1. I see my soul yearning for the stars
I will carry it through great danger

2. And the pain of worries upon my heart
Is more hurtful than scratches upon my hide

3. And if I am patient, I bend my heart
To a bit of very painful affliction

4. And I have hope like the chest of a spear thrusted forth
Except that the nights are among my opponents

5. And the wine cup prevents me from the fancy of my concerns
So none enjoy it but my boon companions

6. And I have not reached twenty years
Yet my critics have fulfilled upon the world

7. And intimate talks which I have witnessed and to which I gave
The rein of my mouth to a silent heart

8. And awe which forgetfulness trembles from
I rode the steed of persistent kindness

9. When a need is fulfilled by my sword
I thank for it the night of oblivion

10. And the enemy recognizes me by the impact of my spear
When the face is veiled by arrows

11. And I have no ambition except the heights
And protecting the wronged from a noble lineage

12. The mounts kneel from its glory
And the small talk has overcome the graves

13. You wake in the morning by the strike of a stab
Like the spear of the warrior freed from the whetstone

14. And it overwhelms them when the lofty meet
The chewing of the stab from the twisting of the intestines

15. And every slender like an arrow silences
The groins of the goats and sheep

16. It shows me the sun first of those who see it
And last of its decline the release of darkness

17. And the trotting of the stallion snatches the meadows
By dictating to the lead rope on the tethering place

18. It startled the night and the horizons are quiet
As if its stars are the wool of leather

19. And it paved, like the parting of hair, a path
They traversed, and were not disturbed by misfortunes

20. And water that was filtered with travelers
From the drinkbowl and erect aqueducts

21. And they returned, and they had no guide except
Their mouths among the clustered roses

22. And they returned when the belt of Pleiades declined
And dawn spun seeking the stars

23. And keenness appeared to our eyes beyond dawn
Like a gentle cheek beyond the horizon

24. And the perfume of camomile mingled with dew
The scent of tender herbage and lush meadows

25. I unleashed my she-camels so they grazed
Changing their lips upon the vegetation

26. Oh if only I sit conversing one day
With a heart free of the hardship of worries

27. And I cling to the she-camels my liver and it pounds towards me
From the she-camels the passion of the breeze

28. And I free their minds with pasture they see
Laughing from the threshing floors

29. I see the days proceeding upon us
With harm from its misfortunes and disgrace

30. A chronic disease misleads our souls
So it hands us over to barren land

31. And we follow with tears, and what tear
Can rescue, even if it stays on the eyelids?

32. And time isolates us without a relative
Who would blame time, no bosom friend

33. And we meet before the encounter with death
The spears of disease piercing the bodies

34. So if it was private, a secret of some people
But alas the hardship is upon everyone

35. And the creditors increase except
When harm passes and my enemy is covered

36. I have seen money raise up a fool
And lack of money decrease a wise one

37. If only the noble people attained my honor
And were not stained by the blame of the ignoble

38. He blames though he was blamed, and the worst thing
Is when no fault comes from a blamer

39. I yearn to burn the enemies with my gaze
Then my tent returns me to composure

40. My fathers who rose up refused blame for me
To the graceful necks of the aromatic hills

41. When they attacked enemies, they returned
Having submerged hatreds in sweetness

42. Oh messenger to the living, I have
Cut off the associations of ancient time

43. And I refused to stay my encampment
In the valley of al-Ramth or the cloudy mountain

44. And soon my time will distract me
From pasturing people, not pasturing livestock

45. I have no escape from meeting death
So why do I not brace myself for it?

46. I will seek the heights, either with bedouins
Who see ruins or with Romans

47. And if I was supported by the family of Ukal
I would refrain from misfortunes from Tamim

48. Beware, O Bani Duhhal, that I
Incline to the matter you harbor

49. So do not expose yourselves to the arm of Aad
Debased when his filth is exposed

50. For if you have a poem preceding then I am
The opposite of its prosody, the discerning chief

51. And a rhyme that gurgles whatever days have oozed
In the honor of the despicable

52. It repeats what it has of one who understands it
Other than frowning at it and scowling

53. It has in the head lesions which
Humans court like a blind drunkard

54. So that whoever I wrestle may know that my poetry
Surveys both misery and bliss