Page:Poems on slavery (IA poemsonslavery00long).pdf/21

Before him, like a blood-red flag,
 The bright flamingoes flew;
From morn till night he followed their flight,
 O'er plains where the tamarind grew,
Till he saw the roofs of Caffre huts,
 And the ocean rose to view.

At night he heard the lion roar,
 And the hyena scream,
And the river-horse, as he crushed the reeds
 Beside some hidden stream;
And it passed, like a glorious roll of drums,
 Through the triumph of his dream.

The forests, with their myriad tongues,
 Shouted of liberty;
And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud,
 With a voice so wild and free,
That he started in his sleep and smiled
 At their tempestuous glee.