Sol 5.6

  1. Every dawn I see the shepherds passing,

    and I weep for the shepherds’ life,

  2. amid mountain snows or the blaze of the sun,

    as they spill away the joys of life.

  3. The flock passes me, and I see the sheep

    between the wolves and the knife.

  4. O human life, there is no joy in you

    unless it is accompanied by the tears of the wronged.

  5. For the rich man’s treasures are amassed by the peasant

    throughout his wretched, broken life—

  6. that tormented toiler in the village,

    between the plow and the waterwheel.

  7. Every summer he waters the gardens beneath the sun,

    while the palace slumbers, heavy-eyed.

  8. He sows the seeds, while the pampered man at ease

    reaps—and sorrows bear witness.

  9. O nights of harvest, what tragedy lies beyond

    the field and its reapers?

  10. The hut bears witness that it carries sorrow

    so that palaces may enjoy abundance.

  11. ؟

    How can one reap flowers, wheat, and fruit

    whose hands the mattock has never wounded?

  12. ؟

    And the peasant dies of hunger so bliss may smile

    upon the eyes of the lord of palaces?

  13. ؟

    How can this be, O Lord? Have mercy on us—mercy,

    for the cups are choking with tears.

  14. And our bewildered sighs have flooded the air,

    singing our shattered hope.

Sol 5.6