DAUGHTER of Egypt, veil thine eyes!
I cannot bear their fire;
Nor will I touch with sacrifice
Those altars of desire.
For they are flames that shun the day,
And their unholy light
Is fed from natures gone astray
In passion and in night.
The stars of Beauty and of Sin,
They burn amid the dark,
Like beacons that to ruin win
The fascinated bark.
Then veil their glow, lest I forswear
The hopes thou canst not crown,
And in the black waves of thy hair
My struggling manhood drown!
(James Bayard Taylor)
More Poetry from James Bayard Taylor:
James Bayard Taylor Poems based on Topics: Fire, Night, Desire, Sin, Passion, Daughters, Beauty- The Quaker Widow (James Bayard Taylor Poems)
- Tyre (James Bayard Taylor Poems)
- Ariel in the Cloven Pine (James Bayard Taylor Poems)
- Gettysburg Ode (James Bayard Taylor Poems)
- The Return Of The Goddess (James Bayard Taylor Poems)
- America: From the National Ode, July 4, 1876 (James Bayard Taylor Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Night Poems, Fire Poems, Beauty Poems, Sin Poems, Desire Poems, Passion Poems, Daughters PoemsBased on Keywords: fascinated