GAMARRA is a dainty steed, Strong, black, and of noble breed, Full of fire, and full of bone, With all his line of fathers known; Fine his nose, his nostrils thin, But blown abroad by the pride within! His mane is like a river flowing, And his eyes like embers glowing In the darkness of the night, And his pace as swift as light. Look, -- how round his straining throat Grace and shifting beauty float; Sinewy strength is in his reins, And the red blood gallops through his veins: Richer, redder, never ran Through the boasting heart of man. He can trace his lineage higher Than the Bourbon dare aspire, -- Douglas, Gunzman, or the Guelph, Or O'Brien's blood itself! He, who hath no peer, was born Here, upon a red March morn. But his famous fathers dead Were Arabs all, and Arab-bred, And the last of that great line Trod like one of a race divine! And yet, -- he was but friend to one Who fed him at the set of sun By some lone fountain fringed with green; With him, a roving Bedouin, He lived (none else would he obey Through all the hot Arabian day). And died untamed upon the sands Where Balkh amidst the desert stands. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DREAMS by CECIL FRANCES ALEXANDER JESUS - THE SWEETEST NAME by BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX THE RAILWAY TRAIN by EMILY DICKINSON ON SIR PALMES FAIRBORNE'S TOMB, IN WESTERMINSTER ABBEY by JOHN DRYDEN THE WINGED WORSHIPPERS; ADDRESSED TO TWO SWALLOWS .. DURING SERVICE by CHARLES SPRAGUE BETROTHED ANEW by EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN |