أخذنا بأطراف الأحاديث بيننا
We began exchanging strands of conversation among ourselves.
وسالت بأعناق المطي الأباطح
And the gravelly valley floors seemed to stream along with the camels’ necks.
The travelers are conversing as the caravan proceeds. Instead of straightforwardly saying “the camels flowed like water,” the verse attributes the action of flowing to the valley beds themselves. This imaginative realignment is what makes the expression noteworthy.
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Familiar and Distinctive Metaphor: Obvious Resemblance and Artful Rarity
أخذنا بأطراف الأحاديث بيننا
We began exchanging strands of conversation among ourselves.
وسالت بأعناق المطي الأباطح
And the gravelly valley floors seemed to stream along with the camels’ necks.
The travelers are conversing as the caravan proceeds. Instead of straightforwardly saying “the camels flowed like water,” the verse attributes the action of flowing to the valley beds themselves. This imaginative realignment is what makes the expression noteworthy.