Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832/El Wuish
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EL WUISH, - RED SEA.
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EL WUISH.
El Wuish a small harbour on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. The intricacies of a great and almost unbroken extent of coral reefs, renders the navigation rather difficult, and extremely tedious. The boatmen often beguile the night by singing. The imagery of the following song is taken from some Persian translations kindly placed in my hands by Sir Gore Ouseley: of course, it is a very free paraphrase.
Leila, the flowers are withered now,
The flowers I scattered at thy side
What time Zoharah's* silver star
Was mirror'd in the fountain's tide;
The fountain played, and flung its drops
Like pearls amid thy raven hair;
I had not seen the mirror'd star,
But thou too wert reflected there.
Thyself and thy sweet phantom self
That parting hour were both my own.
My heart seemed like the fountain, made
To image love and thee alone.
When thou had past, that faithless wave
No likeness of thy grace retained.
But though my Leila's self be gone,
Yet Leila's memory has remained.
Thou dost consume thy dwelling-place—
Take from thy wreath of flowers a sign,
The tulip hides its withered core,
And such a burning heart is mine.
I call thine image to my sleep,
I wake and watch the waves again,
I think thy words, I dream thy smiles,
Ah! Arab maid, I dream in vain.
* The Eastern name for the planet Venus.