translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani
O Rabbi, curse us not if we have been
Nursed in the shadow of the Gate of Sin
Built by thy hand––yea, ev’n thine angels blink
When we are coming out and going in.
The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala (James T. White & Co., 1920) by Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Ma‘arrī. Translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani. Copyright © 1920 by Ameen Rihani. This poem is in the public domain.