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. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. | XVIII THE SHÊKH EL BELED |
| 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 |  |
43
XVIII THE SHÊKH EL BELED
(IN THE GÎZEH MUSEUM)
He stands as village shêkh he stood
Five thousand years gone by,
A creature of acacia wood
Too living far to die.
Five thousand years gone by,
A creature of acacia wood
Too living far to die.
He holds his ruler's staff in hand,
And seems as bluff and bold
As when he overlooked his land
In Memphian days of old.
And seems as bluff and bold
As when he overlooked his land
In Memphian days of old.
His bullet head, his close-kept ear,
Strong lip and double chin,
Those stony eyes so full of fear
For idleness and sin.
Strong lip and double chin,
Those stony eyes so full of fear
For idleness and sin.
Ah! Shêkh el Beled, who would shirk
If such a presence now
Came forth to oversee the work
And watch the plowmen plow?
If such a presence now
Came forth to oversee the work
And watch the plowmen plow?
44
You lived in days when there were twain
Alone beneath the sun,
The man who toiled and tilled the plain,
The man who saw it done.
Alone beneath the sun,
The man who toiled and tilled the plain,
The man who saw it done.
And yet one other thing it seems
Grew fat beside the Nile—
Humour, for lo! your kind face beams
And broadens into smile.
Grew fat beside the Nile—
Humour, for lo! your kind face beams
And broadens into smile.
| Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile | |