِ محمودِ الخلالْ

    And a companion well suited

    to fellowship, praiseworthy in character:

  24. تلقاه مصطبحا

    بين المياهِ والظلال

    you find him drinking his morning wine

    amid the waters and the shade.

  25. وإنْ عذولٌ لحا

    في القهوةِ الصَّهباءِ قال

    And if a reprover censures him

    over the tawny wine, he says:

  26. سَكْرَهْ على شاطي وادْ

    قد عاتَقَتْ فيه الغصونْ أغصانا

    “A drunken spell on a stream's bank,

    where branches have embraced branches,

  27. تعدلُ مُلْكَ العراقْ

    عندي فساعدْ يا نديم نَدْمانا

    is worth dominion over Iraq

    to me; so help a fellow drinker, O boon companion!”