Melchizedek Poem by Richard Burke

Pray listen while I share with you,
A case that once betide a Jew,
And teaches all to wary be,
Of answering too hastily,
Parlous questions, where none agree.

Saladin, King of Babylon,
Who many victories had won,
Or' Christian and Saracen,
Found his treasury drained of gold,
And needed more, so he was told.

This need recalled a man he knew,
By name, Melchizedek the Jew,
Who at usance lent money to,
Worthies who could repay when due,
All balances as may accrue.

Knowing Melchizedek to be,
Versed in matters of divinity,
Saladin asked which of the three,
Christian, Jew or Saracen,
Was truest to God's plan for man.

Choosing one might well be apt,
But Melchizedek perceived a trap,
In praising one among the three,
He could in opposition be,
To Saladin, by faith Sunni.

Melchizedek pondered a reply,
That would not Saladin defy,
Nor Abraham's true faith deny:
Said he, "It most behoveth me,
To answer with a short story."

There was a rich man, tho' not a King,
Whose jewels included a costly ring,
More precious than any other thing;
Whichever heir held this bequest,
In honor stood above the rest.

This ring for generations passed,
In like manner until at last,
It reached a man with three male heirs,
Each loving and honorable in their affairs,
And each presuming the ring was theirs.

The father knew not which to pick,
And so contrived a clever trick;
Two rings he made so like his own,
That even if all three were shown,
Which was the first could not be known.
When time came near for him to die,
He made three gifts, but on the sly,
So each son thought that he,
Had the rightful claim to be,
Patriarch of the family.

So of the Laws, whereof you question me,
Each religion deemeth itself to be,
God the Father's sole inheritee;
But even as the rings of three,
Which God favored is a mystery.

Saladin, well pleased was he,
With this clever analogy,
That one God made the laws for three;
The King then asked for the gold in need,
And Melchizedek in turn agreed.

Saladin then made decree,
That henceforth Melchizedek should be,
Advisor to his regency;
And even to the very end,
Held him high as honored friend.

A Poem Based on The Third Story of The First Day
From the Decameron by Giovani Boccaccio (1313-1375)