1. وصاحبٍ بصِحّةٍ بلا سَقَمْ

    مُساعدٍ في كلّ أمْرٍ لا يُذَمْ

    And a companion, in sound health, without sickness,

    Helpful in every undertaking that incurs no blame,

  2. يقولُ في لا لا وفي نعم نعم

    لا ناكبٌ عن فتية ولا برِمْ

    He answers 'no' with 'no,' and 'yes' with 'yes.'

    Neither shunning young men nor irritable,

  3. مقلّبُ القلبِ لهمّ في الهِمَمْ

    يَحِلّ عنكَ بِالغِنى عَنِ العَدم

    Turning his heart toward a purpose amid lofty aspirations,

    He frees you from poverty through wealth,

  4. يحرمُ بالسيف الخطوبَ لا تلم

    مجوهرٌ سيفُ عُلاهُ بالكرم

    With his sword he bars calamities, so they cannot strike,

    The sword of his eminence is jeweled with generosity,

  5. مُهَذّبٌ في كلّ علم للأمم

    كأنّما شيمتُهُ خمر الشيم

    Cultivated in every field of the nations' knowledge,

    As though his character were the wine of virtues,

  6. يحيي السرورَ ويميت كلّ همْ

    نادمتُ منه سيّداً بلا نَدَمْ

    He brings joy to life and puts every care to death.

    I shared wine with him, a lord, without regret,

  7. من عنب سقانيه عتم

    مدامةً زادتْ على عُمْرِ القدم

    From grapes he gave it to me to drink at dusk:

    Wine older than antiquity itself.

  8. يحملُ من موجودها الكأس عُدَم

    زجاجهُا الصافي عليها لا يَنِمْ

    The cup holds its substance as if it held nothing,

    Its clear glass does not betray it,

  9. إلا بوصفٍ أو بذوقٍ أو بشمْ

    في ليلةٍ مَرّتْ كَزَوْرَةِ الحلم

    Except through description, taste, or smell,

    During a night that passed like a dream's brief visit,

  10. كأنّما الأنجمُ منها في الظُّلَمْ

    أوجُهُ رومٍ يسبحونَ في خِضَمْ

    As though its stars in the darkness were

    Faces of Romans swimming in a vast sea.

  11. حتى إذا ما عُمُرُ الليلِ انْصرم

    وفرّ من نورِ الصّباح وانهزَمْ

    Until, when the lifetime of night had ended,

    And it fled morning's light and was routed,

  12. كَعابِسٍ في حَنَقٍ من مبتسم

    قمت لصيد الطير في قَرَا أحَمْ

    Like a scowling man enraged by one who smiles,

    I rose to hunt birds on a coal-black horse's back,

  13. كالليل إلا قبلة الصبح بفم

    بحرٌ عليه بالعنانِ قد ختم

    Like night, save for dawn's kiss upon its mouth,

    A sea upon which the reins had set a seal,

  14. بباشقٍ متَّقِدِ العينِ قَرِمْ

    ذي مخلبٍ مُعَوّجٍ لم يستقم

    With a sparrowhawk, blazing-eyed and ravenous,

    With a crooked talon that never straightened,

  15. مثلِ هلالٍ طالعٍ مع العَتَمْ

    عند انعطافٍ لا اسودادٍ مدلهم

    Like a crescent moon rising with the dusk,

    In its curvature, not its pitch-black darkness,

  16. أقنى مُعَرّىً أنفُهُ من الشّمَم

    مُصَمَّمٌ على الطيور مقتحم

    Aquiline, its nose devoid of upward tilt,

    Resolute against the birds, charging headlong,

  17. والطيرُ منها جبناءٌ وبُهَمْ

    حتى إذا قَلّبَ عيناً كالضّرَمْ

    And among the birds are cowards and formidable fighters.

    Until, when it turned an eye like flame,

  18. صادقةً طرفتُها لا تُتّهَمْ

    وأبصر الفُرْجةَ همَّ فاعتزم

    Unerring in its glance, beyond suspicion,

    And saw an opening, it readied itself and resolved,

  19. كالليثِ قد أوفى على سرب النَّعَمْ

    في روضةٍ أطيارها ذاتُ نغم

    Like a lion looming over a herd of livestock,

    In a meadow whose birds are full of melody,

  20. كما تَغَنّتْ فِرَقٌ من العَجَم

    قامَ الرّبيع عندها على قدم

    As ensembles of non-Arabs sang,

    Spring stood beside it on its feet,

  21. فاتحةً أعينَ زهرٍ لم تنم

    تجول فيها كمدامع الرَّهَم

    Opening the eyes of flowers that had not slept,

    Moving within it like the tears of gentle rain,

  22. ففارَقَ الكفَّ إلى الصّيد فَشِمْ

    خاطفَ برقٍ في غمامٍ مرتكم

    Then it left the palm for the quarry—watch

    A flash of lightning amid massed clouds.

  23. ما فاتكٌ غادَرَها في المُقْتَحَمْ

    فوارساً تلا أيدي الخدم

    No ruthless slayer left them in the fray,

    As knights following the hands of servants.

  24. وعاوَدَ الكفَّ وفيّاً بالذممِ

    بِمِنْسَرٍ يسمحُ عنه فَضْلَ دم

    And it returned to the palm, faithful to its pledges,

    With a beak letting excess blood be wiped from it,

  25. مسحك ميَّاع المداد بالقلم

    As you wipe away flowing ink with a pen.