And soon thy sunset marble
Will glow as the amethyst,
And moonlit skies shall make thee rise
A vision of pearly mist.
A vision of light and wonder
For the hordes in the covered wains,
From the snow-peaked north where the tides burst forth
To the Ghauts and the Rajput plains.
From the sapphire lakes in the Kashmir hills,
Whence crystal rivers rise,
To the jungles where the tiger’s lair
Lies bare to the Deccan skies.
And the proud Mahratta chieftains
And the Afghan lords shall see
The tender gleam of thy living dream,
Through all Eternity.
The black is bending lower—
Ah wife—the day-star nears—
And I see you come with calling arms
As ye came in the yester-years.
And the joy is mine that ne’er was mine
By Palace and Peacock Throne—
By marble and gold where the World grows cold
In the seed that It has sown.
More bright than the Rajputana stars
Thine eyes shone out to me—
More gay thy laugh than the rainbow chaff
That lifts from the Southern Sea.
More fair thy hair than any silk
In Delhi’s proud bazaars—
More true thy heart than the tulwar’s start—
Blood-wet in a hundred wars.
More red thy lips than the Flaming Trees
That brighten the Punjab plains—
More soft thy tread than the winds that spread
The last of the summer rains.
No blush of the dawning heavens—
No rose by the garden wall,
May ever seek to match thy cheek—
Oh fairest rose of all.