Hamlili, the Sultan of Song
Alas, for the fate of Hamlili,
The slender fanatical singer,
Whose fingers were skilled on the ginbri;
Who played the tears into men's eyes.
Who harped on men's hearts till they quivered
And swayed on the border of madness,
Vibrating and twisting in passion:
Hamlili: the Singer of Sighs:
Hamlili: Beloved in the Soko:
Whose song was as rest to the weary.
As Lips of the Loved to the Lover.
Hamlili: Assuager of Care.
Whose tears clustered thick on his lashes.
As, torn from the heart of the ginbri,
The music, caressive and tender,
Arose in the tremulous air.
They took him, the victim of slander,
And burnt out his eyes in the Kasbah,
They cut off the hand of Hamlili,
The hand that was Lord of the Strings,
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