Heart of Upper Egypt, pilgrims' shrine,Aswan, thou art a perfumed garden, divine;
Thou opened paradise's gate when thou awokeAt fortune's blessed hour when dawn first broke;
The lofty mountain rose to hem thee round,Thy shore gleams gold that stirs the traveller's wound;
As though thy wisdom kissed it with a graceThat cast the finest mantle on its face;
Waves thunder, then grow still and calm once more,The tide converses with the shore's bright store;
Ships glide in peace, serenely on their way,Waves kiss her lips and circle in their play;
The wind toys with the sails as though a shadeWould tease a friend who in the distance stayed;
Shadow plays upon the waters, picturingMaidens in chastity's most modest ring;
A land that draws thee with a radiant love,Whilst space is pasture for the birds above;
I heard a song, indistinct beyond the hill,That stirred my longing like March breeze's chill;
I glimpsed a Nubian boy building with stoneA house on sand without a wall's own zone;
An old man came toward him with gifts of fruit,The finest harvest as a kind salute;
He turned away and would not stretch his hand,But fled, laughing at the neighbour's stand;
I ran to search the pathways, hoping IMight find the lad still hovering nearby;
By mountains, sands, or hills I sought his trace,On grass and in the lowlands' sheltered space;
In deserts and where shores hoped to be kissed —My soul longed meeting, stumbling not dismissed;
I saw night's phantom in the morning light,A lip expressing pure day's clarity bright;
A face that shone with modesty aglow,Revealing heart transparent, chaste below;
I drew near: Before thee, youth, I stand,With wish that thou wouldst be at my command;
Thou shalt be happier than this life of thine,Suffice thee luxury among the fine;
If I have bought thee, do not bargain hard —I am no merchant like the common yard;
Suffice I drew thee from our Upper Egypt's bride,A world the free men's shoulders would provide;
Today, after an age that passed away,They draw inspiration from fate's display;
They quarry treasures from the very stone,Enjoying health and dignity's fair throne;
I despaired of the boy's silence and dread,At talk of mermaids of the sea, they said;
He was accustomed to be shunned by all —Far from the traveller's kindness would he fall;
I hoped in gentle, truthful voice to seeHim live in peace and stability;
The innocent boy sighed and answered: Nay,Cast me not in the furnace's fierce array;
Thy world is pleasure, though it seems austere,How many thirsted living in streams clear;
We returned — a glance pierced through to whereA heart's deep depths lived captive in despair;
Another came toward the rock at that hour,The pure one's charms upon him like a flower;
Who art thou? — trembling was his reply,As though returning from a distant sky;
I smiled a smile that spoke like blossom fair —Its scent the wicked never would ensnare;
Feel from the world emotions free and bold,Suffice me from my days a tune of gold;
I pity folk who never could beholdJustice's light, though treasure flowed untold;
He drew near, soothing my longing in a gazeWhose light repelled the hurricane's fierce blaze;
Before my eyes appeared an image drawnFrom thought — the free men's dawn had come at dawn;
It whispered to my mind each rebel thought,From which I drew the free men's feelings wrought;
Then he approached to reach where I would stand,With yearning reaching my resolve's strand;
I stretched my hand to bless the revolutionThat generously gave good fruit's contribution;
Who has a heart whose feeling's purityShows love without bare words' temerity?
I glimpsed him gazing as though he would tellA love that grew within my garden's dell;
He passed in haste, and whispered as he fled:I fear for thee from troubled thoughts' dread;
Thy body shall dissolve beneath the clay,Yet thy remembrance fills all eyes for aye.
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