1. Whose are the abodes, so tall and lofty,
While by their corner the wild beasts lie?

2. A mixed tribe in them has residences,
A trace that has no story to relate.

3. And damsels there are wont to visit them,
Thirsting to drink, though to all there is enough.

4. They won beauty's tenderness through lore and grace,
Not through delicate cheeks or fawnlike eyes.

5. A shepherdess, when she rises to her need,
Makes her staff quick but her milking slow.

6. A curly-haired, smooth-cheeked youth of pedigree
Could rob hearts by a glance from his doe eyes.

7. They have sworn by the dust the cavalry raised,
And by the morning squadrons in close ranks,

8. Stabbing the dark with every bright sword,
And in every gloom a flashing glance.

9. The darkness is pelted with starry lights
That make it seem like a quilted gown.

10. They raced to the stoning without pause for rest,
Neither taking belts off nor tightening.

11. Bare of pilgrim's robes in the bright morn,
The girdles were loose and hymns unsung.

12. I will make you drink a draught so sharp
That neither game nor jest can relieve.

13. With deadly, poisoned tips among its feathers,
The arrows make even the dancers retire.

14. Their distant hiss makes wounds forget their hurt,
The freed are apt to forget their chains.

15. Have you climbed a lofty dune, O camel,
Where did the driver chance to send you?

16. From the howdah to the soft sands quickly,
Swift moves the piebald camel with clipped hump!

17. Did you attach your plumes among their vanguard?
The advance will wear them out threadbare.

18. If you add to them in number, you lessen them;
Increase by mixing brings but decrease.

19. You left it desolate, an empty ruin,
That neither life colors, nor plumb makes smooth.

20. And part of the ruins the wearer conceals
Are covered by neither cloak nor shirt.

21. O you who prick me with his needle claw,
The mosquito's sting is but a nip and bite!

22. Envy no man his wealth,
For the linings of purses are ever lean.

23. And fear overtaking those you've outstripped,
To climb high invites but a sudden fall.

24. And knot your hands with the twist of generosity,
No shame in stock, or bitter blame.

25. When a lion is seen by men,
Talk grows hushed, and figures stand still,

26. Of a tribe whose best rode on at the outset,
The noblest on thoroughbred steeds like night,

27. When they do good they include all their people,
When they pelt aacterless wretch they aim true.

28. The number of generous deeds in their homes
Is countless, heaped up and running over.

29. They have raised their strivings from the foundations,
High rise the walls built new from the base.

30. Until they are settled in the highest part,
And on the hilltops they place their forts,

31. They wiped out the enemy host, nor are they
Harmed by the shifting sands of wind-blown dunes.