Chinese and Arabian Literature - E. Wilson - The Search For Mecca

92
SELECTIONS FROM ARABIAN POETRY
Thy name, by every breath convey'd,
Stretch'd o'er the globe its boundless flight;
Alas! in eve the length'ning shade
But lengthens to be lost in night!
If gracious Allah bade thee close
Thy youthful eyes so soon on day,
'Tis that he readiest welcomes those
Who love him best and best obey.
Alnassar Ledin Allah.
THE INTERVIEW
A Song
Darkness clos'd around, loud the tempest drove.
When thro' yonder glen I saw my lover rove,
Soon he reach'd our cot—weary, wet, and cold,
But warmth, wine, and I, to cheer his spirits strove.
Dearest youth!
Dearest youth!
How my love, cried I, durst thou hither stray
Thro' the gloom, nor fear the ghosts that haunt the grove?
Dearest youth
In this heart, said he, fear no seat can find.
When each thought is fill'd alone with thee and love.
Dearest maid!
!