In his Epistle of the Two Luminaries, which is [subtitled] "From a dejected lover, to one whose love is reciprocated by another," and begins with the words: "The earth lies before the merciful king, the sultan of beauty, the lion of combat...." ‘Ala’ al-Din [Taqi al-Din] ibn al-Maghribi said (meter: majzū’ al-ramal):
The Nile comes and goes.
My love goes on and on.
Nothing I say tomorrow will be enough.
Sometimes love is too much.
Every heart but mine
gets the love it wants.
I am the lone unfortunate
going steady with rejection.
Then ‘Ala’ al-Din [Taqi al-Din] said: I am the lone unfortunate who pissed on a plate of fried doughnuts, dribbling out a vinegar stream. I crucified Iblis with his own hammer, and left him sagging and singing "Tra-la-la-la!" as he flapped his wings like a chicken (meter: majzū’ al-ramal):
Tra-la-la-la, tra-la-la!
You, with the eyes of a little gazelle!
God have mercy on my slayer.
Me it is no boast to kill.
From The Register of Ardent Love by Ibn Abi Hajala
