Sol 6.1

  1. Would that I knew what I shall see—would that I knew—

    of new affairs in the land of Egypt.

  2. What lies unseen has almost been revealed today,

    and no veil remains before it.

  3. Promise and threat have arrived with the newcomer,

    from his people, bearing kindness and cruelty.

  4. The men have made ready, awaiting judgment

    from him who unsettles men and grants them rest.

  5. Before him gathered one offering gifts to gain favor,

    one indulging his whims, and one fulfilling a vow.

  6. Between his wrath and his approval, they are

    amid unsettling and enticing conjectures.

  7. Everywhere he is a merchant in the market,

    selling souls there and buying them.

  8. He occupied the people with seats of power, casting

    them down to ensnare and betray the men upon them.

  9. In his days of gentleness, they rest upon waves;

    in his days of severity, they rest upon embers.

  10. Strange that they should beg for them,

    when they are offered at the lowest price.

  11. The rulers' acquiescence in the adversary's grasp

    is their acceptance of humiliation and subjugation.

  12. The reward of those pressed into service for their enemies

    is deprivation, after praise and enticement.

  13. Desires they passed around, which became

    bouts of illness or drunken visions.

  14. And diversions from fate have gone on too long,

    while fate runs its course with calamities.

  15. With iron and fire, people have filled

    every sky, every land, and sea.

  16. Kings have met, seeking peace

    through letters passing from palace to palace.

  17. The warning of a new war is on the horizon;

    who knows its dark consequences?

  18. And to whom does Egypt carry good,

    and to whom does Egypt carry harm?

  19. Will the adversary give my people rest, or hurl

    my people against his enemies in every land?

  20. And will they plunge into renewed war against

    those who are no enemies, for neither conquest nor victory?

  21. And they may indeed bombard neighbors with fire,

    and kin, with no escape for them.

  22. And they perish in chains as their reward,

    after enduring slaughter and captivity.

  23. O you luxuriating in the ease of living,

    and heedless of every reminder:

  24. I do not know: have I called upon men among you

    who will not answer, or solid blocks of rock?

  25. Is it over opinions, or over rank,

    that you make yourselves miserable with harmful quarrels?

  26. A brother gloats over his brother's misfortune;

    a father seeks vengeance against his sons.

  27. another raids with his troops the man seeking

    refuge from him in a mosque or at a tomb.

  28. I see the newspapers among you, and see a serpent

    crawling toward me in every line.

  29. Those championing the homeland with slander and oppression

    are like those announcing its death with drums and pipes.

  30. He who spreads faults to earn a living

    is like one who strikes off heads for pay.

  31. Every one of you seeks leadership in Egypt,

    even if he is only ten years old.

  32. What you contend for has never lasted forever for anyone;

    it is merely a month's tenure.

  33. Long ago I advised you, but you refused;

    so take my bitterness today, after my sweetness.

  34. It is fitting that whoever saw me as a bearer of glad tidings

    yesterday should believe my warnings.

  35. My breast grew tight with troubles, so I proclaimed

    my secret aloud, but speaking out brought me no relief.

  36. Fate has prolonged my life; but had it been

    as I wished, my life would not have lasted so long.

  37. Crises of morals—not a crisis of livelihoods—

    are the concern I endure and my hardship.

  38. One who gives his life out of tenderness

    cares nothing for losing possessions and abundance.

  39. Events have rushed past, while you remain

    like statues in the corners of a passageway.

  40. And the eighth of the cunning men has arrived, a man of standing,

    carrying poison in drink and flowers.

  41. He receives you, having concealed his intention—

    a monstrous one—with smiles and cheer.

  42. Had you understood, it would be better for you

    if he greeted you with fang and claw.

  43. China was rid of him yesterday; this

    is your day, a day of resurrection and gathering.

  44. He has not abandoned the red garments you knew,

    even if he comes in green tunics.

  45. Misgivings from his direction have preoccupied me,

    so neither fasting nor breaking my fast has helped me.

  46. It grieves me that he is informed about you before

    meeting you—about your every affair.

  47. How, how can we escape one prepared

    with the two weapons of experience and benevolence?

  48. Tell me, what resolve have you mustered

    against this persistent overlord?

  49. If you see arrogance in him, can you

    repay him once with a little arrogance?

  50. Unite your ranks before you encounter

    his obstinate, unyielding side.

  51. Guard the Nile at its sources, and build

    a thousand dams and bridges on the Nile.

  52. Take what the sea wastes of its waters

    for fertile land more entitled to it, and barren land.

  53. Indeed, heaven's storehouse is yours, not

    the lofty, towering structures you have raised.

  54. Use what you possess, however little,

    to provide equipment for every generation and age.

  55. Among the possibilities, some are better served

    by deliberation until the right time, and patience.

  56. All have had a share of Egypt's rule; who will give me

    a share in Egypt's rule and some standing?

  57. Perhaps then I shall see the country—perhaps—

    with the country's reins in a free man's hand,

  58. guiding its path—a path of justice

    and peace—toward a radiant destiny.

Sol 6.1