1. لا وَغصنٍ راقَ لِلطرفِ وَرَق

    مُهُ مِن زهرٍ ذَكا نشراً وَرَق

    No—by a bough pleasing to the eye, whose embroidery

    is of blossoms, richly fragrant and delicate;

  2. تَحتهُ غرُّ السّجايا ثمرٌ

    وَعليهِ حللُ الظرفِ وَرَق

    beneath it, noble qualities are fruit,

    and upon it, robes of grace are leaves;

  3. وَشموسٍ في ليالي الشعرِ قَد

    أَلّفت بينَ ضياءٍ وَغَسَق

    and by suns amid the nights of hair, which have

    brought light and darkness together.

  4. أَشفقَ الناظرُ أَن تغربَ إذ

    طَلَعَت فوقَ خدودٍ مِن شَفَق

    The beholder feared they would set when

    they rose above cheeks of twilight glow;

  5. وَعيونٍ حرّمَت نَومي وما

    قَطعُ نومِ الطرفِ ظلمٌ إِذ سَرَق

    and by eyes that forbade my sleep—yet no

    injustice lies in cutting off an eye’s sleep, since it stole.

  6. نَومُها قرّةُ عينيّ فلا

    حَلّلت لي غيرَ دَمعي وَالأرَق

    Their sleep is the delight of my eyes; so may they

    allow me nothing but my tears and sleeplessness.

  7. ما اِحمرارُ الوردِ إلّا خجلٌ

    مِن ثَناياهُ إِذا منها اِعتَبَق

    The rose’s redness is nothing but shame

    before his front teeth, when it draws fragrance from them.

  8. أَينَ كأسُ الراحِ مِن ثغرٍ نشا

    مِن رُضابٍ سَكِرَت منهُ الحَدَق

    How can a cup of wine compare with a mouth born

    of sweet saliva that has intoxicated the pupils?

  9. وَالّذي ظنّوهُ فيه حبباً

    دَمعُ عينٍ دمُها لمّا يُرَق

    And what they thought were bubbles in it

    are tears of an eye whose blood has not yet been shed.

  10. يَصدقُ القائلُ إِذ ينظرهُ

    فَوقَ وجهِ الكأسِ رشحاتُ العَرَق

    He speaks truly who says, on seeing it:

    “Upon the cup’s surface are beads of sweat.”