A Prince of Dreamers

The Prince Salîm, despite all efforts of his friends, accepted his father's reprimand in dutiful fashion. Truly Akbar--may he be accursed!--hath a very devil of persuasion in hi...

_Look lover! Now indeed Love endeth right This is the only road. Oh, learn of me That Death shall give thee Love's best ecstasy Oh! If thou be'st true lover wash not hand From t...

_'Tis Eve O Sakil fill the wine cup high Be quick! the clouds delay not as they fly. Ere yet this Fading World to Darkness goes My senses darken with thy wine of Rose, Till Fate...

A tinkle of soft laughter came from the shadows. "So! thou hast not forgotten the old signal, Âto! yet it was years agone that I gave thee the bracelet, and thou gavest me thine...

_The current of a deed will work its way Through the wide world and cannot be resisted, 'Twas seasonably done--the seed is sown And in due time will bear the fruit of discord_....

There was another, and very different tinkle of soft laughter, a rustle of silks and satins which in their stirring gave out multi-scented perfumes of orange and rose, musk, and...

There was a faint half-kissing sound as of bare feet on a wet marble floor, and a running tinkle of light voices behind the heavy curtain which barred the archway to the inner b...

_I have oft said it, and again I say That I, poor soul, did never choose my way, But like taught birds, in hooded darkness heard What was the Master's will, the Master's word Br...

_No strength of Hand, no strength of Foot have I, To reach the restful Heaven of Thy Throne; Yet can my soul's eyes gaze upon the Sky And finding dream there, dream the Truth mi...

Prince Salîm's young, sullen face lowered gloomily, he flung aside the half-tasted sweetmeat he had taken from the golden basket which was always held within his reach by a deaf...

The multitude sank, seated on the ground where it had been standing, and so disclosed to view the rose-red palaces of Fatehpur Sikri, the City of Victory, rising from the rose-s...

Oh! fathers who have sung I sing With woman's lips Yet shall your sword hold honour for the King Till my blood drips To cover failure with red blazoning, Of set defiance, deathf...

_For the Lord our God Most High He hath smote for us a pathway to the Ends of all the Earth_. * * * * * _And some we got by purchase And some we had by trade And some we found b...

_Yet when from off the table of God's grace He gives what each may carry to their place Satan draws nigh, "Even for me" he says "A portion has been portioned in God's ways_." --...

_Oh clear the cushioned thrones from those who sleep Preach thou the Truth, let the Untruth be dumb Till gladsome voices once more fill both worlds Freshen the universe--Be thou...

_Love sent music to sing Love's praise So Harmony came to this world's sad ways. Master of melody, Cæsar of sound, Each chord he struck fettered reasoning, Till man and beast by...

_A thousand ships have foundered here before So lost, no chip of them came back to shore. I, too, on those waves wandered many a night, Till terror plucked my sleeve, and cried...

The city was astir, sleepily astir. In the blind tortuous alleys where the hot May sun struggled in vain to shine, shut out on every side by the high tenement houses hiving swar...

_Wash white the pages! In no book Love's rule is written. Wherefore look Not in my words for Flattery; nor dare To claim me as thy rightful share. Traced on my brow is Love--Fat...

Sing of my sweetheart close claspt to my side Love's lips to her lips in secret confide Kisses to credit that still remain due Afresh and afresh, anew and anew.

_Longing for the Unseen as never one Longed, passionate, for Seen; remembering none From dawning to the setting of the sun Save Secret Things unheard, unseen, unwon No man shall...

Whirr spindles on my rushing reel Leap thread from out my fingers feel. Time dwindles! Fate will cut the thread Sleep dead! Before her grinding wheel Kindles life's spark again...

"Thine host; for the rest, as thou art, a mere wayfarer on the limited path of life. Combining the two, this slave ventures to offer refreshment. Cupbearer! Wine of Shirâz, and...

_'Twas in the bath a piece of perfumed clay Came from my loved one's hands to mine one day Art thou then musk or ambergris? I said, That by thy scent my soul is ravished. "Not s...

_Take to the garden thy carpet of prayer Wait, and watch how at God's command The daffodils girdles of green prepare, How sentinel straight the cypresses stand. Forget thyself i...

_A trembling fell on mountain and on plain, The earth, unstable as a juggler's ball, Became a rolling sphere. The dust rose up High to the collar of heaven. The clarion of the w...

Live in the living hour, Fortune is fickle. To thy lips, laughing flower, Let good wine trickle. Who hoardeth wealth to leave He is a ne'er-do-well. Who lives to rail and grieve...