لا تَلحَ شَيبي وَما شاهَدتَ مِن كِبَري

ما دُمتُ أَغدو صَحيحَ العَقلِ وَالبَصَرِ

Do not reproach my gray hair, or what you have seen of my old age,

so long as I rise each morning sound in mind and sight.

قالوا أَبوكَ تَميمِيٌّ وَهِمَّتُهُ

شمُّ القُتارِ وَأَكلُ الشَحمِ بِالوَضَرِ

They said, “Your father is a Tamimi, and his ambition

is to sniff the reek of roasting meat and eat fat amid greasy grime.

وَما تَميمٌ إِذا عُدَّت أولي كَرَم

فَقُلتُ في النارِ مَعنىً لَيسَ في الحجَرِ

Tamim is not counted among the foremost in generosity.”

So I said, “There is a meaning in fire that is not in stone.”