– 12 –

Ramose

This was my station: wealthy enough to portray you,
not too impatient to sit beside you.

The wildfowl rise together from the reeds. The hippos
lie undisturbed in the shallows.

Our two youngest slaves
throw out a welcome beside the door
and winds from the desert arrive here on stone.

My hands hold you as the calyx holds the flower.
My household, my lands, I hold in balance
and together they weigh not more.

In all these rooms I most admire
your expression where I see my thoughts of you

and here I sit where I would choose to.
The living, tell me now, are they so happy.