BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;—
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
LonelyCrusoes building boats;—
Where in sunshine reaching ont
Eastern cities, miles about,
Are withminaret
Among sandy gardens set,
And the rich goods from near and far
Hang for sale in thebazaar ;—
WhereWall round China goes,
And on one side the desert blows,
And with bell and voice and drum,
Cities on the other hum;—
Where are forests hot as fire
Wide as England, tall as a spire,
Full of apes and cocoanuts
And the negro hunters’ huts;—
Where the knotty crocodile
Lies and blinks in the Nile,
And the red flamingo fli
Hunting fish before his eyes;Where injungles near and far,
Man-devouring tigers are,
Lying close and giving ear
Lest the hunt be drawing near,
Or a comer-by be seen
Swinging in apalanquin ;—
Where among the desert sands
Some deserted city stands,
All its children,sweep and prince,
Grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house,
Not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night,
In all the town no spark of light.
There I’ll come when I’m a man,
With a camelcaravan ;
Light a fire in the gloo
Of some dusty dining-room;
See the pictures on the walls,
Heroes, fights, andfestivals ;
And in a corner find the toy
Of the old Egyptian boys.