1. The limbs of a young man are honored after his death,
Yet with time they turn to dust.

2. Our souls are like the wind - if confined for long
They must one day roam free.

3. They scorn us, saying we are but strangers
High-born yet far from home.

4. But will the lion be shamed that his den
Is shared with lionesses?

5. Was Medina ever blamed for sheltering
A people with no shame?

6. They who struck the sons of snakes and fought
Against faith when kings grew cruel,

7. Blows that send the chick from its mother's nest
Leaving the man's armor in tatters.

8. Yet they boast of noble birth - if this be true
Then among them are only nobles.

9. What is faith without adherence?
A veil, a price, embarrassment and shame.

10. My soul accepts no pious words
Though preachers prattle on.

11. A simple girl is startled if women glide by
Flaunting their charms.

12. Yet harboring the living is but a crime
To those who are bereft of reason.

13. With riches the sons of Qais grew self-important
As grackles with beaks held high.

14. Without fate's decree, the fire-keeper's flame would shine
And no tents would rise between the rivers.

15. When luck abandons them they return
To days when ruin swallowed the land.

16. They take more lives than they lose,
And if they kill a freeman no blood-price is due.