StageTextual markersConflict and hardshipṭard, ḍarb, kidāmWatchfulness and fearyarbaʾu, marāqibThirst and resolveṣiyām, ṣarīmahRunning and dustsafā, dukhānWater and reedssariyy, qallām, yarāʿ
The comparison develops into an extended scene, with a cause, an ordeal, purposeful exertion and a destination. Rather than just calling the she-camel swift, the poet tells an entire animal narrative. The closing reeds and water complete the movement from thirst and dust to a sheltered destination.
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Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: Wild Asses, Thirst, Desert Travel and the Watercourse (Verses 25–35)
StageTextual markersConflict and hardshipṭard, ḍarb, kidāmWatchfulness and fearyarbaʾu, marāqibThirst and resolveṣiyām, ṣarīmahRunning and dustsafā, dukhānWater and reedssariyy, qallām, yarāʿ
The comparison develops into an extended scene, with a cause, an ordeal, purposeful exertion and a destination. Rather than just calling the she-camel swift, the poet tells an entire animal narrative. The closing reeds and water complete the movement from thirst and dust to a sheltered destination.