Sol 5.6

  1. He shaved his moustache and beard close, both together—

    Have you seen a billy-goat’s head when it is scalded bare?

  2. And the hulking brute walked with his head uncovered,

    so that, just then, he looked like a grizzled ape.

  3. As he raves, he gestures with all ten fingers,

    and wheels like Abū al-Riyāḥ, thrashing about.

  4. His speech is broken up by his coughing,

    like a donkey that grows breathless mid-bray, then farts.

  5. With all his din and clamor, he seems

    a man possessed, thrashing in his chains.

  6. None can match him in ugliness but a scowling wretch,

    coarse by nature and consummate in vileness.

  7. The water of dignity has dried from his face;

    instead, he drips shamelessness and baseness.

  8. Sullen as a rock’s shadow—whoever sees him says:

    “It is the face of a dead man, embalmed in soot.”

  9. And when his face contorts or he bares his teeth in laughter,

    it is as though he were defecating through his face.

  10. And when he clears his throat while speaking, you would think him

    a bull bellowing over its fodder and lunging down.

Sol 5.6