Selections from Songs of a Bayadere and Songs of a Troubadour By Evelyn Douglas [i.e. J. E. Barlas] |
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The Ruins of Nineveh.
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 | Selections from Songs of a Bayadere and Songs of a Troubadour |  |
15
The Ruins of Nineveh.
Where Nineveh in ruin sleeps,
Two ruined lives lie low,
Whose hearts leapt as your heart now leaps
Thousands of years ago.
Two ruined lives lie low,
Whose hearts leapt as your heart now leaps
Thousands of years ago.
They loved, they struggled but to fail,
And then they sank and died;
How shall I tell you all the tale
So many ages hide?
And then they sank and died;
How shall I tell you all the tale
So many ages hide?
I know her heart in silence broke,
His pain was cruel and slow,
And then they slept and never woke,
And that is all I know.
His pain was cruel and slow,
And then they slept and never woke,
And that is all I know.
16
I guess the world then, as to-day,
Scorned love and loveliness,
And that the world stood in their way,
And that is all I guess.
Scorned love and loveliness,
And that the world stood in their way,
And that is all I guess.
I feel they must have moved apart,
And both kept under seal
Of smiling face a broken heart,
And that is all I feel.
And both kept under seal
Of smiling face a broken heart,
And that is all I feel.
I fear that they were slowly crushed,
And prayed, and none would hear,
And then their beating hearts were hushed,
And that was all, I fear.
And prayed, and none would hear,
And then their beating hearts were hushed,
And that was all, I fear.
Perhaps the desert wind that blows
O'er ruined Nineveh
More of that old-world story knows,
And if it cared, could say.
O'er ruined Nineveh
More of that old-world story knows,
And if it cared, could say.
17
Still to eternity time creeps;
And there still crumbling slow
The ruined centuries lie in heaps,
Two ruined hearts below.
And there still crumbling slow
The ruined centuries lie in heaps,
Two ruined hearts below.
I hope their secret was well kept,
As that of me and you,
And slept safe with them when they slept,
And that they both died true.
As that of me and you,
And slept safe with them when they slept,
And that they both died true.
I trust their troth was truly kept,
As we have kept our trust,
And that there was some friend who wept
Upon their bitter dust.
As we have kept our trust,
And that there was some friend who wept
Upon their bitter dust.
I pray they had some hours of joy,
As you and I to-day,
Some hope the world could not destroy—
And that is all I pray.
As you and I to-day,
Some hope the world could not destroy—
And that is all I pray.
18
But, gentle lady, do not weep;
It does not matter now.
Beneath the ruined walls they sleep
With placid lips and brow.
It does not matter now.
Beneath the ruined walls they sleep
With placid lips and brow.
Two heaps of dust there side by side,
What can they feel or know?
These lovers suffered, failed, and died
Thousands of years ago.
What can they feel or know?
These lovers suffered, failed, and died
Thousands of years ago.
| Selections from Songs of a Bayadere and Songs of a Troubadour | |