The poetry of earth is fading fast; <br />It hath no region it can call its own; <br />The dim, religious light of old that cast <br />Mysterious beauty on its haunts hath flown! <br />Science, with eye of microscopic power, <br />And disenchanting lamp, from land to land, <br />With railroad speed continues still to scour, <br />Till scarce a spot on earth remains unscanned. <br />Even the vast Pyramid hath now become <br />A thing whose secrets all are known too well; <br />The Harp of Memnon is for ever dumb; <br />And even the Sphinx hath nothing left to tell! <br />The Nile, so long a river of the heart, <br />Hath now no mystic problem to unveil; <br />And its drear desert, once a thing apart <br />From common roads, we soon may cross by rail! <br />No green oasis now enchants the eye, <br />With its tall palms and fountains bubbling o'er; <br />The desert ship we loved in days gone by, <br />Is but a camel now, “and nothing more!” <br />Then why through Egypt should I seek to roam, <br />Fancy to feed with scenes that will but mock it; <br />With graphic Roberts for my guide (at home), <br />And Murray's trusty “Hand-Book” in my pocket.<br /><br />Alaric Alexander Watts<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/egypt-unvisited-suggested-by-mr-roberts-egyptian-sketches/
