Page:The Poet in the Desert.djvu/100



POET: Consider, also, the rewarding orchards, Bearing burdens and incense ; Royal companies of plums, pears, apples, apricots and

cherries. Ranks of prunes, figs, oranges and lemons ; Luscious peaches, with sun-burned cheeks, As of blushing maidens who look modestly downward ; Peach-orchards which perfume the September breeze ; Vineyards, arbored and festooned, Where the wild doves crouch upon the ground In the shade of the vine-leaves ; Vineyards in serried ranks on the steep hillsides, Sloping toward the South ; The grotesque, gnarled and twisted vines, Bringing wine from Earth's cool caverns To rejoice the hearts of men ; Grapes in ruby, amber and purple bunches, Sweet and nectared, filling the air with a delicacy of musk ; The wide-spreading nut-trees, walnuts and chestnuts. Casting heavy shade in midsummer; Almonds, which are cousins to the peach-trees. Both from Persia, the country of Omar, Sadi, Hafiz and Firdausi ;

Green almonds, white and sweet as milk. How aromatic the crushed peach-leaves smell, And the almond-leaves, dying, give forth spice. The tall pecans in the rich river-bottoms ; The wide-spreading chestnuts; The hickory-trees with shining, pungent leaves, Flakes of gold in the Autumn. Prodigal abundance, generous overflowing.

TRUTH: Does a mother bear children and refuse to suckle them? Or having children, does she fail to fold them to her bosom?

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