The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, LX

translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani

Between the white and purple Words of Time
In motley garb with Destiny I rhyme:
      The colored glasses to the water give
The colors of a symbolry sublime.

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