 | Under Cross and Crescent |  |
119
SUNSET AND NIGHT
(Stamboul from Pera)
A blaze of lurid gold, and daylight setsBehind the cypress-spires, where dead men lie
Beneath their turban'd tombstones, and the sky
Is dappled with the hue of violets;
Here gleams the Golden Horn, with fishers, nets,
And all the fleet of varied ships that fly
The flags of half the world, and there, on high,
The city with its mosques and minarets.
And now succeeds a very second day
Of light and life; a firmament where half
The stars, from dwellings of both rich and poor,
Twinkle below: frogs croak and mongrels bay,
And then the Bekdji, with his tapping staff,
Wakes us all up to prove we sleep secure.
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