1. The convoy departed, hastening their camels,
Their camels carried them into the distance.

2. They crossed the sands at dawn,
Traversing a land where even guides lose their bearings.

3. From every desolate plain they imagined they saw ostriches,
Their necks entwined like a necklace.

4. Grayish white sands conceal the valleys as if
They left their mirages and turned to meadows.

5. I watched them leave until we were separated
By the great expanse, and yearning took hold.

6. Tears poured from my eyes for their absence,
My cheeks wept for my cheeks.

7. They left on she-camels whose bodies
Were like branches, green but not yet firm.

8. Swaying from the gentle breeze, their Litters
Swaying lightly at their hindquarters.

9. The breeze carries their fragrance to us,
As if they had scattered perfume.

10. As if the perfumer had prepared for us
A scent that spread when the braids came undone.

11. She who promised you before their departure
A promise which distance prevented her from keeping.

12. O gazelle of the encampment, who led
The procession of the veil caps proudly.

13. Are you asking about me as I ask
About the delegation when they came as delegates?

14. Or have you climbed up the ridge asking
The south wind and the north wind about me on purpose?

15. Like me glancing hopefully to the wind
To bring me a whiff of your scent.

16. I will not lower my gaze submissively,
Hoping for the best, then descend into lowliness.

17. I will encounter other caravans
And recite to the nobles lines of poetry.

18. And say, a painful utterance comes to me
When companions are lost and sorrow remains.

19. My hair turned white from sadness
Though it used to be dark.

20. What are elders, youths and childhood to me
When time never repeats what has passed?

21. God, how impoverished I have become,
A pauper wearing out his rags.

22. Making a living from poetry I have taken up,
To which I summon a band ofStarvers.

23. When I call them they walk away ridiculing me,
Like ostriches walking, with contempt.

24. More painful than all of that
Is poverty that drives away cheer and weakens resolve.

25. When I walk I imagine my gauntness
Walking like a grouse, fearing being chased away.

26. Why do I speak of astrology
And interpret good and bad omens in it?

27. For so long I have confronted it,
Seeking my purpose but returning empty handed.

28. Each day I set out on a journey for it
And come back narrating ebb and flow.

29. I turned my will back to where I had envisioned myself,
Alone with my solitude.

30. Traveling in search of wealth, roaming endlessly,
Toiling and struggling continuously.

31. O people of Tameem, you have abandoned
A man of peerless virtues, unfailingly generous!

32. Like a sword that were it not for the rust
Would have unsheathed itself from its scabbard.

33. Livelihood has been apportioned, thus you see
A youth vigorous, with beautiful horses.

34. Do not ask the Euphrates about them,
It owns not a single letter regarding them.

35. While the wealthy, continuously accrue riches
Ever increasing after their first gain.

36. How many glorious men have become like me,
Confused, exhausted, and straining hardships.

37. Regretting that had fortune been attained
It would have been spent generously gathering praise.

38. I see noble acts and virtues in a way
That one incapable of them cannot plug.

39. For so long I have wasted effort seeking wealth,
Covering myself in praise and glory for it.

40. I have taken on my people's debts at daybreak
And propped up the arms of the destitute.

41. When clouds of arrogance loomed over us all
I swept them away, dispersing them with cash.

42. And the sins of a bosom friend I concealed
And warded off from him malice and hatred.

43. I confide my deepest secrets to my enemies,
And when bitter, make them taste honey.

44. I face the days and those who live in my time,
Yet when alone, find myself unmatched.

45. Protecting the sanctuary of my neighbor’s home,
Even if he provides me no assistance.

46. I have battled my days and they have battled me,
Leaving me stripped bare and defeated.

47. Leaving me confused in my struggles
Not complaining of boredom or limits.

48. Whoever confronts greed and false hopes with might
And spears the serpent of desire harms no man.

49. Greed enslaves a people unjustly,
The soul’s greed humiliates them utterly.

50. Whoever cannot escape his poverty,
Should renounce the world entirely in asceticism.

51. Whoever deviates from the paths of passion rules glory,
Whoever is generous, the world becomes his troops.

52. The lowly man lords over people in his seclusion,
While generosity paves the way for the youth.