Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE MOSQUES by CHARLES HANSON TOWNE

First Line: THERE WAS A FLOWER IN ANCIENT FEZ
Last Line: TILL TIME, AND LIFE, AND DEATH ARE PAST.
Subject(s): FLOWERS; GOD;

THERE was a flower in ancient Fez
That (so the glowing legend says)
Has never lost its matchless light
From Summer dawn to Winter night,
Since Allah cast his pitying glance
Upon the city's wide expanse,
And, with all mercy in his eye,
Said, "One white flower shall never die."

So from the city's forest maze
Pure alabaster domes upraise
Their gleaming beauty through the dawn,
Or when the dusk of day is gone;
White flowers that blossom through the years,
And hush a people's solemn fears,
Pale blooms of wonder that shall last
Till Time, and Life, and Death are past.



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