وَلي صاحِبٌ يَغشى الوَغى وَهوَ فارِسٌ

وَيَعجَزُ أَن يَغشى الوَغى وَهوَ راجِلُ

I have a friend who braves the battlefield as a horseman,

Yet on foot, he's too weak to face the fray.

تَفَخَّذَ ظهرَ الأَعوَجِيّ مُحَزَّماً

فَقُلتَ هِلالٌ أَطلَعَتهُ المَنازِلُ

He chose to ride a crooked-backed mule into battle,

So I said, "He looks like a crescent moon rising over the dunes."

وَلا غُنيَةٌ فيهِ بِغَيرِ أَخٍ لَهُ

شَديدِ القُوى صعبٍ عَلى الخَيلِ باسِلُ

But that mule is useless without a rider

Who's strong and firm in the saddle.

أُسَيمِرُ موشِيُّ العِذارِ كَأَنَّما

يُناطُ بِهِ مِن ساعِديهِ جَداوِلُ

My friend sways atop his bumpy mount

As if its forelegs were unstable columns.