1. قالَت وَلَم تَقصِد لِقَولِ الخَنا

    مَهلاً فَقَد أَبلَغتَ أَسماعِ

    She said, intending no foul speech:

    Easy now—you have made yourself heard.

  2. أَنكَرتُهُ حَتّى تَوَسَّمتُهُ

    وَالحَربُ غولٌ ذاتُ أَوجاعِ

    I did not recognize him until I studied him closely;

    and war is a ghoul, fraught with pain.

  3. مَن يَذُقِ الحَربَ يَجِد طَعمَها

    مُرّاً وَتَحبِسهُ بِجَعجاعِ

    Whoever tastes war finds its flavor

    bitter, and it confines him to cramped, barren ground.

  4. قَد حَصَّتِ البَيضَتُ رَأسي فَما

    أَطعَمُ نَوماً غَيرَ تَهجاعِ

    The helmet has worn my head bare, so I do not

    taste sleep except in brief snatches.

  5. أَسعى عَلى جُلِّ بَني مالِكٍ

    كُلُّ اِمرِئٍ في شَأنِهِ ساعِ

    I strive for the greater part of Banu Malik;

    each man strives in his own affairs.

  6. بَينَ يَدَي فَضفاضَةٍ فَخمَةٍ

    ذاتَ عَرانَينَ وَدَفّاعِ

    At the front of a vast, mighty host,

    with chieftains and a staunch defender.

  7. أَعدَدتُ لِلهَيجاءِ موضونَةً

    مُتَرَصَّةً كَالنَهيِ بِالقاعِ

    I have prepared for battle a woven coat of mail,

    closely interlinked, like a pool on the plain.

  8. أَخفُرُها عَنّي بِذي رَونَقٍ

    أَبيَضَ مِثلَ المِلحِ قَطّاعِ

    I defend it for myself with a gleaming sword,

    white as salt, a mighty cutter,

  9. صَدقٍ حُسامٍ وادِقٌ حَدُّهُ

    وَمَجنَإٍ أَسمَرَ فَزّاعِ

    stout and keen, with a piercing edge,

    and a brown shield that strikes terror.

  10. لا نَألَمُ القَتلَ وَنَجزي بِهِ ال

    أَعداءَ كَيلَ الصاعِ بِالصاعِ

    We do not flinch at killing, and with it we repay

    our enemies, measure for measure.

  11. كَأَنَّنا أُسدٌ لَدى أَشبُلٍ

    يَنهَتنَ في غَيلٍ وَأَجزاعِ

    As though we were lions beside their cubs,

    growling in thickets and bends of valleys.

  12. ثُمَّ اِلتَقَينا وَلَنا غابَةٌ

    مِن بَينِ جَمعٍ غَيرِ جُمّاعِ

    Then we met, with a forest of spears on our side,

    amid a host that was no motley gathering.

  13. وَالكَيسُ وَالقُوَّةُ خَيرٌ مِنَ ال

    إِشفاقِ وَالفَكَّةِ وَالهاعِ

    Shrewdness and strength are better than

    fear, feebleness, and cowardice.

  14. لَيسَ قَطا مِثلَ قُطَيٍّ وَلا ال

    مَرعِيُّ في الأَقوامِ كَالراعي

    A sandgrouse is not like a chick, nor

    is one tended among peoples like the shepherd.

  15. فَسائِلِ الأَحلافَ إِذ قَلَّصَت

    ما كانَ إِبطائي وَإِسراعي

    So ask the allies, when war grew fierce,

    what my delay and my haste were.

  16. هَل أَبذُلُ المالَ عَلى حُبِّهِ

    فيكُم وَآتي دَعوَةَ الداعي

    Do I give wealth, despite my love for it,

    among you, and answer the caller's summons,

  17. وَأَضرِبُ القَونَسَ بِالسَيفِ في ال

    هَيجاءِ لَم يَقصُر بِهي باعي

    and strike the helmet's crest with my sword in

    battle? With it, my reach has never fallen short.

  18. فَتِلكَ أَفعالي وَقَد أَقطَعُ ال

    خَرقَ عَلى أَدماءِ هِلواعِ

    Such are my deeds; often I cross

    the vast wasteland on a swift, pale she-camel,

  19. ذاتِ شَقائِقٍ جَماليَّةٍ

    زينَت بِحَيريٍّ وَأَقطاعِ

    with cloth strips, massive as a he-camel,

    adorned with cloth from Hira and saddle-rugs.

  20. تَمطو عَلى الزَجرِ وَتَنجو مِنَ ال

    سَوطِ أَمونٌ غَيرُ مِظلاعِ

    She lengthens her stride at a shout and outruns the

    whip—a trusty mount, never prone to limping.

  21. أَفضي بِها الحاجاتِ إِنَّ الفَتى

    رَهنٌ لِذي لَونَينِ خَدّاعِ

    I attain my ends upon her; indeed, a young man

    is hostage to a two-colored deceiver.