Byron's Bride of Abydos: poetry reading

Byron's Bride of Abydos: poetry reading transcript

From The bride of Abydos, by Lord Byron

Know ye the land of the cedar and vine?
Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine,
Where the light wings of Zephyr, oppressed with perfume,
Wax faint o'er the gardens of Gul in her bloom;
Where the citron and olive are fairest of fruit,
And the voice of the nightingale never is mute;
Where the tints of the earth, and the hues of the sky,
In colour though varied, in beauty may vie,
And the purple of Ocean is deepest in die;
Where virgins are soft as the roses they twine,
And all, save the spirit of man is divine –
'tis the clime of the east – 'tis the land of the Sun –
Can he smile on such deeds as his children have done?
Oh! wild as the accents of lovers' farewell
Are the hearts which they bear, and the tales which they tell.