With a recent birthday, I feel this.

Here's that second line tr. from Arabic to Syriac (12-syll. meter):

ܡ̇ܢ ܝ̇ܗܒ ܗ̄ܘܐ ܠܝ ܕܛܠܝܘܬܐ ܬܗܦܘܟ ܠܗܪܟܐ܃
ܕܐܢܐ ܐܚܘܐ ܠܗ̇ ܡܐ ܕܣܥܪܬ ܣܝܒܘܬܐ܀
man yåheḇ-wå l-i ḏ-ṭalyuṯå ṯehpoḵ l-hårkå
d-ʔenå ʔeḥawwē l-åh må ḏ-seʕraṯ saybuṯå
Reposted from Arabic Poetry
—Getting Old—
🌿

Stripped of youth like a tender
branch, its leaves all bare —

I wish that youth
would return someday —
I'd tell it
about having white hair.

—Abū al-ʿAtāhiya (Iraq, d. 828)

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