Classic Poem

PALM-TREES and wells they found of yore,
Who — that Egyptian bondage o'er —
Had sight betimes of feathering green,
Of lengthened shadows, and between,
The cool, deep-garnered water-store:

Dear, — dear is Rest by sea and shore:
But dearest to the travel-sore,
Whose camping-place not yet has been
Palm-trees and wells!

For such we plead. Shall we ignore
The long Procession of the Poor,
Still faring through the night-wind keen,
With faltering steps, to the Unseen? —
Nay.: let us seek for these once more
Palm-trees and wells!