Page:The Poems of John Dyer (1903).djvu/117

Replenish, and convenient store provide, 240
Like ants, intelligent of future need.
See ! thro' the fragrance of delicious airs,
That breathe the smell of balms, how Traffic shapes
A winding voyage, by the lofty coast
Of Sofala, thought Ophir, in whose hills 245
Ev'n yet some portion of its ancient wealth
Remains, and sparkles in the yellow sand
Of its clear streams, tho' unregarded now ;
Ophirs more rich are found. With easy course
The vessels glide, unless their speed be stopp'd 250
By dead calms, that oft lie on those smooth seas
While ev'ry zephyr sleeps : then the shrouds drop ;
The downy feather, on the cordage hung,
Moves not ; the flat sea shines like yellow gold,
Fus'd in the fire ; or like the marble floor 255
Of some old temple wide. But where so wide,
In old or later time, its marble floor
Did ever temple boast as this, which here
Spreads its bright level many a league around ?
At solemn distances its pillars rise, 260
Sofal's blue rocks, Mozambic's palmy steeps,
And lofty Madagascar's glittering shores,
Where various woods of beauteous vein and hue,
And glossy shells in elegance of form,
For Pond's rich cabinet, or Sloan's, are found. 265
Such calm oft checks their course, till this bright scene
Is brush'd away before the rising breeze,
That joys the busy crew, and speeds again
The sail full-swelling to Socotra's isle,
For aloes fam'd ; or to the wealthy marts 270
Of Ormus or Gombroon, whose streets are oft
With caravans and tawny merchants throng'd,
From neighbouring provinces and realms afar,