The deserted site is at once erased habitation and a record one strains to read. The flood lifts the earth that concealed older marks, but no human voice returns from them. That tension gives the writing and tattoo similes structural importance rather than making them decorative ornaments.
The following verses develop the departure of the former inhabitants and the changes that followed. Understanding this introduction requires following both the language and the ordered sequence of images.
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Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: Deserted Dwellings, Seasons, Wildlife and Traces of the Past (Verses 1–10)
The deserted site is at once erased habitation and a record one strains to read. The flood lifts the earth that concealed older marks, but no human voice returns from them. That tension gives the writing and tattoo similes structural importance rather than making them decorative ornaments.
The following verses develop the departure of the former inhabitants and the changes that followed. Understanding this introduction requires following both the language and the ordered sequence of images.