Stanza 31


31

The clerics weigh the options now at hand.
Refusal to comply with this demand
Would keep their valued dignity intact,
But it would also certainly exact
A heavy toll they did not want to pay.
By not achieving the result that they
Had earlier agreed was paramount,
The villagers would suffer on account
Of their unwillingness to mediate.
The turmoil in their minds does not abate,
But both decide to disregard their pride
So their objective will be satisfied.
The sayyid in defiance of taboo
Removes the strip of cloth in sable hue
That on his head proclaims his pedigree.
The minor cleric just as mournfully
Takes off the snowy ribbon from his head.
These actions overcome the slightest shred
Of doubt and so the men are brought to where
Through Ibrahim's translation they declare,