Page:The Luzumiyat of Abu'l-Ala.djvu/14

 "Thrice-imprisoned," thou wert e'en as mighty,
 * In the boundless kingdom of the mind,

As the whirlwind that compels the ocean,
 * As the thunder that compels the wind.

"Thrice-imprisoned," thou wert freer truly
 * Than the liegeless Arab on his mare,—

Freer than the bearers of the sceptre,—
 * Freer than the winged lords of the air.

"Thrice-imprisoned," thou hast sung of freedom
 * As but a few of all her heroes can;

Thou hast undermined the triple prison
 * Of the mind and heart and soul of man.

In thy fountained peristyles of Reason
 * Glows the light and flame of desert noons;

And in the cloister of thy pensive Fancy
 * Wisdom burns the spikenard of her moons.
 * Ameen Rihani.