Poems (Argent)/The Orchard of Palms
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THE ORCHARD OF PALMS.
"By the lake of sweet waters, under the palms of the Orchard of Palms."—"Ben-Hur."
THE garden land of Antioch,
Beyond compare,
Is beautiful with trailing vines
In clusters fair,
Beyond compare,
Is beautiful with trailing vines
In clusters fair,
Which yield a shade to passer-by
And grateful rest
From gleaming sun and noon-day heat
On tired breast.
And grateful rest
From gleaming sun and noon-day heat
On tired breast.
Past melon-patches, fig-tree groves
And scented lime;
Where oranges and lemons thrive
In that soft clime.
And scented lime;
Where oranges and lemons thrive
In that soft clime.
The cedars of sweet Lebanon
Their boughs droop down,
The traveller can their heads discern
O'er hill and town.
Their boughs droop down,
The traveller can their heads discern
O'er hill and town.
The glorious oak and sycamore,
With myrtle, bay,
Arbutus, jessamine, perfume
The air each day.
With myrtle, bay,
Arbutus, jessamine, perfume
The air each day.
And through the slanting sunlight runs
The river bright,
Crowned with a lustrous pyramid
Of starry light.
The river bright,
Crowned with a lustrous pyramid
Of starry light.
And ships in endless motion glide
With rarest freight,
Like white swans floating side by side
In regal state!
With rarest freight,
Like white swans floating side by side
In regal state!
Close underfoot the tender grass
Of vivid green,
Far famed in Syria throughout
Each varied scene.
Of vivid green,
Far famed in Syria throughout
Each varied scene.
The Syrian sky in hazy warmth,
O'er land and sea,
Scatters a thousand purple hues
Unceasingly.
O'er land and sea,
Scatters a thousand purple hues
Unceasingly.
Surpassing beautiful the fields
And birds of song,
That warble in enchanted groves
The whole day long,
And birds of song,
That warble in enchanted groves
The whole day long,
Through sunny gardens where the spray
Of fountains drip
Their cooling waters on the ear
And brow and lip.
Of fountains drip
Their cooling waters on the ear
And brow and lip.
The orchard of the spreading palms
Opens to view,
Magnificently beneath the sky
Of Syrian blue!
Opens to view,
Magnificently beneath the sky
Of Syrian blue!
The docile camels stoop to drink,
With bended head,
In the pellucid lake that winds
By grassy bed.
With bended head,
In the pellucid lake that winds
By grassy bed.
Here soars the palm with lofty crest
And brave and bold,
So broad of branch, so wide of girth,
And years untold.
And brave and bold,
So broad of branch, so wide of girth,
And years untold.
Each branch is perfected with fronds
Plumy and soft:
Wax-like and brilliant high they stand
And wave aloft!
Plumy and soft:
Wax-like and brilliant high they stand
And wave aloft!
Heavy with luscious dates, they drop
Their manna sweet,
Throwing both food and shelter round
The traveller's feet.
Their manna sweet,
Throwing both food and shelter round
The traveller's feet.
What magic lingers in a palm!
The Eastern world
Unfolds before one's gaze, as flags
With awe unfurled!
The Eastern world
Unfolds before one's gaze, as flags
With awe unfurled!