1. تَقولُ اِبنَتي أَلهى أَبي حُبُّ أَرضِهِ

    وَأَعجَبَهُ إِلفٌ لَها وَلُزومُها

    My daughter says, "Love of his land has distracted my father,

    And familiarity with it and staying there have delighted him."

  2. بَل أَلهى أَباها أَنَّهُ في عِصابَةٍ

    بِرَهمانَ أَمسى لا يُعادُ سَقيمُها

    Rather, what distracted her father was that he was among a band

    At Rahmān, where their sick now go unvisited.

  3. تَساقَوا بِماءٍ مِن بِلادٍ كَأَنَّهُ

    دِماءُ الأَفاعي لا يُبِلُّ سَليمُها

    They shared a drink of water from a land, as though it were

    Vipers' blood—those they bite do not recover—

  4. مُجاجاتِ حَيّاتٍ إِذا شَرِبوا بِها

    سَما فيهُمُ سُوارُها وَهَميمُها

    Spittle of snakes: when they drank of it,

    The snakes' fierce surge and creeping rose within them.