1. إِذا نَحنُ حالَفنا شِفارَ البَواتِرِ

    وَسُمرَ القَنا فَوقَ الجِيادِ الضَوامِرِ

    When we ally ourselves with the edges of cleaving swords,

    And brown spears upon lean steeds,

  2. عَلى حَربِ قَومٍ كانَ فينا كِفايَةً

    وَلَو أَنَّهُم مِثلُ البِحارِ الزَواخِرِ

    To fight a people, we have strength enough,

    Even if they are like surging seas.

  3. وَما الفَخرُ في جَمعِ الجُيوشِ وَإِنَّما

    فَخارُ الفَتى تَفريقُ جَمعِ العَساكِرِ

    And glory lies not in mustering armies; rather,

    A young man's glory is to scatter the gathered troops.

  4. سَلي يا اِبنَةَ الأَعمامِ عَنّي وَقَد أَتَت

    قَبائِلُ كَلبٍ مَع غَنِيٍّ وَعامِرِ

    Ask about me, O daughter of my uncles, when there came

    The tribes of Kalb, with Ghani and Amir,

  5. تَموجُ كَمَوجِ البَحرِ تَحتَ غَمامَةٍ

    قَدِ اِنتَسَجَت مِن وَقعِ ضَربِ الحَوافِرِ

    Surging like the sea's waves beneath a cloud

    That had been woven from the impact of pounding hooves.

  6. فَوَلَّوا سِراعاً وَالقَنا في ظُهورِهِم

    تَشُكُّ الكُلى بَينَ الحَشا وَالخَواصِرِ

    So they fled swiftly, with spears in their backs,

    Piercing their kidneys between their entrails and flanks.

  7. وَبِالسَيفِ قَد خَلَّفتُ في القَفرِ مِنهُمُ

    عِظاماً وَلَحماً لِلنُسورِ الكَواسِرِ

    And with the sword I left of them in the wasteland

    Bones and flesh for the ravening vultures.

  8. وَما راعَ قَومي غَيرُ قَولِ اِبنِ ظالِمٍ

    وَكانَ خَبيثاً قَولُهُ قَولَ ماكِرِ

    And nothing alarmed my people but Ibn Zalim's words,

    And his speech was vile, the speech of a schemer.

  9. بَغى وَاِدَّعى أَن لَيسَ في الأَرضِ مِثلُهُ

    فَلَمّا اِلتَقَينا بانَ فَخرُ المُفاخِرِ

    He transgressed and claimed that none on earth was his equal;

    So when we met, the boaster's glory became plain.

  10. أُحِبُّ بَني عَبسٍ وَلَو هَدَروا دَمي

    مَحَبَّةَ عَبدٍ صادِقِ القَولِ صابِرِ

    I love the sons of Abs, even if they deem my blood forfeit,

    With the love of a slave, truthful in speech and patient.

  11. وَأَدنو إِذا ما أَبعَدوني وَأَلتَقي

    رِماحَ العِدا عَنهُم وَحَرَّ الهَواجِرِ

    And I draw near whenever they cast me away, and face

    The foes' spears on their behalf, and the heat of midday.

  12. تَوَلّى زُهَيرٌ وَالمَقانِبُ حَولَهُ

    قَتيلاً وَأَطرافُ الرِماحِ الشَواجِرِ

    Zuhayr departed, with cavalry squadrons around him,

    Slain, amid the points of interlacing spears.

  13. وَكانَ أَجَلَّ الناسِ قَدراً وَقَد غَدا

    أَجَلَّ قَتيلٍ زارَ أَهلَ المَقابِرِ

    And he was the noblest of men in rank, and now has become

    The noblest slain man to visit the dwellers of the graveyards.

  14. فَوا أَسَفا كَيفَ اِشتَفى قَلبُ خالِدٍ

    بِتاجِ بَني عَبسِ كِرامِ العَشائِرِ

    Alas! How did Khalid's heart find relief

    Through the crown of the sons of Abs, noble among the clans?

  15. وَكَيفَ أَنامُ اللَيلَ مِن دونِ ثَأرِهِ

    وَقَد كانَ ذُخري في الخُطوبِ الكَبائِرِ

    And how can I sleep at night without avenging him,

    When he was my treasure amid great calamities?