1. لَم يَقضِ مِن حاجَةِ الصِبا أَرَبا

    وَقَد شَآكَ الشَبابُ إِذ ذَهَبا

    He fulfilled no wish of youthful passion,

    And indeed youth grieved you when it departed.

  2. وَعاوَدَ القَلبَ بَعدَ صِحَّتِهِ

    سُقمٌ فَلاقى مِنَ الهَوى تَعَبا

    And the heart, after its recovery, was revisited

    By sickness, so it suffered weariness from love.

  3. إِنَّ لَنا فَخمَةً مُلَملَمَةً

    تَقري العَدوَّ السِمامَ وَاللَهَبا

    Indeed, we have a mighty, closely massed host,

    Which serves the enemy poison and flame;

  4. رَجراجَةً عَضَّلَ الفَضاءُ بِها

    خَيلاً وَرَجلاً وَمَنصِباً عَجَباً

    A surging mass that cramped the open plain,

    With cavalry, infantry, and wondrous noble rank.

  5. أَكنافُها كُلُّ فارِسٍ بَطَلٍ

    أَغلَبَ كَاللَيثِ عادِياً حَرِبا

    At its flanks stands every valiant horseman,

    Thick-necked as a lion, charging, fierce in battle.

  6. في كَفِّهِ مُرهَفُ الغِرارِ إِذا

    أَهوى بِهِ مِن كَريهَةٍ رَسَبا

    In his hand is a keen-edged sword; when

    He strikes with it in fierce battle, it sinks deep.

  7. أَعِدَّ لِلحَربِ كُلَّ سابِغَةٍ

    فَضفاضَةٍ كَالغَديرِ وَاليَلَبا

    Prepare for war every full-length coat of mail,

    Ample as a pool, and the leather armor,

  8. وَالسُمرَ مَطرورَةً مُثَقَّفَةً

    وَالبيضَ تُزهي تَخالُها شُهُبا

    And the brown spears, sharpened and straightened,

    And the bright swords, gleaming—you would take them for meteors.

  9. يا قَيسُ إِنَّ الأَحسابَ أَحرَزَها

    مَن كانَ يَغشى الذَوائِبَ القُضُبا

    O Qays, indeed, ancestral honors have been won

    By him who covers forelocks with keen swords,

  10. مَن غادَرَ السَيِّدَ السِبَطرَ لَدى ال

    مَعرَكِ عَمراً مُخَضَّباً تَرِبا

    Who left the tall chief upon the

    Battlefield—Amr—bloodstained and dust-covered.

  11. جاشَ مِنَ الكاهِنَينِ إِذ بَرَزوا

    أَمواجَ بَحرٍ تُقَمِّصُ الحَدَبا

    From al-Kahinayn, when they came forth, there surged

    Waves of a sea that made the hills leap,

  12. لِنَصرِكُم وَالسُيوفُ تَطلُبُهُم

    حَتّى تَوَلَّوا وَأَمعَنوا هَرَبا

    To aid you, while swords pursued them,

    Until they turned away and fled far.

  13. وَأَنتَ في البَيتِ إِذ يُحَمُّ لَكَ ال

    ماءُ وَتَدعو قِتالَنا لَعِبا

    While you were at home, as they heated for you the

    Water, and you called our fighting a game.