Sol 6.1

  1. And al-Zubayr's kin are sons of a freeborn woman,

    With swords they milked blood from averted breasts.

  2. Ask the sleek horses and their battle-days about them,

    When they unsheathed the keen, light blades.

  3. They die, and being slain is their malady,

    And on the day of swordplay they face the swords.

  4. When slaughter opens gaps in their thicket,

    That thicket insists on growing dense.

  5. Lavish hosts, whose homes are praised,

    When lofty peaks are veiled in clouds.

  6. And their dog is more timid than a whistling bird:

    If a pebble strikes it, it flees in fear.

Sol 6.1