Page:Poets of John Company.djvu/70

They brought their faith from distant lands,
They reared the Moslem badge on high,
And swept away with reeking brands
The reliques of idolatry.

Their wreaths have faded—lizards bask
Upon the marble pavement, where,
'Twas erst the dark-eyed beauty's task
To crown with flowers her raven hair.

Unheeded now the scorpion crawls,
And snakes unscathed in silence glide.
Where once the bright Zenana's halls
To woman's feet were sanctified.

No trace remains of those gay hours
When lamps, in golden radiance bright.
Streamed o'er these now deserted towers
The sunshine of their perfumed light.

The maiden's song, the anklet's bells
So sweetly ringing o'er the floor,
And eyes as soft as the gazelle's
Are heard, and seen, and felt no more.

Now all is silent; the wild cry
Of savage beasts alone is heard,
Or wrathful tempest hurrying by,
Or moanings of some desert bird.