BONES IN THE DESERT.
131
There the tired camel lays him down
And shuts his gentle eyes;
And there the fiery rider droops,
Toward Mecca looks and dies.
And shuts his gentle eyes;
And there the fiery rider droops,
Toward Mecca looks and dies.
They fall unheeded from the ranks:—
On sweeps the endless train,
But there, to mark the desert path,
Their whitening bones remain.
On sweeps the endless train,
But there, to mark the desert path,
Their whitening bones remain.
As thus I read the mournful tale,
Upon the traveller’s page,
I thought how like the march of life
Is this sad pilgrimage.
Upon the traveller’s page,
I thought how like the march of life
Is this sad pilgrimage.
For every heart hath some fair dream,
Some object unattained,
And far off in the distance lies
Some Mecca to be gained.
Some object unattained,
And far off in the distance lies
Some Mecca to be gained.
But beauty, manhood, love and power
Go in their morning down,
And longing eyes and outstretched arms,
Tell of the goal unwon.
Go in their morning down,
And longing eyes and outstretched arms,
Tell of the goal unwon.
