1. Ghassan was born of Thalibah, her hearth ablaze,
Morose, ungracious, no kindness his nature betrays.

2. A slave you captured, to freedom his way he has paved,
A refuge he finds, though deserted the place that he craved.

3. Have you not seen, O Ghassan, that my enmity
Cuts through the breaths of men as keen as a blade?