1. وَداعٍ بِنَبحِ الكَلبِ يَدعو وَدونَهُ

    غَياطِلُ مِن دَهماءَ داجٍ بَهيمُها

    And a caller calls with a dog's bark, while before him

    Lie dense masses of a black night, its depths pitch-dark.

  2. دَعا وَهوَ يَرجو أَن يُنَبِّهَ أَذرُعاً

    فَتىً كَاِبنِ لَيلى حينَ غارَت نُجومُها

    He called, hoping to rouse arms—

    A youth like Ibn Layla, when its stars had set.

  3. بَعَثتُ لَهُ دَهماءَ لَيسَت بِناقَةٍ

    تَدُرُّ إِذا ما هَبَّ نَحساً عَقيمُها

    I sent him a black cauldron, not a she-camel,

    That yields abundantly whenever its barren wind blows ominously.

  4. كَأَنَّ المَحالَ الغُرَّ في حَجَراتِها

    عَذارٍ بَدَت لَمّا أُصيبَ حَميمُها

    As though the white vertebrae in its recesses

    Were maidens emerging when their loved one was struck down.