يَا دَارَ كَبْشَةَ تِلْكَ لَمْ تَتَغَيَّرِ

بِجُنُوبِ ذِي خشُبٍ فَحَزْمِ عَصَنْصَرِ

O Dar Kabsha, you have not changed

With the southern side of wooden stakes and bundles of palm fronds

فَجُنُوبِ عَرْوَى فَالقِهَادِ غَشِتُهَا

وَهْناً فَهَيَّجَ لي الدُّمُوعَ تَذَكُّرِي

With southern porches covered in moss

It weakly aroused in me tears of remembrance

تَمْشي بها حِزَقُ النَّعَامِ كَأَنَّهَا

بُعْرَانُ كَلاَّءٍ يَلُحْنَ بِأَيْصَرِ

With it walk the heels of ostriches as though they are

Young she-camels bleating yellow

وقَلُوصِ مَأْرُبَةٍ بَغَيْتُ هِبَابَهَا

في مَوْرِدٍ نَائِي المَوَارِدِ مَصْدَرِ

And the small domes of Ma'rib whose rain I desired

In a remote spring of springs originating

عَمِلٍ قَوَائِمُهَا عَلَى مُتَقَعْقِعٍ

عَكِصِ المَرَاتِبِ خَارِجٍ مُنَتَشِّرِ

With pillars built on shaky ground

Leaning over steps scattered

وَرَدَتْ وقَدْ بَلَغَ الفِتَانُ وَضِينَهَا

غَلَساً ولَمْ تُوصِلْ ولَمْ تَتَهَجَّرِ

And it came when the seductions reached their peak

Sticky yet not fertile nor inhabited

قُلُبَاً مُنَكزَةً جَوَائِزُ عَرْشِهَا

تَنْفِي الدِّلاَءَ بِآجَنٍ مُتَمَذِّرِ

A heart bored, the fringes of its throne

Repel worms with broken rotten pieces

جُوفاً إِذَا نُهِزَتْ تَرَنَّمَ جُولَهَا

كَتَرَنُّمِ المَكُّوكِ عِنْدَ المِزْهَرِ

Hollow, so when shaken it hums gently

Like the humming of a spindle by the flowers

فَتَزَاوَرَتْ مِنْ طَيِّه وحِيَاضِهِ

ونَقِيِّ خِيمٍ كَالنِّسَاءِ الحُسَّرِ

So they visited from its folds and courtyard

And pure tent like veiled women

عَبَّتْ بِمِشْفَرِهَا وَفضْلِ زِمَامِهَا

في فَضْلَةٍ مِنْ مَاصِعٍ مُتَكَدِّرِ

Tied with its noseband and extra rein

In an extra amount of intertwined thick mud

فَبَعَثْتُهَا تَقِصُ المَقَاصِرع بَعْدَمَا

كَرَبَتْ حَيَاةُ النَّارِ لِلْمُتَنَوِّرِ

So I sent it to chase the enemy after

The life of fire became difficult for the enlightened one

قَبَّاءُُ قَدْ لَحِقَتْ خَسِيسَةُ سِنِّهَا

واسْتُعْرِضَتْ بِبَضِيعِهَا المُتَبَتِّرِ

An old naughty she-camel whose defective merchandise was displayed

And as if its canine teeth were with the lost

وكَأَنَّ نَابَيْهَا بِأَخْطَبِ ضَالَةٍ

مُسْتَنْقِعَانِ عَلَى فُضُولِ المِشْفَرِ

Two stagnant ponds on the edges of the chisel

And as if my ride above the hunch of a trotter

وكَأَنَّ رَحْلِيَ فَوْقَ أَحْقَبَ قَارِحٍ

يَحْدُو سلائِبَ مِنْ بَنَاتِ الأَخْدَرِ

Galloping the dunes of the daughters of the dunes

It no longer neighs for it

لَمْ يَعْدُ أَنْ فَتَقَ النَّهيقُ لَهَاتَهُ

ورَأَيْتُ قَارِحَهُ كَلَزِّ المِجْمَرِ

And I saw its trotter swift like burning coal

Smooth the stupidity of the difficult contrary to it

مُسْتَنْتِلٍ هُلْبَ العَسِيبِ خِلاَفَهُ

وخِلاَفَهَا كَلَقَى الخَلِيفِ المُعْصِرِ

And contrary to it like squeezing the pressed caliph

Running the side of the shoulder from its sides

يَعْدُو مَنَاطَ الكِفْلِ مِنْ جَنَبَاتِهَا

لاَ مُعْجَلٍ رَهَقاً ولاَ مُتَأخِّرِ

Neither too fast out of breath nor too slow

Braying nonsense its words pouring

جَارٍ بِجَحْفَلَةٍ يَمُجُّ لُفَاظَهَا

سُمُطٍ كَمَكُّوكِ النَّصَارَى المُصْفَرِ

Arrogant like the spinning of monks with yellow robes

Its saddlebags cover the utensils of its milk

تَكْسُو سَنَابِكُهَا شُكُولَ لَبَانِهِ

نَقْعَاً كَأَنَّ بِهَا دَوَاخِنَ مُخْدِرِ

Steaming as if there were pots on them steaming