1. Good tidings, the shepherd has gained what he sought
And scattered flocks in the meadow’s expanse

2. So the clouds' downpour was replaced with a drizzle
Of gentle rain that won't fail to come again

3. It waters the neighbor’s orchard generously
When the stingy one bars access to his own

4. I brought it to Al-‘Is at night's first gleam
Bearing glories of the best Arab steeds

5. None were deprived of it though the water was rationed
Nor were their mounts forbidden their provisions

6. So that banks of clouds passed in the morning
When the tents were struck and the abode folded

7. How many tent poles moaned when rain was drawn
Their servant girls planted pegs into the sands

8. White camels robbed the dusk’s gaze for a while
Then borrowed the doe’s trot at dawn’s first light

9. Of them is Layla, for whom I desire no substitute
Who rewards lovers by drawing them near, not pushing away

10. I remember her when the gazelle turns to look
As the sun rises and the boughs sway gently

11. And I am content with the kindness she shows
That her phantom keeps its promised rendezvous

12. And a stop at the ruins in a valley of love
Where the caravan lingers, pitching camp and resting

13. She rejected my flirtation angrily though it showed
Advice she mistook for tempting and misguidance

14. When lightning flashed, crossing its zigzag
And the wind shook the ropes of the tent pegs

15. Yearning surged forth whenever she drew near
Lightened by passion, yet weighed down by shackles

16. The camel litter finds no rest on the camel’s back
Nor does she complain of an aching, bruised side

17. When we reached Abul Maroofa she followed
Where the guide doesn’t venture and get lost

18. Entrusting the reins to a hand well-versed
In the meadow’s softness, kissing and farewelling

19. She envied my glory but her hatred didn’t show
Great deeds are never spared of envy’s pitfalls

20. A man of ambition with meteors as his guide
Charting the path of highest celestial spheres

21. The stars keep to their orbits but none reached
The farthest limit into the heavens’ climb

22. Of a people who dress their neighbor in their merit
And do well by the most wretched and destitute

23. Kindling fires in the darkness before first light
That even the wealthy cannot afford to ignite

24. Slaughtering udders’ milk where no settlements stand
For the traveling visitor, a feast is made ready

25. Children of Tameem, when fate deals harshly with them
Don’t seek others’ aid when ruin looms ahead

26. Rather, they provoke the beasts’ rage
And make their own skulls the sheaths of swords

27. When the armor is worn in the field of death
Bodies and souls are shrouded in its folds

28. They do not yield when disaster strikes
Can the gales ever shake the towering peaks?

29. Their glittering moons outshine the brilliant stars
And wars, in the summers’ shade, lie defeated

30. When havoc wreaked heroes with its tumult
Their twisted locks were tied in warrior braids

31. They dragged the hems of their robes in the battle
As the deluge cannot carry off the mountains

32. A warrior of them seized the chance and struck
Beyond him, the white blades fell short of reach

33. He sleeps while fevered restlessness disturbs him
The clouds of night shepherd the stars’ gaze

34. Until the vigilant eyes were rudely awakened
Like the stab of cold, impervious to fleece

35. When bitterness bent over a grudge
It kept shedding tears and rumbling threats

36. The pillar of sovereignty came to his aid
Destiny almost cast him into ruin

37. So the hatred weakened the hand it grasped
And the heart it poisoned with grudges and malice

38. O best of those whose hands the riding camel kneaded
Of a lofty lineage, forefathers and ancestors

39. You have gone and glory’s tears are unwept
Nor did the tragedies make our livers bleed

40. Poetry was lost that rivals envied
Yet days unfold and expand its recital

41. So I cannot match rhymes among you now
Or praise, however much I tried, the best horses