لَعَمرُكَ إِنَّ الذِئبَ يَومَ سَما لَنا

عَلى حاجَةٍ مِن جَوَّةٍ لَصَديقُ

By your life, the wolf one day was our guide

To fulfill a need, to a dear friend,

بِأَسفَلِ شِعبٍ مِن عُرَيقَةَ قابِلٍ

يَكادُ بِأَيدي الناعِجاتِ يَضيقُ

At the foot of a cliff, a meeting place,

Nearly caught by the shepherdesses’ hands.

عَشِيَّةَ كَرَّ الباهِلِيّانِ وِاِرتَمَت

بِرَحلىَ مِقدامُ العَشِيِّ زَهوقُ

At dusk the camels knelt down to rest,

The evening caravan leader’s mount was skittish.

وَما كانَ ذِئبٌ سانِحٌ لِيَرُدَّني

وَلا الطَيرُ في كَهفٍ لَهُنَّ نَعيقُ

No howling wolf could turn me back,

Nor birds nesting whose cries were feverish.

وَآخِرُ عَهدي مِن حُمَيدَةَ نَظرَةٌ

وَقَد حانَ مِن شَمسِ النَهارِ خُفوقُ

My last view of Humaydah was a glance,

As the sun was setting, its glow vanished.

بِبَرِّيَّةٍ لا يَشتَكي السَيرَ أَهلُها

بِها العيشُ مِثلُ السابِرِيِّ رَفيقُ

In an open land where people don’t complain of travel,

Living there is like having an easygoing companion.