| Introduction | 1 |
| 1 | To the Camels | 7 |
| 2 | A Broken Betrothal | 9 |
| 3 | A Horse Beyond Compare | 9 |
| 4 | Riposte to a Young Opponent in a Poetic Duel | 12 |
| 5 | Old Age | 13 |
| 6 | A Young Sultan Speaks to His People | 14 |
| 7 | Guulside the Victory Bearer | 15 |
| 8 | Seventy and Ten Years | 17 |
| 9 | Camel Rustling - 1 | 19 |
| 10 | Camel Rustling - 2 | 21 |
| 11 | The Death of a Friend | 24 |
| 12 | A Fine War Horse | 27 |
| 13 | A Land of Drought | 32 |
| 14 | Treason | 33 |
| 15 | A Terrible Journey | 36 |
| 16 | Folly | 41 |
| 17 | Perhaps the Trumpet Has Sounded | 42 |
| 18 | A Prayer for Maryam | 46 |
| 19 | The Lion's Share | 48 |
| 20 | Change of Command | 51 |
| 21 | A Hoopoe Rebuked | 52 |
| 22 | Listen, O Truck | 54 |
| 23 | Fleeting Joys | 55 |
| 24 | What Will Come Next? | 57 |
| 25 | Equality | 59 |
| 26 | The Stolen Wife | 62 |
| 27 | In Praise of Barni Sheekh | 63 |
| 28 | Dissimulation | 65 |
| 29 | A Vain Love | 66 |
| 30 | A Vision | 67 |
| 31 | The Messenger | 67 |
| 32 | A Chief Is Thanked for the Gift of a Horse | 69 |
| 33 | Where True Profit Lies | 72 |
| 34 | In Praise of Weris | 76 |
| 35 | The Serpent | 79 |
| 36 | A Lover's Fears | 85 |
| 37 | Happy Marriage | 86 |
| 38 | The Betrayed Girl | 87 |
| 39 | Bitter and Sweet | 88 |
| 40 | At the Grave of Cilmi Bowndheri | 90 |
| 41 | Beledweyn | 93 |
| App. I: The Oral and the Written Medium | 99 |
| App. II: Pronunciation of Somali Words | 101 |
| App. III: Alliteration and Scansion | 103 |
| App. IV: Selected Bibliography | 105 |
| App. V: Sources | 109 |