Page 65 - Contrast2009

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Vanity of Vanities! ... There is nothing new under the sun. J
-Ecclesiastes
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Who is 'this that grows like ~he dawn ... as pure as' the sun?,
-Song of' Solomon' I-

For jU9t':a moment .t he ro , these Hebrew letters,
Made with, dark ink upon hard vellum scrolls,
Whose meaning means the world to 'this wise man,
Became mere marKs and scrawls'unknown to me,
A language foreign, as when a queen from Tyre
Comes calling to my ci;ty, caravans;
Trains" goods, and riches sailing in a,fleet
Before her, twirling vapors tantalizing,
And ribbons red, large boards of spicy cedar,
Dark shaded eyes' of virgins young, and on
'A"priestly bier amid those daughters gold
Ashtoreth with her ruddy 'consort Baal!
O'r like proud Pharaoh's dauqht sr , when to save
Empire'I wed myself to her and heard,
Amid the rising cloud of sand ,that rose
From swart and tall Descendants of the Nile,
Who brought, to celebrate our wedding vows,
Not only, straw,b4' kingly grace (no rage
Of Pharaoh here, was found)', but; clay 'and mud,'
And even full-formed bricks to' give, unto.
Free hearts" free minds, free men, no longer slav,es!
They mixed th~eir pots of clay, brimming with wheat
Fed .by the flooding stream, with my thick curds ,
And rruLky whey, and honey sweet fr,om fields,
',Rough hills, and green pastoral vales, I heard

.' A 'f o.r ei.qn t onqus that first"r.epuLs ad my ear

And made me shudder 'til that day when 'first
She spoke· to me; I felt,the softness of that tongue
And sweet caresses dear of Memphian princess,
When first the ho rri.d'<ofrm of sunny Ra,
Blinding 'at noon; but now mades0ft by slow
Degrees and sinking evening harmonies,
Until the sun set on our marriage bed;
Next day, I found it rose anew created not,
But now Creator: shining' as a god, bright Ra!

Yes, language unfamiliar it seemed:

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