1. The first mixture irked you as they dragged
And the folds, their necks cried out, oppressed

2. They tied calamity to fate, if only it would slip
The knots would come undone before the meeting of forelocks

3. Are those nights and days coming back?
Those days of us and Salma, a neighboring tribe, mixed

4. When we were all satisfied with our companion
Not seeking an alternative, so life was blissful

5. And the gathering intact, so time honored it
Yet time acted perfidiously and failed us

6. My oath to them on the day the pasture panicked from remnant
The plain is now devoid of happiness and comfort

7. The she-camels heading back as if they are
Startled ostriches scattered in retreat

8. They arrived at the waters of distress, their beauty gone
On an arid plain, reddened with drought

9. You see them racing in their gait
When they lingered at the water and were unquenched

10. The valleys greet the dawn in sorrow at their springs
The turbid water, its customary watering place now barred

11. The lofty times from its days have departed
They approached the peg of the tent, or midway

12. The garden between the myrtle and date palms
So the sheltered ones surpassed the sands or descended

13. A shepherd roams perplexed, confused
The peace of people, the equitable judge of blood

14. Girded of waist, his cloak askew
A shaggy goat, inclined and disheveled of hair

15. He calls upon ghosts, every wailing she-camel
After separation with a mournful rattle

16. I remained following them with an eye of disquiet
Its humanity drowned in its waters, immersed

17. Every gathering must eventually disperse
All who live will someday be embalmed

18. And youths like the lions of the forests, from a lion
No fatigue overcame them, nor did they drag their feet

19. Whites shining, their wisdom dispels ignorance
The earth trembles at their rage, if they be provoked

20. When a tyrant writhed, they bent him toward
What they desire, unbending if they are opposed

21. Dispelling hardship and gloom with their counsel
When tastes and ways became confused

22. The decisive speakers, their clay remains unblemished
Their word has no contradictions or swerve

23. Those who join the destitute among them to their wealthy
The most generous of people when brought together

24. Who honor the meeting and uphold a pact if pledged
When the treaty breaker discards conditions

25. The eminent among them when they gather
Contain frivolity, jest and play

26. The lofty-speared warriors among them
On the day of battle, hands streaming with dew

27. They do not account lasting wealth or poverty
When some of their number witness excess