Sol 6.1

  1. Through kindness you won the mighty one's affection,

    And through private counsel crossed the place of fire.

  2. And you won the right that you had wrested

    From the might of fangs and claws.

  3. And you secured the faithful people's destiny

    From the wily manipulator of roles and phases.

  4. And you preserved for the sacred valley its Nile,

    And extended it to its friend and neighbor.

  5. It flows; were it not for its firmly built dams

    And its bounds, it would overflow the lands.

  6. Brimming full—were it not for the sea, its outlet,

    You would supply all rivers from it.

  7. You may regulate it by measure until

    A set time, and release it without measure.

  8. You left no dispute in the channel once

    Your hands gained mastery of the places where rain falls.

  9. The adversary accepted your terms, and there ended

    The harshness and insistence that had prevailed.

  10. And your distinguished mission found with him

    The favor and reverence you wished.

  11. And came to you bearing, of his fruit and shade,

    Sweet words and pleasant tidings.

  12. He is not content with the affection you tend for him

    Unless you are among his visitors,

  13. In the noble king's company, making firm

    Egypt's ties with other lands through that company.

  14. The companions' university remembered you and renewed

    Within it the finest reminders of your former days.

  15. And invited you, honoring Egypt in your person, and singling out

    A people whom you raised above the moons.

  16. Bestowing on you grandeur of lineage and

    Title, of a bond with it and an emblem:

  17. The honor of the degree, after you had merited it,

    After the people's acknowledgment and affirmation.

  18. The most enduring ties and benefits are those born

    Of harmony between characters and ideas.

  19. And the covenant dearest to its keepers

    Is one that comes to them from someone willing and free to choose.

  20. And knowledge is what the turning days have borne, not

    What is found in books and tomes.

  21. And when you win the mighty one's heart,

    You have indeed gained the reins of fate.

  22. You sold him nothing but unfettered affection,

    And yours are its reward and the buyer's profit.

  23. What drove the angry against your kindness toward him

    Was the suspect's anger at the judgment taking its course.

  24. He pleased you, so they accused him; had he pleased them,

    They would have placed him among their righteous ones.

  25. And they denounced what—had they been granted some of it—

    Would have sent them flying in every direction with their gain.

  26. Do they demand that you cause harm, though they

    Do not bear the consequences of harm?

  27. And expose you to what left them helpless

    In every troubled arena and every upheaval?

  28. The reckoning weighed heavily on them, so they wavered

    Between reproach before you and making excuses.

  29. And they sought supporters from one who had vexed them;

    You may see him as the truest of supporters.

  30. They seek revenge upon you, and have not heeded

    Your kindness flowing in place of vengeance.

  31. Leave their claims aside: no policy will return

    Through which they were among the traders who lost the most.

  32. And judge: the Labour ministry has no

    Authority, nor does the Liberal ministry.

  33. Day has dawned with what delights, and in

    Daylight there are no hiding places for secrets.

  34. Peace's triumph through your heeded judgment, not

    Battle's triumph through a vast marching host.

  35. I bid you farewell, longing for tomorrow,

    And you shall surely praise the outcomes of the current.

  36. And you shall surely return to your sanctuary, successful,

    Amid the aims and desires within it.

  37. And I bring glad tidings of wishes close at hand,

    And truth—all truth—is in my verses.

Sol 6.1