Ode V: When ye go forth in the

When ye go forth in the morning making for our land again, ye Sons of 'Amir, stock yourselves well with hangman's ropes !

The Sons of Dhubyan — know it well ! — are still where ye found them the last time, in the bend of the valley of al-Batll, some pasturing in the wilderness, some settled in villages ;

They block the doors of the lordly tents with well-trained steeds, tethered by head-ropes to penfolds [containing she-camels set apart to yield them milk].

A mighty concourse are they : no stranger breaks their unity of stock at all the waters between Faid and Sajir ;

Their gatherers of firewood go far away until they reach the woods of tamarisk that overhang the barren sands.

Thou didst escape with a blade that had no scabbard on it, and a saddle that was too short to fit the back of ar-Eihalah :

So praise her well for her service to thee, as is fitting, and be not ungrateful to her — the ungrateful has no prosperity !

Had she been galloping on the ground, she had been overtaken : but she flew through the air with thee like an eagle

Dusky of hue, with supple wings, whose feathers have been matted together by the rain of a day of heavy and frequent showers.

May every one in the tribe that falls short of his purpose, whether a seeker after vengeance or the inflicter of a blow, be a sacrifice for Abu Asma !

Thou hast given in thy bounty camels of full age that have just conceived, then those in the tenth month of pregnancy ; and thou hast not withheld even the she-camel that yields, at a milking, a row of bowls, appointed as a nurse for the calves of others.

He pairs his steeds [for the foray] with riding camels, and they outstrip all others in the hurried advance, braving the heat of the noon-day ;

Then overtook the enemy in the east of al-Maraurat in the afternoon the remnant of the offspring of al-Quraqir ;

And there escaped not of them any save [those that had] mares with deep-sunken eyes, that claim to be of noble stock by their long necks, like the stallion-camel that challenges and beats all his rivals.

At Sahuq they poured forth on the ground many hospitable bowls, and they made over [to our tribe as booty] others, some full of milk set apart to curdle, and some of milk already sour.

Yea and thou, O 'Amir son of the Rider of Qurzul, again thou fallest back upon vile and unseemly speech !