Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile By H. D. Rawnsley |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. | XIV MORNING MIST ON THE GREAT PYRAMID |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
| XLIII. |
| XLIV. |
| XLV. |
| XLVI. |
| XLVII. |
| XLVIII. |
| XLIX. |
| L. |
| LI. |
| LII. |
| LIII. |
| LIV. |
| LV. |
| LVI. |
| LVII. |
| LVIII. |
| LIX. |
| LX. |
| LXI. |
| LXII. |
| LXII. |
| LXIV. |
 | Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile |  |
30
XIV MORNING MIST ON THE GREAT PYRAMID
I climbed great Chufu's giant stair,
I felt the anguish of the stones,
Loud lamentation filled the air,
And cries of vengeance against thrones.
I felt the anguish of the stones,
Loud lamentation filled the air,
And cries of vengeance against thrones.
From Abu-rôash' northern height,
Far south to ancient Abu-sîr,
Its shadow seemed to surge thro' light,
Its sorrow still was in mine ear.
Far south to ancient Abu-sîr,
Its shadow seemed to surge thro' light,
Its sorrow still was in mine ear.
The massive doors I entered in,
Before, and up the gallery-slope
There went a tyrant's pride and sin,
A people's toil that had no hope.
Before, and up the gallery-slope
There went a tyrant's pride and sin,
A people's toil that had no hope.
Upon its mighty head I stood,
The scene was fair, as fair could be;
There Paradise and fruitful flood,
And here the desert's barren sea.
The scene was fair, as fair could be;
There Paradise and fruitful flood,
And here the desert's barren sea.
31
But from the quarry, choked with sands,
Came sounds of agony and woe,
Men toiled like cattle, driven in bands;
I heard the curse and frequent blow.
Came sounds of agony and woe,
Men toiled like cattle, driven in bands;
I heard the curse and frequent blow.
From burning cliffs on yonder shore,
Thro' mid-day sun and sweltering haze,
Laborious rafts their burdens bore,
To drop them at the landing-ways.
Thro' mid-day sun and sweltering haze,
Laborious rafts their burdens bore,
To drop them at the landing-ways.
I said, ‘Has time no power to hide
The shame of this gigantic pile?
Must still its horror, far and wide,
Be cast upon the land of Nile?
The shame of this gigantic pile?
Must still its horror, far and wide,
Be cast upon the land of Nile?
Is there no Khalif
who will dare
To grapple with these terrace-stones,
To pluck this giant's body bare,
And build a city with its bones?
To grapple with these terrace-stones,
To pluck this giant's body bare,
And build a city with its bones?
That so no more, above the plain,
Above the desert's rolling waves,
Shall loom this monument of pain,
This dread memorial-tomb to slaves.
Above the desert's rolling waves,
Shall loom this monument of pain,
This dread memorial-tomb to slaves.
32
The sun sank down, the shadow grew,
But still the mountain was not hid;
The night its curtain overdrew,
But could not veil the Pyramid.
But still the mountain was not hid;
The night its curtain overdrew,
But could not veil the Pyramid.
And darkening all the world below.
Where the dead men unnumbered are,
Rose up its mass moon-white as snow
To blur the heavens and blot the star.
Where the dead men unnumbered are,
Rose up its mass moon-white as snow
To blur the heavens and blot the star.
But when the Sphinx, with wondering face,
Flushed faintly to another morn,
And, springing in a moment's space
From earth to heaven, the day was born,
Flushed faintly to another morn,
And, springing in a moment's space
From earth to heaven, the day was born,
The sun, that mounted o'er the plain,
Wove from the dew a fleecy shroud,
And wrapped the pyramid of pain
From mortal sight in mystic cloud.
Wove from the dew a fleecy shroud,
And wrapped the pyramid of pain
From mortal sight in mystic cloud.
| Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile | |