Pour me not the water of life with disgrace; But pour me, with glory, the bitterest cup; The water of life in disgrace is as Hell; And Hell with glory is the finest abode. (The last lines from his poem beginning "Judge by your swords".)
Tag: Arabic poetry
A translation of Antara
I reproach an age that does not bend to reproaching,And plead for security from calamities approaching.Promised by the days a promise that deceived me—I know well it was but the promise of mendacity.I served a people and took on relationsTo aid me, and yet they became as scorpions. — Antara,1 I reproach an age (my … Continue reading A translation of Antara
Notes in the Margins of the Days 