Mother And Sphinx

(EGYPTIAN FOLK-SONG)     Grim is the face that looks into the night     Over the stretch of sands;     A sullen rock in a sea of white--     A ghostly shadow in ghostly light,     Peering and moaning it stands.     "Oh, is it the king that rides this way--     Oh, is it the king that rides so free?     I have looked for the king this many a day,     But the years that mock me will not say     Why tarrieth he!"     'T is not your king that shall ride to-night,     But a child that is fast asleep;     And the horse he shall ride is the Dream-horse white--     Aha, he shall speed through the ghostly light     Where the ghostly shadows creep!     "My eyes are dull and my face is sere,     Yet unto the word he gave I cling,     For he was a Pharaoh that set me here--     And, lo! I have waited this many a year     For him--my king!"     Oh, past thy face my darling shall ride     Swift as the burning winds that bear     The sand clouds over the desert wide--     Swift to the verdure and palms beside     The wells off there!     "And is it the mighty king I shall see     Come riding into the night?     Oh, is it the king come back to me--     Proudly and fiercely rideth he,     With centuries dight!"     I know no king but my dark-eyed dear     That shall ride the Dream-Horse white;     But see! he wakes at my bosom here,     While the Dream-Horse frettingly lingers near     To speed with my babe to-night!     And out of the desert darkness peers     A ghostly, ghastly, shadowy thing     Like a spirit come out of the mouldering years,     And ever that waiting spectre hears     The coming king!