On the water we stand as a shadow,
A skeleton sombre and thin
Erect on the watery meadow,
As a giant, a lord of the Djinn
Set sentinel over
Some queen and her lover
Beloved of the Gods and the Djinn.
We saw the moon shudder and sink
In a furnace of tremulous blue;
We stood on the mystical brink
Of the day as it sprang to us through
The veil of the night,
And the babe of the light
Was begotten in the caves of the dew.
My lover and I were awake
When the noise of the dawn in our ears
Burst out like a storm or a snake
Or the rush of the Badawi spears.
Dawn of desire!
But thy kiss was as fire
To thy lovers and princes and peers.
52