NOT Roum, but Meccah! where the skies Lean just below God's Paradise, And where the azure dome was riven To let the Black Stone fall from heaven; Where Abraham prayed and Ishmael An angel led to Zem Zem's well, And both upbuilt that House divine The Ka'ba, earth's most holy shrine; And where Our Lord Mohammed came To save us from the awful flame. Ah, when we heard that God is One, And merciful, and that we dwell, Beyond, in Paradise or Hell As we have kept His just decrees Praise be to Allah! round the world To speed the truth our hosts were hurled; Swift as the light we made it run From land to land till all the air Echoed the fervent praise or prayer Of suppliant nations on their knees, And half the earth, from pine to palm, Was won for Allah and Islam. Not Roum, but Meccah! Let the law Go forth where first the Prophet saw The way to God, and where he lies Entombed with all high sanctities Of earth and Heaven. The Turk's dark hour Must pass. The Arab's day of power Dawns newly, and the desert still Shall have the vision and the will To move the world! ... | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ELEGY ON THYRZA by GEORGE GORDON BYRON LEPANTO by GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON LINES WRITTEN TO HIS WIFE [WHILE ON A VISIT TO UPPER INDIA] by REGINALD HEBER BLUEBEARD by RUTH FITCH BARLETT LILIES: 27. THE WAVE-TOSSED VESSEL by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) A WINTER TWILIGHT by ARLO BATES THE IMPROVISATORE: RODOLPH THE WILD by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES |