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129
CONSTANTINOPLE
131
XLVI
i
Now Vesper brings the sunset hour,And, where crusading Knighthood trod,
Muezzin from his minaret tower
Proclaims, “There is no God but God!”
ii
Male God who shares his godhead withNo Virgin Mother's sacred tear,
But finds on earth congenial kith
In wielders of the sword and spear:
iii
Male God who on male lust bestowsThe ruddy lip, the rounded limb,
And promises, at battle's close,
Houri, not saint nor seraphim.
132
iv
Swift through the doubly-guarded stream,Shoots the caïque 'neath oarsmen brisk,
While from its cushioned cradle gleam
The eyes of yashmaked odalisque.
v
Unchanged adown the changing years,Here where the Judas blossoms blaze,
Against Sophia's marble piers
The scowling Muslim lean and gaze;
vi
And still at sunset's solemn hour,Where Christ's devout Crusader trod,
Defiant from the minaret's tower
Proclaim, “There is no God but God!”
133
XLVII
i
Three rival Rituals. One reveredIn that loved English hamlet where,
With flowers in Vicarage garden reared,
She decks the altar set for prayer:
ii
Another, where majestic Rome,With fearless Faith and flag unfurled
'Gainst Doubt's ephemeral wave and foam,
Demands obedience from the world.
iii
The third, where now I stand, and whereTwo hoary Continents have met,
And Islam guards from taint and tare
Monistic Creed of Mahomet.
134
iv
Yet older than all three, but bannedTo suffer still the exile's doom
From shrine where Turkish sentries stand,
And Christians wrangle round Christ's tomb.
v
Where then find Creed, divine or dead,All may embrace, and none contemn?—
Remember Who it was that said,
“Not here, nor at Jerusalem!”
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