Sol 5.6

  1. It was not a mother alone they lost when they lost you;

    they lost a father, a brother, and the finest partner.

  2. You battled the turns of Time to defend their growth,

    and made it yield, though it was anything but frail.

  3. Tenderness triumphed—and how many a radiant sign it has,

    brightest whenever it revealed itself in you.

  4. Mother of orphans—how splendid, how splendid their eminence!

    These stars among the constellations are your sons.

  5. You are she who bore them and set them

    on a well-trodden path toward their happiness.

  6. They grew to manhood in the loftiest virtues and vied in number

    with the noblest men, through all your hands had nurtured.

  7. Their inward natures were pure, their intelligence awe-inspiring;

    and they built a glory that was no fabrication.

  8. You are she who shaded the loveliest flower,

    which filled the eyes of Time within your gathering.

  9. You weep, and move the angels to tears in compassion

    because parting grieved them when they bore you away.

  10. You are she who firmly founded a soaring house,

    whose builders were the mainstay of kings.

  11. With resolve, you renewed its age of splendor;

    had you not restored it, it would not have returned—by your father!

Sol 5.6