# LXXXV explained — The Luzumiyat

> Chapter companion for The Luzumiyat by Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri.

## What happens

The speaker reflects on the bitterness of his years, comparing them to vapid verses, and contemplates the role of Fate in bringing both winter and spring.

## Themes in this chapter

### Fate and Destiny

The chapter explicitly invokes Fate as the arbiter of life's bitter and sweet moments.

### Mortality and Transience

The speaker's years are described as vapid and bitter, emphasizing the fleeting and unsatisfying nature of life.

## Character check-ins

### Fate

Fate is personified as carrying both December snows and May flowers, symbolizing the duality of life's experiences.

## Key lines

> And all my years, as vapid as my lay, Are bitter morsels of a mystic day⁠— The day of Fate, who carries in his lap December snows and snow-white flowers of May.

All my years, as empty as my poem, are bitter pieces of a mysterious day—the day of Fate, who holds both winter snows and spring flowers.

_The speaker laments the emptiness of his life and poem, attributing the mixture of hardship and beauty to Fate._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxxxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters