1. Usayma wandered with her camel, stirring
My imagination, bringing me unease

2. One of Ja'far's daughters in their land
Neither drew near, nor kept her distance

3. I did not fear a highborn Yemeni
As we traversed many paths through ravines

4. We passed a valley, sorrow cloaked us
At night, and up the dunes of sandy hills

5. After we passed autumn flowers, fatigue
O'ercame us, and the brambles and shrubs

6. The clucking of poultry warned them from the plains
And the ringing of bells - so we avoided them

7. Will the land's harshness take me to her abode
Where flowers release their scent at dusk?

8. As if urging her camel through the dunes
Following me with a herd of lively camels

9. She preferred the company of harlots, and
Had favored a smooth-cheeked youth

10. Did you come to me, or did Sahmaj choose you
A smooth land that rambles gently up the slopes?

11. So he chose one like an old waterskin - not
One to be wary or cautious of

12. Do not go to him if he comes for you
And do not approach if he draws near

13. He is like a sea bucket - its rope betrays it
And the handles cheat it of deliverance

14. He is like a poisoned wine cup - its maker
Saved it, denying all flaws upon its sides

15. Oh, do you see lightning Battr and her daughter
Shooting sparks when the horizon darkens?

16. I sat alone with him - and Abu Layla said
"When will he pine for me?" Such was his habit

17. It was as if, when I made peace with him,
I found a threaded necklace and victorious warrior's coat of mail

18. So he generously roamed to the entrances of Subrah
By evening, his sheep were all gathered

19. He lowered the glass from cloudy waters to the plains
And quenched the thirst of the wide open spaces

20. The water makes their bellies glisten as pupils
Glisten when teaching pearls to schoolboys

21. The bedouin and his dogs met and tangled
Their intertwined waves - for the victor to own

22. They clamored like chattering pilgrims, as if
A Persian cupbearer making wine-filled threats

23. And every valley whose slopes had slipped
Cast forth the green creeping plants and brambles

24. The breezes inclined toward her, then the south winds
Blew them northward, turning them around

25. I said: the honorable one's direction changed -
Watering lands that have borne calamities

26. That Usayma may graze on its growth when
It produces hot crops and grass

27. And so may her people graze it, for they
Are the best people I know, of noble lineage

28. My tribe, the Bani Amer - though enemies
Speak falsely of them with blatant lies

29. With the likes of them the fighter charges gloriously
And the protector confidently engages in combat