This one wasn't finished in time to be timely, but it may have some ongoing relevance. I hope.
Peace to that Prince of the auspicious name,
Mohammed Bin Salman! Long may his fame
Of pleasant tidings bring the world a feast,
As "Who spread God's peace in the Middle East."
May Arabs see each Arab as a brother
And scorn all vain disputes with one another;
May even Israel be reconciled,
As Isaac was, to his father's firstborn child.
May all good Muslims in all disputes know
The joy of having mercy on a foe.
May all remember Israel's great King David,
Whose sins were great, and yet The Merciful sav-ed
Him from destruction he had surely earned
Because the ways of mercy he had learned.
For as a child he was told he'd be king;
And to his innocence that meant one thing,
To go to court and please the monarch so
That with the princes he might be let go
To war, and show himself as brave as they,
Become a royal son-in-law that way,
And, being younger than the princes, wait
The fourth-in-order-of-succession's fate.
The whole world knows the story. He defieth
The rules, at seventeen, and kills Goliath.
The firstborn princess thinks herself above him,
But what of that? The younger one can love him.
And then, for his sins, the poor old king's brain
Begins to fail; and sometimes, quite insane,
He thinks his sons, his daughters, even David
(Who more than once his forfeit life hath saved)
Are out to kill him; he must kill them first.
For years, while the king's mania's at its worst,
David among the enemies must dwell,
Yet never raise his hand against Israel.
The old king leads the princes into war,
And in one battle they are killed all four.
Now surely David will sing and rejoice?
No such! In anguish he lifts up his voice,
Recalls the joy his royal wedding brought,
Says loyalty to the prince with whom he fought
Surpassed the love of his young ardent bride,
And kills the man who eagerly did ride
To tell him where that prince now fallen lies;
For smiling when a king weeps is unwise.
So in deep mourning David claims the throne,
And treats the prince's young son as his own.
A house of worship he desires to build,
Buys rare materials, chooses workmen skilled.
Yet he is told, "That honor's not for you.
Though there's no blame for what you had to do
In times of war, the House of the Divine
Must be built by a man of peace: a sign
That God prefers that people live in peace."
All David's dreams of building temples cease,
And "Man of Peace," Absalom, is the name
He gives the son whose merits all acclaim.
Absalom grows up handsome, and so charming
A father born a king would find alarming;
He kills his own half-brother, for good reasons.
He's banished from the palace a few seasons.
Of time with common folk his use is wise,
And soon some offer with him to uprise
Against King David, who cannot believe
What the lad's idle grumbling might achieve.
To parley with his son the king did ride,
And out there flew against him from the side
A little old man, cramped and crabbed with bile,
Hurling at David accusations vile
Of treason against the good friends of his youth,
And things even worse, if they had any truth.
A murmur ran through David's entourage:
"What kind of king endures such a barrage?
Why does not David kill this unbeliever?
Is our great monarch suffering from a fever?"
This wretched man pursued them as they rode,
Flung at them clods and litter from the road.
A senior courtier his colleagues led.
"Sire, shall I go and take off this man's head?"
But David, looking forward to surcease
In counselling his headstrong son to peace,
Looked on the man who wished him loss and worse,
And said with kingly mercy: "Let him curse!"
If father's love could save sons from their fate,
King Absalom's fame would by now be great.
Alas! No king called Absalom ever reigned.
King David named as heir, when his life waned,
Another son called "Peaceful," Solomon,
Who strove always to be a worthy son.
To David's story Solomon made the sequel;
At boosting nation's wealth he's had no equal.
The stories of these two kings men still tell,
And name sons "Salman," modern style, as well.
And so, O Prince Bin Salman, came my way
News of another Salman in our day--
That tiresome one, of whom you've heard enough,
Alodah, who thinks he's such clever stuff.
Consider David, hasty in his youth,
Rebuked for punishing unwelcome truth;
Consider David, wiser with his years,
Pitying the poor old burden on his ears.
If all God's given men to do is curse,
Send them where their words leave you none the worse;
Imagine Alodah in Germany:
No princes there to blame for burdens he
Now feels, let him rail ever with impunity
About the weather, which complete immunity
Grants mortals still. Let persecution cease;
Let Alodah go on his way in peace.
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