أَرادَت طَريقَ الجَفرِ ثُمَّ أَضَلَّها

أَرادَت طَريقَ الجَفرِ ثُمَّ أَضَلَّها

هُداةٌ وَقالوا بَطنُ ذي البِئرِ أَيسَرُ

هُداةٌ وَقالوا بَطنُ ذي البِئرِ أَيسَرُ

She sought the road to al-Jafr; then she was led astray

She wanted to take the path of Al-Jafr then she was misled

By guides, who said, “The valley of Dhū al-Biʾr is easier.”

By guides who said: “The belly of the deep well is easier.”

وَأَصبَحَ سَعدٌ حَيثُ أَمسَت كَأَنَّهُ

وَأَصبَحَ سَعدٌ حَيثُ أَمسَت كَأَنَّهُ

بِرائِعَةِ المَمروخِ زِقِّ مُقَيَّرُ

بِرائِعَةِ المَمروخِ زِقِّ مُقَيَّرُ

And at dawn Saʿd, where she had been at dusk, looked like

And Sa’d remained where he was at eve as though

A pitch-coated wineskin at Rāʾiʿat al-Mamrūkh.

He were bits of meat thrown to the young she-camels.

فَما نَوَّمَت حَتّى اِرتَمى بِنقالِها

فَما نَوَّمَت حَتّى اِرتَمى بِنقالِها

مِنَ اللَيلِ قُصوى لابَةٍ وَالمُكَسَّرُ

مِنَ اللَيلِ قُصوى لابَةٍ وَالمُكَسَّرُ

So she did not doze until her swift strides had flung behind her,

Scarcely had she bedded down when she flung herself into her saddlecloth

In the night, the far edge of a lava field and al-Mukassar.

From the depth of night – an Abyssinian cloak and a torn veil.

تُساقِطُ أَولادَ التنَوِّطِ بِالضُحا

تُساقِطُ أَولادَ التنَوِّطِ بِالضُحا

بِحَيثُ يُناصي صَدرَ بُحرَةَ مُخبِرُ

بِحَيثُ يُناصي صَدرَ بُحرَةَ مُخبِرُ

She scatters the young of the tanawwuṭ bird in the forenoon,

She makes the young stallions of At-Tanwit stumble at dawn

Where Mukhbir faces the front of Buḥrah.

Where the breast of Buḥrath Mukhbir adjoins.