لَها نَسَقاتٌ كَالقَطا نَشَطَت بِهِ

مِنَ الدوِّ صَفراءُ اللَّبانِ طمومُ

Her strides come in ordered runs, like sandgrouse; she sets out with him

from the open waste—yellow-breasted and fleet.

تقلبه عَن وَكرِهِ عُلَوِيَّةٌ

كَما جُرَّ عَن أَصلِ الحماطِ هَشيمُ

An upland-bred she-camel tosses him far from his nest,

as dry brush is dragged from the wild fig’s root.

بِضَمرٍ كَجَروِ الشَّري لَم تَطوِ غَيرَهُ

فِراغاً وَلَم يُكتَب هُناكَ أَديمُ

With a belly lean as the sharī’s whelp, she enfolds nothing but

emptiness; no leather hide was ever stitched there.

إِذا خَفَّ ماءُ المُزنِ فيهِ تَيَمَّمت

يَمامَتها أَيّ العِدادِ تَرومُ

When the rainwater there dwindles, its doves set their course

for whichever perennial watering place they seek.