Page:The Poems of John Dyer (1903).djvu/117

 Replenish, and convenient store provide, Like ants, intelligent of future need. See ! thro' the fragrance of delicious airs, That breathe the smell of balms, how Traffic shapes A winding voyage, by the lofty coast Of Sofala, thought Ophir, in whose hills Ev'n yet some portion of its ancient wealth Remains, and sparkles in the yellow sand Of its clear streams, tho' unregarded now ; Ophirs more rich are found. With easy course The vessels glide, unless their speed be stopp'd By dead calms, that oft lie on those smooth seas While ev'ry zephyr sleeps : then the shrouds drop ; The downy feather, on the cordage hung, Moves not ; the flat sea shines like yellow gold, Fus'd in the fire ; or like the marble floor Of some old temple wide. But where so wide, In old or later time, its marble floor Did ever temple boast as this, which here Spreads its bright level many a league around ? At solemn distances its pillars rise, Sofal's blue rocks, Mozambic's palmy steeps, And lofty Madagascar's glittering shores, Where various woods of beauteous vein and hue, And glossy shells in elegance of form, For Pond's rich cabinet, or Sloan's, are found. Such calm oft checks their course, till this bright scene Is brush'd away before the rising breeze, That joys the busy crew, and speeds again The sail full-swelling to Socotra's isle, For aloes fam'd ; or to the wealthy marts Of Ormus or Gombroon, whose streets are oft With caravans and tawny merchants throng'd, From neighbouring provinces and realms afar,