Leo Bensemann: the Fantastica drawings
Arabian Nights
Leo Bensemann, Arabian nights: Inscription at the city of Brass, 1936-37, ink drawing on sheet, Drawings, Paintings and Prints Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library
Arabian Nights
O sons of men,
Lean death perches upon your shoulder
Looking down into your cup of wine,
Looking down on the breasts of your lady.
You are caught in the web of the world
And the spider Nothing waits behind it.
Where are the men with towering hopes?
They have changed places with owls.
Owls who lived in tombs
And now inhabit a palace.
Arabian Nights: Inscription at the city of Brass
Translation by E. Powys Mathers
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image
