Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, METEOR, by AL-HAITHAM


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

METEOR, by                    
First Line: Was yon a charger, or
Last Line: A line of manuscript.
Alternate Author Name(s): Ibn Abi L-haytham


Was yon a charger, or
A flashing meteor
That passed me, blinding bright,
A levin-shaft alight?

The dawn had lent its pale
Effulgence for a veil,
Wherein (and it was apt
Indeed) he fled enwrapped.

And, as he sped, he thought
The urgent morning sought
To capture (but in vain)
Its glittering loan again.

The stars hung in the sky,
So swiftly he swept by;
The clouds in wonderment
Guessed not the way he went.

Astonishing indeed:
Though he excelled in speed
The stars, for all his haste
The dust his feet abased.

What noble prize is he
To treasure jealously;
His saddle-cloth (behold!)
Spun all of liquid gold.

Some copyist, I think,
With musk in lieu of ink
Upon his pasterns dripped
A line of manuscript.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net