1. How they filled the air with their cries,
And fruitlessly assailed the stars.

2. They made of them scrolls, some
Engrossed with others in tiresome toil—

3. Pens crowd together on them as
The warp mixes with the woof.

4. They gather right to wrong,
Would that they might put an end to falsehood!

5. I saw them like reeds—if crooked,
The fault therein lies with the bearer.