Mu'Tamid's Lament In Prison

In my breast, A wail of grief, Without any spark or flash, Alone survives, Passionless, ineffectual. A free man is in prison today, Without a spear or a sword; Regret overwhelms me And also my strategy. My heart Is drawn by instinct to chains. Perhaps my sword was of the same steel. Once I had a two-edged sword- It turned into the chains that shackle me now. How whimsical and indifferent Is the Author of fates. [Translated by Mustansir Mir] Note: Mu‘tamid was the king of Seville and an Arabic poet. He was defeated and imprisoned by a ruler of Spain. Mu‘tamid's poems have been translated into English and published in the Wisdom of the East series.