Sol 6.1

  1. Your visit to the villages is a great favor,

    And opening the railway heralds good to come.

  2. Iron from your hands has stretched along it,

    And fire for the iron, by which it runs.

  3. As though its whistle were the singer's melody

    For your retinue, and the smoke a perfume for them.

  4. It carries visitors to a residence

    That today is al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir.

  5. They came and went as guests within your protection,

    And all of them are your tribe and kin.

  6. As though the skin of this earth, when

    Their processions walked upon it, were silk.

  7. They met for an hour in a spacious house

    That is the world, and its hour is the ages.

  8. And they came to a festival where he recites

    And expounds the Surah of Victory—the minister.

  9. Its air is pure, its edges polished,

    Fluttering banners and birds shade it.

  10. Those absent saw it through what they received

    Of private talk, as though they were present.

  11. A well-deserved show of support for Your Excellency,

    For you are every Egyptian's champion.

  12. The regions almost race one another toward you,

    And the channels and bridges bend toward you.

  13. And fruits ripen before their time,

    And flowers smile before their time.

  14. And these huts become, through what

    You have bestowed on the farmers, palaces.

  15. And were it not for the field and the farmer in it,

    The cities and ports would be deserted.

  16. You show him his due, and he receives it in full,

    And raise his standing, though he is a hired laborer.

  17. And if he were rewarded for what his two hands have made,

    He would become, in the valley, a prince.

  18. You came today to complete what he intended

    And resolved upon yesterday—your equal and peer.

  19. And around you are seven ministers of integrity,

    And brothers who are an unsullied source of strength.

  20. With them you advance, strong, toward the goal,

    And the outcome will be noble, like your intention.

  21. It is the firmness that is indispensable

    To Egypt, that through it affairs may be set right.

  22. And after experience and knowledge, enough for you are

    Your seasoned skill, determination, and conscience.

  23. Then have those angry with you any excuse

    Other than rancor that constricts their breasts?

  24. Their alarmist rumors came in succession and dragged on;

    Where, then, are their threats against you, and the warning?

  25. Did they fear that prisons would hide them away?

    Then women's chambers hid them out of shame.

  26. So if they boycott you, there is none among them

    Strong enough to fear, nor anyone of consequence.

  27. And many a group is many, yet counts for little;

    And many a group is few, yet counts for much.

  28. What befell others at their hands has befallen you,

    And would that you were the last of their adversaries.

  29. And you are fully aware of all their efforts,

    And you see into every secret of theirs.

  30. And the hardest thing you deal with in men is

    Their awareness, when awareness is disturbed.

  31. And had you given their newspapers respite, out of disdain,

    Depravity would have taken wing through those newspapers.

  32. And their reporters would have become wolves,

    And the writers would have become vultures.

  33. You have overcome the most wicked of the transgressors,

    And you are patient with those of them who remain.

  34. And they took no lesson from what they came to;

    And can rocks understand, and thus take heed?

  35. And they thought that time would not run

    Against their wishes, nor would the world turn.

  36. They are mad with love of power, so much so

    That their minds almost fly away from them.

  37. They seek leadership, but it is a matter

    Difficult for them after their stumble.

  38. And after their black months, will

    Those months come back to them?

  39. Their envoy soothes them with hopes that

    The envoy himself does not believe.

  40. Farces no poor man would countenance

    For his livelihood, even were the poor man to perish.

  41. And whoever gains his spoils by chance,

    Is seized by conceit, which casts him down.

  42. Is the constitution a market for whims,

    For the seeker and giver of counsel to trade?

  43. And is it a plaything in that band's hands,

    As a child plays with his doll?

  44. So if they rebel against you while you are peaceable,

    Then their rebellion is your compelling proof.

  45. And if they return, you are their intercessor;

    And if they repent, you are forgiving toward them.

  46. Nor do you delight in what is brought upon them

    By their own souls, with no one to protect them.

  47. And if a crisis has befallen the people,

    Then you are skilled in resolving their crisis.

  48. I supported you, O son of my province, and I

    Am an ally to one like you in caring for it.

  49. You are proud of me there, and I

    Glory in you before all mankind.

  50. The cherished king has approved your deed,

    And the zealous people have supported your judgment.

  51. And you are worthy of all admiration,

    And you are deserving of every honor.

Sol 6.1