Song Of The Devoted Slave

A poem by Violet Nicolson, Lawrence Hope, Adela Florence Cory Nicolson (1865 – 1904)

There is one God: Mahomed his Prophet. Had I his power

I would take the topmost peaks of the snow-clad Himalayas,

And would range them around your dwelling, during the heats of summer,

To cool the airs that fan your serene and delicate presence,

Had I the power.

Your courtyard should ever be filled with the fleetest of camels

Laden with inlaid armour, jewels and trappings for horses,

Ripe dates from Egypt, and spices and musk from Arabia.

And the sacred waters of Zem-Zem well, transported thither,

Should bubble and flow in your chamber, to bathe the delicate

Slender and wayworn feet of my Lord, returning from travel,

Had I the power.

Fine woven silk, from the further East, should conceal your beauty,

Clinging around you in amorous folds; caressive, silken,

Beautiful long-lashed, sweet-voiced Persian boys should, kneeling, serve you,

And the floor beneath your sandalled feet should be smooth and golden,

Had I the power.

And if ever your clear and stately thoughts should turn to women,

Kings’ daughters, maidens, should be appointed to your caresses,

That the youth and the strength of my Lord might never be wasted

In light or sterile love; but enrich the world with his children.

Had I the power.

Whilst I should sit in the outer court of the Water Palace

To await the time when you went forth, for Pleasure or Warfare,

Descending the stairs rose crowned, or armed and arrayed in purple,–

To mark the place where your steps have fallen, and kiss the footprints,

Had I the power.

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Poems in English 

• Not out of the running by Margaret Marie Hubbard by Poetry In English
• Nevertheless by Marianne Moore by Poetry In English
• Nearly A Valediction by Marilyn Hacker by Poetry In English
• My Mother’s Body by Marge Piercy by Poetry In English
• My Daughter at 14, Christmas Dance, 1981 by Maria Mazziotti Gillan by Poetry In English
• Morning News by Marilyn Hacker by Poetry In English
• Love Poem to My Husband of Thirty-one Years by Maria Mazziotti Gillan by Poetry In English
• Locked Away by Margaret Marie Hubbard by Poetry In English
• Labyrinth by Sera Jacob by Poetry In English
• Iva’s Pantoum by Marilyn Hacker by Poetry In English
• Island-Hearth by M. Ivana Trevisani Bach by Poetry In English
• Irish Love Song by Margaret Widdemer by Poetry In English
• Invocation by Marilyn Hacker by Poetry In English
• If you should tire of loving me by Margaret Widdemer by Poetry In English
• I Dream of my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother by Maria Mazziotti Gillan by Poetry In English
• I Deserve It by Margaret Marie Hubbard by Poetry In English
• Hurry by Marie Howe by Poetry In English
• He Made This Screen by Marianne Moore by Poetry In English
• Forever Closed by Margaret Marie Hubbard by Poetry In English
• For the Young Who Want To by Marge Piercy by Poetry In English

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