 | A winter on the Nile |  |
176
“WHERE ARE THE GREAT AND SCEPTRED KINGS?”
Where are the great and sceptred kings of yore,
Who carried wars and conquests far and wide,
And built their temples near that dusky tide
Which plants a green oasis on the shore?
Oh, where the suppliants who off'rings bore
To Pasht and Isis, gods to whom they cried,
Or to the sacred bulls they deified?
Gone are their pomp and pride for evermore.
Who carried wars and conquests far and wide,
And built their temples near that dusky tide
Which plants a green oasis on the shore?
Oh, where the suppliants who off'rings bore
To Pasht and Isis, gods to whom they cried,
Or to the sacred bulls they deified?
Gone are their pomp and pride for evermore.
Where are the maidens once as Hathor fair,
With whom these conquerors had loved to toy,
Girls sweet as lotus-blossom in their hair,
Who filled the world with laughter and with joy?
Withered the beauty men thought could not cloy,—
The charms that stung their rivals to despair.
With whom these conquerors had loved to toy,
Girls sweet as lotus-blossom in their hair,
Who filled the world with laughter and with joy?
Withered the beauty men thought could not cloy,—
The charms that stung their rivals to despair.
| A winter on the Nile | |