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.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Ольга Берггольц – Я тайно и горько ревную by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Из блокнота сорок первого года by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Мы предчувствовали полыханье by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Я иду по местам боев by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Я говорю by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Второй разговор с соседкой by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Встреча by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Возвращение by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Вот я выбирала для разлуки by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Воспоминание (И вот в лицо пахнуло земляникой) by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – В ложе Цимлянского моря by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – В доме Павлова by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Украина by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Твоя молодость by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Триптих 1949 года by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Тост by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Таков мой подарок тебе за измену by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Так еще ни разу не забыла by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Стихи о ленинградских большевика by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Старая гвардия by Ольга Берггольц

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works