Page:A Treasury of South African Poetry.djvu/202

 The godless savage paused awhile—
 * And, with a flashing eye,

Look'd round o'er all that beauteous land,
 * Far stretching 'neath the sky.

Where'er he turn'd his eyes he saw
 * War's desolating brand;

The smoke of burning villages
 * Arose on ev'ry hand.

The tow'ring mountains far away,
 * High heav'nward bore the blaze;

O'er all the fruitful valleys hung
 * A thick and lurid haze.

"There are the mountains where I track'd
 * The lions to their dens;

Oft have I coursed the flying deer
 * Across those burning glens.

"No more shall huntsman's shout be heard
 * On Mancazana's hills;

No more shall huntsman slake his thirst
 * In Mancazana's rills;

"No more shall young men dance at eve,
 * Around the peaceful kraal;

No more shall maidens wait to hear
 * Their brave young lovers call.

"No more shall children sport around
 * The reed huts of their sires;

Men, wives, and children—all are burn'd
 * Under the white man's fires!"