وَيُدني ذِراعَيهِ إِذا ما تَبادَرا

وَيُدني ذِراعَيهِ إِذا ما تَبادَرا

إِلى رَأسِ صِلٍّ قائِمِ العَينِ أَسفَعُ

إِلى رَأسِ صِلٍّ قائِمِ العَينِ أَسفَعُ

And he draws his two forelimbs close when they race one another,

He stretches out his arms when they both lunge

Toward a venomous serpent’s head with an unblinking eye—he, the dusky one.

Toward the upright head of a smooth rock