1. They say it's made of seven stars aligned,
Yet it is but the work of the starry guide.

2. When those stars raise their bowl on high,
'Tis He who lifts it to the eye.

3. Can the soul of the dead return after its farewell
To recompense a people with tearful, starry eyes?

4. He who changes the necks and hands of men,
Passing them like vessels from port to port.

5. Dearer to Him are feet trudging in accord
Than bodies borne upon shoulders toward the shrine.

6. To Him death is but a pauper at the door,
While another beggar walks the road declined.

7. To Him the youth's armor is but the armor of Ghadah,
And Kisra's palace but the web of spiders spined.

8. He galloped unto Ghobra and the orator took the stand
While He remained the noblest rider of the two clans.

9. The bier is but a ship that voyages on billows
Of surging calamity, wave upon wave entwined.