1. We left the generous host on a youthful night
With bitterness and endless disputing foes

2. He sheltered where the bleak desert and bare wasteland lay
With valleys furrowed and carved by the feet of camels

3. We left a stalwart whom hunger had convinced
That if he stayed with the tribe, they would be his killers

4. A brave man who brandished his sword without wavering
Whose strength persisted through nights with no rest

5. A man whose shirt at the waist you cannot see
But only his shoulders tent and billow the fabric

6. A man to whom a cousin is no more than a wolf
Who if he sees his companion’s blood, will be his feeder

7. His tongue excels while he alone from the tribe
Does all he utters, not mere idle words

8. But for miserliness, lewdness and blame, he eschews
Such manners and traits, cleaving to nobler deeds

9. You please him if oppressed, and appease if oppressing
And all that you would burden him with, he willingly bears

10. Generous with worldly goods, close-fisted for his honor
Lenient with his Master, though few his missteps

11. When guests arrive, he is cheerful to the living
Until their camels are rested and ready to leave

12. When he cooks for the tribe, he is as a protector
His nature steadfast, no fleeting whim or fancy

13. If the people think well of him, he will uphold
Their good opinion, doing all they expect

14. When serious, his dedication earns your approval
And falsehood, if you wish, even his falsehood appeases

15. He left us, bequeathing a tattered cloak
And a long white robe from India, its edges fraying

16. A man whose hands the eminent would drink from
And reach the far edge of the encampment while quenching

17. His master will mourn him with tears when they meet
Unless he shows up disheveled, his hair matted and twisted

18. You see his cauldrons rumbling, his fire aflame
With twigs and fragments of kindling wood to sustain it

19. They boil a thigh, the best bone of his neighbor
Keenly aware though unfettered, his chains long removed

20. The slightest mention of sorrow saddens me
In my heart an ache that will not diminish or leave

21. When my heart disobeyed, I feigned indifference
And said, "My heart for one like his, I would gladly exchange"

22. Before you, I would reproach those who wept
While you occupy the one for whom they weep