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Travel

  I should like to rise and go
  Where the golden apples grow;--
  Where below another sky
  Parrot islands anchored lie,
  And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
  Lonely Crusoes building boats;--
  Where in sunshine reaching out
  Eastern cities, miles about,
  Are with mosque and minaret
  Among sandy gardens set,
  And the rich goods from near and far
  Hang for sale in the bazaar;--
  Where the Great Wall round China goes,
  And on one side the desert blows,
  And with the voice and bell and drum,
  Cities on the other hum;--
  Where are forests hot as fire,
  Wide as England, tall as a spire,
  Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
  And the negro hunters' huts;--
  Where the knotty crocodile
  Lies and blinks in the Nile,
  And the red flamingo flies
  Hunting fish before his eyes;--
  Where in jungles near and far,
  Man-devouring tigers are,
  Lying close and giving ear
  Lest the hunt be drawing near,
  Or a comer-by be seen
  Swinging in the palanquin;--
  Where among the desert sands
  Some deserted city stands,
  All its children, sweep and prince,
  Grown to manhood ages since,
  Not a foot in street or house,
  Not a stir of child or mouse,
  And when kindly falls the night,
  In all the town no spark of light.
  There I'll come when I'm a man
  With a camel caravan;
  Light a fire in the gloom
  Of some dusty dining room;
  See the pictures on the walls,
  Heroes, fights and festivals;
  And in a corner find the toys
  Of the old Egyptian boys.


                                            XI