Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster Quotes

“Some people are like an open grave:
You give it the thing you love most
And then get nothing in return.”
― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“When men shake hands with time, time crushes
Them like tumblers; little pieces of glass.”
― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“Hold tight to what is most yourself,
Don't squander it, don't let your life
Be governed by what disturbs you.”
― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“Good men's actions are natural
While a scoundrel's charity
Is carefully planned to please.”
― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“Don't believe what you're told unless your mind
Confirms its truth: palm trunks, lofty as clouds,
Stay wood.”
― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“The eyelids of the burdened clouds let fall cascades
Of rain, and the parterred garden is spattered with drops.”
― Abdullah Ibn al-Mu'tazz, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“Death and parting are the same.”
― Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“You're given the fruit of one palm tree:
Bear it a basin of clear water.
Don't trouble with the plight of other palms.”
― Abu al-Ala al-Ma'arri, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets

“The man who reproaches you is unfair;
You're a woman and not a saint.”
― Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf, Birds Through a Ceiling of Alabaster: Three Abbasid Poets