وَيَطيرُ أسوده وَيبرقُ تَحتَهُ

وَيَطيرُ أسوده وَيبرقُ تَحتَهُ

بَرقَ السَّحابَةِ شَدّ ما يُجْلِي

بَرقَ السَّحابَةِ شَدّ ما يُجْلِي

And his black plumage flutters, and beneath it flashes

His blackness flies and flashes underneath

like lightning from a cloud—how brightly it shines!

The lightning of the cloud intensely bright

ذو بُردَةٍ خَلَت عَلى جُؤشوشِهِ

ذو بُردَةٍ خَلَت عَلى جُؤشوشِهِ

سَوداءَ جافِيَةٍ مِنَ الغَزْلِ

سَوداءَ جافِيَةٍ مِنَ الغَزْلِ

He has a cloak I fancied upon his breast,

Wearing a cloak that drapes his shoulders

black and coarsely spun,

Pitch black and coarse from spinning

وَشُقَيقَةٍ بَيضاءَ غَير طَويلَةٍ

وَشُقَيقَةٍ بَيضاءَ غَير طَويلَةٍ

عَنْ رُكبَتَيهِ قَليلَةُ العَضْلِ

عَنْ رُكبَتَيهِ قَليلَةُ العَضْلِ

and a little white cloth-strip, not extending far

And a little white ankle-ring

beyond his knees, scant of muscle.

Scarce spanning his slender shins

حَرقُ الجَناحِ كَأَنَّهُ مُتَمايِلُ

حَرقُ الجَناحِ كَأَنَّهُ مُتَمايِلُ

مِن آل أَحبَش شاسِعِ النَّعْلِ

مِن آل أَحبَش شاسِعِ النَّعْلِ

Ragged-winged, as though he were a swaying man

The burning of his wings as though he swoops

from the people of Ahbash, broad-sandaled.

A scion of Abyssinia, broad of sole

أَصلاً قُبيلَ اللَّيلِ أَو غادَرْنَها

أَصلاً قُبيلَ اللَّيلِ أَو غادَرْنَها

بكراً عذية في النَّدى الهَضْلِ

بكراً عذية في النَّدى الهَضْلِ

Late in the afternoon, just before night—or they left her

Setting out well before night’s end

early, on rain-fed ground, in the plentiful dew.

Or leaving at dawn, in the dripping dew

وَالوَحشُ سارِيَة كَأَنَّ مُتونَها

وَالوَحشُ سارِيَة كَأَنَّ مُتونَها

قُطُنٌ تُباعُ شَديدَةُ الصَّقْلِ

قُطُنٌ تُباعُ شَديدَةُ الصَّقْلِ

And the wild beasts travel by night, their backs seemingly

The beasts like swaying hilltops as though their backs

cotton offered for sale, brightly gleaming.

Were cotton sold, well-burnished smooth

عُنْقاً يقلبها وَرَأساً غاوِياً

عُنْقاً يقلبها وَرَأساً غاوِياً

صَعْلاً وَقَد يَسمو عَلى الصَّعْلِ

صَعْلاً وَقَد يَسمو عَلى الصَّعْلِ

A neck he turns about, and a wayward head,

Neck swiveling, head held high

small and narrow—and he sometimes rises above the small-headed one.

Lofty, though he may stand upon a dune

وَيَقولُ ناعِتُها إِذا أَعرضتها

وَيَقولُ ناعِتُها إِذا أَعرضتها

هَذي الوآةِ كَصَخرَةِ الوَعلِ

هَذي الوآةِ كَصَخرَةِ الوَعلِ

And her describer says, when I turn her broadside:

And his herder, when he shows him off, declares

"This sturdy she-camel is like the ibex's rock."

“This here’s a boulder, firmly set!”