جاءَتكَ لَذَّةُ ساعَةٍ فَأَخَذتَها

جاءَتكَ لَذَّةُ ساعَةٍ فَأَخَذتَها

بِالعارِ لَم تَحفِل سَوادَ العارِ

بِالعارِ لَم تَحفِل سَوادَ العارِ

An hour’s pleasure came to you, so you took it

A moment's pleasure came your way, so you seized it,

at the cost of shame, heedless of shame’s blackness.

Unconcerned by disgrace however intense.

وَاِبتَعتَ ما يَفنى بِأَغلى سِعرِهِ

وَاِبتَعتَ ما يَفنى بِأَغلى سِعرِهِ

هَلّا الخُلودَ بِأَرخَصِ الأَسعارِ

هَلّا الخُلودَ بِأَرخَصِ الأَسعارِ

And you bought what perishes at its highest price;

You bought what passes for the steepest price,

why not immortality at the lowest of prices?

Why not immortality at the cheapest cost?

وَعُريتَ بِالكَأسِ الكُمَيتِ عَنِ التُقى

وَعُريتَ بِالكَأسِ الكُمَيتِ عَنِ التُقى

فَاِعجَب لِجِسمِكَ وَهُوَ كاسٍ عارِ

فَاِعجَب لِجِسمِكَ وَهُوَ كاسٍ عارِ

And the cup of dark-red wine stripped you of piety;

You bared yourself carousing till you lost all piety,

so marvel at your body: clothed, yet naked.

A strange thing for a body so full of vice.

وَسَوائِلُ الأَشعارِ غَيرُ لَوابِثٍ

وَسَوائِلُ الأَشعارِ غَيرُ لَوابِثٍ

وَلَو اِرتَدَينَ سَوائِرَ الأَشعارِ

وَلَو اِرتَدَينَ سَوائِرَ الأَشعارِ

And women with flowing tresses do not endure,

Poetry's drafts do not last, though they pretend to,

even if they clothe themselves in widely circulating poems.

Even if clad in the drapery of every poem.