Near the caravan, the litters, curtains and women can be distinguished separately. At a greater distance, their outlines blur. With the shimmering mirage, a travelling group takes on the appearance of trees and piled stones in a valley.
The two verses use different scales. Verse 14 compares the women’s appearance to graceful animals; verse 15 compares the group as a whole to seemingly motionless features of the landscape. The change follows the observer’s increasing distance from the caravan.
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Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: The Departing Caravan, Memory of Nawār and Distant Destinations (Verses 11–19)
Near the caravan, the litters, curtains and women can be distinguished separately. At a greater distance, their outlines blur. With the shimmering mirage, a travelling group takes on the appearance of trees and piled stones in a valley.
The two verses use different scales. Verse 14 compares the women’s appearance to graceful animals; verse 15 compares the group as a whole to seemingly motionless features of the landscape. The change follows the observer’s increasing distance from the caravan.