A New Poet

(The Sultan of Morocco addresses an ode in Arabic to the Kaiser in honor of the latter’s birthday)

Mulai Hafid is a poet

And he wants the world to know it,

He has writ an ode, a riser,

On the birthday of the Kaiser

And the Kaiser shows his pleasure

O’er the metre and the measure,

Not forgetting here to mention

The political attention.

What’s the use, O, brother rhymers,

Both beginners and old timers,

Keeping up on versifying

If these rulers goes to trying

to compete and hurt our calling

With Arabic caterwauling?

Let us then be up and trying

To choke off his versifying!

Ah! I have it, Hafid poet,

Here’s your end but you don’t know it:

We must urge him on and dare him

To address odes to his harem,

And he’d be so busy writing –

And he’d dare to do no slighting,

That the strain will cause a shock; O,

No more verses from Morocco!

Feb. 28, ‘09

Abdelhafid of Morocco (or Mulai Abdelhafid) (Fes, 24 February 1875 – Enghien-les-Bains, 4 April 1937) (Arabic: عبد الحفيظ‎) was the Sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912 and a member of the Alaouite Dynasty. His younger brother, Abdelaziz of Morocco, preceded him. While Mulai Abdelhafid initially opposed his brother for giving some concessions to foreign powers, he himself became increasingly backed by the French and finally signed the protectorate treaty giving de facto control of the country to France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al-Hafid_of_Morocco