Bells and Pomegranates, First Series/Through the Metidja to Abd-El-Kadr
THROUGH THE METIDJA TO ABD-EL-KADR.—1842.
i.As I ride, as I ride,With a full heart for my guide,So its tide rocks my side,As I ride, as I ride,That, as I were double-eyed,He, in whom our Tribes confide,Is descried, ways untriedAs I ride, as I ride.
ii.As I ride, as I rideTo our Chief and his Allied,Who dares chide my heart's prideAs I ride, as I ride?Or are witnesses denied—Through the desert waste and wideDo I glide unespiedAs I ride, as I ride?
iii.As I ride, as I ride,When an inner voice has cried,The sands slide, nor abide(As I ride, as I ride)O'er each visioned HomicideThat came vaunting (has he lied?) To abide—where he diedAs I ride, as I ride.
iv.As I ride, as I ride,Ne'er has spur my swift horse plied,Yet his hide, streaked and pied,As I ride, as I ride,Shows where sweat has sprung and dried,—Zebra-footed, ostrich-thighed—How has vied stride with strideAs I ride, as I ride!
v.As I ride, as I ride,Could I loose what Fate has tied,Ere I pried, she should hide(As I ride, as I ride)All that's meant me: satisfiedWhen the Prophet and the BrideStop veins I'd have subsideAs I ride, as I ride!