Sol 6.1

  1. Time overturned affairs,

    and those in charge stepped aside.

  2. And the affair came about as

    those awaiting it had gone along with it.

  3. It angers those pleased with yesterday,

    and pleases the angry.

  4. And clamor has indeed replaced

    what had been yearning within it.

  5. And those arriving folded

    the page of those departing.

  6. And one inclination went left,

    and another inclination goes right.

  7. In everything we have remained

    at odds among ourselves.

  8. The fates did not unite us

    in the face of the victors.

  9. Today they replaced one path

    with another, making trial.

  10. And they prolonged a struggle between fathers

    and sons.

  11. And he avenged himself upon his kin—

    he whose kin had grieved him for years.

  12. And they found among us, on their behalf,

    this one helping against that one.

  13. And those persecuted today

    will take revenge tomorrow.

  14. And whoever gloats over one

    who complains will himself meet gloaters.

  15. The people's stratagems have ever been

    of many kinds and arts.

  16. They have indeed perfected them as nets,

    and prepared them as an ambush.

  17. They battered everyone, so that

    the later ones equaled the first.

  18. We did not know whom they commended

    and whom they accused.

  19. And the recompense of the quiet

    is like that of those who revolt.

  20. And long ago, their power was

    force and gentleness.

  21. Over dismissal and appointment,

    the people went utterly mad.

  22. And they met before the one who divided

    them, seeking arbitration.

  23. They deemed the change a relief,

    in hopes they might be safe.

  24. And they went on in it with their needs,

    pleading fervently.

  25. Is the foe's departure what

    they have gone on celebrating?

  26. Who is the one bringing this about

    among them—do they know?

  27. And is what happened meddling, or

    is it the masters' command?

  28. A gift—others besides it have passed,

    and the givers took them back.

  29. And a deception that has never ceased

    to blind the heedless.

  30. Where are those who today cry

    for freedom for Egypt?

  31. And where is the most sacred homeland's share

    in what they demand?

  32. What life could be desired in

    the colonizers' domain?

  33. Four have passed; had they wished,

    they would have been forty.

  34. And may this be a warning

    to restrain those seeking ministerial office,

  35. and a judgment after which

    the disputants make peace.

  36. Indeed, in partisanship lies the blight

    and the hidden disease.

  37. What will the one now present do

    after those who have departed?

  38. And is his tenure a settlement, or

    a means for others?

  39. Indeed, we hope it will be

    for righteous work.

  40. Enough for it, even if it suspends the constitution

    or annuls the oath,

  41. is a truce's respite between

    brothers fighting one another.

  42. And if the law is not enforced

    by the hands of those who laid it down,

  43. then the old ways of predecessors

    are like the new ways of successors,

  44. and the breasts of those who memorize

    are like the lines of those who write.

  45. What lasts longest through time

    is the order of reformers.

  46. And sound judgment is of no avail

    without those who act.

  47. We have our own established way, not

    what newcomers lay down.

  48. What they exaggerated has dwindled—

    those extravagant in hope.

  49. And with the possible and probable

    the moderate were content.

  50. And those setting conditions wound up

    with what they propose.

  51. And those demanding haste are equal

    now to those seeking more time.

  52. And what they took wing with

    remains guesswork and conjecture.

  53. And they may yet frown after

    their merriment, those who rejoice.

  54. For whom today do we prepare

    poetry and clear inspiration?

  55. Indeed, after these trials,

    we surely refuse to be abased.

  56. How many we raised with praises—

    men who disregarded us!

  57. And we entrusted them with the covenant,

    but found no trustworthy man.

  58. We did not gain, for all we gave

    them, hearts or eyes.

  59. And those conversations have ended,

    though they had been full of sorrows.

  60. Leaders of the people—where are

    the leaders who stand united?

  61. All of you have experienced in governing

    the hardship of those who govern.

  62. What is it that the few have won,

    and the many as well?

  63. And most deserving of excuse

    are those in authority among us.

  64. Are you preparing for tomorrow's war

    soldiers and fortresses?

  65. And warners have indeed brought news of it

    from every sky.

  66. Egypt has not considered it,

    though it preoccupies all the world.

  67. And we shall face it, like yesterday's war,

    unarmed and under compulsion.

  68. Do we now know what

    we are heading toward?

  69. I am not one of the traditionalists,

    nor one of the followers.

  70. I have not been on one side a while

    and on another a while.

  71. I have my principle, which I uphold

    with fidelity and conviction.

  72. I build dignity for the nation,

    and steadfast character.

  73. And I see in its uniting its ranks

    a guarantor of its future.

Sol 6.1