Sol 6.1

  1. Bodies of stone buried in stone;

    The two are akin, yet differ in origin.

  2. They resemble the front teeth of shy, radiant maidens,

    Gleaming beneath green garments.

  3. Their tips have been smeared with ink,

    Like pearls weaned from suckling milk.

  4. The golden one crouched upon their tails,

    As lions crouch on catching sight of a leopard.

  5. They seethe, when unsealed, like a boiling pot,

    With shapes like the pupils of squint-eyed locusts,

  6. Or like halves of tiny ants,

    Or a keen sword in which the watered pattern flows.

  7. It rises and plunges like bright stars falling,

    As though night had parted to reveal dawn.

  8. They show the crowns of their heads made of embers,

    And all except their heads has been laid bare.

  9. Girdled, but not for a creed of unbelief;

    Buried, but not because a lifetime has ended,

  10. In soil fashioned by the hands of cold.

    Their necks have been embalmed with perfume,

  11. And denied freedom like a captive in bondage.

    Their buried contents raise the dead from the grave.

  12. Their coolness cures the heat of the breast.

    They swear by God, great in majesty,

  13. They have nursed none but one weaned from wine;

    So they cure drunkenness after strong drink.

Sol 6.1