The Poet On Agradina

The spacious cities hummed with toil: The monarch reared his towers to the skies; Men delved the fruitful soil And studied to be wise; Along the highway's rocky coil The mailed legions rang; Smiling unheeded 'mid the moil, The Poet sang.

The glittering cities long are heaps: The starry towers lie level with the plain; The desert serpent sleeps Where soared the marble fane; The stealthy, bead-eyed lizard creeps Where gleamed the tyrant's throne; The grandeur dark oblivion steeps: The song sings on.