Travel

Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850 - 1894

I should like to rise and go  

Where the golden apples grow;—  

Where below another sky  

Parrot islands anchored lie,  

And, watched by cockatoos and goats,

Lonely Crusoes building boats;—  

Where in sunshine reaching out  

Eastern cities, miles about,  

Are with mosque and minaret  

Among sandy gardens set,

And the rich goods from near and far  

Hang for sale in the bazaar,—  

Where the Great Wall round China goes,  

And on one side the desert blows,  

And with bell and voice and drum

Cities on the other hum;—  

Where are forests, hot as fire,  

Wide as England, tall as a spire,  

Full of apes and cocoa-nuts  

And the negro hunters’ huts;—

Where the knotty crocodile  

Lies and blinks in the Nile,  

And the red flamingo flies  

Hunting fish before his eyes;—  

Where in jungles, near and far,

Man-devouring tigers are,  

Lying close and giving ear  

Lest the hunt be drawing near,  

Or a comer-by be seen  

Swinging in a palanquin;—

Where among the desert sands  

Some deserted city stands,  

All its children, sweep and prince,  

Grown to manhood ages since,  

Not a foot in street or house,

Not a stir of child or mouse,  

And when kindly falls the night,  

In all the town no spark of light.  

There I’ll come when I’m a man  

With a camel caravan;

Light a fire in the gloom  

Of some dusty dining-room;  

See the pictures on the walls,  

Heroes, fights and festivals;  

And in a corner find the toys

Of the old Egyptian boys.