MY dark-browed daughter of the Sun, Dear Bedouin of the desert sands, Sad daughter of the ravished lands, Of savage Sinai, Babylon— O, Egypt-eyed, thou art to me A God-encompassed mystery. I see sad Hagar in thy eyes, The obelisks, the pyramids, Lie hid beneath thy drooping lids, The tawny Nile of Moses lies Portrayed in thy strange people's force, And solemn mystery of source. The black abundance of thy hair Falls like some sad twilight of June Above the dying afternoon, And mourns thy people's mute despair. The large solemnity of night, O Israel, is in thy sight. Then come where stars of freedom spill Their splendor, Jewess. In this land, The same broad hollow of God's hand That held you ever, outholds still. And whether you be right or nay, 'Tis God's, not Russia's, here to say. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A BOY'S SUMMER SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR POCAHONTAS by GEORGE POPE MORRIS FOR THE BED AT KELMSCOTT by WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896) ODES IV, 7. TO TORQUATUS. DIFFUGERE NIVES by QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS RICHARD CORY by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE HOUSE OF LIFE: THE SONNET (INTRODUCTION) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI |