He plied Hephaestion's ear with royal schemes Over the wine-cup; hollow rang his voice From barrier-rocks of Providence, and gleams Of fatal fever lightened from his eyes; He thought to build and drain with busy power - But could not pass beyond the appointed goal; For the strong ward of one prophetic scroll Had frayed the horns of Ammon, and his hour Drew nigh; Time sped - the bitterns thronged the strand, And shook the site of his imperial dream With booming, and the dropsy of the land Grew from the untended waters; evening's beam, And morn's, looked down upon a realm of fear, With pools and mounds and marshes far and near. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON A FAIR BEGGAR by PHILIP AYRES THE QUEEN'S RIDE; AN INVITATION by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH OLD SAUGATUCK MILL by GRACE JEWETT AUSTIN THE STEAM-ENGINE: CANTO 7. LESSON FOR THE PROUD by T. BAKER RECOGNITION by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN THE MOTHER LOVE by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON |