1. The journey hardened her, the crossing of deserts,
And my descent each day into the valleys.

2. And my camp is in the shadow of the she-camel and the packsaddle,
With my bedroll and its armrest my pillow.

3. My bed is the pasture of restlessness,
Mended by tents from the era of 'Aad.

4. White yet green are its iron parts, from
What tore the feet crossing the stony ground.

5. And my shirt is armor, as though its stitches
Were the weaving of ants or the eyes of locusts.

6. My companion is my speech and my thoughts that delight me,
My joy is my water and my patience my supplies.

7. My guide is divining from the stars in the open country,
To the desert's landmarks and watering places.

8. And when darkness descends, how many stars in the sky
Does it guide me with on my path?

9. That is because my soul cannot accept injustice,
Even if I make my bed upon prickly weeds.

10. This is my habit, and I have been so
Since childhood, though it is hard for me.

11. So when I travel I reckon the earth is my kingdom,
And all regions obey my leadership.

12. And when I stay somewhere, people are my family,
Wherever I may be, and the lands my lands.

13. Good fortune does not elude one endowed with reason
And eloquence and delivery.

14. And when one arms oneself with contentment
One is nearer to attaining one's wants.

15. I am not one who boasts, lacking effort,
Of my fathers and forefathers.

16. I built my high station only with my own striving
And braving its dangers and my diligence.

17. With my words when I speak and my superiority
And my arguing for my rank and eminence.

18. Except that though I come up with words that melt
The heart of rocks, I am no boaster

19. Who brags about poetry and sings my praises in verses,
And when I build a house preens as though I built lofty pillars.

20. Rather I boast of myself, my people, my spear
And my sword and my generosity.

21. A group that their virtues on earth
Are recited by the tongues of the envious.

22. They clothed the hopeful in robes of honor
And humbled the necks of the stubborn.

23. How many stubborn foes put on a show of words for us
While hiding malice in their hearts!

24. And attacked us with arrows embedded
In hearts and livers.

25. So we marched against them in deepest night
With warriors riding the mounts.

26. And we came with horses, a flood
That flowed over the plateaus before the valleys.

27. And we surged from the thicket with warriors
On tall, striding camels.

28. Whenever they tried to approach peace with us
They saw war's artifices looming from the valleys.

29. And we took our rights with swords
That blood rendered free of their scabbards.

30. It was as though the swords were a raging wind
And they before its blowing the people of 'Aad.

31. Their heads tried ascending but received
Only heads of high places.

32. So if events have slipped my grasp, after
Time's winnowing of my days,

33. I have won from the soul's wishes enough
And attained more than my hopes.

34. And I know that life is but fleeting,
And each is destined for loss.