Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Asia: Vols. XXI–XXIII. 1876–79. | | | | Mesopotamia: Bagdad | | Bagdad | | Nicholas Michell (1807–1880) |
| | (From Ruins of Many Lands)
STILL on we press, and now the ruddy beam | |
| To amber turns swift Tigris’ arrowy stream, | |
| Shines on famed Bagdad’s walls, and bathes with fire | |
| Each gilded dome, and crescent-mounted spire. | |
| Romantic Bagdad! name to childhood dear, | 5 |
| Awaking terror’s thrill and pity’s tear; | |
| For there the sorcerer gloomed, the genii dwelt, | |
| And Love and Worth to good Al Rashid knelt; | |
| Prince of the Thousand Tales! whose glorious reign | |
| So brightly shines in fancy’s fair domain! | 10 |
| Whose noble deeds still Arab minstrels sing, | |
| Who rivalled all but Gallia’s knightly king. | |
| Yonder where fountains gush and yew-trees weep, | |
| Watch o’er his harem-queen doth Azrael keep; | |
| Yes, morn’s rich hues illume that sacred pile, | 15 |
| Like beams shed down by some blest angel’s smile,— | |
| Where fair Zobeida, shrined in odor, lies: | |
| Her soul long since in starry Paradise. | | | | |
|
|
