1. Whenever an uncouth man comes my way,
I say: the words that uncouthness would say.

2. I see the sword of Ibn Dhi Yazan unsheathed -
The turns of fate by the sharp sword are cleaved.

3. It moaned bitterly and cast a rope,
A kinsman of Tulaibah with fraying rope.

4. And Zayd bin Harithah was no beloved
To the brisk living from the withered dead.

5. Did you not see how Imru al-Qais wept
Like a youth of uncouth and coarse repute?

6. Thus is the world's succession, so fill me up
Your provision ere the final rupture.