ABU NUWAS (Iran, 757 - 815)

WINE OF PARADISE

Wine of jar bright,
sun of black night,
tear of the eyes,
wine of Paradise!
Sun globe of yore,
yellow hellebore,
eye of a Persian
cast into prison!
I saw a savage
come from my village:
the jar he struck
with one blow he cracked.
Forth burst the wine
incarnadine,
mellower far
aged in the jar.
Aromas wafted
of wormwood in flower,
for freedrinkers crafted,
under skies a-glower.
An evil brew
This wineboy pours you:
water from rain
with wine entrained.
He flashes a wink,
a lethal drink!
and as he saunters
your mind wanders...