Excerpt from 'Maqtal al-Husayn':
Bashir Ibn Hathlam has said, 'When we came close to Medina, ‘Ali Ibn al-Husayn (‘a) alighted and tied his she-camel then set up a tent where he lodged the women. He said to me, ‘O Bashir! May Allah have mercy on your father! He was a poet. Can you compose any of it at all?' I said, ‘Yes, O son of the Messenger of Allah! I, too, am a poet.'
He (‘a) said, ‘Then enter Medina and mourn the martyrdom of Abu ‘Abdullah (‘a).' So I rode my horse and entered Medina. When I came near the Mosque of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his progeny, I cried loudly and recited these verses:
O people of Yathrib! May you never stay therein!
Al-Husayn is killed, so my tears now rain,
His body is in Karbala’ covered with blood
While his head is on a spear displayed.'