Page:Anthology of Modern Slavonic Literature in Prose and Verse by Paul Selver.djvu/307

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Of holly here in winter; where across Their back and on their shoulders they tattoo The image of an eagle; where the women Alone rule, and the men are given up From birth to heavy service till they die. I gazed upon the realm whose ruler is Khan of Cathay; and I have sat at meat With those who feed on men: I was a wave Amid the surf: the mighty emerald (Pre-destined for the vizier of Bagdad) Beneath my tongue I carried through the desert. For thirty days and nights I came not down Out of my saddle. I have seen great deserts Like ruffled raiment billowing afar; The ocean sleeping underneath the moon Like a stiff winding-sheet; strange stars ablaze Beneath strange zones. I visited the realms Of Prester John, where goodness, virtue and Righteousness ruled, as in a legend,—yea, Now meseems almost that I even reached The wondrous nook of earth, where Alexander Once lighted on the wilderness of Ind, And came no farther on his way, because Of mighty downpours that abated not. (Perchance upon the faery realm he there Set foot, or e'en upon the town celestial, And shrank away in dread, when at the gate An angel put a skull into his hand, Saying: "A few more years, and this shall be Thy portion,—this, and not a tittle more!")