Page:Thalaba the Destroyer 1809 Vol 1 - Southey.djvu/25

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I. 7

“I knew not that there liv’d thy father’s foe.
“The blessings of the poor for him
“Went daily up to Heaven,
“In distant lands the traveller told his praise;..
“I did not think there liv’d
“Hodeirah’s enemy.”

“But I will hunt him through the earth!”
Young Thalaba exclaim’d.
“Already I can bend my father’s bow,
“Soon will my arm have strength
“To drive the arrow-feathers to his heart.”

Zeinab replied, “O Thalaba, my child,
“Thou lookest on to distant days,
“And we are in the desert, far from men!”

Not till that moment her afflicted heart
Had leisure for the thought.
She cast her eyes around,
Alas! no tents were there
Beside the bending sands;
No palm tree rose to spot the wilderness.