Page:Collected poems of Flecker.djvu/173

 The Ballad of Iskander

Afiatun and Aristu and King Iskander Are Plato, Aristotle, Alexander.

Sultan Iskander sat him down On his golden throne, in his golden crown, And shouted, "Wine and flute-girls three, And the Captain, ho! of my ships at sea."

He drank his bowl of wine; he kept The flute-girls dancing till they wept, Praised and kissed their painted lips, And turned to the Captain of All his Ships

And cried, "O Lord of my Ships that go From the Persian Gulf to the Pits of Snow, Inquire for men unknown to man!" Said Sultan Iskander of Yoonistan.

"Daroosh is dead, and I am King Of Everywhere and Everything : Yet leagues and leagues away for sure The lion-hearted dream of war.