Sol 6.1

  1. No living soul knew, though the herald had brought news of him,

    that time had room for what we hoped for.

  2. Then a lion of the thickets visited her, a horse beneath him,

    and a full moon, wearing the crown and robes of honor.

  3. When he rose into view, the banners concealed him

    in their shade, while the sun's [radiance] was high above.

  4. He infected some of her people with his good fortune,

    who did not know that good fortune's milk could be suckled.

  5. So may a garden from him gladden her, its blossoms pearls—

    the charms of necklaces—and rainclouds whose rain comes in torrents.

  6. Look upon your father, for here is Egypt, laid before you,

    and you are Yusuf, and the tribes have been gathered.

  7. Yet they intended no treachery, nor did they break

    a covenant, nor harbored [rancor], nor introduced innovations.

  8. O brother of bounty and son of glory, no land

    but is breached by mention of you or by the sword.

  9. May my hopes and what outruns them be ransom for your bounty,

    and an unattainable prize from the seas of poetry.

  10. For poets lag behind my reach; and if

    I create an original idea, they are swift to seize it.

  11. They, when they mix my poetry with their own,

    are like birds, babbling or faithfully reproducing what they have heard.

Sol 6.1