With me along the strip of Herbage strown
That just divides the desert from the sown,
Where name of Slave and Sultan is forgot—
And Peace to Mahmud on his golden Throne!
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
This pair of quatrains must be considered together. They owe their origin to O. 155 and O. 149.
If a loaf of wheaten bread be forthcoming,
A gourd of wine, and a thigh-bone of mutton,
And then, if thou and I be sitting in the wilderness,—
That were a joy not within the power of any Sultan.
Ref.: O. 155, C. 474, L. 697, B. 688, S.P. 442, P. 229, B. ii. 591. T. 292, P. iv. 24, P. v. 109.—W. 479, N. 448, V. 749.
I desire a flask of ruby wine and a book of verses
Just enough to keep me alive,[35] and half a loaf is needful,
And then, that thou and I should sit in the wilderness,
Is better than the kingdom of a Sultan.
Ref.: O. 149, S.P. 408.—W. 452, N. 413, E.C. 13.