...the following few verses are from a poem by Al Mutanabbi, considered the greatest of classical Arab poets (915-965). Since I also raise asil Arabian horses it has a special appeal to me and the final line could be applied equally to the dogs.
And many a day I have ridden through
Watching the sun when it should set
My eyes fixed on the ears of a bright-blazed horse
Which was as if a star of the night remained between its eyes,
Having a superfluity of skin on its body which came and went over a broad breast;
I cleaved with it in the darkness
Drawing close its reins so that it rebelled,
At times slackening them so it played,
Felling with it any wild beast I followed,
And dismounting from it
And it the same when I mounted.
Fine steeds, like true friends, are few, even if to the eye of the inexperienced they are many;
If you have seen nothing but the beauty of their markings and limbs, their true beauty is hidden from you.
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