No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

An Egyptian Baladi street dog and her puppies

“The end result of a good deed is a slap with the palms.”

"Do good and throw it into the sea."

—Egyptian sayings

No good deed, the Arabs say, goes unpunished;

If being kind, best "throw it in the sea"—

Lest some chastising angel you offend

Supposing worthy actions to commend.

Unclear to you how the good gets banished?

What's with this “slapping with the palms”?!

(It's not a kick in the teeth or call to arms.)

What, while we're at it, to consider a good deed?

Mere kindness? Common decency

That gratulates our goodie-two-shoes selves?

Self-praising might in rebound set free

A niggling fear of "motivation doubt"—

Kindness nothing to write home about.

I've been done many a good turn,

And have sought to do as done to me,

Since it's no help the good to spurn.

Set doubts aside, give alms graciously.

No matter how good you are, you're never good enough.

So screw the sneaking sense it may be bluff.

A pox on sneaking senses, that shit that thinks it's tough!

Friday, November 14, 2025

Epigraph source: 1,001 Arabic Proverbs with English Translation, ed. Brian Powell (Washington, DC: Industry Arabic, 2024).

Note also the modern Greek equivalent of the Egyptian saying "Do good and throw it into the sea": Κάνε το καλό / Και ρίχτο στο γιαλό.