I Wonder![5]

I wonder if, in Samarcand, Grave camels kneel in golden sand, Still lading bales of magic spells, And charms a lover’s wisdom tells, To fare across the desert main And bring the Princess home again-- I wonder!

I wonder in Japan to-day If grateful beasts find out the way To those who succored them in pain, And bring their blessings back again; If cranes and sparrows take the shape, And all the ways of mortals ape-- I wonder!

In Bagdad may there still be found That blackish powder, finely ground, Which changes all who on it feast, Monarch or slave, to bird or beast? Do Caliphs taste and, unafraid, Turn storks and weeping night-owls aid? I wonder!

I wonder if in far Cathay The nightingale still trills her lay Beside the Porcelain Palace door, And courtiers praise her as before? If emperors dream of bygone things, And, musing, weep the while she sings? I wonder!

Such things have never chanced to me. I wonder if, to eyes that see, These magic visions still appear In daily living, now and here? If every flower is touched with glory? If e’en the grass-blades tell a story? I wonder!