In the street of wineshops, when
should I pray? since my
drunkenness and sobriety alike
are all the same as prayer.
There, no one accepts the coin
of righteousness, piety and self-denial:
The only good currency in that street
is beggary.
None but the drunkard knows
the tavern's secrets --
how could the sober unveil
the mysteries of that street?
As soon as I met those
cunning haunters of the wineshop
I realized that other work than theirs
is nothing but a fable.
Do you want a guided tour
of the Mecca of Love?
Come, sit in the tavern, for the trip
to Arabia is long and tedious.
They refused me entrance at first
at the wineshop
so I went to the monastery
and found an open door -- but
I heard a voice from within the tavern
crying, "'Iraqi!
Open the door for yourself, the gates
of drunkenness are always agape!"
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