The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, XXXV

translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani

Methinks Allah divides me to complete
His problem, which with Xs is replete;
     For I am free and I am too in chains
Groping along the labyrinthine street.

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