Solomon, his head on his knees, and Sheba in ruins
Solomon, his head on his knees, sullen, sad,
his hair tousled
Conquest and empire a mere leap of deer. love a fluttering flame, and lust the odor of odorless
flowers
"Say little of the secrets of the world'" Sheba in ruins, for this land till now has only the footprints of hordes sent by some man's cunning but nothing of Sheba, nothing of Sheba's moon-faced queen
Solomon his head on his knees
From where wilt he come now, the bird, messenger of joy9
and for the old man s bowl, from where,
from which jug will come
the wine9
Translated by C M Nairn & A K Ramanujan
Kingdom of Sheba Deserted
Solomon his head on his knees and the kingdom of Sheba deserted
So desolate the land of Sheba a haunt for lonely ghosts an infinite mound of sorrow
World emptied of flora and fauna,
winds thirsting for moisture,
birds hiding their beaks beneath their wings
men's throats laced with antimony
Solomon, his head on his knees
and the kingdom of Sheba deserted
Solomon bitter and sad,
his hair dissheveled his head on his knees
the dream of ruling the world but a dream,
mere leap of the prancing deer
love, a flickering flame,
lust a flower without fragrance
Speak less of the riddle of life
The kingdom of Sheba deserted the footprints of its plunderers, agents of a crafty lord still mark the land
Annual of Urdu Studies, ^5
36