translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani
How like a door the knowledge we attain,
Which door is on the bourne of the Inane;
It opens and our nothingness is closed,—
It closes and in darkness we remain.
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.