1. The news spreads in the world and then folds back
And the lions of the den scrutinize and are scrutinized

2. Whenever they find passion one day they become passionate
Such is their nature, for they are most ferocious

3. A man may be admonished by a bleary-eyed drunk
And warned by a mute voice at dawn

4. Yet his desire for knowledge does not make him peruse books
Despite having witnessed relics being erased and buried

5. We travel by day then walk stealthily when
The nights darken over us and the alert sentry

6. Have you not seen trees burned whose era
Was ancient and others planted for youth

7. And varying motives, water on plowed land seeps
And water in the north is made to seep

8. Whenever you try a skilled horseman
I am more skilled than Zayd and Bistaam

9. I do not roast meat and that is a virtue
But I am not accustomed to horses

10. Sleeping in the desert is more wholesome than homes
That are built and wealth that is protected and guarded

11. How often does the dusty wanderer feel regret
For what the settled and fortified settlement reaped