Sol 6.1

  1. Obey your Lord, and you will attain success.

    And be mindful of Him; you will win the reed of triumph.

  2. And leave the paths of disobedience; turn away from them

    toward the broad paths of piety.

  3. And treat your parents, when they grow old,

    with gentle speech or by lowering your wing.

  4. And give them their due, though you cannot show kindness enough

    for all the gifts they bestowed on you.

  5. They sheltered you with tenderness and protection,

    and tended you morning and evening.

  6. They never withheld gentle speech from you,

    nor stinted you in their generous counsel.

  7. They wished for no one but you, while every soul

    ranges through longing and desire.

  8. And they guarded you at every moment,

    with every care, from every side.

  9. And they shielded you from encountering

    a ray of sun or the breath of the winds.

  10. And how many a night they linked its darkness

    to morning, groaning at your groans.

  11. And how many tears they poured out for your sake,

    reddened by eyelids like wounds.

  12. And how often they mended, with influence or wealth,

    the rents caused by your shameful deeds.

  13. And how many throats they offered as ransom for you,

    to India's gleaming swords or brown-shafted spears.

  14. And how often they forsook their bed because you were far away,

    and there choked on pure water.

  15. How, then, can you fully honor them—and how

    can earnestness be attained through paths of jest?

  16. Yet earnest effort in filial duty is enough for us,

    and no blame rests on one who earnestly strives.

Sol 6.1