- By ‘Antarah Ibn Shaddād al-’Absī
“I was silent, so my enemies were deceived by my silence.
And they thought I had forgotten my people.
How could I ever sleep over great leaders,
Whose blessings I was raised from.
If the steeds of the enemies encircle them,
And I am called, I answer, whenever I am called.
With a sword, whose edge is the wave of death,
And a spear, whose breast is killer destruction.
I was created from steel, with the toughest heart,
And the steel was damaged, but I was not.
I indeed have drunk the enemies’ blood,
From the skulls of heads, but my thirst wasn’t quenched.
In the depths of war, I was born a child,
And from the milk of battles, I was breastfed.
So the spears have no share in my body,
Nor do the swords have provision in my limbs.
I have a house higher than the pinnacle of stars,
and the rest of the houses submit to its great awe.“
