IF we could salvage Babylon
From times’s grim heap of dust and bones;
If we could charm cool waters back
To sing against her thirsty stones;
If, on a day,
We two should stray
Down some long, Babylonian way–
Perhaps the strangest sight of all
Would be the street boys playing ball.
If through Pompeii’s agelong night
A yellow sun again might shine,
And little, sea-born breezes lift
The hair of lovers sipping wine,
If, in some fair,
Dim temple there,
We watched Pompeii come to prayer–
Not the strange altar would surprise
But strangeness of familiar eyes!
Ay, should our magic straightly wake
Atlantis from her sea-rocked sleep
And we on some Processional
Look down where dancing maidens leap,
If one flushed maid
Beside us stayed
To tie more firm her loosened braid–
Would not the shaking wonder be
To find her just like you and me?
(Isabel Ecclestone Mackay)
More Poetry from Isabel Ecclestone Mackay:
Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems based on Topics: Fairness, Hair, Wine- The Passing Of Cadieux (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems)
- Marguerite de Roberval (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems)
- Calgary Station (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems)
- Joseph (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems)
- The Reasons (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems)
- The Gatekeeper (Isabel Ecclestone Mackay Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Fairness Poems, Hair Poems, Wine PoemsBased on Keywords: salvage, processional, pompeii, straightly, agelong, sea-rocked