The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, LV

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.

Credit

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.

Translators
Ameen Rihani
1876 –
1940