A night like the waves of the sea lowered its…

Night becomes a mass of waves and curtains enclosing the poet. Its length conveys sleeplessness and the burden of worry, making time feel almost motionless through the image.

The verse opens the night passage of Imru’ al-Qays’s Mu‘allaqa. The poet then addresses the night, wishing for its end.

Waves suggest a succession that seems endless, while curtains convey surrounding darkness. Together they give time an almost material weight. Night is described from the perspective of the worried person passing through it, rather than as a simple duration measured by a clock.

معلقة امرئ القيس

The text appears in the indicated source. A traditional attribution remains distinct from proof of authorship: see the context.

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