1. It was the lightning that startled and stirred her,
That aggravated her sickness and pains.

2. And from the burning thirst that consumed her sides,
She wept blood, so long was her weeping.

3. She spoke with the tongue of her condition, making me wish
To kiss the mouth of that riding beast.

4. Burning with a fire equal to or more than mine, she claimed,
Yet far from me was her passion and yearning.

5. So I said: no rose was denied its brilliance,
No cloud barred from you the rain of its life.

6. The meadows of Nejd have been tamed for you
And the noble soul merits its peace with you.

7. Watered for you by the generous clouds, a she-camel
Who honoured her dam and sire by her generosity.

8. She disdains the pure, sweet water, mixing it with grit,
Choosing in her watering place only the echoes.

9. She turned away from the abode growing harm
And here she moves far from the like of it.

10. She was gladdened that no ill occurred, so she swerved
To where the most noble have their refuge.

11. She crossed the arid land without fear
As if death itself sought her out and beckoned.

12. Putting great distances between halting places, as though
She hurried the sand grouse with her steps.

13. She wanders with the banners of Muḥaṣṣab
And for the passionate soul, passion is her guide.

14. Of the youths, she fears none,
Enduring terrors whenever she sees them.

15. Spurning tyranny, she moves into every fray,
Frightening the goose should it flap its wings.

16. Of the hunt, she does not shun death if it draws near,
Nor does she complain to misfortunes of their harm.

17. She disdains to cast the lead rope in defeat,
Seeing the near deliverance of God behind it.

18. When she desires, the resolve of her pace goes unchecked
By the caprices of time or anything like them.

19. She traveled the districts seeking pasturage and water
And she did not refuse the abode of disengagement.

20. But its people spurned her, so she spurned them
Little welcoming the eyelid after the blow of fate.

21. Nor caring much for her who, in times past,
Turned away from it, deeming its honour precious.

22. She sensed lightning in the fever that brought no rain,
So she turned away from its varieties and intentions.

23. And she sniffed at it while night revealed its darkness,
To the seeing eye of one who loses his sight.

24. And she traveled with it then into every dangerous place
And she moved toward nothing but the heights.

25. It reminds her of the two hillsides, dwellings,
Her pastures, their landmarks, and her nurture.

26. She grazed on their meadows and won their waters,
Watered by the streams of life and watched over.

27. Come, O she-camel, let us remember what is past
And weep over affairs from which tears bring no profit.

28. Our days in Middle camp and Dhū Qār are ruined.
Alas for those bygone days and oh their sorrow!

29. They passed and vanished, the era of loved ones in Qinān,
Even their herd has bolted and scattered.

30. How then, O she-camel, can a neighbor return
Whose appearance would delight my eyes?

31. Through your life, do you know who I am, desiring,
And do you not know toward what my limit tends?

32. I seek open plains which may be guided by the light
Of their torches and the fires of their dwellings.

33. I have never felt poverty toward anyone whose hand,
If it belonged to the wealthy servant, has given me wealth.

34. For him, goodness is innate; for every goodness
And the best of mankind are those who hoped in him forever.

35. No glory achieved by the noble ancestors remains
Which surpasses their glories and what they have attained.

36. The buildings of the generous early ones have crumbled.
So he built over their glories and erected their structure.

37. Dear one, dear of soul, if his neighbor is oppressed,
His soul ransoms and protects him.

38. The virgin raids bear witness that he
Is their disentangler, known for his nobility.

39. He has taken on a resolve like Afrand’s rage
When disasters beset him face-to-face.

40. He is a raincloud in time of generosity and a lion in battle.
His raincloud stopped the lion and extinguished its burning anger.

41. If the affair was serious, he was its pillar.
If it was war, he was the axis of its spear.

42. When he wished, he pierced its knights
And drank from the swords of courageous men.

43. Delightful to song are memories of him.
But the mention of generous souls is their adornment.

44. In the assembly, his beautiful mention exudes fragrance
Even if the blowing winds carried his renown.

45. And I direct it toward the best triumphant one.
Yes! He is its lantern and its guide.

46. To the furthest extreme! And what extreme
Has transcended its scope and eminence?

47. He ascended smoothly to every pleasing summit.
Even if he wished to ascend to the heavens, his ascent would carry him.

48. To where do you seek with sublime fatherhood?
You are higher than all mankind except Him.

49. You have become so lofty that beneath you all peoples
Become base while you are their chieftain and sun of prosperity.

50. May a servant ransom you! You own his being
Through the hands of a generous one whose gifts ever flow.

51. So I thank you for the blessings I was given
Through which I gained a wealth of gifts and position from you.

52. I fault this world which confused my ways.
The children of this age do not rouse to face it.

53. I fault the stupidity of this age
And reproach on its wicked people their stupidity.

54. If days had minds, they would not have come
With this; minds would have barred the way against them.

55. Fortune smiles on the likes of me and my generosity toward the likes of them
While my fortune with them is estrangement and paucity.

56. To you, Abū Maḥmūd, I complain of events
That have greatly pained the noble soul.

57. With them, desires mislead the soul.
They deny me return and closeness.

58. In them, calamities scourge me, dreadful events
Which tender hearts do not know how to soothe.

59. I see that this lower world belongs
To whoever is most submissive, even the rebellious one could master it.

60. And we used to see beneath it one who now
Sits atop its heights.

61. I do not complain of treachery—in me remains
A remnant of patience, though it expires and runs out.

62. You know me; events inform you about me, so of what
Can I speak regarding my circumstances when you see them?

63. What are they but words echoed by the mountains
When they ask your gifts to water them?

64. If not for your gentleness that would suffice me
The harbingers of my fortune would hardly stir or roam.

65. May you have the full rewards of bounty from a benefactor
Whose hopes called him and he answered the call!

66. For in an age not devoid of you and your people,
You were suited to sublime traits and possessed them.

67. You spread through it pages of generosity and dew
And after you enfolded and concealed it.