1. Do not seek repayment of debts except with the slender spear,
And judge none but with swords on the hills.

2. Do not dwell near base men whose neighbors they trouble,
But leave them in desolate abodes and depart.

3. Do not flee when plunged into the fray -
For flight avails not a man his allotted span.

4. O Ablaq, you are the darkness of my heart, so judge
My affections, and be equitable, O culmination of hope!

5. And if you travel from frowning 'Abs, then do not stop
In a house of disgrace, nor heed the censurers.

6. For after our departure, their land
Will remain without a horseman called or hero known.

7. Ask Fazarah about my deeds, for she broke away
In a large and violent army like pouring rain.

8. Her dusky spears quiver with hate against me when
She saw the flames of my swords gleaming with fire.

9. Badr bin 'Amr will tell you that I am a hero
Who casts armies with a heart hewn from a mountain.

10. I fought their horsemen until they scattered in rout
And the thrusting of spears was more lethal than fate.

11. And my horse returned walking, stumbling
Over skulls strewn white and broken.

12. I have captured the elite of the tribe triumphantly
And returned drunk with joy like one made mellow with wine.

13. O my son, you have saddened my heart with parting, though I do not
Weep for the loss of friends or dwellings.

14. Rather, from parting with her whose eyes hold sickness
Which has increased my maladies beyond my illnesses.

15. I spend my evenings apprehensive of parting, as
My enemies spend theirs fearful of my sword.

16. Alas! Gone are those first days of youth, playing, and love.
Who will restore to me the beer, flirting, and antelope?

17. Gray hairs have folded what I used to unfurl
And the big-eyed gazelles no longer recognize me.

18. Nor has time bent my resolve from attacking
And plunging into the fray on plain or hill,

19. With horses and fluttering black standards - my passion
Is not wantonness and riding, but warriors' arts.

20. Good advice has restrained me from these and reproved me,
So I do not weep for a vestige or an encampment.

21. Ask my steed about me the day it carries me forth -
Have I lost my courage or turned from a hero?

22. How many armies have I scattered in disarray,
With horsemen likes raindrops pouring forth!

23. What procession have I plunged into, attacking its van
And rear with thrust and stab amid white and dapple-gray?

24. Why should I care for men who shed my blood
When I am the first to strike them with word and deed?

25. None drinks wine but he who is held in contempt,
And none dwells without a fearful neighbor.