أُقَاتِلُ مَهديُّا وَتِلكَ سَفَاهَةٌ

وَأَمرٌ بَدَا لِى غَيُّهُ مُتَفَاقِمُ

I fight Mahdiyya, though it was sheer folly,

And the matter seemed to me increasingly obscure,

فَلَمَّا أَتَتَنَا شِيعَةُ اللهِ تَدّعِى

لَهَا لَهَبٌ تَبيَضُّ مِنهُ المَقَادِمُ

Until the partisans of God came to us alleging

Their zeal blazed against the oncomers.

فَدَارَت رَحَانَا سَاعَةً وَرَحاهُمُ

وَطَاحَت أَكُفٌّ بَينَنَا وَجَماجِمُ

So we milled a while confounded, and they milled,

And palms fell between us and skulls.

أُطَفِّرُ حِيطَانَ السَّبِيعِ وإِنَّنِى

بِأَبوَابِ حِيطَانِ السَّبِيعِ لَعَالِم

I purify the enclosure's walls, and I

At the enclosure's walls' gates am wise.