1. Rabia claimed, and she is blameless,
That I had grown old and my head turned grey,

2. And she saw young women reach maturity suddenly
So she fears the madness of youth and is filled with awe.

3. It irritates her that there is still
An unmarried girl who offers herself or a widow.

4. It's as if when they go out adorned
And emerge from the gloom of the chambers fluttering,

5. Each smooth-browed one's forehead is like
A Pigeon whose eyes are painted.

6. She brushes her teeth with a twig whose color
Is like spearmint, its fragrance even sweeter.

7. And she says, “You have squandered all your money,
So evil is what you spend on slave women and seek to marry.”

8. She did not know in her past life
That the generous man hunts though saddled with debt.

9. And after old age covers a man's head
He inclines to the flirting of youth and is thrilled.

10. And the horses reproach me for restraining them,
Saying, “You have wasted immeasurable wealth.”

11. So I swore that I will never be without
A smooth-coated steed or one whose gall is bitter.

12. Grey Suhub, when I loosen his reins,
Is destruction when the pack is disrupted.

13. Yet if you face him, a smooth palm trunk guides him
Topping the date palms, trimmed.

14. The cheek-pieced one is mounted on him
A forelock and ear flickering and tossing.

15. And you see the bit nearly disappearing in his mouth
As if the axe would vanish in it.

16. And you see his neck-opening is spacious,
Ample, open-chested, and broad-shouldered.

17. He has smooth neck arteries adorning him
Like a shirt, bearing marks of majesty and neck muscles.

18. It's as if his rider sits on patterned cloth
Playfully, on which boys frolic.

19. But if you face his rear, his legs propel him,
Worked by a groom, humpbacked.

20. Bare Zaja, as if when her protector
Uncovered her thigh, he unveiled a gazelle.

21. And when horsemen inspect him walking by,
It is said, “Sihrān of the meadow, who snorts and brays.”

22. And when he is led at a canter that shakes him,
The supple bridle nearly slips from the browband.

23. And you see the pebbles suffer when you lead him
With the smooth-sided purse that does not jingle.

24. Deaf are its sides, as if its eagles
Were from the shell of an Egyptian ruler secluded.

25. And it's as if he sniffs above their barrels
Between the pommels and cantles - Ṭuḥlab.

26. I kept him a year, wiping his face
And brother of the lairs - who will care for and lament him?

27. And I made him, in winter, the prize of the family,
Until he was sleek, though at first neglected.

28. And in summer, when I shelter him in shade
Whose enclosure, before sunset, is pierced.

29. And he has three feeds a day,
And I pasture him at night, returning.

30. Until when he weakens and becomes like
A hyena in Rabia, submissive, humpbacked.

31. I wagered my people - and the wager was contentious -
That my stud fee, though high, would be accepted and sought.

32. In a race they entered, challenging on the day
Of wager, and I seek all of that.

33. So I moved him with the insight of the discerning, and I wasn’t
One who deceives himself and lies.

34. I cast the two saddlebags, his majesty overflowing,
Until every saddlebag was pouring over.

35. And I returned water to him after his fatigue
Until he became as if naturally disposed to flight.

36. Ape of the wasteland, yet with remnants still
Of workmanship I presented, lasting.

37. And they lined up with the horses, which were darting off,
And their ordeal upon them was concealed.

38. We passed the night at the head of the line dividing our matter
While the contention wandered among us, probing.

39. Until, when the stars faded and their beauty was obscured
By a returning cloud that hid their movements,

40. They shouted at them to lighten their bellies’ burden
And their hearts beat fearfully at that spectacle.

41. And they paraded them, necks extended, line straight
As if gold were flowing over them.

42. And the birds of good omen flew for him at daybreak
While for them the birds of bad omens croaked.

43. The son of Awa cried out, away from their left cheeks,
And the fox ran to his right.

44. I hurried and spurred it on, and said to my rider,
“Race him, for the steed is unleashed!”

45. But he refused me, though halfway down the track,
As the horses were seized by the whips, snapping.

46. And his boy steadied himself in the saddle
Fixed in his place - an amazing sight!

47. Until he came to the two lines, displaying
The insight of the discerning, from his position veering.

48. He drew near the distant nobility with a glance
As if he were Sihrān with a waving tail.

49. And for each was a band of his people
And he had a procession of tribal scions attending him.

50. They overtook him, saying, “This is a racer,
A scrutinizer of lineage, or one amazed.”

51. And I kept away the prancers behind him
Fearing for the horsemen - he was a gentle wind.

52. This is so you may know, Bāriq, that I am a man
For whom there is insight in racing, no deceit.

53. And the heavies saw their dreams were in vain
While the dreamer - his cloak is the well-cut, embroidered.

54. And of the people are those who live by his opinion
And those who suffer misery through him and are tormented.

55. Leave off contention and attend on our wager day
With a five-year-old or a defective old mare.