1. The mother of fortresses made me a coward,
When I met the Banu 'Abs,

2. And the group of Banu 'Amr and 'Amr ibn 'Aamir,
And Taym - at the sight of them my soul shuddered,

3. As if the skins of leopards were draped over them,
When they clashed between couching and charging.

4. We met them and they hemmed us in with true lances,
With stabbing like fire sparked in dry wood.

5. And when we entered under the shade of their spears,
I groped with my palms seeking the ground by touch.

6. Yet I came away unharmed, my turban not ripped,
Though with stabbing they had shredded my shield.

7. No man should be blamed for the fear of his day
When yesterday his courage was made known.

8. Obeyed in heyja, obeyed in the lands,
When the horizons of the sky yellowed with twilight.