An eagle sought the desert's spring beside A lion's cave: Meanwhile, two Kings (God willed it so), espied The sparkling wave. Beneath tall palms, where pilgrims quench their drought Fresh strength to gain, These Kings, sworn foemen, fought their duel out 'Till both were slain. The eagle hovered o'er each lifeless brow, And, mocking, said: "Ye found the universe too small, and now Your souls have fled! O Princes, lately jubilant! your bones To-morrow must Be mixed with indistinguishable stones Amid the dust! Ye fools! what gained ye by your savage feud? Behold, the end! I, the proud eagle, haunt this solitude— The lion's friend. From the same spring we drink, each morn and eve— Kings, he and I: Hill, dale, and forest depths to him I leave, And keep the sky." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AUGUST MOONRISE by SARA TEASDALE WILLIAM AND HELEN by GOTTFRIED AUGUST BURGER SING-SONG; A NURSERY RHYME BOOK: 90 by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI ECCLESIASTICAL SONNETS: PART 3: 34. MUTABILITY by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH BLESSING THE LIGHTS by ALTER ABELSON PEARLS OF THE FAITH: 35. AL-GHAFIR by EDWIN ARNOLD TO HIS DEAR FRIEND THOMAS RANDOLPH, ON HIS COMEDY 'THE JEALOUS LOVERS' by RICHARD BENEFIELD |