 | Phantasmagoria |  |
Dreamland.
Hast not sailed in dreams upon a mystic river
Through caverns, and through mountains, and through palaces?
Seen the sun-rays fall, the moon-beams quiver,
On the roofs of Tripolis and Fez:
Drifted far 'mid many a granite column,
Through the brazen gates, on waves that shone,
In the awful hush of moon-rise soft and solemn,
Into Babylon?
Through caverns, and through mountains, and through palaces?
Seen the sun-rays fall, the moon-beams quiver,
On the roofs of Tripolis and Fez:
Drifted far 'mid many a granite column,
Through the brazen gates, on waves that shone,
In the awful hush of moon-rise soft and solemn,
Into Babylon?
Or on waters black and turbid as the Stygian,
Ebon gloom 'mid many a square colossal shaft,
Carved with symbols of a huge religion,
Hideous gods that leer with hate and craft,
Close by porches vast and plinths Titanic,
On through many a black basaltic aisle,
Under monstrous halls and fanes Satanic,
On the awful Nile?
Ebon gloom 'mid many a square colossal shaft,
Carved with symbols of a huge religion,
Hideous gods that leer with hate and craft,
Close by porches vast and plinths Titanic,
On through many a black basaltic aisle,
Under monstrous halls and fanes Satanic,
On the awful Nile?
Or upon the Ganges, 'mid a thousand drifting
Lamps that shine and flicker in the windless air,
'Mid the lotus-leaves the faint waves lifting
Undulate and shake the flower-stalks bare,
Or in creeks and coves with leaves embowering,
In the shadow of the sheltered calm,
Seen the moon shine through the tufted, towering
Tamarisk, and palm?
Lamps that shine and flicker in the windless air,
'Mid the lotus-leaves the faint waves lifting
Undulate and shake the flower-stalks bare,
Or in creeks and coves with leaves embowering,
In the shadow of the sheltered calm,
Seen the moon shine through the tufted, towering
Tamarisk, and palm?
8
Or upon some magic stream, some tide enchanted,
Through rose-gardens in a mystic land unknown,
Flowering shrubberies scent and music haunted,
Piloted an ivory barque alone,
Snatching kisses through some open casement
From lips never seen in our cold world,
Standing tip-toe at a palace basement
On the silk sail furled?
Through rose-gardens in a mystic land unknown,
Flowering shrubberies scent and music haunted,
Piloted an ivory barque alone,
Snatching kisses through some open casement
From lips never seen in our cold world,
Standing tip-toe at a palace basement
On the silk sail furled?
Hast thou never strayed through China's mystic regions,
Lamplit gardens cool with waft of many a fan,
Seen their silken girls in silver legions,
Or the gorgeous ladies of Japan,
Heard the small feet patter, long robes sweeping,
Kissed the laughing lips, shocked as it seemed?—
Ah, thou hast not known the joys of sleeping,
Thou hast never dreamed!
Lamplit gardens cool with waft of many a fan,
Seen their silken girls in silver legions,
Or the gorgeous ladies of Japan,
Heard the small feet patter, long robes sweeping,
Kissed the laughing lips, shocked as it seemed?—
Ah, thou hast not known the joys of sleeping,
Thou hast never dreamed!
July 22nd, 1886.
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