Stars of the Desert/Philosophy of morning
Philosophy of Morning
Slave
"Ay, he is fair, yet not indeed so fair
As thou transfigurest him
In thine own eyes, clear as the morning air.
"Ay, he is strong and lithe, yet not in truth
As thou rememberest him,
'Tis the intoxication of thy youth!
"Mistress of mine, for once let truth be told,
These lovers are less lovely than they seem,
'Tis love, who subtly turns their brass to gold
With the alluring magic of a dream."
Princess
"Thy chatter, girl, is like a nest of jays!
Disturb me not with jangling coffee trays!
Reclose the lattice and shut out the light
I have no haste to end the peace of night.
(Sings)"He whom I love is like a lonely tower
Lit by the sunlight of a great renown,
Aspiring skyward in unconscious power
Above the dust and clamour of the town.
"The West wind fanned the battlemented crest,
And, in the frolic of an idle hour,
Left a light seed among the stones to rest
hich later bloomed a scented golden flower.
"Oh, Seomar, so much desired of me,
Lovely and lone and lofty as thou art,
May it be written in my fate's decree
To plant love's golden flower against thy heart!
"And if love be the dream thou sayst it is
What matter? so it bring that face of his
Near unto mine, and longing find relief.
I care not if the dream be true or no
So it be not too brief!"
Slave
"'Tis ever so!
And still the young waste in Love's fitful flame
The force that else had brought them gold and fame."
Princess
"Didst thou not tell me of one who bought thy youth
How that his age hindered his pleasure in thee?
Spite of his gold, gained without pity or ruth
His uncut emeralds and pearls of the sea.
"And what of him who headed the tribes last year
Against the Sultan? When he had lost the game,
Blinded and burnt, and broken with pain and fear,
Cared he then for the passing Mirage of Fame?"
Slave
"Truly, men gain not much for all their strife!"
Princess
"There are some chapters in the book of life
Pages, whose print demands the morning light,
That youth alone can understand aright.
These I would read while time is with me still
Let after happenings be what they will.
For this I hold, that when a woman lies
Watching her beauty fire her lover's eyes
While the lithe strength, she worshipped from afar,
Melts in her arms and quivers on her breast,
She knows the utmost sense of joy and rest
That fate has given to this luckless star
Men call the world.
"And though the dream may fade,
Passing away, as sunshine into shade,
Memories of its light will still assuage
The weariness that haunts the after age.
"So shall she see the fire in other's eyes,
Hear the quick questions and the low replies,
And these shall not disturb her inward rest,
Since, in her spring she also knew the best.
"But those who let the days of youth drift by,
Scorning to share a lover's ecstasy,
They shall lament, when all their youth has flown
Most bitterly, because they have not known.
"Ah, close the lattice, leave me to my dreams,
Shut out the brightness of the morning beams,
Let me return, to night where silence is
And the worn beauty of that face of his."