With the Glow of Dawn they Came upon us
Oh my wife, going back to my early ancestors
They and I have never seen trade with money
The men we are descended from used to have camels
It was always my lot to get a share from the
attacking campaigns
Only once did I do something which my father did not do
I took four nights to reach the village which the camels
were loaded up for
I reached the gate of Burco I and my goods
Immediately they approached as if they were ready for me
With the glow of dawn they came upon us the brokers of
the sheep and goats
People whose good faith had been taken away gathered
conspiratorially against us
I was astonished when they pressed the shoulders of
the rams
'It is that amount; no it isn't ' they argued bluntly
The stubborn arguing disheartened me greatly
The one with the twisted eye cheated me the one whom I
trusted
They tried to console me with four shillings minus forty
cents [4 annas]
While I watched the hands with which I was bought
The sheep and goats you are asking me about have
fallen into the hands of others
Those whom I believe deserve to be hung from thorns by
their Achilles tendon
That whip-like stick and the pieces of cloth they forgot
near me
Some men are more expert in prices than me; ask them!