Tartary

Tartary written by Walter de la Mare

Songs of Childhood (1902)

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    If I were Lord of Tartary,
      Myself and me alone,
    My bed should be of ivory,
      Of beaten gold my throne;
    And in my court should peacocks flaunt,
    And in my forests tigers haunt,
    And in my pools great fishes slant
      Their fins athwart the sun.

    If I were Lord of Tartary,
      Trumpeters every day
    To all my meals should summon me,
      And in my courtyards bray;
    And in the evenings lamps should shine,
    Yellow as honey, red as wine,
    While harp, and flute, and mandoline,
      Made music sweet and gay.

    If I were Lord of Tartary,
      I'd wear a robe of beads,
    White, and gold, and green they'd be -
      And small, and thick as seeds;
    And ere should wane the morning-star,
    I'd don my robe and scimitar,
    And zebras seven should draw my car
      Through Tartary's dark glades.

    Lord of the fruits of Tartary,
      Her rivers silver-pale!
    Lord of the hills of Tartary,
      Glen, thicket, wood, and dale!
    Her flashing stars, her scented breeze,
    Her trembling lakes, like foamless seas,
    Her bird-delighting citron-trees
      In every purple vale!

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