1. Does she fall silent when visited at the abodes,
Or can no eloquence pierce the veil between us?

2. Dark as kohl, whatever we say is meaningless,
Veiled by the unsoiled summer clouds.

3. It trails behind, flaunting its finery,
As a bride’s gown is dragged by her maid.

4. The Malikis have ruled, their wisdom final,
Though it may grieve a barren she-camel.

5. I said, if I gain wisdom and experience,
Stinginess and impudence may frequent you.

6. My travels may be curtailed for a while
By a narrow pass or a sixth of a mile.

7. When rutting she-camels swerve their mouths
As the fierce stallion twists its neck in refusal.

8. At noon when the old she-camel stands erect
Her neck is bent by the docile racer.

9. It meets the mound above two hollows, covered in scrub,
Like a club stuck in the grip of a sour face.

10. As if an eager hunter with yelping hounds
Pursues game midst the howling and the lowing.

11. The celestial Twins appeared above him
Called the Claws by the commoner star-gazer.

12. Then came the roar of a moaning she-camel
Whose lingering cry drew the jackals near.

13. Cast out where no campfire burns,
One may meet the touch of the unseen there.

14. I described her among the loving and tender souls
Whose tombs overlook the ruins from on high.

15. He approached her fearing his scent would betray him,
Though hearing was alert and on guard.

16. He bared veins and exposed her nether parts
As the lewd poem yields to the debauched.

17. When the dark night lifted at dawn
And dense shadows no longer spread their cloak,

18. He shook himself, ridding coat and fur
As the swaying reed sheds its silken tufts.

19. A hostile band of impoverished nomads set upon him
Like warriors competing for spoils and plunder.

20. Raiding parties took him by surprise, no chieftain led them,
Disheveled they swarmed in a sudden raid.

21. Girded for war since the break of dawn, no food sustaining him,
No subjects except the hills and tree stumps.

22. He resolved to defend himself, his true nature
Concealed from them though the sun had risen.

23. In little time the blur was lifted from the scene
And the landscape resumed its familiar guise.

24. From a tear in his side a redness flowed,
As breath escaped through the gaping hole.

25. Then on nimble legs he slipped away
Gliding on the plain and coasting the dunes.

26. I sang of generous youth before dawn’s break,
Before the woodpecker’s knock roused the slumbering.

27. The song flowed melodiously, as if the buyer,
However severe, would find no fault in it.

28. We took shade, serenaded by a talentless chorus,
Toneless, artless, meaningless prattle.

29. With ears uncovered and plain garments,
Then clasps upon their shoulders drew closed.

30. A charlatan pretended refinement, soiled by the mire
Or sanctity, his turban in disarray.

31. Wearing trousers rolled above the ankle,
Clothed in rags, no salt, unafraid of blame.

32. The doves filled the courtyard of his abode,
As frogs gathered noisily at its edge.

33. Then came the clamor, and a hostile crowd
In David’s weave, their shouting pierced the calm.

34. They overwhelmed the date palms, their cries so jarring
The abandoned ruins shook beneath the assault.