translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani
I muse, but in my musings I recall
The days of my iniquity; we’re all—
An arrow shot across the wilderness,
Somewhither, in the wilderness must fall.
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.