يَرَونَ المَوتَ دوني إِن رَأَوني

وَصِلَّ صَفاً لِنابَيهِ ذُبابُ

They see death below me, if they see me,

And a swarm of flies forms rows on his fangs.

مِنَ المُتَحَرِّماتِ بِكَهفِ طَودٍ

حَرامٍ ما يُرامُ لَهُ جَنابُ

Among the forbidden ones in the cave of Tuwd

Is that which the unclean may not approach.

أَبى الحاوونَ أَن يَطَئو حِماهُ

وَلا تَسري بِعَقوَتِهِ الذِئابُ

The lynx refused to tread its sanctuary,

Nor do the wolves range freely in it.

كَأَنَّ دَماً أُميرَ عَلى قَراهُ

وَقَطراناً أُميرَ بِهِ كُبابُ

As though the blood of a prince is on its villages,

And its crevices are smeared with tar.

إِذا ما اِستَجرَسَ الأَصواتَ أَبدى

لِساناً دونَهُ المَوتُ العُبابُ

Whenever it makes loud cries, it displays

A tongue, below which death has built.

يَظَلُّ نَهارَهُ نَوماً سُباتاً

وَنَزوَتُهُ طُمورٌ وَاِنسِيابُ

Its days it spends in sleep and slumber,

And its outings are at dawn and dusk.

إِذا ما اللَيلُ أَلبَسَهُ دُجاهُ

سَرى أَصمى تَصيحُ لَهُ الشِعابُ

When the night clothes it in its darkness,

It creeps blindly, the cliffs scream at it.

كَأَنَّ جَرادَةً تَشَرَت عَلَيهِ

جَناحاً فَاِرتَدى مِنها الحُبابُ

As though a locust hovered over it,

And the seeds scattered from it.

مَتى ما يَرمِ عَن عَينَيهِ شَخصاً

فَلَيسَ إِلى الحَياةِ لَهُ إِيابُ

Whenever it glances at someone,

For him there is no returning to life.