And labyrinth of submerged bulrush isles,
With matted lilies growing on the ooze,
While round the shallow bars the eddies swum,
All changeless, as in old time when the Jews
Mustered at beat of the Egyptian drum
And laid their tale of brick upon the piles.
Upon the left bank of the river loomed
A massive wall where Pharaohs lay entombed
With their deeds vaguely limned in hieroglyph,
In tincts of vivid azure, green and red,