English poem
The Luzumiyat, CXI (Whence come, O firmament, thy myriad…)
by Abu al-Ala al-Maarri (973–1057)
Whence come, O firmament, thy myriad lights? Whence comes thy sap, O vineyard of the heights? Whence comes the perfume of the rose, and whence The spirit-larva which the body blights?