إِنّي وايّاكَ والأعداءُ تنصُرُهُمْ

وأنتَ منِّي على ما فيكَ من دَخَلِ

I and you and the enemies helping them

And you are to me as you are inside

مثلُ العُقَابِ رأى نصلا يُركَّبُ في

قِدْحٍ لطيفٍ قويمِ الحدِّ معتدلِ

Like an eagle saw a spearhead mounted on

A slender bow, straight and finely balanced

فقال لا بأسَ ما لم يأتِه مدَدٌ

منّي يكون له عَوناً على العَملِ

So he said no harm as long as support

Does not come to it from me to aid in the work

فأَلبسَ القِدحَ وحفَاً من قوادِمِهِ

لمَّا تطايرَ رامٍ من بني ثُعَلِ

So he wore the bow and protected it with his primaries

When an archer from the tribe of Tha'lab took flight

رماه رشْقَاً فلم يُخطئْ مقاتِلَهُ

فخرَّ منتكساً من ذِروةِ الجبَلِ

He shot it swiftly and did not miss his foe

So he fell crashing from the mountain peak

فقال والسهمُ تحدوهُ قوادمُهُ

من ذا ألومُ وحتفي جاء من قِبَلي

And he said, as the arrow spurred his primaries:

Who can I blame? My doom came from myself.