1. قَد أَغتَدي قَبلَ غُدُوٍّ بِغَلَس

    وَلِلرِياضِ في دُجى اللَيلِ نَفَس

    I sometimes set out early, before morning, in the predawn gloom.

    And the gardens breathe in the darkness of night.

  2. حَتّى إِذا النَجمُ بَدا لي بِالقَبَس

    قامَ الجَوادُ في ظَلامٍ قَد جَلَس

    Until, when the star appeared to me bearing a flame,

    The steed rose in darkness that had settled.

  3. يُلاحِقُ الوَثبَةَ مُمتَدَّ النَفس

    مُحَملَجٌ مُمَرٌّ اِمرارَ المَرَس

    He follows leap upon leap, long of breath,

    Well-rounded, tightly knit like firmly twisted rope.

  4. نَعمَ الرَديفُ رابَنا قَوسُ الفَرَس

    يَنفي القَذى عَن مُقلَةٍ فيها شَوَس

    Fine is the pillion-rider; the horse’s arch troubled us.

    He clears the grit from an eye that glares askance.

  5. إِذا غَدا لَم يُرَ حَتّى يَفتَرِس

    When he goes forth in the morning, he is unseen until he seizes prey.