مَا رَاعَنِي إِلَّا حَمُولَةُ أَهْلِهَا وَسْطَ الدِّيَارِ تَسَفُّ حَبَّ الْخِمْخِمِ
Nothing startled me except the pack-animals of her people, standing amid the dwellings and eating the seeds of khimkhim.
Mā rāʿanī illā is an exclusive construction: it was this particular sight that alarmed him. Ḥamūlah means loaded transport animals.
Tasaffu ḥabba al-khimkhim depicts them eating the seeds of a plant called khimkhim. An ordinary scene of feeding becomes emotionally charged because it signals imminent departure.