The Dead Sea, and, beyond, the greyish, broken
Line of the hills. Noon. Mealtime. Deft of hand,
He bathes his mare, then sits a hookah smoking
On Jordan’s shore. Like molten bronze the sand.
The Dead Sea, and, beyond, in space suspended,
Mirages swimming in a golden haze.
Light. Warmth. A wild dove coos. The oleander
And storksbill with the reds of springtime blaze.
He sits, a hooded hawk, and smokes, and raises
His voice in song, and, droning sleepily,
The tamarisk and oleander praises.
Bard, robber, nomad tribesman, glad is he
To coils of smoke in simple verse and flowing
The peaks to liken beyond Siddim showing!
(Ivan Bunin)
More Poetry from Ivan Bunin:
Ivan Bunin Poems based on Topics: Light, Space, Praise- Loneliness (Ivan Bunin Poems)
- Istanbul (Ivan Bunin Poems)
- The Pleiades (Ivan Bunin Poems)
- "The camel snorts. He won't get up" (Ivan Bunin Poems)
- "No birds in sight, The forest withers slowly" (Ivan Bunin Poems)
- In An Estuary (Ivan Bunin Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Light Poems, Praise Poems, Space PoemsBased on Keywords: nomad, tamarisk, coos, mirages, greyish, oleander, siddim, tribesman, mealtime, hookah
- One Day And Another: A Lyrical Eclogue - Part I (Madison Julius Cawein Poems)
- Parisina (Lord George Gordon Byron Poems)
- The Golden Legend: VI. The School Of Salerno (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Poems)
- Of The Nature Of Things: Book II - Part 03 - Atomic Forms And Their Combinations (Lucretius Poems)
- The School Of The Heart. Lesson The Second. (Henry Alford Poems)