وَلَستُ بِنائِلٍ قَمَرَ الثُرَيّا

وَلا جَبَلي الَّذي فَرَعَ الهِضابا

I do not seek the moon of Thurayya,

Nor my lofty mountain which towered above the hills.

أَتَطلُبُ يا حِمارَ بَني كُلَيبٍ

بِعانَتِكَ اللَهاميمَ الرِغابا

Do you, O donkey of Bani Kulaib,

Seek with your miserable braying, the pastures?

وَتَعدِلُ دارِماً بِبَني كُلَيبٍ

وَتَعدِلُ بِالمُفَقّئَةِ السِبابا

And claim equality with Darim of Bani Kulaib,

And with Al-Mufaqqi'a the Cursing?

فَقُبِّحَ شَرُّ حَيَّينا قَديماً

وَأَصغَرُهُ إِذا اِغتَرَفوا ذِنابا

Evil is the worst of our two settlements from old,

And the smallest of them, when they draw buckets.

وَلَم تَرِثِ الفَوارِسِ مِن عُبَيدٍ

وَلا شَبَثاً وَرِثتَ وَلا شِهابا

You have not inherited the horsemen from slaves,

Nor did you inherit Shabath or Shihab.

وَطاحَ اِبنُ المَراغَةِ حينَ مَدَّت

أَعِنَّتُنا إِلى الحَسَبِ النِسابا

The son of Maragha fell when

Our helpers stretched out to the noble lineage,

وَأَسلَمَهُم وَكانَ كَأُمِّ حِلسٍ

أَقَرَّت بَعدَ نَزوَتِها فَغابا

And submitted them, and he was like Umm Hilas

Who acknowledged after her rage had passed away.

وَلَمّا مُدَّ بَينَ بَني كُلَيبٍ

وَبَيني غايَةٌ كَرِهوا النِصابا

And when between Bani Kulaib

And me the argument was stretched to the furthest limit,

رَأَوا أَنّا أَحَقُّ بِآلِ سَعدٍ

وَأَنَّ لَنا الحَناظِلَ وَالرِبابا

They saw that we had more right to the family of Saad,

And that ours were the Hanajil and the Rijab,

وَأَنَّ لَنا بَني عَمروٍ عَلَيهِم

لَنا عَدَدٌ مِنَ الأَثَرَينِ ثابا

And that we had against them the Bani ‘Amr,

We had from the ruins a structure which was rebuilt.

ذُبابٌ طارَ في لَهَواتِ لَيثٍ

كَذاكَ اللَيثُ يَلتَهِمُ الذُبابا

Flies buzzed around in the vanity of a lion -

Thus does the lion devour the flies.

هِزَبرٌ يَرفِتُ القَصَراتِ رَفتاً

أَبى لِعُداتِهِ إِلّا اِغتِصابا

Vileness which overthrows the lofty fortresses with force -

Refused to let his enemies have anything but pillage.

مِنَ اللائي إِذا أُرهِبنَ زَجراً

دَنَونَ وَزادَهُنَّ لَهُ اِقتِرابا

Of those women, when threatened with rebuke,

They approached and that increased their coming closer.

أَتَعدِلُ حَومَتي بِبَني كُلَيبٍ

إِذا بَحرِي رَأَيتَ لَهُ اِضطِرابا

Do you claim equality of my protection with Bani Kulaib

When you see my sea raging for it?

تَرومُ لِتَركَبَ الصُعَداءَ مِنهُ

وَلَو لُقمانُ ساوَرَها لَهابا

You intend to mount the Sua'da of it

Even if Luqman warned her against the flames.

أَتَت مِن فَوقِهِ الغَمَراتُ مِنهُ

بِمَوجٍ كادَ يَجتَفِلُ السَحابا

The waves from above it are flooded over it

With a wave that almost makes the clouds recoil.