I LISTEN, O Love, to that far-distant strain, The bulbul sings outside the city gate. This is the twilight hour, all consecrate, When his poor heart with love is full, or strangely desolate! Harken, O Love! Is it a note of pain That passes down toward sunset's golden bars? Lean close, lean close! Let us forget life's scars, And watch for night's transcendent train of peace-bestowing stars! II I shall forget the day's great heat When in the night your heart shall beat, In rhythmic measure, close to mine, And thro' the dark your dear eyes shine! I shall forget the torrid breeze That swept all day the tall palm-trees, When in the night, the quiet night, Your lips meet mine for Love's delight! III This is mine hour of jubilation -- this, When my hot brow grows cool beneath thy kiss! I am the weary desert, thou the dusk, Bringing thy peace and soothing scent of musk. I am that weary waste which all day long Dreamed of thy starshine and thine evensong! IV Beloved, see, how on yon minarets The sun's flames leap and shine; And see, how on you towering parapets They glow like crimson wine! O let me be as constant unto thee, As steadfast as the sun, Dawn after dawn to rise from dreams and be Glad that the dark is done! V What night with all its pageantry, Its web of golden dream, Has made the heavens appear to me Fairer than your eyes seem? What silver of the early dawn Has made your throat less white? Give me your face to look upon, And what of dawn, or night? VI O dome and spire, and mosque and shrine, And temples built of gold May lift their glory, glint, and shine, Till all the years have rolled In chaos to that brink of night When Allah says the world shall lose its wonder and its light. But hush! O my beloved one! For our great love shall last Through darkness and the shadowed sun, Till Death itself has passed. O we shall love, be unafraid, When this pale city that we see in paler dust is laid! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BONNYBELL: THE BUTTERFLY by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SWEET CLOVER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THESMOPHORIAZUSAE: WOMEN'S CHORUS by ARISTOPHANES THE MOON by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES ECHOES: 35. MARGARITAE SORORI by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY |