كم من قُمَدٍّ كعصا الراعي

بَلَعْتَه يا شرَّ بَلاَّعِ

How many sticks, like a shepherd's staff,

Have you swallowed, O voracious swallower,

ذي فيشةٍ تُشْبِه فُقَّاعةً

يَكشفُ عنها ذَيْلُ فُقَّاعي

With a serpent's head resembling a bubble

Whose tail is revealed by a bubbler,

مُضَبَّرٍ يحملُ إِضبارةً

مقدارُها باعانِ في باع

Covered in mud, carrying much mud,

As much as two arms' length in one arm,

رَمْيَتُها فيك إذا رَمَتْ

أكثرُ من رَمْيَةِ مِقلاع

If it throws at you when it throws,

More than the throw of a catapult.