Stanza 6

Why are you sad and still, Astair,
counting my words as naught?

Now the poem takes another turn. Apparently, Astair is still not happy. She's acting like his promises are worthless.

To "count words as naught" means you're treating the words as if they are empty or worthless.

From slave to queen I have raised you high,

Yikes! For the first time we're learning that Astair used to be his slave! And then he married her made her his queen!

From slave to queen? That's a pretty nice promotion! You'd think she'd be happy. And yet . . .

To be weary means to be bored or tired.

and yet you stare with a weary eye,

So why is Astair moping around all day? Her eyes are "weary" which means that she's bored or tired.

And never the laugh has followed the sigh,
since you from your land were brought.

Ah . . . it's starting to make sense. Astair is a not a native-born Midianite. She is a foreigner who was "brought" to Midian, no doubt against her will.

And ever since she first arrived, she's moped around the palace, sighing heavily, and she never laughs. Jeez, with that attitude, I wonder how she ever got the king to fall in love with her!

The king has asked her why she's sad, but I think, deep down, he already knows the answer: Astair misses her homeland. (Gosh, I hope he didn't destroy her homeland completely!)