EL MAHDI TO THE TRIBES.
27
The sun by day shall bid you speed,
By night each guiding star,
Through the thorny wastes of Kordofan,
The wide plains of Sennaar!
And from Fez and far Morocco,
From Yemen and Hejaz,—
For round the world to the Faithful,
This fire of God shall blaze—
And from the realms of the Indian sea,
And isles of spice and balm,
Shall a thousand thousand hither haste
For the glory of Islam!
By night each guiding star,
Through the thorny wastes of Kordofan,
The wide plains of Sennaar!
And from Fez and far Morocco,
From Yemen and Hejaz,—
For round the world to the Faithful,
This fire of God shall blaze—
And from the realms of the Indian sea,
And isles of spice and balm,
Shall a thousand thousand hither haste
For the glory of Islam!
And as in the valley of Bedr,
When the Moslems charged the foe,
The angels stooped to the stormy pass
And laid the faithless low,
So shall they watch my standard,
And all along our line
Will hover their shining legions
And the battle be divine!
For Azrael, the Death-angel,
With a banner made of light,
And eyes that burn like the star of morn,
Will lead us in the fight.
And should you fall in the conflict,—
O glorious, glad surprise!
White-winged camels will bear you thence
To the bowers of Paradise!
Up to the crystal fountains
And the feast of the Tuba tree,
When the Moslems charged the foe,
The angels stooped to the stormy pass
And laid the faithless low,
So shall they watch my standard,
And all along our line
Will hover their shining legions
And the battle be divine!
For Azrael, the Death-angel,
With a banner made of light,
And eyes that burn like the star of morn,
Will lead us in the fight.
And should you fall in the conflict,—
O glorious, glad surprise!
White-winged camels will bear you thence
To the bowers of Paradise!
Up to the crystal fountains
And the feast of the Tuba tree,
