Ode LXXXV: Woe to thee, woe to thee

Woe to thee, woe to thee, Imra' al-Qais, after that [the horses] have placed their feet in the footprints of the riding camels !

And if thou hast once been saved from the depths [of destruction], beware that thou assail us not ever again in thy reckless folly !

[Your] horses remembered the barley they were wont to champ in the evening : but we are men accustomed to feed our steeds on cut dry fodder.

And by God ! if Imra' al-Qais had not been able to outstrip our horsemen at Falj,

He had spent the summer a prisoner, or had had to treat a wound from a spear from which thou mightest have seen behind him blood sprinkled and oozing in drops.

May I be a sacrifice for men who made [their foes] think hard upon their past luxurious life, when thou mightest have seen their nostrils snorting with their exertions over a meal of dark-red thand !

Verily the Sons of 'Ijl administered to you a morning draught that caused you to forget [all past things], delicious, hot !

Do ye come to us to seek for the poor remnant of our possessions, striving in your folly to thrust upon us discomfiture ?