translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani

And hear the others who with cymbals try
To stay the feet of every passer-by:
       The market-men along the darkling lane
Are crying up their wares.—Oh! let them cry.

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.