I come from ancient palaces and earlier mysteries Draped in the purple robe of emperors; On the horizon my untamed fury roars Over the northern ocean and the western seas. I march across the face of continents Upon the alert and proud barbarian horde; My coming stills their wild, tumultuous chord, And the four winds wait until it shall commence. The spirit of your sneering, babbling crowds Speaks: "Bloody outcast of kingdoms that have gone Who once were like unto the rose of dawn, You are dim now as the sun behind swift clouds. "You have not realized your drunken dreams; Furious peoples have slain your ministers; Your temples are ruins where no twilight stirs, Your memory and your name are spent gleams. "If you rise among us, we shall spoil your sweets And we shall mock your songs, for we shall wear A helmet on our brows, and our swords bare; We shall avenge on you our fears and our defeats." "If I am no longer king, still is the fury mine: Against you I arm the beauty of the maid And, that a vain desire your souls invade, I mark your sons with my immortal sign. "When in my palaces, with glory stored, A festival sang at flower-harvesting, I heard the dolor of your anguish wring Out of the shade where the fright of my victory soared. "But I, the Redeemer you are wistful of, Come ere my time—whose name upholds the skies, I have kept the deadly splendor in mine eyes, For I was your god, O peoples! I am Love." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...I'M GOING BACK TO SOMETHING by DAVID IGNATOW SPRINGTIDE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE GUARDIAN OF THE RED DISK (SPOKEN BY A CITIZEN OF MALTA - 1300) by EMMA LAZARUS COUNTRYWOMEN by KATHERINE MANSFIELD DOMESDAY BOOK: DR. BURKE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE RUSSIAN ARMY GOES INTO BAKU by ALICIA SUSKIN OSTRIKER |