Al-Ḥārith says he had recognized the elder before the full extent of his literary success became apparent. He was close to revealing what he knew, but the elder communicated restraint:
«بِإِيمَاضِ جَفْنِهِ»
By a quick movement of his eyelid.
Īmāḍ evokes a flash or swift sign; jafn is an eyelid. The accompanying imagery of a sharp blade and its sheath asks that the elder's concealed identity remain undisclosed.
The moment is important because it restores the narrative relationship between the speaker and al-Ḥārith, rather than leaving the public contest as an isolated literary feat.