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 

• A Song of Enchantment by Walter de la Mare by Walter de la Mare
• Nicholas Nye by Walter de la Mare by Walter de la Mare
• Napoleon by Walter de la Mare by Walter de la Mare
• Arabia by Walter de la Mare by Walter de la Mare
• An Epitaph by Walter de la Mare by Walter de la Mare
• To His Love When He Had Obtained Her by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• To a Lady with an Unruly and Ill-mannered Dog Who Bit several Persons of Importance by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• The Silent Lover ii by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• The Silent Lover i by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• The Nymph’s Reply To The Shepherd by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• The Lie by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• The Conclusion by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• The Artist by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• Stans Puer ad Mensam by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• Song of Myself by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• Sestina Otiosa by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• Now What Is Love by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• On Being Challenged to Write an Epigram in the Manner of Herrick by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• Nature that Washed Her Hands in Milk by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh
• My Last Will by Sir Walter Raleigh by Walter Raleigh

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