DEIGN, Prince, my tribute to receive, <br />This lyric offering to your name, <br />Who round your jewelled scepter bind <br />The lilies of a poet's fame; <br />Beneath whose sway concordant dwell <br />The peoples whom your laws embrace, <br />In brotherhood of diverse creeds, <br />And harmony of diverse race: <br /> <br />The votaries of the Prophet's faith, <br />Of whom you are the crown and chief <br />And they, who bear on Vedic brows <br />Their mystic symbols of belief; <br />And they, who worshipping the sun, <br />Fled o'er the old Iranian sea; <br />And they, who bow to Him who trod <br />The midnight waves of Galilee. <br /> <br />Sweet, sumptuous fables of Baghdad <br />The splendours of your court recall, <br />The torches of a Thousand Nights <br />Blaze through a single festival; <br />And Saki-singers down the streets, <br />Pour for us, in a stream divine, <br />From goblets of your love-ghazals <br />The rapture of your Sufi wine. <br /> <br /> <br />Prince, where your radiant cities smile, <br />Grim hills their sombre vigils keep, <br />Your ancient forests hoard and hold <br />The legends of their centuried sleep; <br />Your birds of peace white-pinioned float <br />O'er ruined fort and storied plain, <br />Your faithful stewards sleepless guard <br />The harvests of your gold and grain. <br /> <br />God give you joy, God give you grace <br />To shield the truth and smite the wrong, <br />To honour Virtue, Valour, Worth. <br />To cherish faith and foster song. <br />So may the lustre of your days <br />Outshine the deeds Firdusi sung, <br />Your name within a nation's prayer, <br />Your music on a nation's tongue.<br /><br />Sarojini Naidu<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ode-to-h-h-the-nizam-of-hyderabad/
