EALED in the breast of barren rock,
Undraped by the vine or weed,—
Where bat and owl hold solemn court,
And in festering darkness feed;
TOMBS OF THE KINGS.(THEBES.)
EALED in the breast of barren rock,Undraped by the vine or weed,—
Where bat and owl hold solemn court,
And in festering darkness feed;
Desolation writ on the threshold,
The lintels sculptured in doom—
Leave them alone to their idols,
And winds of the desert that roam!
The lintels sculptured in doom—
Leave them alone to their idols,
And winds of the desert that roam!
Let drift the sand through the chambers,
And gather in high wasted heaps,
To mock at the frescoes and sculptures,
O'er which the death vermin creeps.
And gather in high wasted heaps,
To mock at the frescoes and sculptures,
O'er which the death vermin creeps.
Let winds alone whisper the secret,
Through arches and chambers of stone;
Then leave them alone to their idols,
And winds of the desert that moan!
Through arches and chambers of stone;
Then leave them alone to their idols,
And winds of the desert that moan!
Thebes, 1588.